The Love He Craves (The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan Book 2) (31 page)

The woman turned to Declan. “It’s just a mild case of Budweiseritis. They aren’t usually so bullheaded.”

Declan nodded, but kept his mouth shut.

She leaned towards Lotus and gave her a superficial hug. “Hope you had a good birthday,
mija
.”

“Bye, Aunt Stacy.”

Nyxie pulled the packs of beer and box of wine out of her refrigerator. “Take your beer and wine with you. It’ll just go to waste here.”

She could only imagine what CPS would do if they saw all that alcohol in her refrigerator.

It took a few more minutes for everyone to file out after giving Lotus hugs. Reina had disappeared during the argument. Nyxie had seen her crawl around the island that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room. She had opened a lower cabinet and crawled in.

Nyxie hung up with the dispatcher and opened the cabinet where Reina was hiding. “You can come out now. They’re gone.”

“Is everyone okay?” Declan asked.

Reina’s bottom lip stuck out and she looked as if she might cry. She held up the little beanie dog Declan had given her. “The puppy was scared.”

Nyxie automatically bent down and embraced the child. “It’s all right now,” she said to the eight-year-old.

“Are you hurt, Lotus?” Declan asked the older girl.

“I wanted to go with my mom,” Lotus said. “You ruined my birthday.”

Lotus jumped off the stool, stomped up the stairs, and slammed her bedroom door.

Chapter 28

Over the next month, they fell into a new routine. Cody was moved into a rehab hospital further away from the house. Nyxie was afraid she’d get lost driving back and forth, but was pleasantly surprised by how easy Lubbock was to navigate with its repeating alphabetically named streets.

The new nanny, Kylie, moved in, and was the complete opposite of Ms. Kiki. Not only did Kylie happily don a chef’s hat and cook, but she insisted that Lotus and Reina help her, and all three clean up afterwards—because Kylie believed, cooking and cleaning were skills that everyone should know.

Esmerelda was a frequent visitor. Nyxie only allowed her to visit when she was there, so she was limited to coming over in the mornings before Nyxie went to the rehab center. Melinda came for the first three days after Lotus’s birthday, but went into a 60-day drug rehab center before the first week was over. Nyxie never knew all the details, but she suspected her sister relapsed and went into the rehab to keep from going back to jail. She also suspected Declan may have been paying for it. But he never mentioned it, so she didn’t either.

It was early August when Declan finished his family medicine residency and was allowed to go on vacation. He had not been able to switch to the internal medicine because all the resident positions for the following year had been taken. Unless someone left the program, he would have to wait a year and reapply. But he knew he could get a job at any number of clinics or he could buy into an existing family medicine practice or start his own.

They set the date for the wedding ceremony the Saturday before his last day, so they could have a full two weeks to honeymoon before the kids had to be home to start school. Since Declan had asked his mother to make the wedding arrangements, and most summer venues were already booked, they decided to have the wedding in their spacious backyard.

The room she had been given to get ready looked out over the neighbor’s house, and Nyxie sat at the window trying to get a glimpse of Declan or the kids. A soft knock pulled her away from the window. “Come in.”

Declan’s cousin, Jesslyn, poked her head in and smiled widely at Nyxie. “They’re ready for you,” She was a couple of years younger than Declan, slender with long, blonde hair and glasses that transformed her from only looking pretty to bookish also.

Picking up her bouquet, her mind instantly went to the night he had dressed her up as a bride to take her virginity, only that day, she held a flogger instead of flowers. She wore the same small veil with her white maxi dress because she absolutely refused to spend money on a dress she would only wear once.

Nyxie looked in the mirror one last time before following the woman through Declan’s parents’ one-story ranch house. Cody was waiting for her in a chair in the den, but used his walker to climb to his feet when he saw her. He had been out of the rehab hospital for one week, the leg and arm braces gone only three days. He still had to go to therapy daily, but his recovery was remarkable so far.

When Nyxie saw him dressed in his suit and tie, tears formed in her eyes. They had come so close to losing him, and now he was going to walk her down the aisle. The hairdresser had given him an asymmetrical cut to make his hair appear as if the shorter side was intentional and not the result of half of his head being shaved after the accident. In the two months since, his hair had grown about an inch, but the scar was still mostly visible.

