The Champ: Bad Boys Book 5 (The Bad Boys) (7 page)

By the time everyone else was here and we sat down to eat you’d think these people had known each other forever. Her friends seemed more comfortable in their surroundings, but ma’s constant running conversation helped to take her mind off of whatever it was she was thinking.

That’s when I learned that my baby was a little brain. Leave it to ma to get the goods. Between her grilling, Lisa’s talk about fashion and dad’s flirting, she was soon laughing it up with the rest of us. “See I told you, nothing to worry about.”

For the first time she gave me a smile free of any shadows as we all dug into ma’s stuffed French toast and cheese eggs. There was enough food to feed the neighborhood, which my brother and our boys took care of. I on the other hand caught flack for eating like a teenage girl because of my special training diet.

The women headed for the kitchen when we were done and Marie the cock blocker refused to let me sneak off with my girl. “But ma, we’re trying to get to know each other.” I gave her the puppy dog look that has been keeping me in good stead my whole life.

“What better way for her to get to know you than from my stories, no you lot take your big feet outta my kitchen and go down there and cut me a tree. You’ll come back and help us trim it won’t you Traci?” Alright ma, lock her in for a future date.

I knew we were on the same page when she winked at me over everyone’s head, so instead of arguing I grabbed my coat and hustled the others out the door. “Well son looks like you found you a good one.” Dad clapped me on the shoulder as I pulled on my gloves.

“How can you tell dad?” He was right of course, but it was still good to hear it. Chad had already given his stamp of approval and from the way Lisa had chatted her up I knew she approved. Looked like things were falling into place rather nicely, I wasn’t gonna have to put the works to her after all. But if it came to that I had no problem.

I didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt at the thought of running roughshod over her to get what I wanted. In the end what I wanted was the best thing for her wasn’t it? I was pretty sure that no one else would feel the way about her that I did. No way this was anything less than fate.

“She’s like your ma at that age.”

“Say what now?” Were we talking about the same two people?

“Don’t be fooled son, when I first met your mother she was sweet as pie, had to dig to get a word out of her.” Both my brother and I busted a gut at that one. “No she wasn’t.” The woman is a tyrant.

“I kid you not son, I had to put the Hunter whammy on her to get her to even go out with me. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t going to be one of my light skirts; put me through my paces that’s for sure. I thought I was gonna have to kidnap her or something back then, followed her around like a lovesick puppy until I finally put my foot down and told the fool woman how it was going to be.”

“You stalked ma?”

“No you ass, but I didn’t give her time to catch her breath though. We met as you know at a party on campus. I took one look and was a goner. I had a girl back then but that night I called it quits with her because I knew. It was one of those things that a man can feel down to his very soul.”

That shit was spooky. I always knew how they’d met of course, the two of them never shut up about it. But this was the first time I was hearing these particular details. They seemed to parallel my own situation perfectly and gave me hope for the days to come. “So how did you come to be the Jack and Marie show?” We tramped through the brush that surrounded the back end of the property on our way to the pine trees growing back there.

“I wore her down, never gave up even when she was hurling invectives at my head and calling me every name in the book. She used to try to hide herself away from me, refused my phone calls the whole nine yards. I found out later the silly woman thought she wasn’t good enough for me, that she was going to turn out to be just one of the girls I’d bagged in college.” He shook his head and smiled in fond memory.

“So how exactly did you wear her down dad?”

“Persistence son and a lot of patience. You young people have no game whatsoever.” What the fuck is this old man saying?

“I got lots a game old man, you must be thinking bout your other son he’s an ass.” Chad threw me the finger.

“A woman like that, makes you work for her, she’s worth it, but you better be sure she’s the one you want.” I looked back towards the house where we could barely make them out through the French doors puttering around the kitchen. “Ma let her in the kitchen.” It made me feel overly proud for some girly ass reason.

“Yeah Marie likes her, plus the fact that she’s the first one you’ve brought around here since you became a man. You better not be playing with my wife’s emotions, you know how she is. All night I had to hear about her soon to be grandkids, the woman is obsessed.”

“No games dad, I felt it, like you said down to my soul. Scariest damn thing since my first pro fight.”

“That’s exactly how it’s supposed to feel son, shows you’re really invested. I’m happy for you, she’s a good girl.”

I don’t know how the hell he knew that from just one hour of talking, but I’ll take it. I’ve always been able to trust both my parents when it came to making good choices. That was one of the reasons for me bringing her home so soon. It was one thing for me to feel the way I did, but having my family verify that shit made all the difference in the world to me.

We went after ma’s tree and the five of us argued over the best choice, then we argued about how to get it back to the house. They all had a lot to say when I picked my baby wildflowers but I didn’t care. Those flowers felt more special than any bouquet I’d ever sent a female before.

By the time we got back a good two hours had gone by. I left them out there and rushed in the house. It had been way too long since I’d seen her and dad’s words kept playing in my head, solidifying for me that this was real. That it was possible to take that one-look and know without a doubt that you’d found your one.

I found her in the kitchen on a stool peeling some kind of vegetable, and without giving her a chance to waylay me, took her face in my hands and kissed the shit out of her. “Wyatt.” There she goes again, calling my name in that come fuck voice of hers.

“Say it again.” I kissed her temple as she gave me what I wanted. “Wyatt.” I almost forgot that we had company as I gave her-her flowers, until the hooting and hollering started.

“What’s going on in here?” Dad slammed through the backdoor while ma dabbed at her eyes. “Our son’s being romantic. It’s so sweet.”

“You want romance I got romance.” He picked her up and laid one on her, which made her twitter and blush like a schoolgirl. “There, you think your son got more game than me?”

