Safe in His Arms (29 page)

BOOK: Safe in His Arms

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He was flying on the high of watching new life take its first breath and quickly messaged Lon the good news.

Saturday he pedaled to the cemetery on the new bike he’d bought, determined to visit Lon’s parents and tell them about their new baby granddaughter. It took him a couple of wrong turns before he located the correct headstone, but finally he spotted it and placed the required apple on top for Marlee before arranging the two red roses in the vase for Lon’s mother. He chatted for a while, telling them about the birth and all that had happened.

He told himself that they heard every word and approved.

Perhaps it was their intervention, but on his way home on his bike, he decided to cut through the suburb of White Gum Valley. And there it was—a sad but sturdy old house, surrounded by a large veranda and set on a decent-size block. There were trees and flowers and shrubs everywhere. And the best thing? The blue-and-white sign out front. FOR SALE.

Epilogue

“H
OW
MUCH
money do you have?” Casey asked Lon excitedly that night over Skype. He could hardly sit still as he stared with pleading eyes at the image of Lon in his lonely
donga
over a thousand kilometers away.

Lon laughed. “Wow, love. Don’t hold back there.”

Casey was almost bouncing in his chair in excitement. “I found it. I found the house I love. The only problem is, I never really asked you how much money you wanted to spend on your house. I mean, I have a job now and I can contribute to the mortgage, but it’s your house and—”

He was cut off abruptly. “Casey, stop! For a start it’s
our
house. Secondly, I have a well-paying job, and the banks will be bending over backward for me. I can afford any house you want—as long as it’s under a million.”

“It’s eight hundred thousand. But it’s a great house. Three bedrooms, a huge dining room and lounge room, plenty of garden, and it—”

“Can you send me pictures?” Lon cut in again.

“Of course. But I just love it to bits, Lon. It’s an older house and needs some paint and some TLC, but it’s wonderful. Did I tell you about the garden? They have vegetables out the back. And a big tree that I’ll need to ask Natasha about and flowers everywhere and all these green plants. And I know exactly where we can put our herbs and there’ll be so much room for all my plants that need a bit of time to recover and—”

“Casey!” Lon laughed. “Slow down and take a breath. It sounds wonderful. Now tell me what real estate agent is selling it and I can have a look online.”

Casey gave him the website details, and a week later, even though Lon was still in Newman, they jointly put an offer on the house. Casey was aghast, insisting that it should be Lon’s name on the deed, but Lon pointed out that he would be contributing to the mortgage, so it would be both of theirs.

“Besides, how is it meant to be your safe house if your name isn’t on the deed?” Lon argued.

Casey frowned at him over the computer. “I already told you. I only need two things for my safe house. One of them hangs from your right shoulder, and the other one hangs from your left shoulder.”

Twenty-eight days later, they had the key. “Whirlwind-Lon” had been upgraded to “Hurricane-Lon” as he organized for the furniture to be delivered a mere half an hour after the official handover of the key. They had plenty of helpers to give the house a clean and then help them move the furniture—Paul, Andrew, Devon, Ash, Grandma, Olivia, Stuart, Rachel, and baby Gloria.

And Devon even pointed out the perfect place for a hot tub.

That night they made passionate love in their new bed between their new sheets. Finally Casey could yell as loud as he wanted without waking the neighbors. Their “come towel” could be thrown straight into their new washing machine. And best of all, they could visit the toilet in the next room instead of dressing and dashing to the shower block.

Their new bed was king-size, and Casey couldn’t wait to find out if he could keep his pillow in the new, larger sleeping arrangements. Lon slid under the sheets and yanked Casey to him, draping Casey’s leg over his hip so they could cuddle face-to-face. Casey patiently waited until Lon was satisfied before wiggling to get comfortable—no need for unnecessary bruises fighting the big man.

“I love you, Lon.”

Lon grunted. “Love you too.”

“How come I was lucky enough to find you?”

“We could debate that I found you, not the other way around.”

“Maybe we just found each other?” Casey wondered.

“Hmm,” Lon agreed sleepily. “Thank goodness for option A.”

That confused Casey. “What? What’s option A?”

Lon answered without opening his eyes. “I’ll show you in the morning.”

As Lon let out a snore, Casey wiggled some more. He was in his favorite place—Lon’s arms. Here he could be whatever he wanted. Here he was safe. Here he was loved.

About the Author

R
ENAE
K
AYE
is a lover and hoarder of books who thinks libraries are devilish places because they make you give the books back. She consumed her first adult romance book at the tender age of thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. After years—and thousands of stories!—of not having book characters do what she wants, she decided she would write her own novel and found the characters still didn’t do what she wanted. It hasn’t stopped her, though. She believes that maybe one day the world will create a perfect couple—and it will be the most boring story ever. So until then she is stuck with quirky, snarky, and imperfect characters who just want their story told.

Renae lives in Perth, Western Australia, and writes in five minute snatches between the demands of two kids, a forbearing husband, too many pets, too much housework, and her beloved veggie garden. She is a survivor of being the youngest in a large family and believes that laughter (and a good book) can cure anything.

You can e-mail her at [email protected], view her website at http://renaekaye.weebly.com, and follow her on Twitter @renaekkaye.