A Promise for Her Love (5 page)

***

Cheeks burning for more than one reason, relief poured through Caylie when they finally reached the house. She leapt off Rick, falling to her knees in the powdery snow in her haste. While their engagement gave them liberties many wouldn't think twice about, Kyle's locked jaw and glare made what should have been an enjoyable ride an uncomfortable nightmare.

Her hands sunk into the cold ground, faltering her efforts to rise. After several failed attempts, she was about to let the snow win and just lay face down when Rick came to her rescue. A firm grip on her arm gave enough leverage for her to rise.

"Thank you." She dusted snow from her hands and pants.

"Of course. Shall we go see how much decorating they've done so far?"

"You think they started without us?" Bummed, she clomped in the snow behind him, taking large steps. "I was hoping they'd wait."

"All those kids? Unless Lisa found something else for them to do, I doubt they waited."

A shrill scream made her almost fall into the snow again when Rick opened the door.

"Rick! Oh my baby, you're alive!" Jill shouted, arms held open, the sheer fabric of her shawl fluttered in waves behind her as she rushed across the room.

"How exactly would I have died?" he asked confused, his arm wrapping around her waist when she threw herself against his chest.

Eyes wide, Caylie took in the exchange, wondering what was happening. Snow drifted around her feet and danced in the air around them. Aware of the cold filling the breakfast room, she stepped the rest of way in. Breathing onto his hands, Kyle sidestepped into the room behind her. Caylie closed the door quietly, positive now was not the time to draw attention to them.

She failed.

Jill's frigid stare fixed on her. "
You
," she said lowly, her finger pointing accusingly. "You two planned this, didn't you? Take my son out there in a near blizzard and hope he gets lost and freezes to death!"

"What?" Caylie asked, dumbfounded and unable to think of how to defend herself.

"Don't play stupid," she spat, hatred rolling off her in near-visible waves. "He changed his will last week. I can see right through you." Her thin, pale finger twitched between Caylie and Kyle. "See through both of you and your thieving ways!"

"Mother!" Rick snapped. "That is enough! Caylie knew nothing of my will, and Kyle got lost looking for a cell signal."

"Ha! Good story, son. He just wandered off in the freezing cold to look for a cell signal with a storm approaching." Her furious gaze settled on Kyle. "Are you really so stupid?"

"I am not stupid!" he yelled, hands fisted at his side.

Caylie laid a calm hand on his arm. "I can't believe I am standing here being accused of trying to... to do away with my fiancé. That you even
think
I am capable of that, well, it tells me all I need to know about you."

Heart breaking, she looked at Rick. "We're going to get a room until the storm passes, and then we're going home."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, simply grabbed Kyle's hand and left the room.

***

In the short time they'd been upstairs, the bottom half of the house had transformed from dreary to a Christmas wonderland. A poinsettia and pine garland draped elegantly over the curving banister. On each step between the rails a faux candle flickered. All the doorways were adorned with large golden bows and more garlands. The sweet, fresh scent of pine filled the air.

Caylie touched a hand to her chest, amazed. "This... this is gorgeous!"

"I did promise you'd have a beautiful home for Christmas."

She smiled, taking his hand and holding tight. "You did."

The light expression on his handsome face faded. "And I always keep my promises, Caylie. Come on."

"Wait, you mean this wasn't what you wanted to show me?"

"I did want you to see yes, but it's not why I brought you down."

Intrigued, she allowed him to pull her toward his office. A fire crackled in the hearth across from his desk. The storm outside darkened the normally bright room. Even with snow collected on the windows and gloomy shadows, Rick's space still invited with warmth and comfort.

He released her hand. To replace the warmth she'd lost, she headed to the fire, fingers outstretched. "Is the tree done?"

"There are still two boxes and the entire upper half to finish. Lisa is terrified of heights, and Dan has decided it's too cold to do anything but drink hot chocolate in front of a fire."

At the mention of chocolate, her stomach growled. "Hmm, he may be right. Besides, you should do some of it anyhow."

He raised a brow when she looked his way and she giggled.

"I always put on the star."

"Of course you do." She laughed.

He came around from behind his desk, a blue folder in hand. The smile and happiness filling her faded.

