Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) (35 page)

He looks at me and his eyes soften and he smiles sweetly at me.

“She’s told me to follow my heart and to listen to my inner voice. Blake, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you all of this. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about what David was doing. If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure he won’t bother me anymore now.”

He half grunts and half laughs. “He better hope he doesn’t. Kayla, you could have told me all of this and I would have understood. I told you I love you and I meant that. You can’t keep things from me.”

“I promise. No more secrets. I have one more thing I need to tell you.”

He looks at me as if he is bracing himself for some horrible news.

“I love you, Blake McGinnis. I love you more than life itself.”

Blake

Thank God
. I think I may have just reached the high point of my life. Taking her in my arms, I kiss her with more passion than ever before. We are both breathless and smiling from ear to ear when we finally break apart. Nothing else in my life has ever compared to this moment.

“It’s about time you admitted it.”

“Hey, wait, you didn’t tell me until earlier today yourself. So, why did you wait so long? Although, I personally believe this is really fast.” She says, bumping me with her shoulder.

This is going to be hard to admit, but I feel it’s something I need to share with her so that she understands that this is scary for me too. “I didn’t tell you before now because I didn’t want to scare you. You know you’ve already freaked out on me once, besides, this all scares me too”

“Blake McGinnis gets scared? I don’t believe it.”

I reach up and move some hair out of her face. “Believe it. You scare me more than anything ever has.”

“Why do I scare you?”

“Because, Kayla, I’ve never felt this vulnerable before. If you wanted, you could completely destroy me.”

She looks up at me with an intense look on her face.

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you.”

“You realize this is the first time we’ve actually been together that we haven’t had to be worried about being in a hurry or that some drama hasn’t been going on around us?”

“I know, it feels good. Doesn’t it?”

“It definitely does.”

Softly touching her face, I lean into her again. She slides closer to me putting her hands into my hair, the girl loves to mess my hair up. As the intensity of the kiss increases, I pull her onto my lap. She clings to me tighter, like she’s afraid I’m going to stop. Smiling against her lips, at her reaction she pulls back to look into my eyes.

“Are you laughing at me, Mr. McGinnis?”

“Never, baby. By the way, I like Mr. Sexy way better.”

“Oh, I bet you do.”

We hear someone clear their throat, looking up we see Tessa and Asher standing at the edge of the dock.

“We don’t mean to interrupt, but we thought y’all might like to use these.”

Tessa holds up two sleeping bags and what looks like a sheet. Kayla twists and looks at me raising her eyebrows asking with her eyes if this is something I want to do.
Does she not know me at all? I am a guy.
What man wouldn’t want to spend the night with her under the stars?

“Anything you want beautiful. I’m game.”

A beautiful smile lights up her face. Her eyes are full of excitement and love. I can see it plain as day now. She is finally showing me her true emotions. I love this girl beyond words.

Asher holds up an ice chest too. “Lisa packed an ice chest with snacks and drinks.”

“So, they’re okay with us spending the night out here?” Kayla asks.

“I guess Dad trusts you. Plus, he’s kind of fond of Blake right now. We told him everything that happened. He’s not a fan of violence, but he believes what happened will stop David from bothering you anymore.” Tessa explains.

“Well, we’ll just leave this here and see you guys in the morning.” Asher states.

“Wait! Y’all aren’t staying out here too?”

“Not on your life. You two need some time alone. Enjoy it.” Tessa says with a smile and a wink.

Mouthing thank you, over Kayla’s head to Tessa. She simply nods her head at me.

“Thank you, Tessa. Please, tell Lisa and Troy we said thank you when you go in.”

“I will. See you two tomorrow. I just hope the bugs don’t kill you. You know the tents are in the garage if you decide to use one.”

They turn and walk back to the house together. Kayla turns to me with a shocked look on her face.

“All night together. I can’t believe this. They must really trust you.”

“I think it’s more that they know you and the type of person you are.”

“Maybe it’s a little of both.” She says with a smile.

“Maybe.”

“So tent or sleeping bags under the stars?”

“Hmm. Tough decision. You decide.”

“A tent might keep some of the creepy crawlers off of us.”

“Okay. Where are these tents?” I ask laughing.

She jumps up taking off toward the house, yelling, “I’ll get it.”

I jump up and run after her. “No, you just show me where and I’ll carry it.”

She takes off faster, but I catch her with ease. Picking her up as I go, I continue in the direction of the house.

“Why are you always picking me up?” She asks and then squeals.

Continuing to run until I get to the house, I place her on her feet. She shows me where the tent is and we walk back to the dock with it.

Looking down at her, she is still breathing hard and her hair is rumpled from me running with her, she is adorable. “Where do you want it set up?”

“Right here, so we can watch the sunrise.” She says pointing to a grassy area to the left of the dock.

Nodding my head, “Good choice.”

We get the tent set up quickly. Placing the cooler and the sleeping bags inside, then we go back to sit on the dock. Sitting side by side with our feet dangling over the side, her head is resting on my shoulder and we are holding hands. It’s a simple gesture, but it’s priceless to me.

“So, the big eighteen next weekend. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t care as long as you are here with me.”

“I’ll be here. Then prom and graduation. Have you thought anymore about moving in with me?”

She bites her lip. “Some. I’m just not sure yet.”

