Page 78 of Refuge for Cherilyn

“Did you guys bring us anything?” Maya asked, her face one huge smile.

Shaw nodded. “Matter of fact, we did. We got you tee shirts. They’re in the car. We got your grandma and grandpa some steak seasoning from the restaurant.”

“Oooo, that sounds good,” Johnny cooed.

“Did you get anything for yourself?” Candace asked, and Shaw wondered what she was thinking.

“Matter of fact, we did. Something for both of us.” He turned to Cherilyn and nodded, so she fidgeted with her fingers for a minute, then lifted her left hand, palm in, so everyone could see her ring.

“Oh my god! You did it!” Candace sang out, and the whole room broke out in chatter. There were hugs and kisses and congratulations, and when they’d all finally settled down, Jimmy tapped his beer bottle loudly with his butter knife until everyone looked around.

“Now I know why my brother insisted I drive all the way here just for dinner. Good thing Mom and Dad are putting us up free!” Everyone laughed. Jimmy held the bottle aloft. “To my brother and his wife-to-be. May they find happiness and refuge in each other’s arms.”

“Hear, hear!” Third cried out and lifted his bottle. There was the clinking of glasses and bottles all around the table, and Shaw thought he’d burst with happiness. Then he turned and looked at his fiancée.

She was still slim, but she’d put on about fifteen pounds, and every one of them looked good on her. The hair that had been brittle and straw-like was healthy and shiny, and the skin that had been peeling and dry was glowing, thanks to the lotions and creams she and Maisey were so fond of. He’d encouraged her to start having her nails done, knowing what he was about to do, and they looked wonderful with their French tips. The girls looked healthy and happy, and he marveled at how just a few weeks of being treated well could make such a difference in someone’s life.

They took the girls’ things from Leslie and Johnny’s car and loaded everyone up. Once they’d gotten the kids in and down for the night, they dragged their luggage in and left it in the laundry room for the next morning. Shaw collapsed on the sofa, and Cherilyn joined him with a soft drink in each hand. “Whew. What a day,” he whispered as he opened the can and took a sip.

“Yeah. I’m beat. Happy, but beat.” She did the same with her drink, then set the can on the coffee table. “I think tomorrow I should check on Marlon and his parents. Frankie might’ve been an idiot, but honestly, he wasn’t a bad person. He just kept bad company.” She waited a few seconds, then asked, “Is that okay with you?”

“Of course. You do what you feel you should do. Honestly, I think it would be a nice gesture. And please, offer them my condolences. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but he was an okay guy.”

“Thanks. I will.”

“I think I want to call Dax and Cruz tomorrow to tell them thanks again and that we’re engaged. They’re good guys. I owe them a lot.”

“We both do.” They sat there in the quiet, leaning against each other. Finally, Cherilyn asked, “Do you want me to get a job and help out?”

Shaw shrugged. “I dunno. Do you want to get a job?”

It was Cherilyn’s turn to shrug. “I dunno. I wouldn’t mind, if that’s what you want. I mean, after we get all three kids settled in permanently. Unless…”

Shaw cut his eyes toward her. “Unless what?”

“Well, um, Candace asked me something.”

“Yeah?”

“She, uh… She wanted to know if I’d still marry you if you wanted to have another child.”

“And what did you tell her?” Shaw couldn’t wait to hear that answer.

“I told her… I told her that I wouldn’tnotmarry you if that’s what you wanted.”

“Is that what you want?”

For a few seconds, she didn’t answer. Then a slow, wide grin crept across her face. “I wouldn’t mind it.”

“How ’bout this? How ’bout we take precautions for about six months, and then we just let nature take its course. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Regardless what happens, we’ll be happy just being together.”

Cherilyn slipped her arms around his waist as his own arms encircled her and pulled her close. He could feel the warmth of her cheek through the fabric of his shirt as her face rested against his chest, and he knew she was listening to his heartbeat. “I think that sounds like the perfect plan.”

He kissed the part in her hair and sighed. Shaw couldn’t remember ever being so happy. He’d gone from sitting at home alone with a frozen dinner to sitting around a table every night with a family as they ate a home-cooked meal. “Oh, and to answer your question, no. I really don’t want you to get a job unless you really, really want to. You’ve got enough to do around here.”

“Okay. That’s fine with me.”

He squeezed her tightly, then took her arms from around him and pressed her up to sitting. “We need to get to bed. We’re both exhausted and those three will be up at the crack of dawn. You know they will.”

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