'Tis the Season for Romance

by Kristen Proby

Looking up, Rocket saw his Jayme staring at him with a mixture of concern and terror on her face.

  That did it. He turned away from the punk, now unconscious on the floor, and hauled Jayme into him. She came without hesitation. Without a second thought. Pressing against him as if she could burrow into his skin and become one with him.

  He lifted a knee and shuffled to the side of the man he’d beaten and fell onto his ass, still holding Jayme to him.

  “I’m okay,” she mumbled into his neck. “I’m okay.”

  Rocket couldn’t speak. Could barely see. All he could do was feel. Things could’ve gone so differently. His own actions could’ve gotten Jayme killed. But he couldn’t not run toward her. He’d almost been too late. He could’ve lost her before they’d even begun to live their lives together.

  Vaguely, Rocket heard people moving around him. Someone found some rope and tied up the man he’d subdued. Someone else was on a phone with 9-1-1. But Rocket still couldn’t move. It was as if he were paralyzed. Blinking, he saw the glass of the cold case had shattered and was in pieces on the floor around them. A woman was crying hysterically nearby and being comforted by another customer. It was chaos…and all he could do was sit where he was and feel Jayme’s heart beating against his chest. He’d never felt anything better in all his life.

  When Rocket had been in the Navy, he’d experienced times when he was scared. There were a few times when the ship he was on had been locked down because of the threat of incoming missiles, but in the end, nothing had ever happened. But that didn’t mean the fear hadn’t been intense when they were waiting for the all clear.

  But he’d never been as scared as he’d been a minute ago. Seeing Jayme on the receiving end of the muzzle of a gun had been the most frightened he’d ever been in his life. He couldn’t live without her. Now that he’d found her, Rocket knew without a doubt that losing her would make him a shell of the man. She was his better half, and he damn well knew it.

  “Rocket?” He heard her say his name, but all he could do was shake his head and bury his nose harder into the velvety skin between her shoulder and neck. Her thick hair tickled his face, but he didn’t care.

  “You’re hurting me,” she whispered.

  He immediately loosened his grasp and pulled back to look at her. It was the only thing she could’ve said that would’ve made him let go. He’d never hurt her. He’d rather die first.

  The first thing he saw was that her pupils were dilated to twice their usual size. Her face was white, and she was frowning. Then he saw the blood. It wasn’t a lot, but there was a small stream of bright red blood oozing down the side of her temple. “You’re bleeding,” he whispered, knowing he was probably in shock.

  Jayme lifted a hand to wipe her face, but Rocket caught it before she could touch herself.

  “Is it bad?” she asked.

  “No.” It wasn’t, but still, seeing even a drop of Jayme’s blood was horrifying.

  “I think when the case shattered, some of the glass must’ve hit me,” she said softly.

  “You weren’t shot?” Rocket asked, belatedly realizing that should’ve been the first thing he did…check her for serious injuries.

  “No. At least I don’t think so.”

  Rocket immediately began to run his hands over her body, checking for gunshot wounds. When she didn’t flinch away from his touch, and he didn’t find any more blood, he breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “Me?” he said in confusion.

  She picked up one of his hands and held it gently. “Your poor hands,” she said softly.

  Rocket didn’t give a shit about the condition of his hands. As far as he was concerned, he’d wear his scrapes and bruises with pride. Besides, his hands were always nicked and beaten up because of his job. Not to mention stained with the oil he was constantly getting all over them at the garage.

  “Nobody move!” a harsh voice ordered from near the door.

  Turning his head, Rocket saw a police officer standing just inside the door with his weapon drawn.

  Taking a deep breath, he did his best to get control of his body and mind once more. Jayme was all right. As was he. It would take some time for the officers to figure out what had gone down tonight, but he had no doubt the videos would exonerate him for nearly killing the man still lying unconscious nearby.

  Jayme was safe. Nothing else mattered.

  Epilogue

  Christmas Day

  * * *

  Jayme woke up on December twenty-fifth and sighed in contentment. She was wrapped tightly in Rocket’s arms, just as she’d been when she went to sleep. They’d both been a bit clingy for the last two days, which was all right with her. Memaw had also been hit hard by what had almost happened.

  Jayme knew she’d never forget the look on Rocket’s face as he ran toward the young man with the gun nearest to her. He was one hundred percent focused on getting to the man and preventing him from hurting her. Of course, there was no way he could’ve prevented a bullet from hitting her; luckily the shot had gone wide and had hit the cold case behind her instead of tearing through her flesh.

  Seeing Rocket beat the man into unconsciousness should’ve turned her off. The violence should’ve freaked her out, but what had scared her instead was how hard it had been to get Rocket to stop.

  They both had a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder from the robbery, and she knew it would take a while for either of them to feel safe shopping anywhere again. And Jayme had a feeling Rocket wasn’t going to let her go into any gas stations or convenience stores anytime soon. But that was all right with her. She wasn’t too keen on the idea herself.

  They’d spent Christmas Eve with Memaw and would be heading back over to her house today. Her grandmother needed the reassurance of her presence, and honestly, Jayme needed her memaw’s presence as well.