“Oh Jack hush, I don’t see you bringing me any flowers.” She sniffed at him and went back to her cooking. “Hey now, I sent you roses just last week.” He gave me the stink eye like I’d brought my girl flowers just to show him up with his woman.

“That’s different, those were store bought; he took time and chose these special. Here let me find a vase for your flowers Traci.” Dad slapped me behind the head before mumbling something about upstarts and heading back out. No one was surprised when he came back ten minutes later with flowers from the garden.

“You know how many thousands of dollars I coulda saved over the years if I’d a known you prefer tumbleweed?” He joked as he gave her-her flowers. While everyone was occupied with the Marie and Jack show I pulled her off the stool and snuck her out.

“Wyatt I’m supposed to be helping your mom.” She fussed at me as I grabbed her coat from the hall closet and bundled her into it. “She’ll be fine I have something I wanna show you.” I took her hand and led her out of the house and across the property to my old hangout spot. “You gonna be okay in those things?” I looked down at the gravity defying heels she had on her feet.

“Yes, I’m an old pro at these things I have to be or I’d look like a twelve year old. Who’s gonna take a twelve year old attorney seriously?” Makes sense but I happen to like her tiny frame, it gives me ideas about picking her up and carting her around in my arms.

We came to a place that was very dear to me, a place where my family had always found hours of enjoyment. One I’d never shared with anyone else outside my family or our few close friends.

“This is where our sons and daughters are gonna play one day.” I guess she was getting used to hearing me talk about our future since she didn’t so much as bat a lash at that one. “You built this?”

“My grandfather did, for my dad and his friends, then when we got old enough to play in it, dad, Chad and I remodeled it and added on the extra room.” It had once been a tree house but had since been turned into a fort. I’d spent quite a lot of time here. Some of my best life decisions had been mulled over here. “Let’s go up, don’t worry it’s sturdy.”

I helped her up the stairs to the room that was outfitted with chairs and floor cushions. It looked like someone had been keeping the place clean because the dust was at a minimum. “Wow this is amazing. How many girls did you bring up here hotshot?”

“Not one, this is a very special place, only the best of the best get to trespass here. Have a seat.” I helped her down onto one of the cushions and took the seat next to her. I had to think before I spoke because as much as my mind was already made up, she was right, it was a little crazy the way this whole thing was unfolding.

“Have you ever been in love before Traci?” It burned a hole in my gut to ask but I had to. I didn’t want anything between us, no old hang-ups no misconceptions. “No, I’ve always been too busy with school or my mom’s illness.”

“Your mom’s sick?”

“Not anymore, she kicked the cancer when I was in the eight grade and it hasn’t been back since. For a long time it was touch and go and my dad and I were always afraid you know. That was the scariest time of my life, it taught me a lot. It made me realize that the future isn’t promised, so you have to make the best of life.”

I could see her then, my little Traci trying to be brave for her mom. I listened as she told me about her life back then, her fear of losing the woman she loved so much. The fear she felt when her dad would cry at night and she didn’t know how to help as she laid in her own bed fighting the same demons.

She had a pretty good childhood otherwise from what she said and I was glad of that. I guess being in love with someone makes you want to protect them even from their past. Because all I could see in my mind’s eye was a much younger Traci dealing with a killer that had destroyed so many, and it made me ache for her.

She seemed to have overcome it though, there was no lingering tinge of sadness in her as she told of her mom’s remission and the way things had progressed after the death sentence had been lifted.

“So what made you decide to be a lawyer?”

“I’ve always been fascinated I guess. When mom was recuperating she used to watch a lot of those true crime shows. Since I spent every free moment with her back then the seed was planted and I’ve just worked towards it ever since.”

“What about your dad what does he do?”

“My dad’s a contractor, we lost the family business when he had to cut back to take care of mom. He tried getting back into the swing of things after but then the recession hit not long after that and well…”

“Where’s your family?”

“They’re in Nebraska, that’s where I’m from.”

“And the reason you didn’t go home for the holidays?” She got really quiet and looked away from me as if ashamed of what she was about to say. I braced myself for the worst.

“I couldn’t afford it this time, plus my boss wouldn’t give me the time off.”

“Your boss, you work?”

“Yeah, I’m an intern at a law office downtown.”

“So you’re really serious about being a lawyer huh? Ever think about having kids, a family?”

“Honestly, no, I’ve just always been focused on my career goals.”

“Why not do both?” She shrugged her shoulders and picked at her clothes, the way she does when she gets nervous.

“I’ll be straight up with you, I want kids, lots of them in fact. Until last night I couldn’t see the woman that was going to walk beside me forever, I could always see ten steps ahead when it came to my life, but that one thing always eluded me. Until I saw you, and after talking to my dad today I know I’m on the right path.”

“Your dad, what did he say?” I looked at her so she could see the sincerity of what I was about to tell her. “He said that when he first saw ma he knew, kinda like what I’m feeling now. I won’t lie to you. You seem to need time but I can’t give it to you. The way my life is I’m always on the road. I’m going to be gone in another couple of weeks. But I don’t want to leave here with things unsettled between us.”

“Wyatt do you know how crazy this all sounds? We just met not even twenty-four hours ago and already you’re talking kids. This is all new to me. I have no experience with this kind of thing.”

“Are your parents happy together?”

“Yes very. Why what does that have to do with anything?”

“So are mine, it has to do with you saying that you have no experience but you do. You have your parents and the love they have for each other. That means you have a pretty good idea of what happily ever after looks like and trust me, I wouldn’t risk my happiness for anything less than a sure thing. I don’t go around feeding women a line of bull. I’ve had plenty of encounters but not once have I ever came even remotely close to wanting to give my all to anyone.”