Chapter Twenty-Two
Lara woke to the sun shining in through a strange window. For a moment she didn’t know where she was then she felt a pair of strong arms encircling her, holding her to a broad, muscular chest. She smiled happily then she remembered why she was here and she grew sad once more. Lara pondered the events of the night before. She’d felt devastated for the injured little boy and had needed the support of her boyfriend. Ken had held her while she cried and he told her that, even though there were injuries she’d done her best and no one could have done better. She knew he was right, but at the time she’d felt like such a failure. Lara remembered her father feeling the same way when a rescue went bad and he, unlike her, had no one to hold him and tell him he’d done his best. Lara felt bad for her father, the most wonderful, caring man in the world, who had no one to love him.
“Good morning, Lara, did you sleep well?” Ken whispered in her ear and hugged her tightly once he realized she was awake.
“Good morning. Yes, considering, I slept very well. I know being with you helped immensely. When I was in college, I helped Dad with tornado clean up before I went public. I had nightmares for weeks after. Last night I didn’t have any and I owe it all to you. Thank you for being there for me,” Lara said sincerely.
“I’ll always be here for you and I’ll remind you that you did your best and what you can do is enough every time you need it.”
“What time is it?” Lara asked.
“About 6:30, it’s early yet. Can you stay for breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Lara said as she turned over to face him. Ken gazed at her lovingly then he leaned in, closed his eyes and their lips met. Before their kiss could get out of hand Ken drew back with a very pleased smile on his face.
“Now, that’s the way I want to wake up!” he exclaimed. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll start the coffee?” Ken hopped out of bed and Lara surreptitiously admired Ken’s body as he headed towards the kitchen. She picked up her bag and padded to the bathroom where she hopped into the steamy shower and let the water rinse the last of her fears down the drain. Showering at human pace Lara luxuriated in the steamy shower until Ken called out that the coffee was ready.
“Be right out!” she replied. She dried off at super speed then dressed. Her hair was still damp but it would dry soon enough. When she opened the door Ken was there with a mug of coffee fixed just the way she liked it.
“It’s not as good as yours, of course, but it is hot. I’ll meet you in the kitchen when I’m done.” Ken passed Lara on his way into the bathroom and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. Lara smiled happily and made her way into the kitchen. As she sat at the table sipping her coffee, she mused on how domestic this situation was. She imagined herself waking up in her husband’s arms, making breakfast with him then coming home to him in the evening. He’d be there for her when she needed it after a tough rescue, like last night. Ken interrupted Lara’s thoughts when he walked into the kitchen, dressed in jeans, his shirt partially unbuttoned as he dried his hair with the towel.
“Hey you, what are you thinking about?” he asked as he made his way to the refrigerator.
“Oh just how much I love you,” Lara said as she gazed into his eyes. Ken’s smile grew wider with pleasure.
“And I love you too, Lara, so very much,” he said and cupped her cheek. “I was thinking omelets, okay?”
“Omelets sound good but I can make them.” Lara started to get up but he stopped her.
“Nope, my place, I cook. What do you want in yours? I have ham, onion, red pepper, spinach, and a couple of kinds of cheese as well.”
“A Denver omelet sounds good. You sure you don’t want me to help?”
“Nope, I got it. You just sit there and relax.” Ken pulled out a bowl, some eggs, and the fixings for a Denver omelet. “You want cheese in yours?”
“Yes, please, cheddar if you have it.”
“Cheddar it is.” Ken returned to cooking which allowed Lara to watch him work. He may not be a gourmet chef but he knew his way around a kitchen which was nice. She found herself dreaming about mornings like this after they were married. Lara stopped, realizing that while they both had pledged their love neither of them had discussed marriage. She felt confident enough that someday Ken would ask her to marry him so she felt comfortable asking her next question.
“Ken, how do you feel about having children?” she asked nonchalantly.
“I love children and I want to have at least a couple when I get married. Why do you ask?” Ken replied, his back to her.
“No reason. I love children too and having a couple of them sounds nice. Being an only child I always missed having a sibling to share childhood with.”
“Having siblings isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. My brothers and I had some real battles when we were young but, through all that, there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for each other, within reason of course,” he finished with a laugh. While the eggs were cooking, he’d put toast in the toaster and set the table. When everything was ready, he plated their omelets and put the toast on a plate next to the butter and jelly. After he topped up their coffee he sat down to eat.