  “Good morning,” Rocket said softly. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” she told him softly. She didn’t pull out of his arms, but tilted her head up so she could see his eyes. She watched as his gaze roamed her face then over her shoulders, as if he was visually inspecting her to make sure she was all right.

  “How do you feel this morning?” he asked.

  “I’m good. How are you? How do your hands feel?” She’d been dismayed to see his hands scraped up and bruised, but he’d merely shrugged and told her that they’d heal soon enough.

  “They’re fine,” he told her, smoothing a piece of hair behind her ear.

  Jayme had always loved his hands. He’d admitted that he was extremely self-conscious about them, because they were usually stained with oil. But the calluses he hated felt amazing against her bare skin, and the fact that he could palm her ass cheeks with those hands and hold her up while he took her against a wall, or on the counter, or anywhere else, made her shiver with delight.

  And now she knew he’d do whatever it took to protect her with those hands as well.

  Taking one gently, she kissed the palm before holding it to her cheek and giving him the weight of her head.

  “I love you,” Rocket said.

  “I love you too. What’s the plan for today?” she asked.

  “I told Winnie we’d be over for lunch,” Rocket said.

  Jayme nodded. “She claims not to like presents, but she does.”

  “Sounds like someone else I know,” Rocket said with a grin.

  Jayme could only smile back. It was true. She loved presents. Didn’t matter what they were. Rocket could wrap up a fork and she’d be happy. But judging by the pile of presents under the tree downstairs, he’d gone overboard.

  He pulled away from her to reach into the drawer next to his side of the bed, then rolled back over to face her.

  He was holding a small black velvet box.

  Jayme looked from the box to his eyes in surprise. “What’s this?”

  “I’ve had this for months. I was trying to come up with the perfect time
to give it to you. I wanted to give you a story you could tell our kids and grandkids that would blow them away and make them think their dad and grandfather was the shit. But after what happened, I’m not willing to wait one second longer. So I have no extravagant gestures, no balloons, no flash mob singing some sappy song. I’m just a man who’s madly in love with you, and who doesn’t want to wait to make you his in every way possible.”

  Jayme’s heart nearly stopped in her chest when he opened the small box and continued.

  “I’ve waited my whole life for you, Jayme Caldwell. I love you more than you’ll ever know. Will you marry me? Have children with me? I know this is an insane time for you with your bakery opening in a week, but life is never guaranteed, I think we both learned that after what happened.”

  Jayme’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t need any huge gestures. I just need you. Yes, of course I’ll marry you!”

  She was already lying next to him, but she threw herself into his arms as best she could anyway, laughing with happiness as he grunted and caught her. He rolled until she was under him, and Jayme could feel his erection against her thigh. He fumbled with the box but eventually got the ring out. Jayme held her hand up, and he slid the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen down her finger.

  Turning her hand in an age old gesture, Jayme looked at the ring Rocket had bought for her. It was classy, yet untraditional.

  “Do you like it?” Rocket asked.

  Hearing the trepidation in his tone, Jayme nodded enthusiastically. “Like it? Those words are way too tame for how I feel about this ring. I love it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” she gushed.

  “I wanted to get you something that you didn’t have to take off while you were cooking or rolling dough. I know it’s a little different than usual engagement rings, and I’m happy to exchange it for something you like better if you want.”

  “I couldn’t like anything better than this ring, Rocket. It’s perfect.”

  And it was. The platinum band was wide and flat; embedded in the metal were at least a half dozen diamonds, set so they didn’t stick up from the band. It wouldn’t matter if it spun on her finger while she was cooking or baking, it wouldn’t get in her way. The diamonds wouldn’t be able to get gunked up with flour, and she wouldn’t have to worry about catching a stone on anything when she was in the kitchen. It was obvious Rocket had thought long and hard about the kind of ring that would work best for her profession. It just hammered home how well this man knew her.

  And just like that, tears formed in her eyes and Jayme was crying.

  “I hope those are happy tears,” Rocket said a little nervously.

  Jayme could only nod. She felt Rocket lower himself gently on top of her, and she buried her nose into the side of his neck. Eventually, she got herself together and looked up into the beautiful brown eyes of the man she loved more than she’d ever loved anyone before. “For the record, your proposal was perfect.”

  He smiled and shrugged. “We’ll have to think of a good story to tell our kids. I’m not sure they’d be impressed with, ‘We were naked and in bed when your father proposed.’”

  Jayme chuckled. She loved how Rocket kept talking about their children. She’d always wanted kids, but had started to think they weren’t in the cards for her. Now she couldn’t think of anything but having Rocket’s babies.

  “But maybe they’ll be more impressed when they hear that we picked up our marriage license the day after I popped the question…and had our ceremony the second the seventy-two hour waiting period was over.”

  Jayme was still thinking about having Rocket’s children, so it took a second for his words to sink in. “What?”

  “The courthouse is closed today, but I thought tomorrow we could go get our license. Unfortunately, Texas has a three-day waiting period though. How does the twenty-ninth sound for an anniversary date?”

