Finding Eden (A Sign of Love Novel)(89)

"God, yes," he rasped.
I smiled against his lips and brought my arms around his neck. "Then let's figure this out," I said, joy blooming in my chest. "Because if there is one thing I am absolutely sure about in this world, it's that I want to be married to you."
Calder kissed my lips again, smiling against my mouth, and pulled his body from mine. He was silent for a minute as his eyes moved over my face. "I've been thinking, Eden," he paused, running his hand through his hair.
"What?" I probed, putting my fingers on his chin and tilting his face back to mine.
He met my eyes. "What would you say about taking a road trip to Indiana?"
I nodded immediately. "Road trip? Yes." I tilted my head. "But are you sure about Indiana? Why?"
He shrugged. "For the reasons you mentioned it before. Partly to see if you recognize anything, I guess. I know it's a long shot in the dark. But . . . mostly, just to get away from the craziness here, but still be close by. To walk around without being hounded, to be together, to sleep in a bed that doesn't announce my every move to your mother," he smiled, but then went serious again. "To get some freedom."
I bit my lip, warming to the idea immediately. It would be a wonderful relief not to worry about who was outside our door for at least a short while. And maybe by the time we returned, things would have died off. "Yes."
Calder looked relieved. "Thank you."
I shook my head. "No, this is for both of us. Xander mentioned us getting away this morning, too."
He nodded. "We need it. Do we have to tell the police?"
"I don't think so. They didn't say we couldn't leave town." I shrugged. "I mean, we could anyway, just to be considerate, I guess, but I don't think we're required to. And I don't necessarily want them to know where we're going."
"You already told them about recognizing the Indiana sign though."
I nodded. "I know, but I don't want them to think we're going on some vigilante information-gathering mission. Chances are good that nothing at all will come of it anyway."
Calder nodded. "And that's okay. It just seemed like it made sense as far as a location."
"It does." I smiled. "Now go gather my bathing suit before my mom comes home and finds me undressed.”
Calder chuckled and then swam to the other side of the pool where my suit sat right on the edge.
I grinned and then squinted upward as the sun broke through the clouds, casting the gloomy day in sudden light. It felt appropriate, because while before it had seemed as though a cloud was over us, surrounding us, now, everything seemed clearer, brighter. The man of my dreams wanted to marry me, had more hope in his eyes, and light had begun to shine in my heart once more.

**********

Later in bed as I stroked Calder's hair, cocooned in his warm arms, drifting toward sleep, he suddenly said, "That day, Hector kept calling me Satan's spawn. He said it over and over. What do you think he meant by that?"
I shivered, even though I was far from cold. "I don't know," I said. "Who knows what was going through his sick brain?" Something inside me told me I didn't want to know. I snuggled more deeply into Calder's embrace.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN


Calder



Once Eden and I decided to take the trip to Indiana, my mood improved immensely. I had felt trapped, confined, and worthless for almost a month. And I had been trying so hard to snap myself out of it. After all, I had Eden back. If someone had told me two months before that Eden would be back in my arms, I would have happily agreed to live in a dark cave with her for the rest of my existence. And now, here I was edgy and frustrated. I felt ashamed of myself. But the simple truth was, I longed to take care of her. I longed to feel like the man she deserved. I wanted so desperately to give her things, to work for her, to provide a home for us, marry her. And I couldn't exactly do any of that from the guest room in her mom's house, especially considering how welcome her mom made me feel. Or not.