Chapter thirty-seven: And so is love
They had all paid their respects to Daniel. Kate felt such a sense of ironic loss. She was going to marry one man she'd met in France after bidding farewell to another man she'd nursed in France. Damn the ties the war had made to people. They'd left the body in the backroom while everyone partied, enjoying their drinks.
Kate played the party appropriate music and Thomas sat beside her. She, like him, wasn't really in the party mood. As it grew dark, he'd asked her to go for a walk with him. She'd done so happily. Before exiting the pub though, he made a quick call to someone, giving them his home address. Probably some final details to wrap up the night.
He didn't say much to her and she was glad for the silence and feeling of him near her. She wasn't surprised when they wound up at the stables with Monahan boy. She was slightly surprised when he'd bridled the horse and pulled her up behind him. Monahan had danced around slightly, but he'd calmed down under Thomas's soothing voice and touch.
Then, next thing she realized they were trotting briskly down the streets of Birmingham. They'd moved out of the lower section of Birmingham, to the upper section. It wasn't too far from the business, she'd noticed. They could have walked, but it was a nice night for a ride. She closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder. They rode in silence until Thomas pulled on the reins, stopping Monahan.
He dismounted before turning to reach for her. "Come here." She placed her hands on his shoulders as his hands went around her waist. "That's my girl." He holds onto Monahan's reins, bringing them over his head as they walk towards a brick house, with a 'for sale' sign in the window. Kate smiles approvingly as he ties Monahan to the porch. "What do you think?"
"It's a beautiful house Thomas. It'll need some work, but," she smiles at him. "you know how I love projects like that."
"Good." he takes her hand and leads her up the stairs. "I'm buying it tomorrow, if the inside works for you." he reaches into his pocket and unlocks the door. She moves to step inside, but he lifts her up and carries her over the threshold. She smiles broadly, as he flips on the light, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Mrs. Shelby."
"Mr. Shelby." Kate moves to get down and he slowly helps her get her feet back on the ground. "Tour?"
He shrugs. "Normal house, plumbing needs a bit of work."
They walk through the house, turning on lights. Kate nods. "The rooms are a good size. How come everything's so clean?"
"Ah, hired someone to clean it. Didn't want you walking through spider webs and all."
"That was very considerate of you. Thank you." he takes her hand and leads her upstairs. "This is a lovely house Thomas, its perfect."
"Well, wait till you see the upstairs."
"How many rooms?"
"One and a half baths. And four rooms, not including our room."
"That's a lot of bedrooms." She states, heat creeping up into her ears as he opens the master bedroom door, leading her inside. She nods approvingly, mentally decorating the room to suit them. There are a few closets as well. She peeks around the adjoining door to see that's the half bath, he mentioned. She turns and walks towards him. "Yes, I like this house a lot."
"There are a few others, but, I think this one is perfect for us."
"The only thing I question are the four other bedrooms." He steps towards her with a smile. "I mean, we never discussed children." she asks. "I mean, how many are you thinking or do you even want children?"
"As many as I can put in you." he stated bluntly.
Kate blushes. "Charming Thomas, really charming."
"Well, what number are you thinking?" he asks.
"Well, four, maybe five."
He shrugs. "I could live with that…maybe. Might want to beat John by one or two though."
"Love isn't a contest, Thomas. Besides, with Esme, they'll be having more children."
"Oh, I'm fairly certain you're already pregnant now." Kate stares at him as he backs her up against the wall to their master bedroom. She can't help but smile at the look on his face as he begins kissing her neck. "If you're not, then you soon will be."
"Is that so?" he nods as she drapes her arms around his neck, ready for the passion that is going to ensue. He kisses her deeply, gripping her around the waist as he lifts her off the ground. With a turn, Thomas kneels on the ground, taking her to the floor. She moans as he grabs her hip, guiding her leg around his waist as he got between her legs. She moaned as he arched against her. He broke the kiss to start removing the few bits of clothing in their way. "You know," she ran her hand down to the front of his trousers, undoing the button. "Harry told me, that I needed to be careful around you."
He laughs as he lifts her hips, pulling her undergarments down her legs. "Is that so?"
"Yes, because," she stretches up and kisses him. "a woman like me could drive a man like you insane, or cause you to fall in love with me."
"Well, he sure as hell got that right."