  Jayme was shocked. She blinked in surprise. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” Rocket said, his gaze boring into hers. “The worst day of my life was when I walked into that store and realized what was happening. I knew I couldn’t get to you in time if that man decided to shoot you. When I heard that gun go off, the only thing I could think about was what a dumbass I’d been for not making you mine sooner. It was a miracle that you weren’t hit by that bullet, and I don’t want to wait another second to start our lives together.”

  “We’re already living together,” Jayme said, not sure why she was even protesting.

  “I want you to have my name…if you’ll have it. I want to protect you legally and monetarily. I want you to know that you never have to worry about anything ever again. I’ll take care of you and any children we might have. I’ll never hurt you. I won’t cheat. You’re it for me, Jayme, and I don’t want to wait a second longer than necessary to start our lives together.”

  How could she complain about that? “Memaw wants to walk me down the aisle,” she warned.

  “Of course. I’d never leave your grandmother out of our ceremony. She was the one who set us up in the first place. We can have a big ceremony later if you want, I just…I need you to be mine legally.”

  Jayme knew what had happened had hit Rocket hard, but she was just beginning to realize exactly how hard. “I don’t need a big, expensive wedding. I just need you.”

  “We could invite your parents down,” he started, but Jayme shook her head and put a finger over his lips.

  “They’ll understand. My mom will probably swoon with delight that you were so impatient to marry me that you wouldn’t wait. We might need to have a reception or something so they can officially celebrate with us, but I don’t think they’ll mind that they missed the actual ceremony. I think they’ll be happy I’m no longer an old maid.”

  “You’ll never be an old maid,” Rocket said without hesitation. “So, you’re okay with us tying the knot this week?”

  “Yes. I love you, Rocket. And you might’ve been worried about me in that store, but I was terrified for you. You interrupting their holdup could’ve made them start shooting at you. I think once they got everyone’s money, they would’ve simply left without hurting us. But you startled them, those women attacked one of them, and all I could think about was one of them killing you. When you started running toward me, I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. I’d marry you tomorrow if it was possible. And of course I want to take your name. I can’t think of anything better than being Jayme Long.”

  “You’re the best Christmas present I’ve ever received,” Rocket said reverently.

  “Same,” Jayme told him.

  “I know you’re anxious to go downstairs and open all those presents you’ve been eyeballing and I haven’t let you touch, squeeze, or shake…but maybe you’d be willing to wait another hour or so?” Rocket asked as his fingers began to play with one of her nipples.

  And just like that, Jayme was wet. “I don’t know…” she teased. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I just need a morning snack,” Rocket said as he slowly slid down her body, pushing the covers back as he went.

  Smiling in contentment, Jayme opened her legs, giving him room. Her man was amazing with his mouth. “I suppose I can wait,” she said on a dramatic sigh as he parted her folds and blew lightly on her clit.

  “Good of you,” Rocket said before lowering his head.

  It was more than an hour before they’d climbed out of bed and got dressed, heading downstairs to celebrate their first Christmas together. And they were late getting over to her grandmother’s house because after opening all her presents, and seeing how generous her fiancé was, Jayme had to demonstrate her gratitude and how much she loved him right there under the lights of their Christmas tree.

  * * *

  Fourteen months later

  * * *

  Rocket held Jayme’s hand as she grunted and bore down once more.

  “That’s it. He’s almost here!” the doctor said encouragingly.

&n
bsp; Rocket wanted to hurt the young doctor. She’d been saying that for what seemed like hours.

  He’d been so excited when Jayme had told him she was pregnant, but now, after seeing how difficult giving birth actually was and how much pain Jayme had been in for hours, he vowed not to put her through this ever again. Having one child was going to have to be enough.

  “I see his head!” the doctor said excitedly. “Come here, Dad, and get ready.”

  Rocket pried his hand from Jayme’s with reluctance and quickly moved to stand beside the doctor. Considering how long it took for his son to finally decide he was ready to enter the world, the next few minutes went by surprisingly fast. What looked like a slimy alien slipped out of his wife’s body, and he cut the cord where the doctor instructed him to. Then their son was taken over to a table to be weighed and stimulated before he was cleaned up and handed to his mother.

  Rocket went back to Jayme’s side and wiped her brow as the doctor finished up between her legs.

  “How is he?” Jayme asked anxiously. “Is he all right?”

  Before Rocket could reassure her, they heard a loud, pissed-off wail come from the table their son had been placed on.

  Jayme smiled weakly up at him.

  “He’s fine,” Rocket told her unnecessarily. “And he’s beautiful. I love you so much!”

  A nurse brought their son over to Jayme. She placed him on her chest so they were skin-to-skin, and Jayme looked down at him and her eyes immediately filled with tears. “He’s perfect!”

  Rocket couldn’t even respond. He was perfect. Their son was absolutely perfect. He wouldn’t have cared what he looked like or if he’d had some sort of medical condition. He was theirs. So he was perfect. Rocket had never been happier.

  Life over the last year or so hadn’t been without its ups and downs. Warm Delights hadn’t taken off immediately. It had been a hard first six months, but slowly word had gotten out about the newest bakery in town, and Jayme was finally seeing a healthy profit after all her sweat and tears.