Chasing Forevermore (3 page)

I can’t breathe. I think I’m going to pass out
. I wanted to say yes. So badly, I wanted to share forever with Hayes, but I was positive he only asked because of my questions about him being happy.

“No, Hayes—”

“You’re saying no?” he asked, anger and hurt lacing his voice as he stood. He turned away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to—”

“Then your answer should’ve been yes,” he said, turning around to face me.

Suddenly needing warmth, I pulled my jacket around me and tried to explain. “Hayes…you’re only asking me because I questioned your happiness last night. This isn’t about you wanting to marry me, it’s about you needing to reassure me.”

In one swift move, he was standing directly in front of me, our chests touching, his hands cupping my face. “Do you really think I planned this in less than a day? I’ve been planning this for a while. It took me weeks to find the perfect ring for you. Fuck, Mac, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

I stared into his eyes, seeing the pain and worry I had caused. “I’m sorry.” I paused, feeling confused. I wanted to believe he was telling me the truth. That he really did want forever with me and this proposal hadn’t been a rash decision. “Yes,” I stated, placing my hands over his on my cheeks, praying I was making the right decision and wasn’t ruining his future.

“Yes? Yes, you’ll marry me? Yes, what?”

I hated that I had hurt him. “Yes, I’ll marry you, and I’m so sorry I didn’t say yes as soon as you asked.”

Not saying anything, he stared at me for a brief second, doubt etching his face, before crashing our lips together, letting his tongue slide against mine. I could feel every emotion he was feeling—hurt, happiness, worry, pain, frustration. He let it all pour out in the kiss as he possessed my mouth.

I pulled away. “Can I have my ring?”

“What? Yes.” He grabbed my hand, but before the ring slipped completely onto my finger, he stopped. “You know once I put this on, you can’t change your mind. I won’t let you.”

I smiled. “I know.”

Hayes grinned—no, he beamed as he slid the ring onto my finger. It was a simple ring, a square diamond set on a platinum band. The diamond wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. It was perfect. “I love it.”

“I’m glad,” he said, holding me tight. “I seriously thought I was going to die for a second when you said no.”

“Hayes, even if my answer had actually been no, we would’ve still been together, or at least in each other’s life. We have a daughter for God’s sake.”

“I don’t want to just be in each other’s life.” He rested his forehead against mine and took a few deep breaths. “I know we have a daughter, but I don’t want Harley to be the reason we’re together. I want us together because we want to be.”

“I want that, too. We have that.” I grinned and pushed all the doubt out of my mind, letting the moment, the proposal, seal into my veins.
I’m engaged to Hayes!

“Let’s just lay down and look at the stars,” Hayes suggested. I could tell he was still upset and I hated that I ruined the moment, but I was starting to feel ecstatic. The man I loved more than anything wanted to spend the rest of his life with plain ol’ trailer park me.

The November night air was a bit chilly, and Hayes grabbed a blanket to lay over us. After he was completely settled, I lay my head on his chest and listened to his heart beat for a minute while gazing at the stars, and thinking about my life. “Hayes…”

“Yeah?”

“This is the best birthday of my life. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He placed a kiss on my head and let his fingers run through my hair. “But, really, the engagement is kind of a present for me. I’ve been wanting it since the day I found you at Connie’s house.”

I smiled but didn’t say anything else, letting my heart and mind be content for a moment.

“We should probably get back,” Hayes whispered after a long stretch of silence. “They are all waiting for us so they can see the ring.”

“They all knew?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbow to see his face.

“Uh huh,” he answered. “They’ve known for a couple weeks.”

“I’m so sorry for thinking you were just doing this to make me happy. I just—”

“Shh.” Then, his lips found mine for a toe curling kiss, causing a moan to push up from my chest. One hand rested on the back of my neck and pulled me in closer while the other kneaded my ass. My hands gripped his sexy brown hair, and I felt lost.

“Hayes…”

“I know.”

“No,” I said, kissing him again, needing him. “I want you to make love to me.”

“Fuck,” he growled, reaching for my jacket. “Are you sure you won’t be too cold?”

“I think you can warm me up.”

He yanked my coat off, followed by the rest of my clothes in a short minute, while I undressed him. Our lips collided again, and I felt like I couldn’t get close enough to him. His hands were all over my body as I pushed him back down and continued to kiss him.

“I love you so much, Mac,” he whispered, and that was the last thing my mind was able to process until we were both crashing back down.

“I lied,” I said as I lay on him, catching my breath. “Now it’s the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“And you call me a horn dog?” I shrugged and he helped pull me to stand. “We better hurry. Even though I don’t care, I’m pretty sure they all know we were having sex.”

I began putting my clothes back on as my cheeks heated. “Oh my gosh. I don’t want your mom and dad to know we were having sex.”

Hayes snickered and we started walking toward the Jeep. “I hate to break this to you, but I think they already know. We have a daughter and we live together. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

“Don’t be an ass and ruin our night.” I glanced down at my ring and smiled. I could barely see it in the dark, but just knowing it was there was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

As soon as we made it back to the Jeep, I remembered all the candles and blankets. “What about all that stuff? Shouldn’t we bring it with us?”

“Carson is coming back for it. We blew out the candles, so everything will be fine until he gets here,” Hayes said, opening the door for me.

I pulled myself up and sat down. “What did you have to do to get him to do all this?”

“You don’t want to know.” He closed the door and I watched him walk around to his side. Once he slid in and started the car, he continued, “I actually paid him a hundred bucks.”

“That’s a lot less than I would have figured.”