"Where the hell were you two?" Polly demands as they walk into the pub. "No one even saw the two of you leave and it's late!" She glances at her watch again, casing Kate to smile.
"Took Kate for a ride and showed her a few things." He said simply, as he took another puff of a cigarette. John and Arthur are practically passed out in the booth opposite them.
Kate smiled, faintly blushing at Polly's telling look. "I bet you did."
"He showed me a house, Polly." She managed to say that with a straight face, even though they'd made love twice tonight. Something about making love, in what was soon to be their own house had made for a very serious, close and intimately sensual night. They'd forgotten how late it was until Thomas had looked at his watch. They'd had to scramble into their clothes and then gallop back to the pub.
Her brows rise in surprise. "A house. Things must be getting serious."
Thomas merely nods at Polly as he leans against the bar. "If you check behind the bar, you will find a bottle of champagne."
"One she bought?" Polly asks, her eyes searching Thomas closely, as if to see any marks of affection remained inside Thomas towards Grace.
None did.
"Yes." He nods his head. "Today was a good day. All of Kimber's men were busy here so the Lee boys took all of the pitches at the Wooster races. Couldn't have gone better if we planned it." Kate smiles as he turns towards his two drunken brothers, pointing the bottle of champagne at them. "The Shelby Company limited are now the 3rd largest legal racing track in the county." They clink their glasses to the bottle. "Only Solomon and Sabini are bigger than us boys." Those words cause her to still for a moment, but she shakes it off. He'd said it, it was all finished and she believed him. There would be no more after this. As if sensing the brief turmoil inside her, he turns towards her and Polly. "And all my family's here to celebrate." She smiles faintly, Polly places a hand on hers, giving her hand a faint squeeze as Thomas opens the bottle. "To Shelby's brother's limited!"
Kate reaches for a glass, extending it as Thomas fills it with champagne. "Thank you."
"Don't drink it yet."
She frowns. "Why? I can't get drunk on a glass of champagne."
"Debatable." He hands Polly the bottle. "Just one issue that needs to be fixed with you."
She frowns. "What's that?"
"You, from the start," he tries to sound serious, but his blue eyes are dancing with amusement. "keep getting into family meetings and moments."
She understands what he means. "And I'm not family."
"Exactly, so, let me fix that." Her eyes widen. She knows what's coming. "Now," he puts out his cigarette on the counter. "you asked me this morning, if we could be sure that this was love we felt, not want. I'll not lie, from the moment I first kissed you, I wanted you." Kate's face warmed at his honesty. Now, Arthur and John have stood up as they take in this scene. Polly is frozen in place behind the bar, barely daring to breathe. "But then, that night you opened your restaurant and we talked, I knew I was in love with you." she smiled, remembering that moment. The first moment she'd wanted him to kiss her. "No one's ever affected me as deeply as you. I've never felt anything like this for anyone else and I know I never will. Both of us were broken…but we've made each other whole again." Tears sparkle in her eyes at his declaration. He inhales before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a gold ring and kneeling on the sawdust covered floor. Kate's eyes fill with tears as this whole moment becomes real. "Will you be my wife Kate?"
"Yes," she didn't hesitate a moment. "yes, I will Thomas." This time, she knew it was right and she was ready for everything.
He stands up. "I love you."
Kate reaches for him. "I love you too Thomas." Kate kisses him before he even has a chance to slide the ring on her finger. Thomas makes a surprised sound, but he pulls her close to him as he kisses her deeply amidst everyone's congratulations. Kate moans as he lifts her up off the ground slightly. "God, is this really happening to me?" He holds out the ring and Kate brings her left hand down so he can slide on the ring onto her hand. "Am I really so lucky to have you in my life?"
"I should be asking you the same thing." He states as he kisses her again. "Romani Gypsy like me, landing a fine Lady like you. It'll be quite the story to tell our children."
Kate clings to him, happiness flowing over her in waves. There's no more tension and anxiety, only excitement. She can't wait to start their life and family together.
TheHoodedAssasin: Here's the update! Thank you very much!
Idcam: I'm being careful, writing slower so I don't injure it. If you think about it, me pounding out all of these chapters, probably didn't help it any. Two more chapters, then a break, then my 3rd Peaky Blinder story. 'Wicked Game'.
