“How ’bout your living arrangements?” His father gave him a hard look. “Have you thought ’bout where you’re going to take her and set up shop?”

“Well, no, but—”

“This is a big house. Maybe y’all could live here until you find something more permanent.”

“What?” Jules turned their father. “You’re just gonna accept it?”

“He made a commitment to this girl.” Their father shrugged before he cast another quick glare at Wyatt. “A really big one.”

Jules choked. “But—”

“Why doesn’t she like her?” his father asked Wyatt accusingly. “That makes me very apprehensive.”

“’Cause she’s crazy.” Wyatt let out a manic laugh as he lifted a hand to his sister. “You saw what just happened.”

Jules went after him again, but their father caught her before she could attack. He wrapped a large arm around her waist, holding her back. “Calm down! I wanna know why you don’t like this girl your brother married. Give me a solid reason before we go starting something with him again.”

“She makes him stupid.”

“But what has she personally done to make you dislike her?”

Jules paused before she rolled her eyes. “Well, nothing, but—”

“Tabitha’s actually a very nice, responsible woman, and she has loved Wyatt unconditionally for a long time,” Clay cut in, reminding them he was still there. “I’m inclined to agree with Wyatt. It ain’t nice for y’all to be judging her ’cause of where she came from. That’s like judging me.”

“That’s very true. It’s unfair.” His father surprised Wyatt by sounding genuine, which made the first flowers of guilt blossom inside him.

He sighed and gave his father a look. “I didn’t mean to call ya an old man in Chicago.”

“It’s all right.” He shrugged and looked from Wyatt to Jules. “Most days y’all make me feel old.”

“I’m sorry,” Wyatt said solemnly. “And about what happened back when we were kids—”

“We’re just gonna pretend you never mentioned it.” His father cut him off with a stern look. “If I heard something like that, we’d be dealing with a lot bigger crisis than you going off half-cocked and getting hitched.”

That seemed to give Jules pause, and it was obvious his father left out that part of their confrontation in Chicago. Her eyes were wide and horrified. Even from across the room, he could feel her fear for him.

“Maybe coffee is good,” she whispered.

Wyatt nodded in agreement. “Fine.”

“Well, okay then.” Their father turned to leave without another word.

Clay, Jules, and Wyatt hung behind when he walked down the hallway. It wasn’t until they heard his footfalls on the stairs that Jules reached out and hit the back of Wyatt’s head. “You told him?”

“I knew it,” Clay growled. “I fucking knew it.”

“You’re married now. Fine.” Jules leaned down, putting her face in her hands and speaking into her fingers. “I want you to promise me you’ll never get stupid for her again. That you’ll be the man our father raised you to be.”

Wyatt gave his sister a long look. “What you don’t seem to realized, Ju Ju, is that I’ve tried my entire life to be that man. They’re just really big shoes to fill.”

Jules dropped her hands and gave him a half smile. “I guess it’s a good thing you’ve got huge feet. Am I supposed to say congratulations?”

Wyatt laughed. “It’d be nice.”

Jules threw up her hands in defeat. “Congratulations, Wy Wy.”

* * *

Tabitha turned the ring on her finger. She pulled it off and tilted it toward the sunlight filtering in through Wyatt’s bedroom window. She studied the inscription, feeling a smile tug at her lips despite everything.

July 19, 1999 Forever

“Having second thoughts?”

Tabitha looked up at Wyatt, and her smile grew wider. “No, just trying to figure out everything. I still haven’t told my mama yet. I think she’s doing better and—”

“Tab—” Wyatt started.

“Don’t. I know,” she whispered and looked back to her ring. “How’d your family take it? I noticed you waited till they were all gone to come and pick me up.”

“Nah, they were fine.” Wyatt’s smile was strained, but Tabitha pretended not to notice, especially when he said, “My dad offered to let us set up camp here till I can buy us a house. I reckoned it’d probably be a good idea to take our time and find a place we both liked.”

“Really?” Tabitha stared at him in surprise.

“Yeah.” He pulled off his T-shirt and then crawled into bed next to her. He propped his head in his hand and stared at her. “What’d you think?”

Tabitha looked at her ring, feeling the insecurities well up inside her. “I dunno if I’d be comfortable here. Jules doesn’t like me, and—”

“She likes you fine,” Wyatt argued.

Tabitha rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Gimme a few days.”

“A few days.” He frowned, and the hurt was obvious in his voice. “Why?”

