Forgiveness Creek: The Creek Series (2 page)

It was our last night together, and we were lying in bed, drawing every minute from our final hours.

“How do we do this with me in Texas and you up here? I can’t come home every weekend.”

“We’ll work it out. I’ll come down there some, and you can come home when you can. Difficult, but not impossible. It’s going to be hard not seeing you very often, but I’m holding on to us having a future.”

“Me too.”

We decided on no goodbye. Stephan planned to go to work as normal, and I slept in. I had my car packed and stopped by the diner to say goodbye to Mom on my way back to Denton.

It was painful. Not the trip I thought I would have when I started my holiday. I cried all the way to Texas. Everything I thought I wanted was in front of me, and yet everything I craved was in my rearview mirror. Our home was on the rebound, my love for Stephan was growing deeper than I ever thought possible, and nothing seemed more important.

But I had made a commitment to myself and was determined to see it through.

Karina and I spent the first night filling each other in on the happenings of our winter break and decided my story was much more enticing than hers. She said she finally gave up and left her family to stay with Aaron at his place in Weatherford the day after Christmas.

“I want to see a picture of Stephan. I love his name by the way, sounds so sexy,” she squealed.

I showed her a picture of the two of us from New Year’s Eve. He looked so dang hot that night. It was the first time I’d seen him in something besides jeans and boots since my prom night. I licked my lips at the thought of that night, when I’d lost my virginity to him.

“You’re rosy all of a sudden. What’s making you blush?”

“Thinking about my prom night and doing it for the first time.”

“Was it him?”

“Yes. It’s only ever been him.”

“I’m happy to see he’s turned his life around.”

“Yes, me too. There’s something about that place. I was so angry for the first two weeks, and then somehow, that place worked its magic like it always does.”

“Well, I need some of that magic, so the next time you go home, I’m going with you.”

“Deal.”

The school routine was hard to get into, but every morning I woke up to a text or a sexy morning photo of Stephan. He was super sweet and caring and would send the funniest jokes or stories of happenings. We also shared stuff privately by message on Facebook. I never thought I would become a sexter, or even phone sex for that matter, but as a confession goes, it’s not bad when it’s all you have.

The new job was going great. In a way, it was very much like working with Dr. P, except the patients were always changing and I was meeting new ones. I was working on the fourth floor in geriatrics, and Karina was stationed on the second floor in pediatrics. We would meet for dinner when we could, but most of the time we only saw each other in class and for about ten minutes before we crashed every night.

I spent every spare minute I could talking to Mom on email and Stephan by phone or by text, but class, work, and studying took up most of my time, which made the weeks pass by in a flurry.

Valentine’s Day was on a Tuesday, and I’d shipped my gift to Stephan over the weekend, so he’d receive it on the day and not a moment too soon. When I got to work after my class, there was a beautiful bouquet of red roses waiting for me. The nurses were jealous and two of the doctors took out their phones and called in their urgent floral order because they had forgotten the day.

I called Stephan on my dinner break. “I love the roses. They’re beautiful.”

“I wish I could’ve been there to deliver them in person.”

“Three weeks and I’ll be home for the whole week. Did you get something from me today?”

“No, was I supposed to?”

“Yes, you dork. I sent you a package.”

“Oh, I got a package all right, but this crazy psycho chick sent me her underwear.”

“Who you callin’ psycho?”

“Well, I don’t wear women’s underwear.” He teased me.

“Ooh, but baby, just imagine me wearing that outfit in three weeks.”

“I’m imagining you wearing it tonight. Turn around.”

I turned slowly to find Stephan standing in the break room and the nurses clapping, with Karina in tow. Seems everyone was in on the secret, including Mom. She’d given him the names and contact information for everyone, including Karina, and he’d set the whole thing up.

I closed the few feet between us in one giant leap, landing in his arms. When he put me down, I trembled in disbelief. The package I’d sent him was tucked under his arm and had fallen to the floor when he caught me.