"Oh come on, not that again."

He extended the folder towards her. "Please open and read it."

While she wanted to argue, she knew by the serious set of his jaw the battle would be lost. She slipped the folder free from his grasp and took a deep breath.

"Why does this matter? I did read it. If you changed things, great, we can go over it
after
Christmas. Can't we?"

Stance wide and hands clasped behind his back, he didn't answer and she knew her argument was a lost cause.

"Fine," she grumbled and flipped the folder open.

The elegant typeface at the top took her by surprise, as did the high-quality ivory parchment the words were printed on. But neither of those were the reason her breath caught in her throat and tears welled in her eyes.

In bold script, the top of the contract read:
Rick's Promises to Caylie
.

Then, in equally elegant script a list began:

Rick promises to always remain faithful.

Rick promises to respect Caylie and treat her as an equal.

Rick promises to never hurt Caylie, physically or mentally.

Several more were listed, and under each promise was a paragraph detailing the vow and the penalty for breaking it.

"A prenuptial is so much more than what you think, Caylie." He took her free hand. "I need you to know we are equal in this marriage. From the start to the end, when we're hopefully wrinkled and too old to do anything more than sit on the porch and watch the sun move across the sky."

Even though the page shook in her grasp, she gleaned enough of the words to understand what he meant. "Okay."

"There is something new in there though, something that has to do with before we marry."

Curious, she removed her hand from his and skimmed the front page, then turned to the next one. "I don't see anything..."

"I put it on the last page." He took the folder from her and closed it before setting it on the mantle. "Caylie, I don't want you to worry anymore."

Confused, she looked at him and couldn't help but give a small smile. "What are you talking about? Aside from your mother, I'm not too worried about anything."

He took a deep breath. "We both know that isn't true. Since the school cut your hours, you've struggled more than before to pay the last of your parents' bills, not to mention your own."

Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. "I'm doing okay."

"No, you're not. Let me take care of them for you."

She wrapped an arm around her stomach and turned away from him. A million thoughts flew through her mind. From the day he'd proposed, she'd known this moment would come. In what manner, she'd only guessed. To his mother demanding she settle the debt before they said their vows, to him doing as he was now, asking to let him make it all go away. For so many years she'd tried her hardest.

"I can't," she whispered. "That debt is my responsibility, not yours."

The weight of his hands settled on her shoulders. "I would rather we start our marriage free of any past burdens. But if you won't, then know you have full access to my accounts, and continuing to let those bills run your life would be unnecessary. Either way, they're going to be paid. They are not your responsibility. They were your parents'."

A hot tear trailed down her cheek and she swiped it away, frustrated. "I just get so angry when I think of how hard I worked, how many years I tried and tried, and all you have to do is write a check and
bam
, it's all gone."

His touch disappeared from her shoulders, as did the warmth. Regretful, she turned, ready to apologize and instead found her attention on a leather-bound checkbook.

"I won't be writing anything."

"What?" she asked, his words playing over in her mind. "But I didn't go to the bank with you. I didn't ask or even give you any information."

He chuckled and put the checkbook in her hand. "We are two months away from getting married. All the things that can be done before the wedding I preferred to take care of. You signed everything last week, remember?"

"I remember you telling me you had some things you needed me to sign concerning our marriage and the estate, normal stuff. Not here's access to my fortune!" She flicked the checkbook at his shoulder.

"Not my fault you didn't read what you signed. You should pay more attention to what your signature lands on. I should have just told you that about the prenup and saved myself the hassle."

She hit him with the booklet again and he laughed, pretending to fend off her pathetic attack. "Not nice!"

"Will you take care of things now?" he asked, all laughter aside.

The soft leather case settled in her hand, and she nodded. "Yes, I will. But only if I can transfer what's left of my money from my account and send my paycheck here too."

He yanked her into his arms and then hugged her close. "Absolutely."

Caylie let the checkbook fall from her hand to the floor and returned his embrace. Resting her head against his chest, she reveled in the safety and assurance.

"I think we're going to be okay," she whispered.

He rested his cheek on top of her head, his hold tightening. "I don't think, Caylie. I know so, and that's a promise."