Prologue - July
"What are we goin' to do," I ask looking for an answer, deep in his eyes. We step from the parked truck, sitting on the side of the highway. I place my hand on my stomach; it's grown so much in the past eight and a half months. I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead, and try to ignore the fact sweat is running down my arched back. The hot July heat is hitting Georgia pretty bad this year.
"I don't know Cat. I really don't know," he walks over to me and kisses my forehead, "I just don't know." I reach for his hand and place it on my stomach,
"Do you feel that?"
"Yeah," he smiles.
"I think she is kicking."
"How do you know it's not Tucker?"
"Because he's lazy, each time we get an ultrasound he is just laying around, but Elizabeth Anne, she is kicking and going crazy."
"Just about like her momma," he kisses my lips. I laugh,
"This is true."
Cars zoom along the highway.
"Should we go to your mom's," I ask.
"No, you know she wouldn't approve of this."
"Bear, we have to get some place before Benton shows up." I don't say it fast enough, as the words spew from my dry mouth Benton's huge-ass truck pulls up behind us.
"Shit."
"Benton, please don't do this. I don't want trouble," I try to calm him down as he rushes over to us.
"Cat, fucking, you left! You walked out with this douche bag with MY children. Mine kids, not his!"
"You were done! You told me so, you gave up loving me and you know that!"
"No Cat, I was never done loving you, I'm still not done!" Something warm floods down my pants. Did I just piss myself?
"Bear, Bear," I tug on his sleeve, "Bear," I scream.
"What?"
"Oh my god," Benton gasps.
"Hospital now, I need a hospital!" Benton grabs me and gently puts me in his truck, turning the flashers on and flees down the highway, leaving Bear in the dust…like he always has.
November
"Mom, I am goin' out with Benton tonight," I yelled up the stairs.
"Be home by eleven," she responded.
"I know, love you mom, bye." I grab my purse and head out the door. Benton Nicholson leaned up against the hood of his brand new 2013 Chevrolet Silverado.
"Cat, baby," he grinned and it stretched from ear to ear.
"Hey there, Benton," I said. He kissed my lips and opened the door. I slid in and buckled myself in, "So were we goin' today babe?"
"For a drive," he still had a grin on his face.
"A drive huh?"
"Yeah, we're goin' to go down to the lake and have a picnic," he pointed to the picnic basket in the back seat.
"Well that'll be cool," I pulled down the mirror and checked my hair, "Benton, I'm pretty, right?"
"Cat, babe, of course you're pretty. You're beautiful," he took one arm off the wheel and stretched it around my shoulder, "Babe, why are you questioning your hotness," he laughed.
I was five foot two, a blonde; my hair almost reached my ass. I had sapphire blue, green eyes. Most people noticed the blue, but if you looked you could see green surrounding my pupils. I was slim too, but not where you could see every bone in my body.
"My hotness," I laughed.
"That's right; you've never really questioned it before, so why now?"
"I don't know, just checking." I slammed the mirror back up and unbuckled as we parked in front of the lake. I scooted over and pulled the handle on the side of his seat, and scooted his seat back. I settled in his lap, and pulled his face in for a long kiss. As I kissed him, he slid his hand up my shirt.
"No," I pushed them back down, "Everyone is here, so no, not right now." He grumbled and opened his door. I jumped from his lap, grabbing the basket in the back, "So doll face, where are we goin'?"
"Well I don't know."
"Come on Benton, you're the one who brought me here." He grabbed my hand after he shut off the engine,
"Come on." He dragged me to a small wooden table, where he plopped himself down on the bench, and I sat on the table top.
"So what's the special occasion?"
"Can't I do something nice for my girlfriend without it havin' to be something big?"
"Uh, no," I laughed, and he laughed along. He started to grab things from the basket, and set them on the table, sandwiches, apple juice, fruit, and other things. Finally he pulled out a box covered in wrapping paper,
"What's this Benton?"
"Well open it and find out," he handed the box to me, so I pulled the wrapping paper from it and opened the box. Inside was another box,
"It's not goin' to end up a million boxes is it?"
"No, come on babe, trust me, open it up." I carefully opened the box and found a piece of paper and it read, I will love you always Cat, I promise. I looked up at him,
"What's this Benton?"
"Cat, I love you, you know that right?"
"Of course Benton, and you know that I love you too, right?"
"I do, which is why I brought you back here."
"Why here?"
"This is where I asked you out," he smiled and grabbed my hands. I looked around and remember that four years ago, next week, is where he brought me here November seventh, and asked me the most amazing question I had ever heard.
"Oh my goodness, that's right," I gently squeezed his hands and returned the smile.
"Now I'd like to continue the specialty of this lake," he stood up and reached inside his pocket, pulling out a ring. It was silver with two hearts, diamonds at the top points of each. Our names were engraved on each side. He got down on one knee and said,
"Carrielyn Annaleigh Turner, I'm making a promise to you today, that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we're too young to be engaged, so here is a promise ring to tell you that one day we will be engaged and we will get married. I promise." Tears fell down my face, and stained the ground,
"Benton, I don't know what to say," and just like that I was getting choked up.
"Say you'll be with me forever," he slid the ring on my finger and I watched as it glimmered in the sunlight.
"I will, I promise to be with you. I love you so much." He picked me up from the tabletop and spun me around in the air.
"I love you so much; I promise that I won't ever hurt you."
"I know, I trust you; and I promise to never hurt you either." He kissed me and set me down onto the ground. He grabbed the basket and said,
"Shall we," he stretched his hand out and smiled.
"We shall," I smiled back.
We walked down to the lake and sat with our toes in the water. We sat and talked for hours about our future. We both wanted children, we knew that for sure. We also both wanted to stay in Georgia. I wanted to be a teacher; he wanted to be a family physician. We mostly both just wanted each other. My phone rang around ten thirty, and it was my mom.
"Cat, where are you? You're supposed to be home in thirty minutes."
"Sorry mom, we got to talkin' and the time just got away from us."
"Well you need to head on home; you have school tomorrow."
"Alright momma," I hung up the phone and looked at Benton,
"Mom said I need to go home." He sighed,
"Alright, let's get you back then," he stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him. I grabbed the basket and intertwined my fingers into his. We got into the car and he leaned over and kissed me before he closed the door. He walked around and got in and drove me home.
"I had a really good time today," I twisted the ring on my finger and grinned.
"I did too," he stretched across the console and kissed me. His fingers tangled into my hair. He pulled back and I looked over and seen my mom in the doorway, hand on her hip.
"I better get goin'," I kissed his cheek and jumped out of the truck. As I walked away I heard his window roll down and he yelled,
"I love you Cat!" I laughed and yelled back,
"I love you too Benton!" I looked back at my momma who was standing under the door frame laughing. "And everyone asks how a crazy country boy got stuck with a girl like me." My momma kept laughing,
"I guess you gotta have a crazy country girl to match." I laugh and hug her.
4