“Wait, the package. How did you get the package if you weren’t home?” I asked, while picking the opened gift off the floor.

“It came yesterday.”

“Good to know.” I laughed.

“Even better for me.” He laughed too.

Becky, the shift supervisor, poked her head around from behind Stephan. “You have the rest of the night off and tomorrow night too, Wrenn, and we’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Yay,” I called out.

Stephan was so happy he kissed each one of the ladies on the cheek and thanked them all for their help.

He’d reserved a hotel room for us. We picked up beer on the way and ordered pizza, but the only thing I was hungry for was him. Our reunion was a special one. We were free to be with each other without any haunting from the past.

As promised, I modeled the underwear, and he took photos on his phone.

“For the spankin’ bank?” I teased him.

“You did not just say that to me.”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? Guys are visual and girls are mental.”

“Yeah, they’re mental all right.” He played with me.

The next day, he toured the town, while I was in class, and met me for lunch. I decided to skip my afternoon classes and spend the rest of the day with him. When he tried to open the hotel room door, I noticed he was nervously fumbling with the keycard. But, the moment the door was opened, my eyes were drawn to the floor where red rose petals were strewn. I got further into the room and found more petals on the bed and champagne chilling in an ice bucket.

When he dropped to one knee, I knew the special moment had come.

“I know our time has been short since we’ve been back together, but I don’t need another second to know I want the rest of my life with you by my side. I promise to make you happy, Wrenn. Will you marry me?”

I nodded.

“Is that a yes?” he asked nervously.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” My words were choked, holding in the emotion.

He removed the ring box from his jean pocket and opened it. I saw the vintage setting sparkle and knew it wasn’t something new. It was a beautiful ring made from many small diamonds in a square setting with a larger diamond on top.

“It was my mother’s. I’ve been waiting on the day for you to finally wear it.”

My hand shook as he slipped the gem on my finger. “It’s beautiful. This room, everything, so romantic.”

He stood and pulled me into his arms. “I’m not rushing you. The engagement can be however long you want it to be. I only want you and the world to know I’m committed to you, to us.”

“Me too. Summer wedding?”

“Works for me.”

We spent the rest of the night touching, loving, and feeling the emotion between us. As the minutes ticked by, I tried to absorb all the events of the last two months and how my life had come full circle. I no longer believed my life was broken, but rather looked to everything as what was meant to be. Stephan was my one true love, and my heart had been given to him years ago. We’d simply needed to find our journey back to one another.

The next morning, I slipped out of the hotel. No goodbyes, as usual. I knew he would be on the road within a few minutes because I saw him watching out the window of the hotel as I put my car in drive and pulled away.

I put my ring in my pocket and walked in to class, avoiding drawing attention to the news just yet. Of course, I knew Karina was going to be all in my business the minute she walked in the door. Fortunately, she was pushing the clock and left little time to discuss the events of my Valentine’s Day romp with Stephan, but I couldn’t quit smiling and struggled not to give my secret away.

“He what?” she asked over coffee in the hospital cafeteria.

“He proposed.” I slipped the ring from my pocket, and she squealed, bringing every eye in the room to stare at us.

“Shhh, don’t get us in trouble. Simmer down.”

“That’s so romantic. You have to give me every single detail.”

“I will later in our room. I need to get Ramona or Cheri to switch shifts with me, so I can go home this weekend. I don’t want Mom seeing something on Facebook or hearing about it from anyone, so keep your mouth shut. Stephan and I want to tell her in person.”

“You just want to go home and get laid.” She snickered. She knew me so well.

“That too.”

The time crept by. Twenty-four hours later, I watched the clock on our class wall, so I could hit the road in record time. My car was packed, and the only items I needed were a change of clothes and some extra special lingerie I’d picked up. Once I was in the
escapades
store, it had occurred to me that perhaps it was a place frequented by strippers, not country girls. However, once Stephan got a glimpse of my little number, I might return for an encore purchase if it worked the way I planned.