“Umm, this is good! I never knew you could cook,” Lara said in between bites.
“I’m a man of many talents,” he said enigmatically, grinning at her.
“I’m beginning to realize that. Thanks for being there for me last night. I know I’d have been up all night or have nightmares if it wasn’t for you.”
“Like I said last night, I’m here for you, Lara, whenever you need me. I love you and being there to support you is part of how I express that love.” Lara reached out to grasp his hand and squeezed his fingers lovingly. They ate the remainder of their breakfast in companionable silence then Lara helped clean up the kitchen and got the dishwasher going. She walked into the bedroom and grabbed her overnight bag.
“I need to go home and change before work but I’ll see you tonight, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be over around six.” Ken drew Lara into his arms and kissed her goodbye. “Have a good day at work and try not to think too much about last night, okay?” Lara nodded, kissing him again quickly before she headed out.
Since it was still early, she decided to walk home, arriving there fifteen minutes later. In her bedroom, Lara changed into her work clothes, ran a brush through her hair then she headed out to catch the “L” for the ride to work.
**********
Before leaving for work Ken pulled up his email and found a message from his mother. Attached to the email was a JPG which he opened. The picture was of his great-grandmother’s ring. It was beautiful, elegant, and classic. The stone looked to be one karat in a four-prong, white gold setting. It looked perfect! He picked up his phone and dialed his mother.
“Hi, Mom, I got the picture.”
“Oh, good, did you like it? I took the ring to a jeweler to have it cleaned and inspected. He was very impressed with the stone. He said it was nearly flawless and one karat in size. It’s a beautiful ring. Do you think Lara will like it?”
“I think she’ll love it, especially when she finds out it’s great-grandma’s ring. She’s very close to her family and I’m sure the connection will mean a lot. Could you do me a favor? Could you find a nice box and wrap it for me?”
“Already done!” Lydia said. “I had a feeling you’d want it so I had the jeweler wrap it for me before I left the shop.”
“Thanks, Mom, you’re the best! I’ve got to get to work so I’ll talk to you later. Thanks again, Mom, love you!”
“Love you too, honey. Have a good day at work.”
**********
When Lara entered the bullpen that morning, she immediately fired up her computer to write up the story of the house fire from the night before from her unique perspective. She even went so far as to add a Superwoman quote, something she rarely did. She also mentioned to her readers that they could contribute to a GoFundMe page that had been set up for the family to help defray the medical bills for the little boy. With a satisfied sigh Lara sent her story to her editor then she began her normal day.
**********
Christmas was fast approaching. Ken had purchased the tickets to Florida right after Thanksgiving. They would be flying out of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to avoid the crowds at O’Hare. They planned to drive to Milwaukee, leaving on the 23rd and returning on the 27th, again to avoid busy times at both airports as much as possible.
“I don’t see why I can’t fly us down as I did before,” Lara groused one evening a few days before they were to leave.
“We’ve discussed this, honey. Last time we stayed for a day and a half, this time we’re going to be there for five full days. We’re going to have a lot more luggage and Christmas presents besides. Also, my mom and dad noticed that we didn’t have a cab pick us up at the house. We don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves, right?” Ken replied, frustrated. They’d had the same ‘discussion’ at least twice in the last couple of days.
“I know, but I really hate flying,” Lara said with a pout.
Ken laughed out loud at that. “You hate flying?”
“Yes, when I’m trapping in a metal tube 30,000 feet in the air for over two hours with someone else in control! You know I can get us there in five minutes, tops!” Lara replied with a growl.
“I’m sorry, Lara but this time we’re going to fly the way ‘normal’ people do.”
“I never said I wanted to be normal, that’s Dad’s hang-up,” Lara said with a grin, surrendering to the inevitable.
“You know I love flying with you, but for this trip, we need to do this the old-fashioned way.” Ken drew Lara into his arms and held her lovingly. His lips claimed hers and, for the time being, at least, the discussion of travel plans ended.
**********
Early on December 23rd Ken pulled up in front of Lara’s apartment. He almost ran up the stairs and knocked on her door moments later.
“Good morning!” Lara said, kissing Ken quickly as she pulled him into the apartment. “I’m all ready.” Ken glanced behind her seeing two large suitcases on the floor.