Knowing how far he had come since that horrible day two months earlier, a lump the size of a tumbleweed formed in her throat.

“I love you, Cody.”

“You w-want me to barf?”

Nyxie had to laugh. With all of his deficits, Cody’s personality was intact. She silently thanked God, feeling sure that if there was a God, all the prayers for Cody’s recovery were answered.

In the distance, she could hear music being played as Declan’s cousin opened one of the French doors to the back yard, and held it open as Cody made his way out and down the single small step. He stepped aside to let Nyxie come out.

“Are you ready?” Nyxie asked, shutting the door behind her. When Jesslyn reached past Nyxie, she thought she hadn’t pulled the door closed all the way, but Jesslyn picked up a cane that was leaning against the wall. She handed it to Cody and set aside his walker. He looked up at Nyxie and grinned that adorable crooked smile at her.

It was the first time she had seen him get around without the walker.

Her eyes were so filled with tears, she could barely see as the music changed to the Wedding March and they began the slow stroll down the aisle.

Nyxie could make out the white wooden chairs on both sides of the blue carpet runner—six rows, five chairs wide. Most of the 60 chairs were filled up with Declan’s friends and family. Besides the kids, she only invited her boss, Bob, whom she had known nearly her whole life, and her former teacher, Mrs. North and her husband. Nyxie had felt obligated to invite her sister, despite her trepidations. Thankfully Melinda could not get out of rehab to attend.

She looked down the aisle and spotted Declan, but with one hand holding Cody’s arm tightly in case he should stumble, and the other holding the bouquet, she could not wipe her eyes to see him clearly. She knew he was wearing a black Armani suit with a slate gray necktie because he had shown it to her for her approval. She liked it when he wore dark colors because they made the gray-green of his eyes stand out.

It had been Declan’s suggestion that they did not need attendants—she wasn’t sure if it was because he understood she had no close friends, or if he was worried that Lotus and Reina would get their feelings hurt if she’d chosen one to be the maid of honor and the other a bridesmaid.

Cody and Nyxie stopped their progress a few feet from Declan.

“Who gives this woman?” the preacher asked.

“I d-do,” Cody responded.

Declan stepped forward to shake Cody’s hand.

“Did he say, ‘I doo-dooed?’” a male voice said in a stage whisper.

Declan’s eyes raised over Cody’s head and lasered in on who said it. He was easy to find with so many angry eyes focused on him. He couldn’t believe his parents had invited five of the men who had raped Melinda as teenagers.

“You need to leave,” Declan said.

“Dude, it was just a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny. He’s a twelve-year-old. You’re supposedly a grown man. He nearly died two months ago and has busted his butt in therapy to be able to walk his sister down the aisle. How dare you ruin his moment? All five of you need to go,” he said, sweeping his pointing hand along the row of his former teammates.

The one who spoke was the last to stand, but finally they filed out of the row. The last one, Melinda’s former boyfriend, Clete, stepped forward and held out his hand to shake Declan’s. “Congratulations. Sorry about Mark, he was always a jerk.”

When Declan made no indication he intended to shake his proffered hand, he turned to leave.

“Wait,” Lotus said. “Is your name Clete?”

Clete turned around and eyed the girl. There was no sign of recognition in his countenance. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“My mom showed me your picture. Are you my dad?”

“No,” he said, and turned to follow the others to the side gate. He took two steps further before turning back. “Who is your mother?” he asked, looking back to the front row where Lotus had been sitting with Reina and Kylie.

“Melinda Carmichael,” Declan supplied. “He’s not your father, Lotus. But when the adoption goes through, I’ll be your stepfather. You don’t need another father.”

The man took a long look at Lotus before turning and leaving. Declan watched until the men had gone through the side gate before turning back to Nyxie and Cody.

“Cody, what he said, tells more about what kind of person he is, than it does about you,” Nyxie was saying softly to Cody who was now sitting on the aisle seat of the front row. “I am so proud of you. Every person here, who knows you’ve been through, knows you’ve got the heart of a lion.”

