Kate's Forever (Thistle Do Flowers Book 1)

by Christina Butrum

  Placing claim of their baggage, they headed for the exit. She had never been in Florida before, but she was more than excited to see where his family lived. If they were anything like him, she was positive she would love them just as much as she loved Jordan.

  * * *

  Hailing a cab, Jordan stuffed their belongings into the trunk. Opening the door for Kate, he held onto her hips as she slid into the backseat of the worn out cab. The only good thing about this cab, unlike others in a busy city, was that it didn’t stink of stale cigarettes.

  Jordan pulled the folded paper from his pocket and handed it to the driver. The driver reset the meter and pulled away from the curb, heading in the direction of the place Jordan reserved yesterday after Kate had said yes.

  “So, why’d you never tell me you were from Florida?” Kate asked him, looking up as she leaned against his chest.

  When he had thought about coming up with an excuse, he’d decided to be honest. “Because I’m not from Florida.”

  Well, honest enough. He certainly wasn’t from Florida, but telling her that, along with coming clean about where his parents actually lived, would spoil his surprise. He wanted this to be the ultimate surprise. The biggest surprise had been yesterday’s proposal, but today’s surprise had to compete with that, so he had to make it memorable.

  “Okay, so then, where did you live before moving to Iowa?” she asked, a puzzled look on her face. The look he had seen before. The look she had given him many times when she thought she had something figured out only to find out the exact opposite.

  “Well, I was born in Illinois, but my parents moved my brother and me to Tennessee,” he explained, trying to draw it out for as long as he could until their destination came in view. He had a ways to go, yet. “My brother had moved to Iowa shortly after graduating from the University of Iowa, because well, he had received his degree in teaching and had fallen in love with Iowa. So, when I filed for divorce and wanted a change of pace, I planned my move to Iowa, with my brother’s help.”

  “So, your parents decided to move to Florida?” Kate asked, concern etched in the lines of her face. Feeling bad for leading her to believe they were headed to visit his parents. Well, they would eventually make their way to his parents’ house, but that wasn’t the reason for the trip. “Are you and Howard close to your parents? I mean, relationship wise?”

  “Of course,” Jordan said, relieved that she had steered the conversation away from the topic of Florida. “We’ve always been a tight-knit family. Mom always invites us home for the major holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and if we don’t show up, she’s calling us wondering what on earth has happened and why we’re not there celebrating with the rest of the family.”

  He wasn’t lying to her now. Family tradition hadn’t changed in the course of the last umpteen years. Some things never would change, and for that he was grateful. He always looked forward to going back home for the holidays; this last year he almost couldn’t make it to see them because cash had been short from business being slow, but that hadn’t stopped his brother from offering him a ride down to see them on his way out of town.

  Thinking back, he owed his brother a lot of favors, because Howard seldom hesitated to help others. Just like he had done for Kate. Kate had done most of that on her own, with her bright personality and her friendliness, or so his brother had mentioned.

  “That’s good that you all are so close.”

  The sign for the reserved destination came into view as the cab rounded a curve off the highway bridge. A few blocks later, the cab pulled into the front parking space in the unloading area. Once the car was parked, the driver turned in his seat, looking back at Jordan, “That’ll be $83.50.”

  Jordan handed the guy a hundred dollar bill and told him to keep the change. The look Kate gave him didn’t go unnoticed as he slid out of the cab and held his hand out for her to grab hold of.

  “We’ve finally arrived at our destination,” he said, hauling their bags from the trunk to the curb next to the cab.

  Kate pointed at the resort with a confused look on her face. “I thought we were going to your parents’ house, not a resort?”

  Following Jordan into the resort, Kate held onto the feeling that she had been right all along. He was up to something yet again, and this time, he went above and beyond what he should have.

  Pretending like she wasn’t on to him, she kept the confused expression on her face like a pro, without giving him any indication that she knew something was up.

  She had to give him credit though, because he had accomplished a lot in the last week, things she wouldn’t have been able to do in two weeks, let alone one. On to another thought, if this was the kind of stuff he was willing to do for her now, she couldn’t wait to grow old with him. She was already feeling more loved than she had ever felt before, and now she was pretty sure she had to be one of the luckiest women on earth.

  “We have a dinner reservation tonight at six,” Jordan said, tossing the bags on the bed in their suite.

  Kate’s eyes went straight to the window. They were sixteen floors up and the view was impressive. The sun cast its rays, sunlight reflected from the waves of the ocean as they lapped against the shore, where families and their children waited to be splashed. Young couples were chasing each other along the sandy beach, while others sat relaxed in chairs, reading their books. “I may never go back to Iowa after being here.”

  Jordan wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of neck, trailing his lips down until they met her collar bone and detoured to her shoulder. “We have a couple of hours. What do you say we get reacquainted?”

  Pressing her hips against him, she encouraged him to make fair with his offer. Spinning her to face him, he lifted her, allowing her legs to spread around his waist as he carried her to the bed.

