Kristen Ashley - At Peace

Then Cal said softly, “Wouldn’t be here right now, wasn’t for you.”

“I remember it right, by the time I got there, you had the situation under control.”

“I didn’t mean me, I meant Vi,” Cal replied.

Benny held his gaze.

Then he repeated, “Right.”

“Huge,” Cal said.

“What?” Benny asked.

“Owe you huge.”

Benny shook his head. “Nope. This was family.”

Cal sighed. Then he said, “Still owe you huge but, even so, you get back and you fuck that up with Frankie, you answer to me.”

He watched Benny’s body tense. “Your day was worse than mine but mine wasn’t so fuckin’ great either. Don’t piss me off.”

“You all been swimmin’ in muddy waters where it comes to Frankie and doin’ it for years. Don’t fuck it up.”

“Okay, now, gotta tell you, you’re pissin’ me off.”

“Just layin’ it out.”

“You think you might’ve wanted to lay it out seven years ago? Even before?” Benny suggested.

“Would you have listened?” Cal asked a pertinent question. He knew this because Benny’s face grew hard. “Don’t fuck it up,” Cal repeated.

“I’ll be sure to call, case I need advice,” Benny replied sarcastically.

“Don’t know if you noticed,” Cal jerked his head toward the house, “but I got it goin’ on.”

Benny stared at him three seconds. Then he burst out laughing.

“Yeah, kinda noticed,” Benny stated when he’d stopped laughing. “Though, I could do without runnin’ through the woods and shooting at bad guys and carrying damsels in distress who bleed all over my clothes and give me attitude back through those fuckin’ woods.”

“So maybe you best get in there while things are quiet,” Cal advised.

“I would, you shut up and let me get in my fuckin’ truck,” Benny returned and Cal chuckled and stepped back.

Benny opened the door, got in but Cal put his hand to the door when Benny moved to close it.

He leaned in and whispered, “Owe you huge.”

Then he let the door go and walked into his house.

Joe threw the covers back and settled on his back in the bed. The minute he did, I curled in.

“They asleep?” I asked.

“Keira is,” he replied, snaking an arm around me and pulling me closer, “Kate’s restless.”

“She okay?”

“She says she will be. Listenin’ to music.”

“Maybe I’ll go check.”

“Buddy, you move, I do to and that would be to tie you to this bed. Sleep. She’ll be okay.”

I lifted my head and looked at his face in the dark.

“I should check.”

“She’ll be okay.”

“She might need her Mom.”

“Vi, this is Kate. She’s got her Mom. She knows that. We’re all home. We’re all safe. Safer than we were yesterday. And we’ll be safe tomorrow. Just fuckin’ safe. Let her be. She doesn’t need you fussin’ because she’s got enough in her head. She doesn’t need to worry about why you’re fussin’. She needs to think you’re safe and sleepin’.”

He was right which was annoying.

“It’s annoying when you’re right,” I muttered.

“Better learn to get over that, you’ll need to get used to it.”

I rolled my eyes and settled in, head to his chest, ear to his heartbeat.

We were silent for awhile, me listening to the pounding of Joe’s heart, I didn’t know what Joe was doing.

“Today, I thought for a coupla hours you were dead,” I whispered.

“Vi –”

“Tomorrow, I glue a camera to my hand.”

“Violet –”

“I won’t need them. This is over and it’s just us now. But I want memories. Millions of them.”

He was silent.

Then he said, “Whatever you want, buddy.”

I would have lifted my head but I didn’t want to lose his heartbeat.

“Whatever I want?” I asked.

“Whatever you want.”

“Careful what you promise me, baby, even in your state.”

His body shook gently with his chuckle and his hand at my hip gave me a squeeze.

We were silent again then I called, “Joe?”

“Yeah, buddy.”

“I never said thank you.”

“Honey, for what?”

“For handin’ me the world.”

“Yeah you did,” he replied.

“I did?”

“You do it all the time,” he said, “fuck, baby, you’re doin’ it now.”

God I loved him. I more than loved him.

“What’s beyond love?” I asked and felt Joe’s body give a slight jolt.

“What?”

“What’s beyond love?” I repeated.

“Don’t understand the question, Vi.”

I didn’t explain. Instead I said, “Whatever it is, that’s what I feel for you.”