“I’m just waiting for the right moment. If I tell her wrong, she’ll start drinking more, and—”

“She’s always going to drink more,” Wyatt said in a gentle but firm voice. “You know that, Tabitha.”

“Who will she have to take care of her if I move out?” Tabitha spoke her biggest fears without looking at Wyatt. “I feel like I’m abandoning her.”

“Is she a nice person?” Wyatt asked her with a wince when she looked up at him. “Has she ever done anything that gave you an indication she is deserving of all this devotion you have to her?”

“She’s sick,” Tabitha said in misery. “She’s very sick, Wyatt. You have to be gentle with people who are ill like my mama is.”

“Oh God.” Wyatt looked past her and stared at the wall as if searching for patience. “You know there are groups for children of alcoholics. Maybe—”

“No,” Tabitha said before he could finish.

“I don’t want fight with you.” Wyatt took the ring from her and then picked up her left hand and slid it back onto her finger. “What if we took a honeymoon? I got some sick time.”

“Really?” Tabitha asked in disbelief, because she knew he used all his sick leave and vacation time for his fighting.

“Okay, well, no, but I got an in with the sheriff.” Wyatt gave her a smile. “Let’s go somewhere. You tell your mama, and then I will take you anywhere in the whole dang world you want to go.”

Tabitha liked traveling a lot. She had a creative soul, and new places fueled her imagination. “That would be nice,” she had to agree. “Maybe New York. I love when your fights are somewhere with lots of lights. I bet New York is incredible. Would that be too expensive?”

“Nowhere is too expensive for my girl.” Wyatt used his hold on her hand to bring it to his lips. He placed a kiss against the inside of her wrist. “I’d take you to the moon if I could.”

Tabitha giggled. “You’re so silly.”

“Silly, crazy in love with my wife.” Wyatt moved his lips up to the inside of her arm. “Not sure how many lights you’re gonna be able to see when I refuse to let you out of the room.”

“We’ll get a room high up so we can see them from the bed,” Tabitha suggested as she rolled onto her back, letting Wyatt continue to kiss his way up her arm.

“This is why I married you.” Wyatt tugged her blouse aside and kissed her bare shoulder. “You’re a very smart woman.”

She stroked his hair, that he’d been keeping extra short because of the fighting. She used her hold on it to lift his head and force his lips to hers. He parted for her, letting her slip her tongue into his mouth. She hummed in happiness, enjoying being the aggressor.

She pushed on his shoulders. He caught the hint and rolled onto his back, bringing Tabitha with him. She ran a hand down his muscular bare chest, marveling for the moment that this beautiful man was her husband. For a woman who had been born with a dark cloud hanging over her head, it suddenly felt like the tides were changing.

She leaned down to press her lips against one small nipple, and Wyatt’s breath caught. He tangled his fingers in her hair. Tabitha glanced up, seeing that he was watching her. She gave him a mischievous smile and moved lower, licking playfully at the deep ridges of his abdominal muscles that were truly impressive. She tugged at the button to his jeans and then lifted her head to lick at her lips.

Wyatt gave her a hot look. “Sexy.”

“That ain’t a lie.” Tabitha glanced back down, admiring him as she pulled down his zipper. “Do we got time before your sister gets home?”

“Heck, yes,” Wyatt groaned when Tabitha cupped his erection through his underwear.

She pulled them down and then licked at the head of his cock, savoring the salty tang of precum. Then she took him in her mouth, making Wyatt jerk under her. His fingers tightened in her hair when she pushed his jeans and underwear farther down and then started sucking him in earnest. She used her hand too, stroking and taking him in her mouth over and over until Wyatt was making those low grunting sounds of pleasure that always made all the fine hairs on Tabitha’s arms stand on end.

She thought she was going to do it until he came, but he arched under her after a few minutes and urged her to lift her head. She looked at him in question, and he said, “Come here.”

Tabitha grinned and crawled over him. When Wyatt reached for the hem of her blouse, she helped him pull it off. While straddling him she unzipped her skirt as he leaned up and undid her bra with practiced ease.

Then she jumped up and stood up on the bed over Wyatt, her feet on either side of his hips. She kicked her skirt aside and dropped her bra over his face. Wyatt laughed, pushing her bra away to reach up and tug on her panties. Once he’d gotten them off, he tossed them to the floor and tilted his head to get a good look at her standing naked over him. Tabitha arched an eyebrow when she saw where his gaze was lingering.