A Gift of Time (The Nine Minutes Trilogy Book 3) (37 page)

Chapter Sixty-Four

Grizz

2002,
North Carolina

“
What’s troubling you
?” Micah asked.

Grizz had
been standing at the altar talking to his father as he patiently waited for
Ginny to do whatever it was brides were supposed to do. He nervously tugged at
the collar of his white dress shirt and red tie.

He looked
over at Micah. His father. The man who had accepted him wholly and without
reservation. He had been wrong. Ginny had told Micah everything, and yet Micah
had still welcomed him with open arms. It was almost hard to believe.

“Having
doubts? Cold feet?” Micah asked softly.

“Cold feet?
Never. Doubts? Yes. Not about her. Doubts about myself.”

“What kind
of doubts about yourself?”

“C’mon,
Preacher. You know my story. You know what I’m capable of.” His lip curled.

“I know I’ve
heard stories about who you were. About Grizz.”

“That’s just
it.” Grizz sighed. “I’ll always be Grizz. Right now, at this moment, I believe
I’ve changed. But I don’t know how long I’ll believe it, Preacher. I still get
called to that old life. Sometimes it’s something as simple as the sound of
bike pipes or hearing a certain song, and I feel a pull. At this moment, I’m
content to leave it behind, but what if it rears its ugly head down the road? I
don’t know if I can resist, and if I can’t, I don’t know what that’ll do to
Ginny.”

Micah looked
thoughtful.

“Do you know
I think about having a nip of moonshine every single day?”

Grizz shook
his head.

“Yep. Every
single day I could probably come up with a reason to have a drink. But I don’t.
It’s your choice, Jamison. Simple as that. It’s a deliberate choice. And I’m
going to give credit where credit is due. My faith gives me strength.”

Just then,
Aunt Tillie began playing the wedding march on the church organ. Their
conversation ceased, and Grizz looked toward the front of the church. He
couldn’t take his eyes off of her as Jason and Mimi walked their mother down
the aisle. He swallowed thickly as he realized he’d never thought she looked
more beautiful.

He wanted to
do right by this woman. Please, God, let me do right by her, he thought, then
realized talking to God was starting to become a habit. Well, that is, if you
considered doing something twice a habit.

Mimi was
Ginny’s maid of honor, and Jason served as Grizz’s best man. Before Grizz
realized it, the ceremony was over. It had been a blur.

“You may now
kiss your bride,” Micah told him.

A moment
passed. Micah gave a subtle cough. “You may now kiss your bride. That would be
you, Jamison.”

Grizz
realized with a start that he’d gotten through the ceremony never taking his
eyes off Ginny’s. Even when he’d slid the ring on her finger, he’d done it by
feel, not wanting to break from her gaze. He was now legally wed to her, and
Micah was telling him it was time to seal their vows with a kiss.

“I hope it’s
a better kiss than the one you gave her under the mistletoe,” Jason’s voice
chimed in, and they all laughed.

**********

Instead of a reception, the
six of them went back to Aunt Tillie’s house and ate a feast fit for a king.
Aunt Tillie sure knew how to lay out a spread.

Micah took
the children back to his house while Ginny and Grizz changed into comfortable
clothes and headed for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They’d rented a
cabin nestled in the woods just beyond the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Micah
told them that if they got bored, there were plenty of things to do on the
reservation. Grizz informed him privately that they wouldn’t be bored, and it
was a good thing the cabin was stocked, because he could personally guarantee
they wouldn’t be leaving the cabin until it was time to get in the car and
drive back to Micah’s.

It was dusk
when they finally arrived. Grizz carried their small overnight bags. Ginny
grabbed her toiletry and tote bag.

He had
carried their belongings into the bedroom and laid them down on the bed.
Walking back out to the living room, he looked at his bride, who had her arms
wrapped around herself.

“Are you
cold, baby? Do you want me to build a fire?”

“It is
chilly in here, Grizz. Yes, a fire would be really nice.”

