Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25234 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25234 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Hey there, Mr. Parks!” Cade calls out, doing his best to be a gentleman while keeping my crazy aunt at bay. “Just a little situation here. Maybe you could help me out?”
My dad looks completely shocked as he quickly jogs over and takes my aunt from Cade and holds on to one of her wrists.
“Beatrice, what are you doing?”
“She tried to run us over, Daddy!” I cry out. “She’s lost her damn mind!”
Beatrice tries to tear herself away from Daddy’s grip, but she’s not strong enough to do something like that. He holds on as she screeches again, howling like a banshee as outside lights across the trailer park come on.
“She stole him from me!” she hisses, pointing her finger at me. “That bitch daughter of yours!”
Cade glares back at her, stalwart and poised, as though nothing could break him.
“Nobody stole me from you, Beatrice. I was never yours to steal.” I feel my heart melting as he wraps my hand in his and holds it tightly. He turns and brings those beautiful eyes to bear on me. “My heart belongs to her.”
“You’ll regret this,” Beatrice snarls. “Both of you!”
I hear hushed voices from behind us. This is going to be talked about all over the park tomorrow morning.
“I think it’s time you leave, Beatrice,” my dad says calmly. “Before someone decides to call the police.”
He releases her, and I take a step back, shielding myself behind my tall, handsome warrior. But to my surprise, Beatrice doesn’t rush at me. She gasps for air and looks around at all of us with disgust.
“Peasants,” she sneers. “You’ll get what you deserve. Which is nothing!”
“We don’t need your money!” I snap back. “We don’t want it!”
“Good!” she shouts. “Because you won’t get a dime!”
And with that, she jumps back in her car, slams her foot on the gas, and kicks up rocks as she speeds away.
We all watch until she’s gone. Only then does the tension fully dissipate from the air.
“Well that was exciting!” my dad says with a laugh, walking over to Cade and me.
“That’s one way of putting it,” I sigh.
I turn back to look at Cade and see he is holding the ring box in in his hand. My heart jumps as I remember just where we were when my aunt came blazing in here like a missile.
“Um, Daddy?” I say, turning around. “Would you mind giving Cade and me a minute?”
He stops in his tracks and looks at me, and I give him the look that only daughters and their dads understand, letting him know that he needs to go away because it’s one of those private things that I just need a little space for.
“Oh, of course, puddin’. I’ll just…be inside for when you need me.”
He smiles and walks quickly away, leaving me with Cade, who is doing a wonderful job of holding himself together. I’m sure this is not what he had in mind when he came here tonight looking to propose.
“So.” I smile. “Where were we?”
Cade grins and gets back down on one knee. He opens the box again and shows me the ring, and everything inside me lights up.
My pulse quickens, my heart warms and begins to race, and I feel my cheeks begin to blush.
I can’t believe this is actually happening.
“Skylar Parks,” he says softly. “I love you so much. I’m not a writer; I’m just a guy who works with his hands for a living, so I don’t know how to put into words how much I care about you. But if you let me put this ring on your finger, I promise that I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”
Here come the tears again.
Someone from across the park hoots, and although my dad said he was going inside, I didn’t hear the door close–I’m pretty sure he’s watching from the steps.
“Will you marry me, Sky?”
I choke up a happy sob as my body feels like it’s taking off and soaring into the sky.
I smile and nod and extend my hand.
“Yes!”
EPILOGUE
CADE
Six years later…
My eyes are glued to my wife’s naked body as she stands by the window, gazing out at the setting sun. Gentle jazz from her evening playlist hums softly in the background, but my attention is fully on her, as it always is.
I’ll never get over her beauty, her curves, her womanly lips that gave me my beautiful boy, who will be turning two this March.
We were only engaged for six months before I married her. I just couldn’t help myself. I had to have her. I had to put that golden band on her finger and let the whole world know that she was mine. And boy was she proud to wear it.
Beatrice fired me, of course, and I was fine with it. It actually opened up more business with me in the area. As it turns out, Beatrice isn’t exactly popular with her neighbors, and me working for her kind of deterred people from doing business with me. Once she was gone, the work just started to flow in.