Finding A Way (40 page)

I'm coming to you Mac.

Trent is fucking killing me. The last place I wanna be right now is working on this piece of shit he decided was worth fixing. I want to be home with Callie. I'm so fucking afraid to leave her alone lately. I'm afraid she's gonna bolt before I have a chance to convince her to stay.

I know she keeps saying everything will be all right, but I can see the way she looks at me lately. Her eyes don't have the shine in them that they used to. Her voice is small, and unrecognizable. She's not the woman she was before I went and fucked everything up.

Caroline has been touching on my last nerve the past couple days too. She keeps fucking calling me. Leaving me message upon message. I swear she called me six times in the past three hours. I fucking had enough, so I turned my phone off. It's the only way to not break it like the old one.

I hear a knock on the garage door. I pull my head out from under the hood of the car. The knock becomes a little louder, and I figure it's probably Callie. She's the only person I know who knocks on the garage door when it's fucking open. Trent and Ryleigh just barge in whenever the fuck they feel like it. I swing the door open, not expecting who stands in front of me.

Caroline.

She looks like total shit. Her eyes all puffy like she's been crying.

"Hi," she says softly.

I run my hand through my hair roughly, nodding my head at her. This is awkward as fuck right now. What the hell do I say to her? It's not like we're here to remember old times. We're here because I could possibly be the father to her child.

"Hey," I reply.

It's fucking snowing like a blizzard outside and I watch Caroline's teeth chatter from the cold. Looks like I'm going to be inviting her in. Just what I need right now.

"You standing out there all day or are you coming in?" I ask her, moving aside so she can walk in past me. "You shouldn't be here Caroline."

It's fucking déjà vu.

"Why don't you want me Mac?" she pleads quietly.

I sigh at her, still keeping my distance. If she wants to have this talk right now then I don't want her too close. I need to keep the distance between us. It's the only thing keeping her from coming at me right now.

"Caroline, it's not like that. I want Callie. She's it for me. I'm going to ask her to marry me. Baby or not. I already bought the ring."

She spins around to face me, tears falling down her face.

"Why does she get you? You promised me, Mac. You promised me you would drop everything for me. It's not fair! I loved you first. I loved you before she did. I pushed away every man who wanted something more from me! I did it for you. I waited for you."

Her silent tears turn into heavy sobs. She comes toward me beating on my chest with all of her might.

"Caroline, I'm sorry, but that was a long time ago. I love Callie," I repeat softly.

Her fists slow down, and she wraps her arms around my waist, sobbing into my shoulder.

"I need you, Bear. I will always need you. I love you. I always have."

I rub small circles on her back with one hand, the other one pulling her head into my shoulder.

"It's not mine, is it?" I already know the answer.

She shakes her head, her sobs still heavy, filling the silence of the garage.

"No. I knew it wasn't yours. I just thought maybe you would come back if you thought it was."

"I'm not yours Caroline. Callie is the best fucking thing that ever happened to me. Nothing will ever change it. Nothing was ever going to change that," I tell her softly, hoping to keep her calm.

The doors bursts open and I spin to see Callie staring at the two of us with wide eyes.

"Get away from him!" Callie screams at her.

Caroline scrambles from me, staring up at Callie with an irritated expression.

"You just know when to break up the party, don’t you?"

Caroline turns away from me, taking a few steps toward Callie. My heart drops in my stomach when Callie’s eyes meet mine. She looks the way I feel, nervous as hell. It’s pretty fucking crazy how Caroline’s mood flipped like a light switch the minute Callie walked in, though. That little innocent act she was playing a few minutes ago was total bullshit.

“Caroline, why don’t you tell Mac the truth since I’m planning on telling him anyways?” Callie says.

She moves toward me, setting herself in front of my body, keeping me out of reach of Caroline. I wrap my arms around her waist, smiling into her long, beautiful hair. Callie's hands touch mine, our fingers lacing together.

Caroline blows out a breath, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He already knows. I told him, and guess what? He may be holding you right now, but if this baby was ours, he would already be kicking your ass out.”

I wanna say something to defend Callie, but she stops me before the words can even get out of my mouth. I listen to her let all hell break loose. My girl. My amazing, beautiful, strong girl.

"Believe me honey; he wouldn’t be kicking me out. Baby momma or not, he was always mine. He was mine the night you two screwed, too; you just didn’t realize it, and if you did, then that sucks for you. You need to leave. I swear, I’ll kick your ass if you ever start problems with us again. You're not worthy of him. You don't get the best of him, I do. You will never be good enough for him," Callie seethes.

