Closer To You (Suits in Pursuit) (5 page)

“
More?” Ryker’s question brought his focus back. “You mean marriage?”

Axel twisted around and set his determined eyes on his brother.
“Yes, when the time is right. Now, stop grilling me. What about you? Is there anyone significant in your life?”

“
No. I’m still enjoying the single life. If I had someone like Kerrigan, I might be persuaded to settle down, too.” Ryker winked.

He stood and
moved to the large window, and then turned to face Ryker. “Someday, I’m sure you’ll find the right woman.”

He
knew what he wanted—what he felt for her. This was the very reason that he wanted her to meet his family, but the thought that he was ready to settle down was still fresh. Although he was nervous, he was not a man to run away from his feelings. Instead, he embraced them fully. Standing at the window, he formulated his next move. He had to tear down her walls completely.

CHAPTER
SIX

Saturday, October 6

At the dawn of the next day Axel, his dad and Ryker went fishing on the lake, leaving Kerrigan and his mother alone to bond. The men sat at the end of the dock baiting and casting their lines as steam rose off the murky water and the smell of peat algae filled the air. Ryker had been acting strangely, barely talking and eyes shifty. Axel suspected Ryker was up to something.

“Dad, did you know that Axel is planning to ask Kerrigan to marry him?”
Ryker stuck his hook through a thick black worm, sneering at Axel while his legs dangled off the edge of the dock.

His line sunk into the water, John
pivoted and pinned Axel with his gaze. “Son, is this true? Have the two of you discussed marriage?” Silence fell between them. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle lap of water slapping the dock.

Axel
shot Ryker a fiery look, and then turned to face his father. “No dad, we haven’t discussed marriage yet. I haven’t decided when I’ll ask her, but I do intend to propose soon.” He tilted his white cap, masking his face from the burning rays of morning sunlight.

A tug on his line forced John’s focus back to the water.
“What about her family. Have you met them?” He asked over his shoulder, competing with the sputter of a boat motor off in the distance.

With a quarter turn and throw of his shoulder, Axel cast his line into the lake.
“Nope. I know all about them though. Her mother is a retired teacher.” The hiss of Ryker’s beer can opening stole his gaze. “She teaches piano lessons and tutors children. Her father worked in law enforcement—semi retired. She has an older brother who’s married and has a set of twins. He’s a cardiovascular surgeon.”

John nodded.
“Sounds as if she comes from a decent stock of people,” he said. Winding the reel his arms flailed, and he struggled with his catch.

Axel’s
eyes burned hotly. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His voice pitched.

Pressing his lips together,
“I’m just saying that her family sounds as if they’re decent people,” John said, glancing at Axel, his forehead wrinkled.

Axel adjusted the lid of his cap, staring across the lake and not making eye contact.
“You mean because she’s, not from a family of elites and Ivy Leaguers or because she’s black?” Axel tilted his head from left to right, loosening his neck.

Sounds of the surrounding forest coming to life could be heard all around them, birds chirping, frogs croaking, and insects buzzing as the crispness of the early morning faded into sweltering humidity under the sun.

John’s shoulders stiffened, and his face turned a shade of red that matched the t-shirt he wore. “Axel, you’re twisting my words. That isn’t what I said.” His rod slammed into the dock planks with a loud thud. “Shit! I lost the damn thing.”

Axel wound his line.
“No, that isn’t what you said, but isn’t that what you meant? I suggest that you get over any issues you have with Kerrigan. She’s in my life, to stay.” The tone of his voice rose.

Axel
glared at Ryker, who sat back, a smug grin resting on his lips enjoying the spat while he pulled and tugged, struggling with the fish at the end of his line.

“Son, I
don’t have any problems with you two or Kerrigan, or her family. I really do like her. You’re being overly sensitive. She makes you happy and I want that for you.” John placed another worm onto his hook. “I think your mother will be thrilled to help plan a wedding.” Slimy palms slid across John’s lap, wiping residue onto his jeans.

Axel
calmed and observed at his dad pensively, eyes narrow and lips pursed. “I’m in defense mode when it comes to Kerrigan. She’s sensitive about how others perceive our relationship.” He exhaled a deep breath and his posture slumped.

John sat his rod down and turned to Axel. “Son, my
reaction is simply out of concern for you, especially after everything you’ve gone through with Sara. I guess I’m still wounded as I know you are.” He stared at Ryker, nodded his head disapprovingly, and then shifted his eyes back to Axel. “A word of advice for the health of your relationship—you both need to get a handle on your insecurities. A relationship takes hard work, and you’re bound to have critics. The important thing to remember is that you get out of life what you expect, whether it’s real or manufactured in your mind. If you love each other, then that’s what matters.” John dropped his line again, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes squinting, the grit of determination riddled across his face. “Son, my concern was for you and not about Kerrigan or anything else.”

His heart rate back to normal, Axel nodded his head. “I’m sorry dad. I know you’re only looking out for me.” Eager fingers clawed, through the ice chest, to grab a beer. Axel appreciated his father’s words and knew his father was right about one thing—the insecurities in their relationship had to be addressed.

Ryker held his head down and leisurely lifted his eyes to meet Axel’s leer. He mouthed, “Sorry, bro.”

A slow roll of his eyes back at Ryker, Axel huffed. “It’s all good. Gentlemen, we have some fishing to do. Let’s get to it.”

Yanking his line from the water, John pulled out the large trout that lost its struggle against the line.

“Now, that’s a thing of beauty.” John piped up and flashed his pearly whites.

Ryker stretched his hand out. “Hey, pass me that bucket,” he demanded, his competitive nature awakened. “I’m going to catch the prize fish today.”

John let out a hearty laugh. Axel shoved the bucket to his brother. “We’ll see.”

