Just One Reason (18 page)

I had spent every day at work this week, and then went to spend the nights with Lindsay.  Today is Saturday, and though I usually work on the weekends lately, I took today off to spend more time with Lindsay. 
Taryn, Wyatt and Dominic were doing a wine tour on Seneca Lake and would meet us at the pub at 6:00.

Lindsay talked to Leah this afternoon and learned
she and Josh and Maddy would be joining us as well.  Apparently being cooped up in the house with the new baby for six straight days was already making Leah crazy.  I knew it would make Lindsay happy to have Leah and Taryn meet.

The one thing I still needed to do was show Lindsay my house.  Hell, I needed to tell her about it first.  She had no idea it existed, and I wanted to make it special.  She had a follow up doctor appointment next Friday, so as long as she was all clear I could tak
e her home with me that night.

“You ready,
Smoochy Face?”  Lindsay asked coming out of her bathroom.  I rolled my eyes at her latest attempt at finding the perfect nickname for me.  Now she was just being ridiculous.

“I’ve been ready for an hour.  Are you ready?”  She looked ready to me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve loved seeing her all casual in her pajamas and sweats all week, but she looked hot tonight in tight jeans, knee high boots and a loose blouse unbuttoned just
low enough to drive me crazy.  Her hair was loose and wavy and her makeup made her eyes stand out even more than usual.

She did a little spin so I could see the whole package and I caught her up in a hug when she turned back to face me, nuzzling my face in her hair.  “Come on, let’s go before I ignore the doctor
’s orders and have my way with you right here.”

Lindsay laughed and grabbed my hair in her hands, tugging my mouth down to hers.  She kept the kiss light and quick but it didn’t stop me from wanting more. 
More would have to wait.

Everyone else was already there when we arrived. 
Taryn and Leah were sitting at the large table in the corner, both peering into the baby carrier.  Wyatt, Dominic and Josh were standing at the bar talking to Ford.  Looked like everyone had met.  Now that I knew the reason behind Lindsay’s breakdown at the hospital the night Maddy was born, I was worried that being around the baby would be hard on her.  She had assured me she could handle it and said she wasn’t going to let her issues stop her from being friends with Leah or spending time with Maddy.

I held tight to Lindsay’s hand as we walked inside, but she gave me a smile and pushed me towards the bar.  “Go get a beer.  I’m going to talk to my girls.”  Since we had talked on Wednesday night and recommitted to being together, the carefree Lindsay I remembered was back.  It made me feel good to know
that was because of me.  Of us.

I went to join the guys and said, “Josh, Ford
, I see you’ve met Taryn, Wyatt and Dominic.”  Ford nodded and continued setting drinks on the bar.  Beer for all the guys, water for Leah, some sugar rimmed yellow cocktail for Taryn.

“Uh oh.
  I see Leah got Taryn to get the nasty drink tonight.  She was always making Lindsay get that drink just so she could smell it,” I explained to Wyatt.

He laughed.
“There was no force involved.  This is the kind of girly shit Taryn drinks all the time.”

The guys
took the drinks back to the table while I waited on Ford to get my beer and one for Lindsay.  I loved that she looked like a city girl from the top of her head to the toes of her stilettos but she could do shots and drink beer with the guys.  She was perfect.

“I can tell from that shit-eating grin on your face that you and Lindsa
y are back on,” Ford grumbled.

“Yup,” I replied taking a swig of my beer and locking eyes with Lindsay across the restaurant.  A slow sexy smile spread acros
s her face and I winked at her.

“You guys are disgusting,” Ford complained.  “Almost as bad as those two,” he continued, nodding his head in the direction of
Taryn and Wyatt.  Taryn was perched on Wyatt’s lap and was running her fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, we’re getting there,
” I said.

“She’s pretty cool for a politician’s daughter.  And hot too,” Ford said taking my c
ash and ringing up the drinks.

“Don’t let her fiancé hear you say that.  I have no doubt he could kill you with his bare hands.”