“Fair enough. We still have some time. I want you to come and meet my parents, the weekend after your birthday.”

She’s still biting that lip, which I now know means she’s worried about something.

“They’ll love you Kayla, just like I do.”

“It’s not that. I don’t have a car, remember?”

“Not a problem. I’ll come and get you and bring you back.”

“No, that’s too much.”

“No, it’s not. It’s settled. I want you to see the land and look at the house plans. You can even let me know what appliances and what type of fixtures you like.”

“I can’t do that. That is your house you need to pick that stuff out.”

“What did I tell you Kayla? It’s going to be our house one day, you should have a say in it. Even if you don’t believe that, you can still give me your opinion, right?”

“You’re impossible.”

“So, you keep telling me, but you still love me.”

“Yes, I do.” She says as she touches my face.

My breath hitches in my throat at such a simple contact from her. Maybe it was the fact that I have told her how I feel, and not only did she not run away screaming, but she feels the same. There are so many moments in my life that I’m not very proud of, but whatever I’ve done to earn the right to love her and have her love, I’ll do it all over again if the results were the same. We may only have one night together and the day may have started off shaky, I’m more happy for the minutes I get to spend with her than the hours I missed out on. Frankly, one minute with her makes up for the whole week without her.

We talk late into the night. Until finally, Kayla starts to nod off. She’s against my arm when her head falls forward. Catching her before she falls, I pick her up.

“What are you doing? She asks groggily.

“Putting you to bed.”

“I can walk.”

“I’ve got you. I like carrying you.”

“I’ve noticed.”

She doesn’t protest anymore, she just lays her head on my chest. I take in a deep breath.
How did I get so lucky to have her in my life?

Laying her down on the bed, we’ve made out of both sleeping bags, using the sheet as cover, so that we do not get too hot. Tessa even thought to bring us some pillows down, when she saw that we had opted to sleep in the tent.

Deciding to leave the front flaps open, I did close the mosquito netting in hopes of keeping some of the insects out. This way we will be able to watch the sunrise like Kayla requested.

Laying with her in my arms makes my life feel complete. There’s a peace with me, when I’m with her. It’s like I’ve finally found what I was looking for. Although before she stormed into my life, I hadn’t known anything was missing. Strange how one event or person can change your life forever. Because no matter what happens with us, my life will never be the same.

She stirs in my arms, rolling over to face me. Seeing that sleepy look on her face makes me smile.

“Blake, can I ask you a question?”

“Baby, you can ask me anything.”

“Do you believe in God?”

Okay, not what I was expecting, but an important question all the same.

“Yes, I do. I’ve been raised in the Church. I play on my Church’s softball team. Why do you ask?”

“Good. I just think it’s important that we both believe in the same things.”

After giving her a gentle kiss, she rolls over and falls asleep in my arms again.

This girl amazes me with her kindness, her heart of gold, and her convictions. I suspect after all I’ve seen today, she can be a little hurricane when she is angry.

Lying awake most of the night, breathing her in. Just reveling in the feeling of her being this close to me. Nothing on this earth can be better than being right here with her.

Miraculously, I wake right as the sun starts to rise. This is like a dream come true.

I whisper in her ear, “Kayla, wake up, baby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kayla

Waking with arms around me is a new experience. Waking with Blake’s arms around me is divine.

He whispers into my ear, sending a delicious shiver through my body. “Kayla, wake up, baby.”

Groaning, I snuggle deeper into him. “Sleep. Feels too good to wake up.”

He laughs into my hair.

“You’re going to miss the sunrise.”

“Did I mention I’m not a morning person?”

He laughs harder, causing my body to shake with his. “This was your idea, baby.”

Ugh. Rolling over onto my back, I look out the tent opening.

“Wow! That’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is. But not near as beautiful as you are, with your messed up hair.”

I reach up trying to straighten my hair some. “Oh no. Don’t look at me. I know I have to look horrible.”

Blake takes my hands and moves them.

“Stop. You’re beautiful. Just enjoy the sunrise with me.”

Ducking my head, I lay it on his chest. We lay in silence, holding each other as the sun slowly peaks up over the water. The colors bleed across the sky in shades of orange, pink, and purple. Reflecting off of the water they dance and sway about creating a majestic light show. There's a light breeze coming off of the water. It lightly kisses our skin as it flows into the tent where we hold each other in awe of it all. Being able to experience this moment with Blake heightens the beauty of it and of this moment. As the sun climbs higher into the sky the colors reach further across the water dancing their way toward us.

It isn’t just the spectacular show of colors that has me mesmerized, but Blake himself. The love that we share makes this moment perfect. Having fallen asleep in his arms, then waking in those same arms, is like this beautiful sunrise. The colors represent the colors this wonderful man has brought into my life, my heart and my soul. I’m his forever as he is mine. It’s gorgeous, being in the arms of the man I love, however, makes it spectacular.

Once the sun has risen I ask the question that I dread hearing the answer to, “What time do you have to leave?”

“Are you already sick of me?”

Looking up at him I see that he is smiling, however, when he sees my expression, he smiles sadly.

“No, I just hate the thoughts of you leaving me.”

“I don’t have to leave till later this afternoon.”

I let out the breath I was holding. “Good.”