From Ashes
Page 111“Ha! You liked it, huh? Want another one?”
“Love my SMB jersey, and I do, but I need it before Thanksgiving morning. Do you think that will be possible?”
“Oh, hell yeah, Cass. It’ll be there in a week, tops. Another one that says ‘SMB’?”
“Uh, no.” My hands were shaking and I had to put the one that wasn’t holding the phone tightly around the steering wheel.
“You gonna tell me what you want or should I surprise you?”
I laughed nervously and took a deep breath before speaking. “No, I know what I want, but, Jake, you can’t . . . let me repeat. Can’t. Tell. Anyone.” When he agreed, I told him exactly what I wanted and he stayed quiet for a whole minute when I was done.
“You’re serious, Cass?” he asked, for once completely serious.
“Yeah, I just found out, so could you do that and I’ll send you a check in the mail today?”
I smiled to myself. “Thanks, Jake.”
THE LAST WEEK and a half had been absolute torture. I’d almost told Gage about a thousand times, but thankfully I’d stopped myself every time. I’d needed this time before I told him, needed the time to get used to the idea and actually be happy about it. And I was; God, I was thrilled now. I’d hardly slept at all last night, knowing that this morning he’d finally know.
After getting his morning hug, he left to do what he always does in the mornings, and I hopped into the shower. I blew my hair dry and straightened it but held off on my makeup because I was sure this morning was bound to be an emotional one. I threw on my jeans, a pair of gray Uggs, and my new burnt-orange jersey that had arrived just two mornings ago. I stared at myself for a long time in the mirror, looked at the back of the jersey, and smiled before I headed out to the kitchen.
I started on an omelet to split for when Gage came back. Usually I’d make us one each, but we were going to be eating all day; I figured splitting this wouldn’t kill him. Just as I was sliding the omelet onto a plate, I heard the front door open and my face broke out into a wide smile.
“That’s my girl.”
I turned to look at him and saw him smiling at the jersey, then a confused look passed over his face.
“Wait, is this new?”
Gage’s head fell back, and he groaned. “Darlin’, I’m all for your Cowboys jersey, and now your Longhorns one . . . but another SMB jersey? It’s not that funny.”
“Well, it was that funny, but I only have one of those.” I turned so my back was facing him and took my time getting the silverware from the drawer.
“Cassidy, I love that you want to be my wife and makin’ this our home is what you wanna do. But I would never stop you if you wanted to do something, like with your photography. So even though I love that this is what you’ve chosen, I think that SMB shit is degrading.”
Okay, well apparently he wasn’t going to bite on the name I’d had put on it; I grabbed the plate and two forks and walked over to the kitchen table, rolling my eyes at him when he was watching. “Babe. It’s Jake. From anyone else it would probably be degrading, but no one takes him seriously anyway.”
He grumbled and sat down next to me, digging into the omelet and groaning his appreciation as soon as the first bite hit his tongue.
We ate mostly in silence, eating off the same plate and occasionally feeding each other bites. It was gushy, yes, but we were still newlyweds; we were allowed to be that way. When the omelet was gone, he sat back in his chair and pulled me onto his lap. His hand went to brush away some hair that had fallen forward, and his fingertips did their trusty pause over the pulse point on my throat.
“What do you need me to help you with today?” he asked softly as his eyes watched my chest rise and fall.
Watching my chest must have stirred up another emotion in him, because his lips were now kissing my neck and his hands were undoing the knot I’d made at the bottom of the jersey so I wouldn’t have to tuck it in and I wouldn’t drown in it. As soon as the knot was loosened his hands were under my shirt and on my bare skin. I quickly got off his lap, collected the plate, and headed into the kitchen.
He frowned but followed me to the sink and took it from me to wash it. It’s not that I didn’t want him touching me, I was just too wound up with my news to think about that just yet. I leaned my hip against the counter to watch him silently. When he was done he turned and smiled. “Amanda’s gonna be pissed when she sees that jersey.”
“Safe to say she’ll be wearing an Aggie one?”
Gage nodded. “So what did Jake do for you this time anyway?”
Oh my God, finally! I bit down on my bottom lip and tried not to smile as I let him turn me around and move my hair aside to see the name Mama Carson.
His hand froze before he could sweep my hair all the way to the side, and I’d bet he just saw the Mama part. I kept silent as I waited for it to sink in. It’d been a difficult pill for me to swallow, but then again I’d grown up never wanting kids. Since starting a relationship with Gage, I’d slowly grown comfortable with the idea and actually wanted a family with him in the future. I thought we were young, way too young, but I knew someday it was what I wanted.