Hayes grinned and accelerated over the bumpy field. “He said the discount was our wedding present.”

I laughed. “That sounds like Carson.”

We made it out to the main road and I couldn’t help the shiver that raced through me as we passed the trailer park. That trailer park had been such a dark time in my life, but at the same time, it was the beginning of my life.

Hayes must’ve noticed the change in my demeanor. He pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed my ring. “Let’s only think about the future.”

I nodded and let my eyes wander over Hayes’ face. He was perfect. His beautiful green eyes were almost magnetic, he had just enough scruff, and his lips were made for kissing. My eyes drifted down to his perfectly sculpted arms, then his chest and six pack. He was impeccable.

“Sometimes…I can’t believe you’re mine,” I stated, letting the words tumble out of my mouth.

His eyebrows bunched as he glanced at me. “Believe it, babe.” He picked up his phone and messed with his music app. “Listen to this song. It basically sums up how I feel about you.”

The music began playing from the speakers. It was a beautiful song about a man not needing anything but the woman he loves. “What is the name of this?”

“
Die a Happy Man
by Thomas Rhett.”

“Hayes…” I trailed off, tears filling my eyes.

He squeezed my hand. “I love you, Mac. All I need is you.”

“I feel the same way about you.”

He pulled into his parents’ driveway and I grinned, thinking about sharing our news with everyone inside.

“Ready?” he asked, popping his door open.

“Yep.” I opened my door and met him at the sidewalk. Linking our hands together, we strolled to the front door. “How do you want to do this?”

“I was thinking I would press my thumb down on the latch and open the door.”

“You are such a dick sometimes.”

“But you said yes.” He kissed my cheek. “I say we just go in there and let it happen. Nothing to be nervous about.”

“Except the part about your parents knowing we just got it on,” I hissed, trying to lower my voice.

“Got it on?” Hayes shook his head, grabbed my left hand, and opened the door. He led us into the house and held up my hand as we reached the doorway to the living room. “She said yes!”

Everyone hollered and Harley ran into Hayes’ arms. Amelia and Connie both gave me a hug first, since they were the closest, followed by Miranda. “I’m so excited for you. Both of you,” she said, teary eyed. “You look so happy.”

“Thank you.” I glanced behind her at Brad. “And so do you. I’m glad he makes you happy.”

“He does.” We gave each other one more hug, then she stepped aside for Brad to hug me.

A small tear pooled in my eyes as I looked at his smiling face. If it hadn’t been for him and his mom, I wouldn’t be this happy. They had saved me. “Don’t cry, kiddo.”

“I can’t help it. I’m just really, really happy.”

He grabbed me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “As you should be. But just know, if he hurts you in any way, I will kill him.”

I pulled back, laughing, and brushed a tear off my cheek. “Don’t you arrest people for that?”

He shrugged and looked at Hayes. “Congrats. Don’t fuck it up.”

Hayes placed his arm around me while holding Harley on his other side. “I believe it was you who told me exactly where to find her. If I mess up, it’s basically your fault.”

I tuned them out as Hayes’ mom, Rose, stepped in front of me with tears glistening in her eyes. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am. You make him so happy. We can’t wait for you to officially be our daughter.”

I smiled and hugged her, loving that she left off “in-law”. For whatever reason, it made me feel like she was truly happy to have Hayes marry me. “Thank you. I can’t wait either.”

His dad, Lucas, gave me an awkward side hug, and said, “Congratulations.” Hayes’ father didn’t not like me, but he had issues with my past. Mainly my dad and his criminal background, and the fact that Hayes had begged him to call protective services to get me away from my father. I was almost positive he probably had more to do with it than just a simple phone call, given his job title, but I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure.

“Thank you.”

The rest of the night was a blur of hugs and congratulations from the rest of our family and friends. By the time I crawled in bed, I was tired, but so full of happiness.

***

Thanksgiving morning was a flurry of activities in the kitchen. Rose was cutting and chopping different vegetables, Miranda’s mom was mashing potatoes, and Tina, Brad’s mom, was stirring something over the stove. The kitchen was cramped, but I still felt like I should try to help.

“Anything I can do?” I asked as I stood in the doorway, watching the madness.

“Not at all, dear,” Rose declared. She stepped toward me and placed a kiss on my cheek. “You just enjoy the morning and try to keep Hayes from coming in and munching on the food before we are ready to eat.”

“So, that isn’t a new habit he’s picked up?”

She laughed. “Oh gosh, that boy has been quite the eater since he was two years old. Luke, too. Maybe it’s a Morgan man problem.”

I giggled. “When they get here, we’ll ask Chloe if Luke has grown out of it.”

“Ask me what?” Chloe said from behind me.

“Oh, good, you made it,” Rose stated, leaning in to give Chloe a hug. “We were just discussing the Morgan man problem of not being able to wait until lunch or dinner is ready to actually eat.”

“Oh, he eats while I cook. Then again when it’s all ready.” She moved passed me and placed a pie dish on the counter. “That is from my mom. Homemade pumpkin pie.”

“Yum,” Rose said. “Now, you girls go relax. We’ve got this taken care of.”

Chloe and I left the kitchen and found the men in the living room with the parade on the TV. “Y’all are watching the parade?” I asked.

Hayes pulled me to sit in his lap. “Football isn’t on yet.”

“Oh.”

“Carson coming over to play a game?” Luke asked as he leaned the recliner back.

“Yeah. He’s eating lunch at his grandparents’ house then coming here.”

I glanced around the full living room and smiled. All the people I loved most in the world were here, and I was excited to have a real Thanksgiving dinner with them.