Jeremiah by Kris Michaels
Chapter 22
Eden sat on Gen’s back porch and rubbed her arm. The cast had come off yesterday. Eight weeks after the tornado, and what a difference that time had made to her little town. The debris behind Gen’s cafe and Phil’s garage was carted off to either landfills, burn barrels, or metal recycling shops. Jeremiah was down tinkering with his new four-wheel-drive king cab truck. Gen came out of the apartment and handed her a frosty glass of sweet tea, a delicacy that the South Dakotans of Hollister hadn’t adopted.
She took a sip and sighed. “Thank you again for letting us stay here, Gen.”
“No worries. I enjoy having someone around to visit with and you’ve been so much help getting the cafe back together.”
“I’ve been doing paperwork.” She lifted her arm. “This prevented me from doing anything else.”
“If you only knew how much I loved saying, ‘Eden, could you please order this or that?’ and boom, I knew it was done. Plus, you helped me pick out a new counter and booths. I’m going to put one of those roll-down awnings out front, too, so people don’t melt at lunch. That sun gets boiling hot in August. Hey, did I hear Remi say he hired a contractor for the house?”
She nodded. “Yes, hopefully, they can get everything done before the first snowfall, which means October.”
Gen nodded. “I think it’s awesome. The work across the street is moving along.”
“I’m surprised, but Jeremiah is over there almost every day helping. Or getting in the way, I’m not sure which. His version and the contractors are polar opposites.”
A soft chuckle filled the air. “Remi has to see how things work. That’s why he’s such a good psychiatrist. He digs until he knows the why of things.”
“I’ve noticed that.” The trait made him dynamic and fun, but melded with his profession, it made him an outstanding provider.
“Hey, just FYI, I’m saying good on you guys for putting in offices and exam rooms for Zeke, too.”
“It only makes sense. Remi has a few clients with the promise of more when the county completes the paperwork. He wants his own space with his own entrance for people to come and go, so we’ll have parking in the rear for them, out of the eyes of wagging tongues. Plus, the county is going to rent the spaces for both of us. It’s a win/win for everyone.”
Gen nodded as she stared out over the distance. “You know, if Jeremiah hadn’t sent everyone away that night, there could have been so many more injuries and—God forbid—even deaths.” Gen leaned back in her chair. “As much as I hate to say it, that crazy man did this town a favor when he showed up. At least to some degree.”
Eden nodded and relaxed against the cushion of the deck chair. She and Jeremiah had discussed the coincidences while they whispered to each other after Gen turned in at night. The woman woke at four every morning, so she was usually in bed asleep by nine. That was the time that Eden and Jeremiah would whisper dreams, hopes, and plans for their future. He hadn’t mentioned marriage, and that was okay with her—for now.
They’d both talked to Jamison about what happened the night the tornado hit. She could see why Jeremiah liked Jamison so much. He was irreverent but caring. Simple questions he posed could stand her on her head and make her see a fresh perspective and way of looking at what happened. She’d moved on from victim to survivor and so had Jeremiah. His fears about being the cause of that man’s death had ridden him hard for a week, until he got his hands on a copy of the autopsy, thanks to Jamison. There were annotations of the wounds Jeremiah had inflicted, but the coroner found they were not the cause of death.
Gen roused her out of her daydreaming when she excused herself to go downstairs, probably to triple-check something she’d already triple-checked. The cafe was her life.
The sun felt good, but it was going to be a hot one. In the shade it was warm and lovely, in the sun it would soon be miserable. Listening to the world around her, she heard Jeremiah close the hood of his new truck. Opening her eyes, she swept the small yard and found him as he wiped his hands. She watched the way he moved when he placed his tools in the bed of his truck. Then he took the stairs two at a time, heading toward her. He leaned down and kissed her before he dropped into the chair Gen had just vacated. She handed him her iced tea and watched as he drained it.
“Feel up to going for a drive?” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of it.
“Where to?”
“The Hills. Let’s pack a lunch and make a day of it.”
“That sounds lovely. I’ll go settle our lunch.”
“Perfect. I’ll let Gen know we’re leaving for the day. I’m sure she’d love to have a day to run around naked in her own home.”
She swatted at him. “I so did not need to hear that.”