The three men continued fishing, the tension finally dissipating into vapors like the steam rising from the lake into the mid-morning dank.

Inside the cabin, Kerrigan and Elizabeth
lounged, the salty sweetness of kettle corn wafting as they watched The Notebook. She liked Elizabeth, who seemed like a sweet woman, but Kerrigan braced for an onslaught of questions.

Elizabeth’s graceful fingers, pale and expertly manicured, waltzed across the wooden trunk that served as a cocktail table. She grabbed hold of the tablet-styled, touch screen remote control. Jabbing the pause button, she brought the movie to an abrupt halt.
“Are you in love with my son?” she blurted out.

Ker
rigan’s eyes shifted from the flat screen and darted to Elizabeth. Her pulse went from a calm resting rate to 175 beats in an instant.

Pulling the plaid tapestry throw around her shoulders tight, she gnawed mercilessly at her bottom lip.
“Honestly, that’s a difficult question for me to answer. This is new territory for me—the first relationship I’ve ever had.” Kerrigan crossed her arms over her stomach.

Sitting on the small love seat across from her, Elizabeth wiggled to the edge. The aged leather screamed loudly against her friction. She fastened her eyes to Kerrigan.
“Thank you for your honesty. It’s obvious to me that he loves you. May I ask why you’ve never been involved with anyone before Axel?”

Kerrigan exhaled a breath.
“Axel is the first man I’ve ever cared for this deeply.” Peering through the large window, she caught a glimpse of the men at a distance on the dock, her focus drawn to one in particular who wore a white cap. A swarm of butterflies attacked her stomach at the sight of him. Slowly, she fixed her gaze back on Elizabeth. “I’ve never been any good at dating.”

“Why’s that?” Elizabeth asked.

“I attract the wrong kind of men—the ones who are only after one thing.” Kerrigan lifted the glass of iced water from a coaster on the side table, brought the rim of the glass to her parched lips and gulped hard.

“Hmm, interesting. How many wrong men have you … hmm, encountered?”

Kerrigan slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from spewing the water she had swigged everywhere. She swallowed hard. “Oh! No. When I met Axel, I was a virg ... ” She didn’t think her heart could pound any harder or that she could be any closer to spontaneous combustion.

Curious eyes met Kerrigan’s. “You were a virgin when you met Axel?” Elizabeth asked.
             

Her face lowered and covered with one hand to avoid Elizabeth’s penetrating stare, the seconds passed slowly, the hands of the miniature grandfather clock on the mantel ticked along in amplified torture. “Yes.” Kerrigan uttered softly.

The room became completely silent. Even the grandfather clock seemed to hush.

“
I must admit, I’m comforted knowing that you haven’t had … let’s just call them ‘prior experiences’ before dating my son.” Elizabeth cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow. “I presume you’re more experienced now.”

Kerrigan brought her knees to her chest, balling herself up on the sofa as small as possible.
“Yes.” She barely found her voice. She nervously twirled her hair and kept her head down.

“I’m sorry
dear. I don’t mean to get so personal, but Axel is my son. I’ve always been sensitive about Axel and women. I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s had some … difficulties in the past.”

Her head rested against the soft, cool leather. “If you mean Sara, he told me all about the whole awful thing.” She gladly switched subjects.

“Yes, Sara,” Elizabeth snarled and balled her slender fingers into a fist.

“You’
ll understand the protection a mother feels one day when you have children of your own. Do you want children?”

“Someday, but in the proper order
,” Kerrigan said. “Dating. Love. Marriage.”

“You seem to have a good head
on your shoulders. Do you plan to marry my son?”

The question hit her in the gut like a battering ram.
Having his mother ask the very direct question was horrifying. Kerrigan hadn’t even allowed herself to entertain the thought. She sipped her water again. The bristling leaves her distraction, her eyes stayed fixed outside. “We’re taking things one day at a time. I care for Axel, and he cares for me. He hasn’t made any serious indication of his intentions in that regard, and I’m not pressuring him.”

Elizabeth smiled warmly. “I’m
not trying to be terrible. You’re a sweet girl. I can see why he loves you. I just know my son. When that boy of mine gets something in his head, resisting is useless.” She shook her head.

“Yes,
I’m learning that.” Eyebrows raised, Kerrigan smiled, this time glancing at Elizabeth.

The women chatted the rest of the day. Elizabeth told her stories about
Axel—embarrassing things that would have made him cringe had he known.

Standing in front of the wood beam mantel, Elizabeth’s fingers traced the edge of a silver picture frame. She stared at the photo of an adolescent Axel standing next to his father, both holding fishing poles and broad grins plastered across tanned faces. “When Axel was a teenager, I asked him why he never brought home any of his dates or introduced us to any girlfriends.” She whipped around to Kerrigan. “Do you know what he said?” The long cream dress Elizabeth wore and her long hair flowing down her back made her appear angelic.

“What did he say?”

“He said he wouldn’t waste time introducing the family to a girl who was only temporary in his life.”

“That’s pretty insightful for a teenager.”

“Yes. He’s always been very serious about relationships. I asked him the same question on his thirtieth birthday. He said he’d only introduce the family to the woman he felt was wife-worthy—his words, not mine.” She paused, her eyes glinting. “Well, here you are.”

Speechless, Kerrigan’s insides twitched. This was too much to process now.

“If Axel didn’t see your relationship moving forward, you wouldn’t be here. I’m sure you know exactly where you stand with him.” Elizabeth shook her head. “He’s always been brutally honest with women—good or bad.”

Afraid of her own feelings, Kerrigan wouldn’t tell Elizabeth that Axel had already said he wanted more with her and had even hinted at marriage. Maybe there was reason to hope.