“Do you think you left anything in the apartment?” Ken said sarcastically, glancing at the luggage behind her.
“Don’t you start. You told me we were going to be there for five days so I packed for that. Besides, there are presents in there too,” Lara said mock hurt. Ken grabbed the bags while Lara put on her coat and locked her door. He piled Lara’s bags into the back of his Honda beside his suitcase and they headed out.
The drive to Milwaukee was an easy hour drive north on I-94. They pulled into long term parking then hopped on the shuttle to the terminal. The security lines at the TSA check-in weren’t too bad and they were soon at their gate.
The flight, though too long for Lara, was uneventful. They arrived at Southwest Florida International Airport on time, got their rental car, and were soon on their way to their hotel, the Travelodge, which was close to Charles and Lydia’s home. Ken had reserved separate rooms next door to each other with a connecting door. They unpacked quickly then grabbed the presents and they were out the door again. When they arrived at the McCarthy home Lydia opened the door.
“Ken, Lara, it’s so good to see you! Come in, come in,” Lydia said ushering them into the house.
“Hi, Mom,” Ken said and he kissed his mother on the cheek.
“Hi, Lydia,” Lara said, hugging the older woman, “Your house looks so festive!”
“Thank you, dear. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to decorating palm trees but it sure beats shoveling snow!” Lydia said with a chuckle.
“Where’s Dad?” Ken asked.
“He’s at the airport. He’s picking up your grandparents,” Lydia said.
“You should have said something, Mom. We were just there, we could have picked Grandma and Grandpa up,” Ken replied.
“We didn’t want to take a chance that the weather up north would delay you so Dad planned to pick them up,” Lydia said.
“Yeah, makes sense, I guess. So is everyone in yet?”
“Not yet. Dave and Amy arrive early this afternoon and Ted and Audrey early tonight. Why don’t we sit down and relax after your long flight?”
Ken and Lara settled into the living room and had refreshments while they waited for the rest of the family to arrive. Lara was slightly nervous. This would be her first time meeting Ken’s extended family but she soon relaxed and enjoyed the family atmosphere as more of the McCarthy clan arrived.
When Charles returned with his parents Ken introduced Lara to the eldest members of the family.
“Lara, these are my grandparents, Michael and Mary. Grandpa, Grandma, this is my girlfriend, Lara,” Ken said proudly, his arm around Lara’s shoulders.
“I’m so pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy,” Lara said politely, her version of the megawatt smile lit up her face.
“Please, call us Michael and Mary if you would, dear,” Mary said opening her arms to gather Lara into a hug. Lara hugged Mary then did the same with Michael.
“Kenny told us you were pretty but he didn’t say how beautiful you are, you holding out on us Kenny?” Michael said with a chuckle. Ken had the grace to blush though his chest puffed out a little more.
“Thanks a lot, Grandpa,” Ken said, embarrassed. Lara also blushed prettily and she wrapped her arm around Ken’s waist, smiling at the compliment.
“Since everyone isn’t due until later why don’t we have some lunch while we wait?” Charles said.
Lara, Mary, and Lydia headed to the kitchen to put together sandwiches while the guys headed out to the back yard and set up the table in preparation for the meal. A few moments later the ladies joined them with trays of meats, bread, condiments, and drinks. After the meal everyone sat outside, enjoying the warm pleasant weather. Around 3:00 p.m. Dave and Amy arrived and Lara met the new arrivals.
**********
“You’ve done very well for yourself, Bro,” Dave said to Ken later that day. “How did an ugly SOB like you land a beautiful woman like Lara?” Dave chided his little brother.
“Clean living and getting my leg broken on the job,” Ken said with a smirk.
“Huh?”
“I met Lara when I broke my leg and she interviewed me for her article. It was love at first sight,” Ken sighed, remembering their first meeting.
“Well however it happened, you’re a lucky guy. Lara seems to be as beautiful a person on the inside as she is on the outside.”
“Thanks, she is. By the way, did Mom tell you about my ‘surprise’?”
“Yeah, mums the word. I can’t wait to see her face,” Dave said conspiratorially.
“Me too, Dave, me too. Oh by the way, would you record the proposal? Lara’s dad asked if we could do that for him.”
“Sure thing, leave it to me.”
**********
Continued in Chapter Twenty-Three