He laughed and stood up. “Be back in a second to help.” He loped down the stairs and jogged into the cafe. Eden bypassed the kitchen and changed into a nice pair of shorts, a light cotton top, and slipped on a pair of sandals.
Jeremiah was back in the kitchen shoving little white boxes into a picnic basket when she returned. “What is that?”
“Gen had some stuff she’s been working on. She wanted us to taste test it today and let her know which ones she should keep.”
“And she had them ready to go?” Eden opened the fridge and pulled out four bottles of water, handing them to him.
“Yeah, she was going to bring them upstairs, so I asked if we could make a picnic out of them. Grab that bottle of wine, too, would you?”
“You don’t like white wine.” She pulled the bottle out anyway and handed it to him.
“True, but you do, and Gen said there were a couple dishes that paired well with white wine.” He flipped the basket shut. “Ready?”
She laughed at him. “Where’s the fire?”
He grabbed the basket and opened the door for her. “No fire, I’m just looking forward to having uninterrupted alone time with my woman. Come on.” She watched him as he jogged down the stairs with the basket.
She made sure the apartment door was closed before she walked down the stairs. Jeremiah opened the passenger side door and helped her step up into his truck. He’d special-ordered a bench seat for the front. She slid over to the middle and he got into the truck. She’d barely strapped on her seatbelt before they were on the interstate.
Talks of the plans for the house they were building consumed most of the drive down to the Hills. Remi pulled off the main road near Horse Thief Lake. The towering ponderosa mixed with densely populated lodgepole pines, crowding the road as they wound through what was obviously an unimproved gravel trail into the national forest.
Eden leaned forward to look up at the sky. “Where are we going?”
“I found this spot the day after the bar fight.” Jeremiah pointed. “About another half mile up is a nice place for a picnic.”
“God, that seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?” Eden leaned against his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Sometimes it seems like years, sometimes like yesterday.”
She hummed in agreement. “Life can be that way, can’t it? Funny how time, consistent and precise, can be perceived as slow or fast.”
“The human condition is such that one is always reaching toward something. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates when the basics of life are provided for a person will move toward love, esteem, and self-actualization. We move up and down that scale all the time. I guess our perception of how hard the route is to the next goal could skew our remembrance of how quickly we get it.”
She turned and stared at him. “You know, sometimes I forget how brilliant you are.”
He snorted a laugh as he put the truck in park. “I’m not sure if that is a compliment or not.”
She laughed too and shook her head. “It was a compliment. Most of the time I feel like your equal and then you pop off with something deep and utterly compelling and I have to take a step back and realize that you’re extraordinary.”
He twisted in his seat and smiled at her. “You are my equal in all things. Never forget that.”
She smiled and glanced out at where they’d stopped. “Oh, this is lovely.”
He grinned from ear to ear and opened his door after taking off his seatbelt. “Come see.” He jumped down from the truck and offered his hand. She took it and scooted out to where he could put his hands on her waist and help her down.
She walked a few steps from the truck and stared at the massive granite boulder to her right. Soft, wild grasses bowed in subjugation to the whispers of wind that wound through the trees. The pines provided enough shade that the heat of the summer day was muted. “Beautiful.”
“I agree.”
She turned. Jeremiah stood watching her with two blankets in one hand and the picnic basket in the other. She reached for the blankets. “You are very good for my ego, sir.”
“I only speak the truth.” He nodded in the direction he wanted them to go, and she fell into step with him. They walked behind the boulder and he put down the basket to help her spread the blankets.
She slipped off her sandals and walked to the center of the throw, waiting for him. He toed out of his boots and carried the basket to where she was kneeling.
They emptied the basket of the small white containers and he reached for the bottle of wine. “There’s one more.” Eden reached for the small white box in the basket’s corner.
“No, that’s for dessert.” His words were rushed, stilling her reach. “Wine?”
“Ah, sure. Thank you.”
Gen had outdone herself. Each box held two servings of wonderful bites of heaven. Only appetizers, but the quantity of each offering filled her long before Jeremiah reached the end of the samples. “Wow, that was fantastic.” She laid down and put her hand over her stomach. “Gen has missed her calling. She should be a caterer in a big city. She’d make money hand over fist.”
