She watched Dakota’s surprise as the older woman took hold of him. But as always, he didn’t miss a beat. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Baca shook his hand. “Cally’s told me all about you. Congratulations!”
He shook his head at her, and she could clearly see him getting angry with her, but Baca came to the rescue. “Why don’t we sit down and talk?” His eyes held hers as they went over to the sofa, and Baca started. “Cally told me how you two were getting married and that you wanted her to move into your parents’ house until you could get your own place. But I knew she wasn’t going to do it, and my Hubert and I had a rough start, so I knew I had to do something. We build this for our kids, but they’re all grown with families of their own. It’s been sitting here empty for years.” Baca looked to Dakota. “Cally’s a good girl, she’ll be fine here, and when you come back, you’ll have a little place of your own. I’m just a few steps away if she needs anything.”
Dakota was still reserved. “I don’t know.”
“I’m going to be fine, and the only other option is for me to live with my parents. So do you want to deal with that?” she insisted.
He looked to Baca. “How much is it?”
“Two-fifty a month, plus utilities, and she’s already paid the rent for the next six months, so it’s just the utilities at this point,” Baca offered.
He looked at Cally. “I had given her the full fifteen hundred on Monday after I saw it. I thought you would like a nice compromise to the fight we were going to have.”
Baca smiled, and Cally looked at his defeated face. “I’ll take good care of her when you’re gone,” Baca said.
Dakota shook his head. “Fine, you can have it, but we are still going to move up to the base as soon as a place opens up.”
Cally just nodded and kissed him, not wanting to rub in the fact that she had just won this fight. “Anything you want. I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Baca stood up. “I told you he would like it.” Baca gave her a wink as she started out. “I have some errands to run. I’ll see you later.”
Okay, now this was the best thing ever! Dakota had actually accepted her gift. “You’re not too mad, are you?”
He looked down at her. “No, but I’m not happy that you didn’t talk to me about this first.”
“Like you didn’t talk to me about proposing or getting married or moving in to your—”
He cut her off. “You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”
She leaned into him. “In a year or two, maybe.”
He looked at his watch. “We have to go.”
She shook her head, and he insisted. “My parents got us a hotel room for the weekend as a wedding present.”
She just started laughing. Yeah, they still thought she was going to move in with them, and they wanted to give them some “privacy” for a few days. She just took his hand as they headed back to the car.
* * * * *
The weekend slipped by way too fast. They were back at her parents’ house around noon on Sunday, and no one was there. She hadn’t really thought about it. She just decided to pack everything up and put it in his car. She didn’t have much, and packing only ever involved a few trash bags to put your things in and poof…done.
No sooner than they unloaded everything in their new apartment, they left to go to his parent’s house. When they pulled up, he started smiling that unnerving smile of his. She was beyond shocked when he said, “They got it early.”
Cally shook her head. “Okay.”
He turned her to the car. “Your wedding present.”
Her mouth hit the floor. It wasn’t new or flashy, but it was nice. It was a small, late model, black Opel Vectra, and she knew she couldn’t take it. “I can’t,” she stammered.
He turned her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “If you want that apartment, you will.”
Cally knew she was crying. She had never expected anything like this from anyone. She leaned up and kissed him. “I love it.”
He took in a deep breath before explaining, “Good, because now we have to explain why you’re not moving in with my parents.”
She looked at him. “They’re not going to let me have the apartment, are they?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then we tell them I’m staying with my parents, and we tell my mom I’m staying here.” It was the only logical solution to any of this.
She waited, and he shook his head. “This isn’t going to end well.”
And he was right. His parents had thrown a fit. Once they were done yelling at them, Dakota insisted that they tell her parents too. Her mother wasn’t happy but understood and let it go a lot easier than she would have ever expected. Now they just had to hope that the two sets of parents didn’t talk to each other too much and figure out where she actually was or was not staying.
It was nearly five when they got back to the apartment. He had let her drive her new car and had followed with some of his things from his parents’ house.
It was hard to say goodbye, but they both had to work in the morning. He looked at her with loving eyes. “I’ll call and get the phone turned on, and then I’ll get the rest of the utilities turned over tomorrow.”
She couldn’t say anything. She didn’t want him to leave, even though she knew he had to. She knew he had to go, but it was harder saying goodbye this time. She hugged him, and he pulled her chin up. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
Cally just nodded. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want you to go.” She knew he was questioning it. “But I know you have to go, and I’ll be fine. I have a lot to put away.” She looked back at all the bags and boxes.
He gave her one last kiss before he left, and she knew it would be a week before she saw him again. There was a lot to do, and she didn’t really notice that there wasn’t a T.V. It wasn’t that late before she went to bed and wished that she had Dakota with her.
The first week went by rather fast. She knew she wasn’t supposed to drive on her own yet, but she really didn’t have a choice. Her days consisted of unpacking, working, and she had picked up some food and a few books to read. She closed her eyes and sat back, wondering what everyone was doing. It had been so quiet that she hadn’t even realized how she missed having people around.
She had just pulled up from another late shift when she was startled by the second set of car lights following her up the drive. There was no real sign of Seth, but that didn’t mean much, and Baca’s car was already here.
Afraid of what this could be, she didn’t get out of her car and just watched the lights as they went off as the car parked behind her, blocking her in. She watched the dark figure getting out and walking toward her, but it was so dark, and there weren’t any real lights out here. So all she could do was watch as he walked up and opened her door. Damn, she hadn’t even thought to lock them.
She was shaking with fear when the light from the car hit his face as he knelt down. “I’ve missed you,” he said, just before he pulled her in for a deep, unrelenting kiss. Her arms wrapped around Dakota instantly and she couldn’t let go. She hadn’t talked to him since he left, so she wasn’t sure if he would be back this weekend or not.
It took her a minute to let go of the fear, enough for him to pull away and smile. “Should we go in?” he asked, and all she could do was nod. She was so happy