The boy sniffled. “He had the mouth of one.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Declan said. “He’s got the mouth of a baboon.”

Cody chuckled through his tears. “He’s an asshole.”

Although it was his automatic response to give Nyxie a look to ask if she allowed him to speak like that, he did not voice it aloud.

“He’s gone. They’re all gone,” Declan said quietly, leaning closer to the boy. “It’s a good thing you’re so tough, Cody. I know you’re too strong to let idiots like that hurt your feelings.”

Cody sniffled and straightened his posture slightly. Nyxie had noticed Cody gradually warming to Declan. At first, he’d seemed almost leery of Declan. Who could blame him? He had awakened from his coma, and his sister suddenly had a man in her life. He quickly recognized that Declan was not like their father. Nyxie had worried that he might feel jealous of the time and attention she gave Declan, but quickly realized Cody thrived on the attention Declan gave him. When he was still in the hospital, Declan made an effort to go up to see Cody when Nyxie wasn’t there. He’d leave for work early so he could visit Cody before he clocked in. He might bring him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a BMX magazine. He downloaded games on Cody’s phone and put in his credit card info so Cody could buy music. And when Cody needed motivation for his therapy, Declan was there to provide it.

So, when Declan said Cody was tough, he listened and tried to live up to his brother-in-law’s opinion.

“Are we good?” Declan asked, and Cody nodded his head. “Shake my hand, so I can marry your sister.”

“Again,” Cody said, placing his small hand in Declan’s large one.

“The first one barely counted since you weren’t there.”

Cody’s crooked smile beamed at him.

Declan turned to Nyxie. Seeing her eyes filled with tears, made his heart lurch in that way that was reserved only for her. His body had an immediate reaction to her vulnerability. He took her into his embrace and they stayed like that at the makeshift altar.

“We’re ready,” he said to the minister.

Nyxie moved to step back, but when she realized that Declan was not going to release her, she asked the preacher, “Is this okay?”

“It’s our wedding. We can do whatever we want.”

Nyxie looked to the clergymen for confirmation. He nodded and began the ceremony.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Declan Scott Stryker and Onyx Ebony Carmichael,” the preacher began. “Marriage is an institution….”

Nyxie felt so nervous, she barely heard the man. She looked up at Declan, trying to find her center strength. The movement of her head caught his attention and he looked down at her. Seeing her pale expression, he smiled reassuringly. The pressure on her back increased and he rotated his hips slightly, making her aware of his desire for her. If he had hoped to distract her, it worked, but it also distracted Declan.

“The rings?” the preacher said, and Declan realized he had asked for it a moment earlier.

Declan reached his right hand into his pocket and pulled out her wedding ring and slipped it onto her thin finger. When he had taken it from her that morning, it was the first time she had removed it since putting it on. He placed her hand on his chest over his heart and held it there.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Declan said, without prompting from the minister. “With my body, I will worship you. With all my worldly goods, I endow you. I pledge my fidelity, and my love. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance, I give you my pledge.”

Nyxie had to take a small step back to reach into the maxi dress’s pocket and retrieved his ring. It hung up slightly on his knuckle and he had to push it the rest of the way on. In imitation of the way he had held her hand over his heart, she opened his hand and pressed his palm over her collarbone, his long fingers touching her throat.

“With this ring…” Nyxie stopped and cleared her throat. “With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I will worship you. With all my worldly goods, I endow you.” She stopped again and nearly giggled at how ludicrous that statement sounded in light of his millions. “I pledge you my fidelity, my
trust
and my love, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, cherish, and obey, from this day forward, until death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance, I give you my pledge.”

Nyxie was sure Declan could feel her heart pounding. She could tell by his expression that he understood that by letting him touch her throat, she was giving him her complete trust.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Declan ran his hand up her neck, his long fingertips weaving into her hair behind her ear and his thumb resting on her pulse point. His head lowered to hers. “I love you,” he whispered just before his lips met hers.

Nyxie tried to ignore the feel of his thumb resting in the hollow of her neck. Her heart was racing. She swallowed compulsively. She was about to shove him away when he removed it.