Jeremiah broke down the empty boxes, placing them in the basket first before he carefully closed those that still contained food. “Did you save room for one last box?” He picked up the small white box, moved the picnic basket out of the way, and laid down on his stomach, propped up by his elbows as he held it in his hand.
She hummed her acknowledgement and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth and happiness of the moment.
He bopped her nose with a finger. “You have to stay awake for this part.”
She opened one eye. “Are you sure?”
He nodded and handed her the box. “You open it.”
She sat up and reached for the box. He held it in his fist and beckoned her down for a kiss. Laughing, she agreed and leaned, kissing him. The laughter stopped as the heat of their connection ramped up. She was breathing hard by the time they separated. He rolled onto his back and she dropped into the hollow of his arm. She lifted the box up and opened it. Another smaller white box was inside. She chuckled and opened that one. It nestled another, even smaller box inside.
“Okay, I take it back. Gen is making me work too hard for a bit of sweet.”
“Just keep going.”
Two more boxes fell beside her. When she opened the last one, a square-cut diamond solitaire ring was nestled in a red velvet ring holder. She gasped and sat up. Jeremiah was beside her in the same instant. He took the ring from her hand and pulled it out of the velvet and foam holder. “This stone was my grandmother’s engagement ring. I had it reset and added a few more diamonds, hoping that you’d say yes.”
She popped her eyes up to his. “Yes?”
“Eden, I love you. Will you marry me?”
Her entire body shook as she nodded and then squeaked out, “Yes, oh, my, yes.” Jeremiah held her hand to stop her shaking and slid it onto her finger. “You planned the entire day.” She straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I did, and I’ve been sweating bullets for a week. Gen knew and fixed the food. The woman teased me all week. I owe her payback.”
She held her fingers out and stared at the ring over his shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a diamond that big.”
He chuckled. “That isn’t big. You should see the rocks Celest wears.”
She brought her gaze back to him. “Where are we going to get married? Alabama or here?”
He laid down and brought her with him. She wiggled her legs between his and propped herself upon his chest. “I think we get married in Alabama and have a reception up here at the Bit and Spur. Invite everyone in the county and have an open bar with free rides home.” Jeremiah chuckled, “And no knives allowed.”
“Well, the Klinglers are still on probation, so I don’t think they’ll be showing up. How about next month? I don’t need anything big, just us and our families at the justice of the peace.” She leaned down and kissed him again. His hand snaked up her back to her hair. With ease, he rolled her over and devoured her, and she was more than willing to be consumed by this man. His hands knew where to caress her, how to touch her, to make her boil, and how to edge her along that point of no return and the building bliss that throbbed for freedom.
The songs of the birds in the trees and the quiet whoosh of air over the wild grasses serenaded a long, slow, sensuous build. The clothes they wore disappeared with kisses, touches and sensations replacing the feel of fabric.
Eden ran her hands over the cut muscles of his shoulders. Her hand skimmed along the scar that he’d suffered at the hands of a lunatic. She lifted and kissed his neck, skimmed the skin with her teeth, and held him as a shudder raced through his body.
They joined in complete silence. Their breathing and the sounds of their lovemaking melded with the beauty and silence of the moment. Knowing she was close, she whispered, “I will love you for the rest of my life.”
He lifted away and stared down at her. “For the rest of our lives. You are my love, my heart.” He dropped for a kiss and held it as her body crested. The rhythmic pulsing constricted her muscles, and she moaned into his kiss. His hips sped up until he, too, climaxed and pushed deep inside of her, his shaft kicking as he released. Eden held him as he pulled away and they both gasped for air.
She held him until he rolled off her and tucked her up against him. With a smile, she held up her hand and stared at the ring. “It’s beautiful.”
He reached up and took her hand in his, tilting the ring so it glittered in the sun. “My grandmother left a note with this ring when I inherited it. I’ll let you read it. I have it in the same safe deposit box in Alabama where I stored her ring. It says that she would come back from the dead and tan my hide if I didn’t find a woman that would stick with me through the good times and the bad. She said, ‘Life isn’t easy; don’t go looking for a woman who won’t lean forward when you’re pulling hard.’”
Eden sighed, “Life isn’t easy, but it is a glorious bundle of excitement, stress, and happiness. I’ll share every day with you, together, by your side. I’ll be there with you, pulling hard.”
He kissed her temple and sighed. “For the rest of our lives.”