We spent several hours eating, drinking, laughing and passing Maddy around.  She slept through it all, only waking up once when she needed to be fed.  Leah draped a blanket over her shoulder while she fed Maddy right there at the table.  Josh gave us all a harsh warning not to look at his wife’s tits.  That was an uncomfortable fifteen minutes, but like Leah said, Maddy deserved to eat her dinner at the table too.

When we got back to Lana’s house
, I said goodbye to Lindsay on the porch.  Even though I had spent every night this week there, I knew she and Taryn were having some slumber party girls’ night thing since they wouldn’t see each other for a while.  She stood on her tiptoes to throw her arms around my shoulder and reach my mouth.  My hands found their way under her blouse to the smooth warm skin of her lower back.  Just when I clutched her hips to pull her against me, she pulled back.

“Where do you live?”  She asked abruptly and then laughed.  “That’s kind of a stupid question considering we’re…you know…in a relationship, but I don’t even know where you live.  I know you don’t live with your dad
anymore.”

I evaded the question as best I could.  My plans for next Friday were already in the works, and I didn’t want to
blow the surprise before then.

“I’ve got a place close to the shop.  Next Friday I want to make you dinner at my place, so you can see it then.”

She smiled. “Okay.”  Then she returned to kissing me, her hands fisting in my hair to hold me close.  What a great idea it was to grow my hair out.

Before we got to
o wrapped up in each other, Taryn opened the front door and said, “Okay, time’s up.  I need her back, Grady.”

Reluctantly
, I released Lindsay and said goodbye to Taryn, Wyatt and Dominic before driving home.  Soon, I hoped to be going home to Lindsay.

Lindsay

What a week. 
Taryn and crew had left on Sunday morning and Lana and Mitch had returned home Sunday afternoon.  Lana immediately knew something was up when she walked in to find Grady and I snuggled on the couch together.  After helping her unpack and get laundry started I sat her down and told her everything that had happened over the last week as well as what happened five years ago.

She scolded me for not calling her on the cruise when I had my appendix out, and then she cried when I told her about my pregnancy and what happened after with my mom.  My mom and Lana had never been close, but she still had a hard time grasping what her sister had done to me and to Grady.  Surprisingly
, I didn’t shed a tear as I retold the story.  It seemed to be getting easier to deal with the emotions I had kept inside all this time, and the reason for that was sitting next to me holding my hand.

After reassuring Lana about a million times that I was really okay now, she ordered Chinese food for dinner since there wasn’t much
by way of food in the house.  Mitch came back over and the four of us spent the evening together.  Lana went back to work on Monday, but refused to let me return until the following week.  I felt totally fine, but she and Grady wouldn’t believe it until my doctor cleared me to resume normal activities at my follow up appointment on Friday.

I did take lunch to Lana on Tuesday and then stopped in to visit Leah.  This was the first time we had alone to talk, and she demanded all the details on my reunion with Grady.  I ended up telling her everything too.  Every time I told someone, it was like another small weight was lifted off my chest.  After holding it in for so many years, it felt really good to get it out.  The last and hardest part would be to confront my parents, and I planned to do that at Thanksgiving. 
Taryn’s parents always hosted Thanksgiving at their place, and I planned to go.  I would have the support of Taryn and her parents behind me.

By the time Friday
rolled around, I was bored out of my mind from resting all week, and arrived at my doctor’s appointment twenty minutes early.  He examined me and declared me healed from my surgery.  I made the nurse type out a written declaration that I could return to
all
normal activities.  She gave me a funny look, but did as I asked.  If Grady tried to put off sex any longer, I was prepared to whip out my doctor’s note and shove it in his face.

Grad
y was picking me up at 7:00 for our first official date.  I hoped he would bring his bike, and I wondered if he still had my helmet.  Probably not.  Just like I had done five years ago on our last night together I carefully chose my bra and panties and stood in my closet deciding what to wear.  Only this wasn’t our last night together, it was the first night of the rest of our lives together.  We hadn’t specifically talked about forever, but he had skirted around the issue several times.

It was mid-September and starting to get cool in the evenings, so I chose dark jeans, a light V-neck sweater and heels.  I left my hair loose and slightly curled and my makeup minimal.  The doorbell rang
, and I grabbed my purse and ran downstairs.  Lana had already opened the door for Grady when I reached the stairs, and he stood looking up at me.  When I reached the bottom step, I jumped at him wrapping my legs around his waist.  He caught me easily, and returned the kiss I planted firmly on his mouth.