She watched
him walk toward the fireplace, and she suddenly felt shy. There was nothing
stopping them now. What if it wasn’t as wonderful as she remembered? Worse yet,
what if it wasn’t as wonderful as he remembered?

She was no
longer the twenty-something-year-old she’d been when he was arrested in 1985.
She pulled her coat tighter and looked at him. He was squatting in front of the
fireplace, jostling the logs with a poker. He was the same Grizz she
remembered. He’d already taken off his coat, revealing his outfit of choice was
still jeans, a sleeveless T-shirt, and biker boots. His long, thick hair had
grown out way past his shoulders. The butterflies in her stomach made their way
up to her chest. She could feel them tickling her insides, and her knees felt
slightly wobbly.

She cleared
her throat, and her voice came out hoarse.

“Umm, I
didn’t know I was going to be on my honeymoon this weekend. I’m afraid I don’t have
anything special to wear for you tonight. There just wasn’t enough time to shop
for something.”

He turned
around and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. She looked at him with a hopeful
expectancy that brought back memories so fierce he felt the weight of them
filling up his chest. She had the same look as she did when she’d first led him
back to his bedroom in the motel in 1975. A look that said that she wanted to
please him but wasn’t sure how to do it. His woman.

How could
she ever doubt herself?

He stood and
gave her a half-smile. “It doesn’t matter, Kitten, because I can promise you
wouldn’t be wearing it for long.”

She ran to
him then and jumped. He caught her in his arms and kissed her as she wrapped
her legs tightly around his waist. He let her down slowly, never taking his
mouth from hers.

The need to
rip each other’s clothes off was overpowering, and they had to will themselves
to take it slow. She shrugged out of her coat while simultaneously kicking her
boots off. He started to pull his T-shirt over his head when she stopped him.

“No, let
me.”

They shared
a laugh when he had to bend low enough for her to help him out of it.

“Forgot I
needed a stepstool.”

“We won’t be
vertical for much longer, Kit,” he practically growled, the need in his voice
now evident.

She reached
for his belt when he stopped her. Slowly, painfully slowly, he started to
unbutton her blouse. And when it slipped off her right shoulder, his mouth
found the spot between her neck and bra strap. She moaned, leaned into him.

They both
went down on their knees then, and he gently laid her back on the plush animal
skin rug. Its softness swallowed her up as she gazed at him, her want
threatening to overwhelm her. Neither one remembered who removed what, but they
were now completely nude, and he was on top of her and kissing her, only
breaking away long enough to look into her face.

“I love you,
Ginny. I’ve always loved you.”

She smiled.
“I love you, too.”

Then she
grabbed him hard by his hair and pulled his face to hers, inviting his deep,
sensual kiss. She could feel his hardness between her legs and tried to
maneuver his entrance, but he stopped her. After a moment, she opened her eyes
and realized that he was no longer on top of her. Crouching before her, he
swiped a hand through his long hair.

“What are
you doing?” she asked him breathlessly.

She felt her
hands unconsciously move to cover her breasts. He reached out and grabbed them,
pinning them to her sides.

“Don’t, Kit.
Don’t hide from me.”

“Well,
you’re making me a little nervous.” She gave a little laugh, heart pounding.

“Can’t I
just look at you for a minute? Damn, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

His eyes
roamed over her breasts, saw they were slightly larger, fuller, and the color
of her nipples had changed. Slightly darker than he remembered. He almost came
just looking at them. The completely flat stomach she’d had before giving birth
now had a small rise that showed faint stretch marks, and her hips seemed a
little wider. He loved every single thing he saw, and he set about letting her
know it by kissing her everywhere, lingering for a long time at each breast. He
couldn’t get enough of them and reluctantly broke away when he caught her scent
making its way up between them.

When he
finally made his way down between her legs, she grabbed him again by his hair
and told him in a voice that didn’t sound like her own, “Not yet. I can’t wait
anymore, Grizz. I need you inside me now.”

“You were
always so impatient in bed,” he said with a smile. “I can smell you, baby. It’s
driving me insane. Just one taste, okay?”