He was silent and still for a second. Then he rolled into me.

“Joe –” I whispered when his hands went into my tee.

“Shut it, buddy.”

“Joe –”

“Shut it.”

I shut it.

“Momalicious!” Keira shouted. “I’m gonna go to the beach and lay out.”

“Big surprise,” Joe muttered and pressed deeper into me as I looked at the nightstand and saw it was barely nine o’clock.

I lifted up from the pillow as far as I could go with Joe’s weight against my back holding me down and shouted, “You had breakfast, baby?”

“Toast!” Keira shouted back.

“Where’s Kate?” I yelled. “She still sleepin’?”

“Um…” Keira muttered loud enough for me to hear and at her hesitation I felt Joe’s head come up and his body move and I twisted my neck to look at him. “That boy from next door is out on the beach. She’s out there talkin’ to him.”

I wondered when Taylor had become “that boy next door” since I was under the impression, considering the amount of time Keira spent talking about him, that she had a crush on him. Not to mention the amount of time Taylor spent out on the beach which I reckoned meant he had a crush on Keira. Perhaps I was wrong and he had a crush on Kate.

This was not good.

“Bummer for Dane,” Joe murmured and even with my misgivings about the Kate/Keira/Taylor teenaged triangle, I grinned.

It had been months but Dane had not fully made it back into my good books yet, nor Joe’s. Kate had forgiven him and they were as tight as ever so Joe and I should give it up, it was just that we couldn’t. If you hurt someone’s child that forgiveness takes awhile but Dane was determined and I figure he’d get there one day. As long as he didn’t act like an ass.

“All right, honey,” I yelled.

“See you on the beach,” Keira called then we heard the door close.

Joe settled back in and I did too.

It was Christmas break and we were at his beach house in Florida for two weeks. The house was up on stilts and painted a faded blue with white woodwork. It had a deep deck all around and a big locked garage which held Joe’s Land Rover, a beach buggy and a huge barbeque grill which was the first thing Joe (with Keira’s help) rolled out onto the deck. The house had wood floors all through, even the kitchen. It was rustic but cute with two bedrooms; open plan living room and kitchen; a small utility with a deep sink, a washer and dryer and a bunch of hooks for beach towels; and one bath. But the bedrooms and living room were huge and airy and all the furniture was way comfy. There were so many windows that there was barely any wall space and all you could see was ocean or trees. It was fantastic.

Even as fantastic as it was, my first order of business was to make Joe take us to town where we bought a Christmas tree and all the decorations. We also bought bright, braided throw rugs, new linen and bathroom and kitchen towels to perk up the place. Further, I bought a huge windsock which Joe installed on a flagpole out on the corner of the deck. Lastly, I bought some wind chimes because nothing said “Florida” (or “beach” for that matter) better than wind chimes. Joe put those up on the overhang of the deck.

We’d been there three days and the girls were already golden tan from playing Frisbee, laying out and travelling the beach in the buggy Joe taught us all how to drive.

He was mostly right. There wasn’t much to do but fish, cook, eat, sleep, read and, for Joe and I, have sex. He was only mostly right for there was a beach which meant the girls could lay out, Joe had the buggy in which the girls could tool around, the girls bought a Frisbee which provided them with hours of entertainment. The kitchen had been updated with top-of-the line appliances so I was in throes of ecstasy. I’d already finished two books while sitting out on the deck or in the sand and the beach house next door had the aforementioned cute boy-man in it named Taylor. Therefore, the Winters girls were not at any loss for things to do and were nowhere near bored.

I, particularly, was not bored. I was a lot of things but bored was definitely not one of them.

It was the best vacation I’d ever had, bar none, even the ones I had with Tim and that was saying something. And we were only on day four.

There was a reason for this and I lifted my hand to my face and stared at that reason. On my hand was the princess-cut diamond ring Joe slid on my finger last night over shrimp at a shrimp shack in town. He did this without saying a word, just like Joe, letting his face and his actions speak for him. He also did it with the girls looking on, Kate crying silently, Keira giggling excitedly.

Only Joe Callahan would propose in front of his woman’s daughters.

Many would find this unromantic, such an act being a couple’s thing.

I thought it was perfect.

Therefore I’d cried too, all the while giving Joe a kiss that communicated my “Yes!” and tasted of tears.