Lana laughed.
“Okay, you two.  Get out of here and have fun.”

Grady set me down and led me outside to his bike.  He still had my helmet and secured it on my head before we raced off down the street.  I had assumed he lived somewhere in town, maybe
an apartment close to the shop.  But we passed the street that led to his shop and started driving down the lake road.  He did say we were going to his place tonight, right?  My confusion grew when we pulled off the road at a familiar spot.  I hadn’t been here in five years, but there was no mistaking we were at his grandfather’s lot on the lake.  The tree line on the road was still heavy, so I couldn’t see what was beyond, but there was a driveway off the road that hadn’t been there before.  Did Grady live here?

Grady smiled at the confusion on my face and took my hand to lead me down the driveway.  “Come on, Linz.  There’s something I want to show you.”  The sun was just starting to set over the hills
, and as we walked down the driveway I began to make out the soft glow of lights through the trees.  My heart started beating faster, and when we reached the point where the trees opened up to what used to be the grassy clearing, it nearly beat out of my chest.

Before me
stood the most beautiful house I had ever seen.  It was two stories of stone and ivory siding, and the front facing the lake was entirely made of windows.  The view from inside had to be incredible.  There were large decks off both the first and second floors, and the soft grass stretched from the house all the way to the lake.  It seemed like all the lights in the house were on, and the windows glowed soft and warm.  I realized hot tears were dripping down my cheeks, and I turned to look at Grady.

“Is t
his…your house?”  I whispered.

He dropped my hand to wrap his arm around my waist.  “It’s our house.”

If I had any doubt that he didn’t think about me during our time apart, this moment wiped all of that away.  He had planned this house for us to live in, and even though I had left he built it anyway.

“Show me.  I want to see everything,” I said, eagerly
pulling him towards the door, but he pulled me in the opposite direction instead.

“Let’s go down to the water first before it gets dark,” he said.  We walked through the lawn where the trees had been cleared away to provide a straight line of view from the house out to the water. 
The beach was a mixture of sand and flat rocks, and the dock stretched out into the lake with a large black and silver speedboat tied to it.  I took off my heels and left them in the grass while I walked to the end of the dock and looked out over the lake, peaceful with all the boats docked for the night.  Grady came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back against him.

“Grady, this is
amazing.  How long have you lived here?”  I asked quietly.

He pressed a kiss to my neck
, and I leaned my head to the side to give him better access.  “The house was finished last spring.  I’ve been living here since then, but you’ll see when we go inside that my interior decorating leaves a lot to be desired.”

I turned in his arms to press my cheek to his chest.  “Sounds like it needs a woman’s touch,” I teased.

Grady was completely serious when he replied, “It needs your touch, Lindsay.”

We walked back to the house and Grady led me through every room, slowly to let me take in all the details.  On our last night together Grady had outlined the house in the grass and described in great detail what it would look like. 
The reality was even more amazing than I had imagined, but I could see his original design in the open floor plan, the floor to ceiling windows, the huge decks overlooking the water.

He was right about his lack of interior decorating skills.  The living room had a couch,
a huge TV, and a coffee table.  There was a room in the basement with a treadmill and various free weights.  Every other room in the house was bare, except for the master bedroom.  The last room on our tour, and Grady guided me in with his hand on my lower back.  Like the other three bedrooms, it was on the second floor.  But while the other bedrooms had views out the sides and back of the house, the master bedroom and bathroom spanned the entire front of the house.

The rest of the house clearly reflected the bachelor that lived here, but this room was set up for a couple. 
A man and a woman.  I walked slowly around the room, my fingertips trailing over the ivory down comforter and along the footboard of the heavy dark wood king size sleigh bed.  The bed was positioned on the wall opposite from the windows, and I could imagine us lying in bed watching the waves in the lake.  The other furniture was the same dark wood as the bed, but everything else in the room was light and peaceful.  The walls were painted a pale grayish blue, very much like Grady’s eyes, and the linens were ivory.  The dark wood of the furniture and the hardwood floors and the navy blue throw pillows kept the room from being too feminine.  It was the perfect balance for a couple to share.  The windows were bare, but the thick trees on either side of the property shielded the house from the neighbors.  And the lack of window coverings allowed for an unobstructed view of the lake from everywhere in the room.