Caroline spins on her heels, yelling something about I’ll see you soon. It sounds like an empty threat if I’ve ever heard one. She knows her time is up. Her game is over. Callie was a play ahead of her every single time. She wasn't even in the game when it came to the way I feel about my girl.

Caroline disappears and Callie's shoulders shake, her muffled sobs touching every inch of my heart. I spin her around, taking her face in my hands, prompting her to look at me.

"It's over baby," I tell her.

She looks at me, letting me see her beautiful blue eyes. I stare into them, watching the tears running down her face. I let go of her and walk toward the work bench. I can feel Callie watching me intently as I punch the code into the safe hidden underneath it. I crouch down, fishing in it until I find the little black box that's been sitting in here since she moved in with me. I pull it out and keep a tight grip on it. I walk toward her, getting down on one knee and her eyes grow wide, more tears pouring from them. I watch her lip quiver and I place a hand firmly on her hip, pulling her closer.

"Callie Rose Matthews, I fell in love with you three times. The first was the day I saw those fucking pink Chuck Taylor's on your feet. I loved you even more when you let me make love to you for the first time, and then I loved you a third, just now, when you stood up for us like I was the most important thing in your life.

"I'm a fool for you, Callie. Completely fucking mesmerized by you. You are the most important thing in my life. I told you I would find a way to make you love me, and I hope I did. I promise to keep listening to your shitty 90's music and fill your life with amazing and beautiful memories. You deserve the best, and I will give you the best of me if you will let me. If you say yes to me, it will be the fourth time I fall head over heels in love with you. Will you make me the luckiest fucker alive and be my wife?"

I open the little black box, watching her eyes light up at the ring.

When I saw it, I knew it was perfect for Callie. A white gold band with small diamonds lining it. Small and dainty like her, with a diamond in the middle, cut into the shape of a heart.

I take her hand, sliding the ring on her finger before she even has a chance to say yes. I don't care at this point. There's no choice for her to make. I plan on spending every day of the rest of my life with this woman.

"It's beautiful," she breathes out, lifting her hand to examine the ring.

I stand, pulling her into me, and cock an eyebrow at her.

"Is that a yes?"

She lets out a loud laugh, her voice returning to itself.

"Yes, Mac. It was always yes. You didn't even have to ask," she confirms, staring up at me, the twinkle back in her eyes.

I stand up, letting our lips meet.

"I wanted to hear it fall from these amazing lips, baby."

She gives me a devilish smirk, her brow rising a little higher than usual.

"You gonna take me home now that I'm soon-to-be Mrs. Malcolm Davis?"

I move quick, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder like I've done a million times before. She lets out an adorable squeak, my hand smacking her sexy little ass.

"Don’t worry. I got ya covered, Mrs. Davis."

I never in a million years imagined I'd be writing acknowledgements for my first book. Hell, I never in a million years thought I'd even write one. Yet, here I am. I wrote over 80,000 words and hit publish. I had doubts, breakdowns, and nerves that broke me into pieces, but I managed to do it. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the amazing support from those around me. My thank you’s can never be enough to repay any of you, but I'm going to say that this is a good start.

My Husband
. Even though you enjoyed cracking jokes about my writing genre, you are still my biggest supporter, cheer squad, and motivator. I love you more than anything.

My dogs
. Thank you for filling my story with hilarious things to write about. You are my four-legged fur children forever.

Mom
: Thank you for not blowing a gasket when I told you I wrote a
dirty
book. Instead of hanging your head low in shame, you held it high with nothing but a proud smile on your face. Your best encouragement was when you said, "Don't worry dear. I'll get you on the best sellers list in no time." You are my best friend. I love you.

Kimberly
: You have been my lifesaver! With your never ending help, and your amazing friendship, you are one of the dearest friends I could have ever asked for! Thank you for dealing with my special brand of crazy, my meltdowns, and cheering me on to no end! You are amazing and one of my best friends! P.S. DOG does indeed rhyme with LOG.

Suzie:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help and support! You have become a good friend to me through all of this!

Adriana:
Where would I be without you? Not writing the acknowledgements to my first book, that’s for sure. You have been my mentor and one of my best friends. You have given me your time and your attention while you were on your own adventures. Thank you for giving me motivating speeches about how I need to push through all the writer’s blocks, and the times where I completely doubted my story. And let's not forget the time where you told me to keep writing. You will always be one of my best friends. - 124 loves your ass!