Authors: D. T. Jones
“I have more experience with men than you do,” she said in a quiet tone.
“So that’s what this all boils down to, isn’t it? You can’t accept the fact that I have something you wanted.” Sandra drew a deep breath, holding it and counting to ten in order to control her tears. “You need to come to terms with the idea that I’m an adult and taking charge of my own destiny. I’m very sorry that things didn’t work out for you and your Italian lover, but you’re not me. I know what I’m doing and I’ve made decisions that I am very happy with. Creighton is a very good man he makes me happy. He has never and will never do anything to make me mistrust him.” She drew another deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm.
“We will be leaving for our honeymoon after the party tonight. I don’t think you and I should see each other again, not for a while at least. You need to think hard about what you’re losing and decide if it’s worth your ire and stubbornness. You’re my sister and I love you, but until you can come to grips with what is staring you in the face, I have nothing more to say to you.” Sandra turned and left Cathy standing in the room alone, the look of shock etching her face as she realized what had just happened.
Sandra walked quietly up the stairs and into Creighton’s old bedroom, closing the door behind her. She felt numb and shocked by what she had just said and angry that her sister had provoked her. The agonizing truth that she may not be all Creighton needed echoed in her mind, but she believed him when he told her he loved her and she trusted him with all her heart. Her sister was wrong; she did know what she was doing and after what seemed like a lifetime of looking, she had found her prince charming and she was anxious to start her life with him, but more than all of that, she was proud for having stood up for herself, proud to have finally come out of the shadows.
Sitting on the bed, Sandra found herself staring at the floor, wondering what to do next. She had experienced so many fantasies come true over the past two weeks, more than she had ever dreamed possible, yet here she sat, alone; wondering if she had made the right choices, wandering if she had the right to feel happy; fearful that she didn’t deserve the love of her new husband.
The door opened slowly and Creighton’s tall muscular figure quietly walked in, closing it behind him. He stepped to the bed and sat down next to her, placing his large warm hand across hers. The room was silent; the only sounds were those of voices downstairs and the hum of the trucks next door. The soft sound of their breath filled the room, encasing them in a tension that should not have been there between newlyweds.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered.
“I’m sure you do,” she said. He always seemed to know what she wanted or needed even before she did.
“You don’t believe her, do you?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“I have to wonder.”
“You are everything I need; I’ve already told you that. The only thing I want in life is you, without that, I have nothing; I am nothing.”
“Why me?” she asked as tears began to fall down her cheeks.
“Because you answered my dreams, you gave me hope for the future and faith in living again. Because I know in my heart, you are my soul mate.”
“No regrets?” she asked.
“Not a single one,” he assured her, kissing her cheek softly, brushing her tears away with his thumb.
“So where do we go from here?”
“That depends on you,” he answered, wrapping her in his arms as he pulled her onto his lap, cradling her against his chest. “This day is ours, if you don’t want to stay we won’t. If you want to fly to the moon, we will. Just tell me what you want to do.” Sandra sighed, closing her eyes and breathing in the aroma that was pure Creighton.
“I want to go for a run,” she said suddenly. “I want to run off the anger and the confusion. I just want to run.”
“Then let’s run,” he said, lifting her chin and looking into her bloodshot eyes. “You can borrow Sabrina’s runners and a pair of shorts. We have plenty of time before everyone starts coming; we can run as far and as long as you’d like.”
A soft knock on the door interrupted their privacy as Sabrina cautiously pushed the door open and stepped through. She
smiled at the two, blushing softly as she hesitated by the threshold, a yellow and white garment across her arm.
“Sabrina, we were just talking about you,” Creighton said, causing his sister to raise a single, slender eyebrow. “Can Sandra borrow your runners? We need some air and want to be alone for a while.”
“Of course,” she answered. “I have a jogging suit if you’d like to borrow it as well?” Creighton looked at Sandra and grinned.
“Thank you,” she told Sabrina with a smile. “I will borrow it.”
“I’ll get it.” Sabrina hurried out of the room while Creighton turned to his wife and kissed her forehead.
“I have some jeans here,” he told her, lifting her to her feet. “I keep them for when I visit home. They make milking easier than a suit.”
“But you’re wearing jeans.”
“These aren’t running or working jeans,” he argued, looking at the black jeans covering his long muscular legs. “They don’t move as well as I need if I were to exercise.” He stepped to the old dresser and pulled the top drawer open, removing a pair of faded blue jeans and a worn brown tee-shirt, as the door opened again.
“Here they are,” Sabrina said. “It’s so nice to have someone my size to share clothes with. Irena doesn’t have the same type of figure as I do, so we don’t share very often.” Sandra took the light green running suit and sneakers from her and smiled.
“Cathy and I never shared clothes either,” she said. “It’s not that we have such different figures, it’s just that we have different tastes. I like casual and she likes tailor made.”
“I think we’ll get along nicely,” Sabrina said with a giggle. “I love jeans, but it’s fun to play dress up once in a while.” She hugged Sandra quickly then left the room, allowing the two to change in private.
Twenty minutes later Creighton found himself panting for air as he struggled to keep up with Sandra who ran at a steady pace down the road, around farms and homes of their new neighbors and over the grassy hills that dotted Yorkshire. She felt free and happy, a sense of calm washed away her recent bout of emotional outrage and for the first time in days, she felt relaxed and under control, like she could take on the devil himself and win.
“Can…we…stop…” Creighton panted, stopping on the side of the road and leaning against a neighbor’s fence post.
“How can anyone with a body as incredible as yours, be so out of shape?” Sandra asked, drawing in a deep breath to help control her breathing.
