Wintering with George, page 11
Once he let me up, I announced to everyone that they were safe and we could all go back home.
“That’s my gift to all of you,” I said, chuckling.
They were all looking at me, and then the questions came fast and furious. Brad was concerned about Vladek and where he’d gone, and when I told him he was in Moscow, he was stunned.
“Really?”
I nodded.
“He was that scared of your friend?”
“He was.”
He seemed hesitant to ask me the obvious next question.
“We won’t ever speak about your loan again,” I told him. “It’s not something that bears repeating.”
“But, George, it—”
“Really,” I insisted. “It’s a dead issue.”
His eyes searched mine. “Okay.”
“Good,” I said with a nod.
To make sure everyone could feel just as certain as I did, and could have the same closure, I called Detective Tunney, put him on speaker, and wished him a merry Christmas.
“Oh yes, merry Christmas to you as well, Hunt. Are you and the family on your way back now that Vladek and his entire organization have disappeared?”
“Probably tomorrow,” I told him.
“Well, not that we’re not all pleased to have Vladek and his syndicate out of Portland, but making some arrests other than those we already have in custody would have been nice.”
“I had no control over that, Detective,” I said honestly. “My family’s safety was my only priority.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “And if you’re ever looking to go into law enforcement, consider how great it would be being near that family of yours.”
“Yessir, I will.”
“Merry Christmas again, son.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Once he hung up, I looked around at all the faces.
“I think tomorrow sounds perfect,” Thomasin said. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Same,” Toby stated happily, hugging his mother.
“Of course,” I agreed, smiling at them.
“Who’s going to help me make breakfast?” Thomasin asked.
The boys and Brad all wanted to.
Needing a moment, I went upstairs while Kurt fed the dogs and Bubs.
In our room, I took a seat on our bed and looked at the ring on my finger. It all felt like it was moving too fast all of a sudden, and that was never good for me.
“Hey,” Kurt said, walking into the room. “Are you going to come back down? We have cinnamon rolls ready to go.”
“Yeah,” I replied but didn’t move.
His indrawn breath was choppy. “Baby, if you don’t like the ring, we can go get you a—”
“No, it’s beautiful,” I murmured, touching it, my fingers running over the diamonds, feeling the smooth platinum of the heavy band.
“Then what’s wrong?”
I shook my head but still didn’t get up, didn’t move.
Taking a seat beside me, he immediately took my hand, the one with the ring, in his. “Look at me.”
I lifted my eyes to his.
“I would never tell you your business or think for you. It’s not my place, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to.”
I remained still and quiet, his voice soothing my rabbiting heart.
“But since you stepped off the plane, you have been in protection mode, in fixer mode, and have not had even a moment to completely relax.”
It was true. “Yeah.”
“I think, because of that, because everything is just rushing by, that you maybe feel like you were rushed into an engagement as well.”
I nodded.
“If you want,” he said gently, “we can pack the ring away until you’re ready.”
But the idea of taking it off didn’t feel right.
“Yes?” he asked, searching my face.
“No,” I whispered.
“Oh,” he said, exhaling sharply. “That’s amazing.”
“Why? Do you think I don’t want to get married?”
“No. But I think maybe, like I said, you feel rushed, and I would never want to do that because this is the most important step in my life.”
“It is?”
He smiled at me. “Of course it is. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I get excited to see you at the end of the day. I love it when we meet out for dinner somewhere and you take my hand when we’re leaving the restaurant and I drive us home.”
“You do?”
His face lit up as he nodded. “I love going grocery shopping with you because you can absolutely make the most tedious chores fun. I mean, when I had to go through my closet, the running commentary on my clothes had me laughing so hard, I nearly peed.”
I could feel warmth replacing the scared, unsure coldness in my chest. He was like the sun, warming all the dark, shadowy parts of me.
“Even when I dropped the clothes off and the Members Only jacket fell out and my acid-wash jeans, I started laughing all over again. The people at the clothes place thought I was nuts.”
I sighed deeply.
“I will wait if you want to wait, and we can get married in the fall, or next year, or the year after that. I just want you to be mine because you are the most important person in my life,” he said hoarsely. “I will wait as long as you—”
“No,” I murmured, taking his face in my hands. “I don’t want to wait. I want my friends there, though, like Chris and his wife. And I want Hannah and her folks, and Mr. Sutter and my boss, Mr. Romero, and the guys from my unit, and fucking Ian.”
