Authors: Felicite Lilly

An Unknown Place (21 page)

“With me.”

“Gulps is a part of the deal.”

“Gulps?”

“My fish.”

“I don’t care if you had thirty fish, my offer would still be the same.”

“How can I say no to that?”

“You don’t.”

Kellan smiled and leaned over, kissing all other thoughts from my head, and leaving me feeling loved even though I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. I could only imagine how I looked.

That’s the thing about love though. No matter what form it shows up in, when you find it, you know it, embrace it and keep it as close to you as possible, no matter what.

“Okay.”

EPILOGUE

Kellan

It had been a long road since Mac had moved in with me. She had gone through a year of intensive physical therapy, as well as endless psychologist visits, but she was so much better than she had ever been. She spoke about what had happened to her without so much as a flinch these days. I had been to the therapist as well. You didn’t watch the woman you loved go through something like that and not need to talk to someone about it.

Our first time having sex was about four months after she’d moved in. It was the first time I thought she had recuperated enough to even try, although she’d been pushing to have sex since almost the first month she’d been living with me. It was amazing. Not to say that she didn’t freak out a little, she had, but being with her was one of the most mind-blowing, remarkable experiences of my life.

She had met my whole family and they loved her, of course. How could you not? Mac and I had spent every major holiday with my family. My mom had fallen in love with Mac when Mac had cooked a full-out Italian meal for everyone. My dad and I had actually rebuilt a relationship. I never thought it would’ve been possible. I had done the same with my brother, Tonio, too. Tonio had been spending a lot more time in Baltimore. Not that I didn’t enjoy seeing him but I had a feeling that Cam had something to do with that.

Cam had lived with us for four weeks after Mac had come home from the hospital. She was fired from the position she had in Vegas as an EMT because of her absence. Cam had decided she needed a change of scenery. There was a nice apartment building across the street from Freemont’s, and that is where she now lived.

She was hired on almost immediately as an EMT with the City of Baltimore. They were short staffed and in desperate need of people. It was why the officers’, when everything happened with Mac, had stepped in to help, they knew how short staffed the EMTs were. Cam was good at her job, but they barely looked at her references before they hired her.

Mac, Cam and Bren hung out at least once a week for girls’ night now. I let them think it drove me crazy to be tossed out of my house once a week, but I liked that Mac had that support in her life. Not everyone was so lucky.

I made the same night Mac had her nights with the girls, my night to hang out with my friends. Ethan, Tommy and me, and sometimes Cora, would hang out, drink beer/milk, watch football or whatever sport was in season, as well as the occasional fashion/tea party.

Terry and Anna had started working at the bar and Terry was a task master in the kitchen. He had made our new menu top notch. They fit in perfectly with everyone, especially Jake. Jake loved them both; Terry for being a stickler on details in the kitchen and Anna for being able to get along with anyone.

After not much debate, I took Mac as a full time employee from Lynn. She was not a happy camper but she couldn’t deny Mac anything. Lynn and her partner had visited four times since Mac had moved to Baltimore. Lynn was protective over Mac, and no matter how many times I assured Lynn I would never hurt Mac, she still didn’t trust me fully, not yet.

It had been a little over year since Mac had moved in with me and I had a memorable way to celebrate that occasion tonight.

“Come on babe! We’re going to be late!” I yelled up the stairs to her.

She came down the stairs putting earrings in her ears then froze when she saw me. I was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. It was nothing fancy, but she’d told me once it was her favorite outfit because my ass looked fantastic in the jeans and the shirt hid little to none of what was underneath.

“You’re wearing my favorite outfit.” She came down the last few steps and hitched her arms around my neck, kissing me fiercely. I grabbed her ass and pulled her closer, laying her slowly down on the stairs. I wanted nothing more than to slide into her until she was limp, but I had plans we couldn’t miss.

“We gotta go Mackayla. We can’t be late.”

“Ooooh, you pulled out my full name. Must be serious. Should I help you out,” Mac squeezed my erection through my jeans and I almost came right then, “or are we going to be late if I do?”

Any other time, I would’ve said to hell with the plan but I couldn’t.

“We’re going to be late. Let’s go.”

I pulled her up off the stairs, into my arms, let her get her purse then slapped her ass as she walked toward our garage. Man, was she going to be surprised.

Mac

My life was better than it had ever been. I had a man I loved, a home, I was always surrounded by family and friends, and a job that was always growing and changing. Not to mention that Kellan and I had a stellar sex life. Exhibit A: we had almost had sex on the stairs before leaving the house for the evening. I had finally dealt with what Richard had done. I came to grips with the fact that it wasn’t my fault and I’d done nothing wrong. As many times as I’d said it over the years I had never really believed it until I lived with Kellan.

But Kellan rarely used my full name and when he did it freaked me out. So as we walked out to the car I was nervous.

I got into my baby, my classic car, and we rolled over to Freemont’s. I was thoroughly confused as to why we hadn’t just walked over. There were tons of cars around Freemont’s all the way down the street. We were building onto the bottling area and Kellan had decided to put in a privacy fence because of all the construction equipment. The man was overly careful sometimes. We conveniently found a spot right in front of Freemont’s. There were people pouring out of the front door and waiting to get in for at least half a mile down the street. It was insane.

“Uh, Kellan?” I asked before getting out of the car.

“Yeah?”

“What the hell is going on here and how do I not know about it?”