“I pump…weights,” he said, panting. “I don’t…kill myself…on a dirt road. I can’t believe…you do this…every day.”
“That’s why it’s easy, because I do it every day. I love running.”
“No wonder you have…such a gorgeous body,” he said with a sly smile as he climbed up on the top of the wooden fence and drawing a few long breaths to slow his breathing. “There’s no way the extra calories of pasta can catch up to you. And here I thought I would be the one to work it off you.”
“You still can, I just have a backup method in case your ideas aren’t enough.” Creighton laughed, watching as she climbed up the fence rung to sit beside him.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked a few moments later.
“Yes, thank you. I really needed this.”
“My pleasure darling…sort of; I think I’m going to be too sore to walk tomorrow though.”
“That will make two of us, but I doubt my fatigue will be from running.” Creighton laughed deep, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her temple.
“Damned right,” he assured her. “Are you ready to go back?”
“No, but we probably should. Rochelle will there soon and I would really like to just get this evening over with and start our lives together.”
“We don’t have to go,” he assured her. “I’m sure my parents will understand if we take off early.”
“No, this is our night and we’re going to enjoy it. I just need to keep my distance from Cathy for a while.” Creighton looked behind them as the sound of a door closed and saw the property owners’ step out of their back door.
“When you’re ready to leave, you tell me. I won’t have anything else upsetting your day.” He climbed off the fence, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her down to her feet then turned to the couple who approached them and smiled.
“Amanda, Richard,” he said looking from the tall, thin brunette man to the short, stalky red-haired woman. “It’s good to see you. I’d like you to meet my wife.” Creighton greeted the couple, shaking Richard’s hand and kissing his wife on the cheek. “Sandra these are the Parkers. I grew up with Richard and his twin, Robert.”
“And then I came along a few years later,” Amanda smiled, reaching out and shaking Sandra’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you. We were so happy to hear that Crey was getting married and even more excited that you bought the Marston place. It looks like you’re doing a lot of work getting it back in shape.”
“We’re making a ton of improvements, that’s for sure,” Creighton said. “Once we’re finished, it will no longer be the Marston place, but the Ashford’s.”
“Better than the Bachmeier’s,” Richard said.
“Anything is better than that,” Amanda commented with a bitter look on her attractive face. “So why aren’t you getting ready for your reception?”
“There is so much going on at the house, we just needed some air and my young bride here is a former track star, so she thought she could beat me with her talents.” Creighton said as he glanced down to Sandra, winking a dark eye to her.
“And did she?” Richard asked.
“She ran me into the ground,” Creighton laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk come morning.”
“Is there any reason you would want to?” Richard asked with a loud snorting laugh.
“We’ll be on our honeymoon by morning, so I suppose walking isn’t a necessity.”
“Are you two finished?” Amanda asked in a scolding tone. “Where are you going on your honeymoon?” she asked turning back to Sandra.
“It’s a surprise,” Creighton said in her stead. “I don’t want anyone following us, so we aren’t telling.”
“That could be romantic,” Amanda added.
“You’re coming to the reception, aren’t you?” he asked, glancing down at his watch.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Richard stated. “Amanda was a little put out that she wasn’t going to have an excuse to buy a new dress, though. I like the idea of wearing jeans, sounds fun.”
“I hope it will be,” Creighton said. “But we have to go or we’re going to be late. We’ll see you in a little while.” He shook Richard’s hand and kissed Amanda on the cheek again, causing the color to rise in her pale face. Sandra shook both of their hands and followed her husband as they walked hand-in-hand back to the road.
“Yes,” Creighton said, answering her unspoken question. “Richard and Robert are the twins Miriam wrote about in her book.”
“So do they both still live around here?”
“No, Robert is in the military, never married and is currently stationed in South Africa. He hasn’t been back in England in about two years.”
They continued walking back to the house and Sandra was certain that it was completely due to the fact Creighton was still tired from their run. She looked around at the many farms they passed feeling very thankful he was beside her; she would never have been able to figure out where they were or how to get back home if he wasn’t there. The roads all looked the same; narrow, some dirt, some paved and most without sidewalks. The houses were a variety of styles; many were large narrow stone or brick buildings with windows, doors and shake-style roofs, while others were small wood or brick bungalows. Several farms had sheep or cattle roaming around the fields grazing while others were green patches of barley or vegetables just coming into their growth cycle. There was a small yellow house that appeared to resemble theirs with white trim; bright yellow and pink pansies growing around the front step and a large green tree in the front yard. It was very pretty, well cared for, but much smaller than she would have assumed for the area, considering the sizes of the most of their neighbors.
“That’s the Johnston place,” Creighton said taking note of where her attention had been drawn. “Wayne and Carolyn live there; she’s the great granddaughter of the Marston’s.”
“He’s the one from this morning, right?” she asked.
“Yes. He’s a nice enough guy I suppose, but he’s irritating as hell.”
“At least I can see why he thought the exterior of our house should be painted.”
“He has always taken pride in his home, wanting it to look like a show place. He’s pretty frustrated that the other neighbors find a need to maintain their land rather than the houses.”
“Doesn’t he have a farm? I mean, I don’t see any livestock or fields.”
“No, he used to work at a bank, never found a need for farming.”
“It’s a pretty small place isn’t it?” she asked as they passed by. “I don’t think it’s as big as your parents’ house.”
“No it isn’t. Carolyn’s line hasn’t had a lot of kids, she’s the only child her parents had and unfortunately she and Wayne were never blessed with children. They tried to adopt once, but were never successful. Now he just wonders around the neighboring farms annoying everyone else.”