All That Matters (28 page)

If Lionel and Beryl Morgan had indeed changed their conception of parental duties, Buddy Lee hoped Faith could finally experience the family love she longed for and deserved.

His own craving for love had nothing to do with his sorry excuse for a parent and everything to do with this woman he’d married. He’d entered into the marriage with only a teaspoonful of forethought simply because he’d loved Faith for as long as he could remember. She’d needed him and offered a chance to make his fantasy come true. In his rush to come to her aid, to protect her and be a hero, he’d lost his good sense.

The same thing had happened every time he’d jumped into the wild fracas of her rebel years, ready to bail her out of her most recent scrape. This undreamed-of predicament, however, had slapped him upside the head with reality.

The loss of his financial security, Faith’s ex-fiancé’s sudden death and the revelation of the abuse she’d endured, his near-miss of becoming a new
roomie
in the county jail, all made him take hard second thoughts about the future. Not to mention that, after all this time, she’d fallen in love with him.

The internal battle of do’s and don’ts raging inside him was beginning to get a little lopsided, with the do’s out-scoring the don’ts by a wide margin.

What’s a guy to do?
He regarded Faith with a war-weary heart. “I know your stubbornness first-hand,
darlin
’. I also know you’re inclined to act first and think later.”

“I’ve changed, Buddy Lee. Honestly. And I’ve given our situation a lot of thought.” She took his hand, placed it on her tummy. “I want a chance for us to become a family. This baby deserves a chance, and I think you want that, too. This whole fiasco started for all the wrong reasons, and I take full responsibility for that, but look what we discovered. We love each other, don’t we?”

He nodded. How could he deny the obvious, especially when Faith was looking at him with undisguised desire in her eyes? The emotion squeezing his throat nearly cut off his air supply.

His hand burned where it touched the softness of her belly.
 
An innocent child grew there, one who had no choice but to accept them as parents. Was the deception fair to that child?
 
Would resentment replace love as the years went by?

“Your problem is that you don’t believe in yourself or that you could make a difference in someone’s life,” she told him.
 
“This baby needs a loving family. Needs
us
. We can do this, Buddy Lee. Together.”

Her hand slid under his, small and warm, and when she threaded her fingers through his, quiet strength flowed into his heart and soul, nourishing his starved spirit.

Give it up, Walker. Let go of the bitterness and quit making excuses for being a coward.
Here was a chance to make his life count for something. What was he waiting for?

He folded her in his arms, felt her heartbeat join with his, and went for the gold.

“I’ll try,
darlin
’. That’s all I can promise. I’ll need some help with the ‘daddy’ thing. What you see is what you get, but, I’ll do my best to take care of both of you.”

He knuckled her chin, tipped up her face. Gazed deeply into emerald eyes that saw beyond his upbringing. With raw emotion vibrating through every word, his mouth hovered over hers. “I love you,
darlin
’. Now and always.”

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Oh, how he hoped for a million more.

They came up for air wearing silly grins. In between the wildly passionate kisses that followed, she managed to whisper, “And I love you back. That’s all that really matters.”

Damn straight.

He’d finally conquered the alligators.

W
hen Buddy Lee opened the door the next evening and invited his in-laws inside, they’d been unusually good-natured, insisting they could only stay a few minutes because they were on the way to the airport. They’d decided not to wait to begin their vacation, and neither their daughter nor her husband wanted to discourage them.

Faith had offered her folks coffee, but they’d refused.

Now, the four of them stood at the back entry staring at the driveway. Three of them looked way too innocent when Buddy Lee pointed to the car and asked, “How the hell did that get here?”

They’d only been in the house fifteen minutes and he swore he hadn’t heard any car come up the drive during that time. But, there it was. How? The car hadn’t been anywhere in sight when the
Morgans
arrived. He’d have noticed his bright red Mustang, for
cryin
’ out loud. He knew every inch of that car like he knew his own body.

“Well, now, maybe a genie in a bottle left it there for you,” Faith’s daddy said, avoiding his son-in-law’s narrowed gaze.