  “We’re staying here for a week,” he told her, bending down to leave a trail of hot, tense kissing down her body. “So, we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves, if you know what I mean?”

  Kate shifted underneath him in a fit of laughter. “You’re such a goofball.”

  She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him that she busted him. She’d wait to tell him that until after their moment between the sheets. She had waited a while for this, and she wasn’t about to postpone it.

  * * *

  Making love to her was easily number one on his list of favorite things. She made loving her so easy. She was compassionate and gentle, and forthcoming; trusting him to love her the way he wanted, with no restraint.

  Tracing his finger along her arm as she lay against his chest, her breath was warm against his bare skin. “Kate,” he whispered, wondering if she had fallen asleep.

  “Hmm?”

  “Can I tell you something?” he asked, thinking it was time to tell her about this trip and where his parents actually lived, instead of leading her on to believe they’d be seeing them later at their dinner reservation; when in all honesty, the dinner reservation was right here in their hotel room, served to their room for a pleasant night in.

  “Yeah,” she said, looking up at him through her long, dark lashes. He loved how sweet and innocent she was, even though she had been through so much.

  “My parents don’t actually live here in Florida,” he said without hesitation.

  “They don’t?”

  “No, they live in Iowa City.” She leaned onto her elbow and looked up at him. “I wanted to surprise you again, with the rest of what I had planned for us. This vacation is for us and only us. No one else.”

  “I know.”

  Taken aback by her statement, he looked down at her. “You know?”

  “Yeah,” she said. She flipped so she was facing him, with her chin resting on his chest. “I had that feeling again that you were blowing smoke and making things up. I put the pieces together before we even arrived here.”

  “I’ve been busted again,” he said, pulling her up so she was now straddling him. �
�I need to get better at these surprises, then?”

  “I’d say so,” Kate said, giving him that smile that made him fall harder for her. “You will, especially if you’re going to keep up with Hallmark, and the whole cliché-cheesiness that you’ve been portraying lately.”

  “Note taken,” he said. “Were you at least surprised?”

  “To be honest,” she said, looking at him with those dark blue eyes of hers that had seen so much hurt, in the last two weeks. “Yes, I was. You have not once failed to surprise me, even though you’re a horrible liar, and you’ve been busted multiple times, you have surprised me each and every time.”

  “That’s good, because you have more surprises coming,” he said, pulling her into his kiss and wrestling her underneath of him. “It’s time for round two. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

  * * *

  Spending time with Jordan in Florida was much needed. They both had enjoyed their time on the beach and they had spent a majority of their time lying in bed talking about the future.

  She told him she didn’t want to go back to Iowa, but he insisted that they do. They had a life to build in Iowa, along with her career as a teacher. If she hadn’t known he was such a smooth talker before, she definitely knew now.

  Their flight back to Iowa was full of dreaming and setting goals. He promised to move mountains for her; and whatever she needed or wanted; it was hers.

  “I’m wondering where you’ve been all my life,” she commented, curled into his chest on the flight back home. “Out of all this time, I’ve needed a man like you in my life.”

  His chuckle was deep, and it jarred her as she leaned against him. “I’ve been in Iowa this whole time, wondering the same exact thing. I’ve been wondering when I was going to catch a break in this whole love thing, or if I was just going to be single for the rest of my life.”

  “Same here,” Kate admitted. She hated to admit that she had been quite depressed after her divorce. A time that she should have been excited for a fresh start, which she had been, once she arrived in Iowa, but there had been days where she felt hung up in the past and unable to see beyond it.

  “Then I saw you,” he said, as he ran his hand along the right side of her body. “And I knew the first time I saw you that you were mine. Like I said, I knew I had to love you and give you everything I have to offer.”

  “It’s a good thing I like Hallmark movies, huh?”

  “I’m being serious, Kate,” he said, the tone in his voice affirming the seriousness of the conversation. “Everything I said the day I proposed, I meant it. Every last word I said, I meant.”

  She appreciated his honesty. He was a man of his word, he had already proved that to her many times over in the last month. He had her from day one, and there was no telling what she might have done if things hadn’t turned out like they had between them. Certainly, she would have lost her mind. Jessica would have gotten an ear full, an ice cream gallon would have been eaten, and who knows how many sappy movies would have been watched.

  But now, she had nothing to worry about, because he was hers and she was his. Engagements in the past hadn’t led to happy endings, but this one would. She had faith that everything happened for a reason. Even horrible things happen so that good things can make their way in, to show you that there’s always light at the end of every tunnel.

  Her light was Jordan Hughes. He had helped her through the death of flowers, the loss of her job, the death of her mother, and had helped her through the attack of her ex-husband.

  “What are you thinking about? You’re awfully silent,” Jordan whispered against her ear. “You haven’t fallen asleep on me, have you?”

  “No, I’m just thinking about how much my life has changed in the last two years and how thankful I am that I decided to come to Iowa.”

  “If you hadn’t, we’d still be searching for our forever.”

  Our forever. It sounded perfect.