How could
she say no? She let him have his taste, and her orgasm was swift and powerful.
He was now up on all fours, looking down at her. He started to lower himself
when she used the softness of the fur rug to slide herself down between his
legs.

Taking his
hardness in her right hand, she lifted her mouth and tasted the saltiness that
had seeped out of him.

“Oh, baby,
what are you doing?” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

“My turn,”
she managed to say as she leaned up on one elbow and took him into her mouth.
When she could feel him getting close to his release she purposely stopped and
teased him with her tongue. When he finally couldn’t take it anymore, he
roughly slid her back into position and lowered himself between her legs.

He was
getting ready to push himself inside her when he stopped. Supporting himself on
both elbows, he looked down at her. She looked worried.

“Kit?”

She
swallowed and told him somewhat shyly, “It’s been a long time for me. I’m not
sure how it’ll feel. I’m thinking maybe it might hurt a little. Can you go slow
at first?”

He hadn’t
realized he was holding his breath, waiting for an answer, thinking somewhere
in the back of his mind that maybe she’d changed her mind. He lowered his mouth
to hers and kissed her.

“Of course,
I’ll go slow, baby. I’ll never hurt you. I promise.”

He never
took his eyes from hers as he slowly and carefully sought entrance to what he’d
thought about every single day since losing her over fifteen years ago. His
hair was now falling down on both sides of his face, blocking out any light or
outside distractions. It provided a small canopy as they found themselves as
one for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Never taking
their eyes from each other, he slowly moved inside her. When he had gained full
entrance, he looked at her for a signal that it was okay to continue. Her
answer was to moan and wrap her legs around him, using them to pull him deeper
and encouraging his thrusts.

After, they
were silent. The crackling and popping of the fire were the only sounds other
than their heavy breathing. The sun had set, and in their haste to unload the
car and be together, they’d never turned on any lights. The glow from the fire
was all that illuminated them.

“Was it as
good as you remembered?” Ginny snuggled into his side, her head resting on his
shoulder.

“No,” he
said gruffly.

He leaned up
on his elbow and softly stroked her cheek. A smile lit his face. “It’s so much
fucking better.” After a brief pause, he quietly added, "You're my world,
Ginny. You know that, right?" Before she could reply, he corrected
himself. "I take that back. Mimi and Jason are my world."

She gave him
a questioning look, and he glanced at her lips, then her eyes. "The kids
are my world, but you're my universe."

His lips
found hers, and when he broke the kiss, he saw a sadness in her eyes. Before he
could ask her if something was wrong, she whispered, "I wore it once.”

“Wore what,
baby?” His voice was husky.

“The
bandana.”

“I know,
Kitten. Carter paged me.”

“No. I mean
before that. I wore it the same day I realized you were alive.” She swallowed
before continuing. “I wore it behind closed doors, so nobody would see it. I
guess I wore it for myself.”

He didn’t
know why she was telling him this, but he could sense the pain in her voice.

“Don’t go
there, honey. He would’ve understood. I know I would have.”

Ginny had
mistakenly thought their short honeymoon would be nothing but non-stop sex for
two straight days, but she’d been wrong. As much as Grizz wanted to spend the
majority of his time making love to his bride, he was very aware of the fact
that too much too soon might be uncomfortable for her. It wasn’t easy, but he
paced himself, and they found themselves falling back into the comfortable and
happy camaraderie they’d shared in the early years of their first marriage.

“I don’t
know why you won’t let me do it. I used to do it all the time for you,” she
told him as she sat on the edge of the whirlpool tub, watching him trim his
beard.

Without
looking at her, he said, “How about because nine times out of ten, you’d mess
it up, and I had to shave the whole damn thing off. And don’t tell me that
sometimes you didn’t do it on purpose, Kit.”

She didn’t
say anything, and he looked over. She smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders.

“You said
not to tell you, so I’m not saying anything.”

“Son-of-a-bitch,
it was on purpose!” He started laughing. “If you hate it that much, honey, I’ll
shave it off.”