“Yeah, right. Like I’ve got a magic lamp to rub.” Buddy Lee raked his fingers through his hair. “I thought Scooter said somebody from out-of-town was the high bidder on it. And now it shows up here just as you’re going on vacation? This isn’t my first rodeo, folks. What’s going on here?” He studied the exaggerated look of innocence on the three faces. Did he really look so gullible they thought he believed in miracles?

Beryl placed a soft hand on his arm. “Don’t spend too much time trying to figure it all out, son. Sometimes, things have a way of working out that we aren’t supposed to understand. That’s what makes life interesting, don’t you think?”

Faith gave her mama an exuberant hug. “Life certainly can’t get much more interesting than ours. Guess what? A car collector in Houston called just this morning and asked Buddy Lee to restore a pair of antique cars for him. One will be delivered next week, so work can start work right away. The contract’s very good, too. And the owner offered to carry the insurance. Isn’t that great?”

Lionel cleared his throat. “Why, yes. Yes, it is. I wonder how he heard about your work?”

Buddy Lee felt three pairs of eyes staring at him, three faces looking suspiciously secretive. A trio of not-so-innocent partners in a devious plot to rescue his Mustang without his knowledge and find him more of the kind of work he loved. Lucrative work that would make it easier to take care of his new family. The damndest urge to hug all three of them suddenly threatened to make a fool of him. Wouldn’t that shock the old man?

With a sly grin, he said, “I’m sure none of y’all have the slightest notion.”

He should have been angry at being deceived, but somehow his new family’s generosity kept him from wasting energy on resentment. Slowly, he was learning that he didn’t have to conquer the world in order to rise above his past. Accepting his human failings and moving forward with life a little at a time had a
helluva
lot more possibilities for success. Maybe he’d make an okay daddy, after all. Boyd’s boy was part of the past. He was his own man, now. No, he quickly corrected, he was Faith’s man. Now and forever, Amen.

With Faith by his side, he would honor any debt his father-in-law might have incurred regarding the Mustang. Even if the old grouch did deny having a hand in its return.

Buddy Lee wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist, fitted her close against his side. The sudden warmth sneaking in around the vicinity of his heart felt good, he admitted.

Faith laughed softly. “Anyone in town could’ve mentioned it, since everyone knows what talented hands you have.” She slanted a heated look of longing at him. “With cars, I mean.”

Suddenly, he couldn’t get his in-laws out of the house fast enough. He thought about escorting them to the airport, but shook that idea out of his head fast. He didn’t intend to waste a minute of his time with Faith after her parents took their leave. Which he wished they’d do pretty damn soon.

“‘Bye,” Faith called one last time as the black Lincoln pulled away from the drive. As soon as it disappeared down the street, she turned to slide her arms around him, her fingers tucked inside the waistband of his jeans. “I thought they’d never leave.” She rested her head against his chest.

“Me, too.” Cupping her face between his hands, he brought her mouth up and kissed her with every fiber of his being. He doubted he’d ever tire of kissing her. Of being with her. As his hands glided down to caress her curves, the two eagerly made their way into the house, anticipation hurrying them along.

Faith kept one hand anchored in the back of his jeans, her fingers stroking his bare skin and sending heated desire racing through his blood.

“Keep that up and we won’t make it to the bedroom.” The promise caught in his throat and came out on a raw whisper.

Faith smiled. “Oh, I’m counting on it.” The tender love in her sparkling eyes went straight to his vulnerable heart.

As they passed through the tiny kitchen, he flicked on the well-used tape-player sitting next to the mismatched plastic glasses, empty TV dinner cartons and paper plates. Mickey Gilley sang to them about lonely nights, then softly crooned of love being all that mattered.

Buddy Lee understood clearly now. That’s what love was all about. The total surrender of his heart with no holding back.
 
The past, being
Boyd’s boy
, Royce and Faith’s relationship, none of that was important now. Loving Faith and the tiny baby who deserved a chance to have a real family—that was what truly mattered. This sweet woman, his wife, completed him in a way he could never have imagined if he lived to be a hundred and ten.

So, with sweet country love songs for inspiration, Buddy Lee Walker slow-danced with his beloved wife. Under the soft shadows of a big Texas moon, he loved her tenderly, and oh, so completely.

And when she loved him right back, he swore all the alligators grinned on their way back to the Louisiana swamps.