“Whoever you want there will be there,” he said, and I noted the shaking.
“I love the ring,” I said from my heart. “Thank you for thinking I deserved something so beautiful.”
“You deserve everything.” His tears came fast then, and he brushed them away roughly. “I want you to have—”
“Tears are okay, you know.”
“I know, but damn, I feel like I’ve been crying this whole trip, and when was the last time you saw me cry before this?”
I had to think.
“Right? I’m not a crier.”
“Only in bed.”
“Oh God, that’s worse,” he groaned.
I laughed at him, then sobered. “You know, you can’t make up for everything I missed out on when I was a little boy.”
“I know,” he said as I wrapped him in my arms. “But going forward, the sky’s the limit for you. I’m going to make your life amazing.”
“It already is,” I replied honestly, and then I kissed him.
“Are you guys coming back?”
Breaking the kiss, we both turned to look at Dennis at the door.
“Mom is having us drink some kind of egg drink, and I’m not trying it until I see one of you guys drink it.”
I smiled at him. “It’s better with alcohol.”
“That’s what Dad said, but how does that help me?”
“We’ll be right there, buddy,” I promised him.
He left us, and I stood up and pulled Kurt to his feet.
“You really love the ring?”
“I do.”
“It looks like it was made for you, which it basically was.”
“Because I mean the world to you.”
“That’s right,” Kurt said, having trouble talking.
“You gonna cry some more?”
“What? No,” he grumbled, grabbing my hand and tugging.
“It’s okay. It’ll be our secret.”
“Wait until the wedding. Everyone will know then.”
“That’s okay, love. You’re supposed to cry at weddings.”
“I hope you’re ready.”
“I am,” I said from the heart. “I’m more than ready.”
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you so much for reading Wintering with George, my little holiday/slice-of-life novella about George and Kurt. Nothing is ever easy for George, especially not epiphanies about love and family. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, it’s so helpful for the book’s visibility.
George first met Kurt in Just George, and Kurt first appears, much younger, in Steamroller, back when he was in college. Both George and Kurt are linked to Sam and Jory from A Matter of Time through their children. All roads lead to that original series.
Be sure to follow me on Amazon to stay up to date on new releases and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter here.
Please pop by my website or visit me on social media to stay in touch. I have some really cute pics of my furry ninja on Instagram. And if you like to listen to your books as well, you can find me on Audible as well.
I hope to see you soon!
ALSO BY MARY CALMES
By Mary Calmes
BREAKING TRADITION
Muscle and Bone
Mist and Marrow
HOUSE OF MAEDOC
His Consort
His Prince
L’ANGE
Old Loyalty, New Love
Fighting Instinct
Chosen Pride
Winter’s Knight
MARSHALS
All Kinds of Tied Down
Fit To Be Tied
Tied Up in Knots
Twisted and Tied
Balanced and Tied
Tied Over
TIMING
Timing
After The Sunset
When The Dust Settles
TORUS INTERCESSION
No Quick Fix
In A Fix
Fix It Up
The Fix Is In
The Big Fix
THE VAULT
A Day Makes
Late In The Day
WARDERS
His Hearth (Warders #1)
Tooth & Nail (Warders #2)
Heart In Hand (Warders #3)
Sinnerman (Warders #4)
Nexus (Warders #5)
Cherish Your Name (Warders #6)
Trick Of Light (Warders #7)
Again
Any Closer
Floodgates
Just Desserts
Just George
Lay It Down
More Than Life
Scratch The Surface
Stand In Place
Steamroller
Still
Wayward
Woods of the Raven
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Acrobat
Frog
The Guardian
Heart of the Race
Ice Around the Edges
Judgment
Kairos
Mine
Romanus * Chevalier
The Servant
What Can Be
Where You Lead
You Never Know
CHANGE OF HEART
Change of Heart
Trusted Bond
Honored Vow
Crucible of Fate
Forging the Future
MANGROVE STORIES
Blue Days
Quiet Nights
Sultry Sunset
Easy Evenings
Sleeping ‘til Sunrise
A MATTER OF TIME
A Matter of Time Vol.1
A Matter of Time Vol. 2
Bulletproof
But For You
Parting Shot
Piece of Cake
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Calmes believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a six-pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and the neighbor’s dogs. To stay up to date on her ponderings and pandemonium (as well as the adventures of the ninja) follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter.
Calmes, Mary, Wintering with George