I had been the lead manager over pretty much everything at Freemont’s since coming on. It gave Kellan the freedom to grow the business while I took care of the groundwork. So I was rightfully confused as to how this huge crowd had formed and I didn’t know anything about why.

“You’ll see in a minute.”

I almost wanted to question one of the people waiting to get in about what was going on, but when Kellan came around to open my door I couldn’t do it. Whatever he had planned was putting a very wide grin on his face. I couldn’t bring myself to ruin it. I got out of the car, and heard a few of the regulars yelling at us like we were celebrities. We waved at them and went inside.

Kellan took me to his office and closed the door. I could still hear the crowd through the door but it was somewhat muted.

Kellan pulled out a blindfold and I had flashes of a month back when we’d used a blindfold during sex. It was on my insistence that we did it, of course. I just wanted to know I was okay. That I could have my sight taken away during sex and not freak out. Now I had hot feelings chasing their way through my body and settling between my legs.

“Is the door locked?” I asked, clearly making the wrong assumption from the smile and chuckle that came out of Kellan.

“I’m going to put this on you, then we’re going to walk out of here for your surprise.”

“Alright.”

My body language must’ve told him how disappointed I was because he chuckled as he tied the blindfold over my eyes. I couldn’t see anything.

“We can use the blindfold later tonight. Once we get home.” I felt Kellan’s hot breath on my ear and shivered.

He took me by the hand and led me out of the office. Three steps down into the canning room, and I could hear birds chirping outside. I could hear shuffling but it was like everyone had seen us and stopped talking. Odd.

Then the cadence of a song I’d sung a million times came over some speakers, and it sounded live.

“
Cold is the night without you here,

Just your absence ringing in my ears,

Hard is the hear that feels no fear,

Cause without the bad, the good disappears

Long is the road that leads me home

And longer still when I walk alone,

Bitter is the thought of all that time,

Spent searching for something I’ll never find

Take this burden away from me,

And bury it before it buries me,”

Kellan slid the blindfold from my eyes and I was facing a band I’d wanted to see for years. I’d been following The Oh Hellos since their first home-produced single in 2011 and their first album in 2012. They were an amazing brother/sister group and I couldn’t imagine how Kellan had gotten them there.

He had mentioned that they’d once met when he was promoting Freemont’s at an impromptu concert they did at a park in downtown Baltimore. I put my hands over my mouth and the lead singer, who’d just started the song, motioned for me to look behind me. They continued playing their song, but without the lyrics. I turned around as instructed and my knees almost gave out.

Kellan was down on one knee with a black ring box in his hand.

“What are you doing?!” I hadn’t mean to let that out but I had word vomit and it spilled out of my mouth without permission sometimes.

“You’re kind of ruining the moment here.”

“Sorry.”

I shook off my panic. I motioned with my hand for him to continue.

He popped the ring box open and it was old fashioned style setting with an, at least, two carat emerald cut white diamond sitting prominently in the middle. I loved the setting it was sitting in. The diamond was a little too big for me, but I knew Kellan’s purpose to the giant rock: no one would miss that I was taken. He was permanently peeing on me.

We had never talked about what kind of ring I’d want. We had, however, talked about marriage. I told him I couldn’t see myself with anyone else at the end of the road, and he’d agreed. I just hadn’t been expecting it so soon.

Given we were both way past our records for the longest relationships we’d held, but I just hadn’t thought much about it. I was happy where we were.

“Mac, you with me?” Kellan could read me well and he must’ve seen the apprehension written all over me.

“I’m here. I’m here. But are you sure?”

“How do you know what I’m going to ask you?”

“Fine. Go ahead,” I cocked my hip out, challenging him. He slid his free hand down his jeans and I felt like crap. He was nervous and I was being a bitch.

I dropped to my knees.

“I’m sorry. You know I’m no good at this stuff.”

“Mac,” Kellan closed the ring box and put it back in his pocket. I knew then I should’ve let him ask me. I felt disappointment reach around my heart and squeeze when he’d put the ring away. He put his hands on both sides of my face, keeping my eyes in line with his. “You are everything I never knew I was looking for. You took my world and shook it like a snow globe – changing it completely but making it more beautiful than I thought possible. When I met you I knew you were different. But I didn’t know how different you’d make me feel. You are the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Stay with me forever. Marry me.”

I looked around us, not able to move my head but saw all of our family and friends surrounding us. He had gone through all of this trouble just for me. I loved him with every broken piece of me. Pieces of me that were healing despite everything I’d been through because I had this amazing wonderful man in front of me.

Kellan had carved out space for me in his life and accepted and loved me for who I was not what I would become, and that was a once in a lifetime find.

I looked back into his eyes, a tear slipping out of his. I lost it and let my own fall freely. I reached into the pocket I’d seen him put the ring in and pulled it out. I popped it open and put the ring in his hand.

“Yes.”

Cast of Characters

Kellan Freemont – Male Protagonist

Mackayla Montgomery – Female Protagonist

Officer Richard Cintas – Antagonist (M)

Camille Lamone (Cam) – BF (M)

Brenna (Bren) Stills – Assistant/pseudosister (K)

Logan O’Daniel – master brewer/bren’s man (K)

Lynn Strange – BF/Boss (M) (her partner’s name is Abbie)

Denise Cintas– drugger/Richard Cintas’ ex-wife (K)

Terry Kittrick – dad figure (M)

Annabelle (Anna) Kittrick – mom figure (M)