The bathroom was similarly decorated, and there were dual sinks, a huge glass shower, and a large soaking tub.  I walked back out into the bedroom and turned a circle in the middle of the floor taking it all in.  Grady still stood in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning against the doorjamb watching me in amusement.

“The rest of the house looks like a bachelor pad, but this room…this room is a sanctuary,” I said to him.

He shrugged one shoulder.  “
Up until yesterday it looked like the rest of the house.  I didn’t even have a bed, just an air mattress.”

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.  “You had this room done yesterday? 
For me?”  I asked in amazement.

Grady crossed the room in three long strides to take my hands in his. 
“For us, Lindsay.  I wanted to do the whole house, but there wasn’t time for that.  And I thought you might want to do it.  You know…decorate, pick out what you like.”

I squeezed his hands and looked up at him
. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

He looked down at the ground, his hair falling in his face.  When he looked back up his eyes were full of emotion
that was hard to distinguish.

“When you’re ready, Lindsay.
  I want you here with me yesterday, but the house will be here when you’re ready.  I will be here.”

I bit my bottom lip as I pondered his request.  As much as my heart was screaming at me to go to Lana’s right this second and pack my bags, I knew we should wait. 
A little while.  A very short while.  When I arrived in town a month ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.  Today I knew I wanted Grady in it, but other than that I was no closer to figuring out my purpose.  Rushing into living together might derail my progress on that front.

“How about January?”
  I asked.  “We could start 2012 together, here in our house.  Besides, it will take me that long to furnish all the rooms.”

Grady grinned and grabbed me around the waist, hauling me up against
him and kissing me hard and fast.  I pulled back until he set me back on the ground. 

“Do you have dinner ready?”  I asked trailing one finger down his chest.  He looked confuse
d at my sudden subject change.

“Uh, no.
  Honestly I don’t cook.  So I picked up some food earlier that we can heat up when we’re ready.”

“Perfect,” I purred.  “We need to work up an appetite first.  And we need to try out our new bed.”  Grady
waggled his eyebrows and smirked when he picked up on where my thoughts were headed.

When he
reached for me, I backed away wiggling my finger at him.  “No, no, no.  It’s my turn to do a little exploring.”  I stepped forward again and circled his forearms with my fingers, sliding them up to his biceps.  “I want to see these tattoos up close and personal.”  My fingertips continued upward over his shoulders and into his hair.

“I want to grab this hair,” I breathed close to his ear.  “I want to take my time
reacquainting myself with everything I missed over the last five years.”

Grady inhaled sharply but didn’t move, letting me take the lead.  I reached down and grasped the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it up over his head.  He lifted his arms and helped me strip his shirt off, then dropped them back to his side.  His arms were completely covered in tattoos from his wrists to his shoulders.  There were also a few random tattoos over his chest and on his side.  All were in solid black ink and most were designs, although I picked out a few words
and dates swirled in with the designs, each one having to do with our time together.

I kissed each one that had to do with us, and Grady’s breathing was harsh by the time I was finished.  His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, probably to stop himself from touching me.  I trailed my fingers over his abs, which quivered at my touch and hooked them into the waistband of his jeans.  Just before he could lean forward to kiss me I dropped to my knees and flipped open the bu
tton and slid the zipper down.

“Lindsay,” he groaned, his
hands sliding through my hair.

“
Sshhh, Grady.  Just relax and enjoy.  This is something I’ve never done, so don’t get your expectations too high.”

His hand stilled in my hair.  “You’ve never
done this with someone else?”  He asked gruffly.

I sat back on my heels and looked up at him.  “No.  I’ve slept with a couple other guys.”  He grimaced.  “Sorry, not exactly good pillow talk, I know.  But this was something I never cared about anyone enough to bother with.  But you…I love you.”