  Back to school for the kids meant back to school for her also. Back to the job she loved to do and nothing could ever change that. The only thing that changed this time around had been her last name. She was no longer Miss Kate, but rather Mrs. Hughes. It sounded so official, making everything that much better. It had been more than two years since Jordan had proposed to her that day in the park. Since then, they had built a life revolving around school and his business.

  Finding out that they were expecting, shortly after their engagement, had been her trump card to all of his surprises. She had told him when he had least expected it.

  The house he had built for them sat on the outside of Le Claire, with the back porch facing the Mississippi River, because he knew how much she loved the view.

  She may not have wanted to leave Florida, but she was glad they had. Iowa had so much to offer them, including a loving community and a remarkable school system. A place to raise their children and run Jordan’s business.

  Expecting their second child in less than a few months, Jordan had insisted she stay home, take it easy, and prepare the nursery for their new little one. She had a lot to thank him for lately; especially the late night runs to the store for chocolate ice cream and M&Ms.

  She had been given the opportunity, through the school district, to become a tutor. Actually, they had insisted that she become a tutor, that way, she could stay at home and continue with what she enjoyed the most. The children in her class insisted that she continue to teach once the baby came, but she didn’t have the heart to tell them it was most likely that she wouldn’t be returning to the classroom. At least, not for a while.

  Standing in line at the local farmer’s market in the mid-summer’s day heat, brought back memories of when she had first arrived in Iowa and had met Jessica. Now they were both standing here in line, swollen bellies and swollen ankles, debating on whether to forfeit fresh fruits and vegetables for an ice cream cone from down the street.

  They had become the best of friends within the first year of Kate moving to Le Claire, but now they were inseparable—like sisters.

  “Let’s come back tomorrow,” Jessica insisted, dodging the line as she headed straight across the street towards the corner café. “I’m getting an ice cream cone, whether you’re coming with me or not.”

  Kate looked at the stands in front of them. There was more than enough fruit and vegetables to last until tomorrow, and the wait line was horrendously long, so she was with Jessica as she waddled out of line. Pushing the stroller with her little girl, she hollered for Jessica to wait for her.

  * * *

  “It’s time,” Kate whispered to Jordan after waking from a dead sleep after feeling a gush of water, followed by a harsh onset of contractions.

  Jordan jumped from their bed and struggled into his clothes. They had done this once before, but the adrenaline mixed with excitement caused a whole new level of crazed chaos with this baby’s arrival.

  “Hon, grab the bag,” Kate said, pointing to the chair next to the closet. She sat up, taking her time as she breathed through the contractions before standing.

  “Do you have everything you need in here?” Jordan asked, pacing the room before putting the bag on the bed to double check its contents.

  “Yes, hon, let’s go.”

  “Are you sure you want me to drive to the hospital? Should I call for an ambulance?”

  “Honey, breathe,” she said, finding it ironic that she was encouraging him to breathe, when she should have been the one focused on breathing. Some things never changed. Halting in the doorway due to another contraction, she said, “Hon, I need you to hurry.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” Jordan said, taking her arm and assisting her to the car.

  “What? We’re not taking your truck?”

  Jordan looked at her like she had lost her mind. “No way.”

  “Okay, let’s just get going,” she said, trying her best to hustle to the car. She had a feeling this baby wasn’t going to wait too much longer.

  Thankful that the
y had taken their daughter Emma to Howard and Sara’s last night, Kate slid into the passenger seat as her husband drove as fast as he could to the hospital.

  Pushing his way into this world exactly twenty minutes after they had left for the hospital, their son was a healthy eight pound baby, with his daddy’s eyes and his momma’s nose.

  “You did great, babe,” Jordan said, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead and to get a better look at their son. Ethan Michael was written on the plastic band wrapped around his tiny ankle.

  There was something about the bond between a father and his son, and it was evident between these two. The way Jordan held Ethan was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The way Ethan looked up at Jordan was priceless. Only hours old and he was already a daddy’s boy. Seeing tears form in Jordan’s eyes was unmistakably the defining moment for their family.

  “He’s perfect,” she whispered, as Jordan held him close enough for her to kiss the top of his head. “When will your brother bring Emma?”

  “He said to give them a call whenever we’re ready for company and they’ll bring her to us,” Jordan said, keeping his eyes on Ethan the whole time. “I figured I’d give them a call after a while. I can’t wait to see Emma’s reaction towards her little brother.”

  “Me, neither,” Kate said, pulling the covers up to her chin.

  After catching her silent yawn, Jordan stood from the bed and said, “You should get some rest. Ethan and I will be here when you wake up and then we’ll call to have them bring Emma.”

  He ran a free hand through her hair and kissed her forehead. She drifted off to sleep within minutes, and woke to the sound of their little girl’s squeal of excitement at the sight of her little brother.

  “How long was I asleep?” she asked, still half out of it.

  “Not too long,” Jordan said, assisting Emma with holding her brother as she sat next to him on the couch. “Howard said Emma was getting a bit impatient, so they brought her out.”