Legend (Requiem MC #6)

Chapter Eighteen 2 Point 5

Glory

All I could do was stare at the ring. Why was it so beautiful? If he hadn’t planned to get together with me, how did he have a ring already? Where on earth did he get it? My thoughts all rushed together to blend into one big confusing mess. My voice was suddenly nowhere to be found. I even opened my mouth and nothing came out.

Legend raised the ring a bit higher as a punctuation for me to answer. Raising his eyebrows at me, he waited.

The silence in the limo interior could almost be heard.

I fought for sanity and to be able to speak. But all I could seem to do was nod my head as I fought to keep my breathing from accelerating even more.

“Was that a yes?” he asked.

I nodded again then I jumped at him as my voice suddenly came back to me, “YES!” I yelled. My weight knocked him back as I smothered his mouth with mine.

Poor Legend had to endure my attacking kiss while being a tangled mess as his legs were under him and his body went backwards. He didn’t seem to care though as he held me tightly and kissed me deeply.

Finally, I let the poor man up for air, although I was breathless too.

Legend struggled a bit for air and then he looked around. “I…lost the ring.”

I gasped with a little panic and climbed off of him. “No, it has to be here.”

We both moved around and searched.

“You two okay back there?” Rocky’s voice called from the console.

Not pausing to answer, we kept looking for the ring.

The partition window lowered as Tito called out, “Hey.”

Legend stretched his legs out and then raised his ass up. “I was sitting on it.” He reached under and grasped the ring.

“Oh, my God! Did I break it?” I asked.

He chuckled. “No, it's tougher than that, babe.”

“What is happening back here?” Tito called out from the partition.

“Just a minute, cousin.” Legend sat up and reached over to grasp my hand.

I kept staring at the ring. It did look fine, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

Sliding the ring onto my finger, Legend said, “There. We are now engaged.”

My heart thumped in my chest. It really did. Legend and I were engaged! I think I was in shock actually, as I simply kept staring at the ring.

We both finally looked over at the lowered partition.

All I could do was smile like a fool. I was totally over the moon as they say.

“So sorry to have interrupted,” Tito said.

“Congratulations!” Rocky exclaimed as he waved happily.

The partition window went back up.

“You okay?” Legend asked me quietly.

I nodded then bit at my lip as my smile dropped and tears filled my eyes.

“Glory?” Taking my hands into his, he scooted closer to ask, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Y-yes?” I sniffled as tears rolled down my cheeks. In truth, I wasn't sure about how I felt. Can a person go into a happiness overload?

“Baby! What is it?” he asked as he looked concerned.

“I-I…” With a hard swallow, my voice faltered. “I dreamed about this for so long!” I wailed and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He stilled, then he seemed to relax. “Oh, man. I thought you were going to change your mind.”

My head snapped up as I growled at him, “Hell no!”

He laughed now. “Ok, there’s my warrior woman.’”

I slowly shook my head. “Not now I’m not. I’m just an overwhelmed girl who finally got her wish and can’t seem to handle it!” I cried loudly.

He tugged me close again and gently patted my back with his hand. “I admit you are a complicated woman.” He chuckled. “Ten minutes ago, you took out assassins while hanging out of a car window without blinking an eye.”

I nodded. “And now I can’t stop cccrrryyying!” I wept out with a whine in my voice. “I waited for so long for you to even see me! Then I knew you w-wanted m-me. But then you turned… you turned your back on me again,” I ranted. “Everytime I-I thought I made a breakthrough…” I hiccuped. “You would walk away!”

Legend held me tighter. “I am so sorry, Glory. I regret waiting so long, baby”

“N-noooo. This is the right time,” I cried. “N-now I’m wearing my engagement ring and I’m s-so happy!”

Pulling back, Legend now became the doctor as he instructed me, “Calm down, woman. Come on, take a deep breath and let it out slowly.”

I did so and hiccuped again.

Legend nodded at me and asked, “Maybe you could use a stiff drink?”

I nodded. Maybe it would help.

Legend scooted forward and pressed a button. A bar came up from the cabinet and then stopped with a clink. Glasses were on one side and bottles were on the other. He leaned over and poured me a shot of whiskey. Turning, he handed it to me.

I grabbed it and immediately tipped it to gulp it down.

“Glory,” he exclaimed. “Don’t—”

I coughed and gasped for air.

Legend grabbed me up again and patted me on the back but not so gently this time. “Just breathe, Glory.”

My eyes now watered from more than tears as I kept coughing.

He rubbed my back over and over as he crooned in a soothing voice. “Easy now…You are okay. You will be all right.”

I listened to his sweet warm voice and I finally managed to calm my breathing.

“You two okay, now?” Tito’s voice came on.

“Yeah, we are gonna make a pit stop. We’re on the lookout for trouble. Your two enforcers waved that all seems well.”

Legend leaned forward as he still kept a hold of me with one arm, to press the button and say, “We’re fine. Ready for a stop.” He looked back down at me with a question in his eyes.

I nodded my head at him. “I’m ready.”

“Ok, we're pulling into a truck stop at the next exit,” Tito said over the speaker.

“Don’t exit the car until we come to open the doors,” Rocky instructed.

“You got that?” Tito’s voice followed.

Pressing the button, Legend answered with a yes .

After a few minutes, the limo slowed and turned, then slowed some more.

I looked out the window and recognized the truck stop we were pulling into. I’d been on this interstate many times in my life as it led out of Texas to every other state. This sort of car-truck stop was now a big deal on the Texas interstates and it had been expanding to other areas. My dad had said a few times that Buc-ee’s was a Texas ideal all the way. A unique and impressive huge stopping point with like 20 to 40 fuel pumps, along with a store larger than any Super Walmart. It carried kiosk restaurant food, snacks, candy, drinks and was filled with every damn trinket on the planet. The restrooms numbered like 30 with closed door stalls, the cleanest in all the land. It claimed to have most and the best of everything. Otherwise, it was a Texas thang.

Finally after the limo stopped, the door opened to our right.

“Safe to exit,” Tito said with a smile as he stood to the side.

We scooted out as Legend took my hand.

Duke and Steel stood to the left and got on either side of us in full on protection mode. Tito walked ahead of us and Rocky behind us. It felt like we were movie stars or something. Protected to the max. But I had to silently agree and not complain. Especially after the attack we just endured. “Oh!” I said as I stopped walking. “I need to get some extra ammo clips from the trunk.”

Legend stopped with me and this caused all four very large men to halt as well.

“Maybe you can wait—” Duke tried to say.

Ignoring him of course, I flipped around and went under Legend’s arm, out of the protective circle. “Where’s Oscar?” I asked no one in particular.

“He’s going to go fuel the limo up,” Tito replied.

Turning, I saw the limo was indeed pulling away from the parking spot. “Damn it,” I swore as I turned and went back over to Legend. “I don’t like being unarmed.”

Legend laughed. “Unarmed? You have Godzilla and King Kong along with their cousins the Hulk and the Jolly Green Giant.”

At the description, the big men all shook their heads.

I took his hand again and advised, “If I were you babe, I would not explain exactly who is who.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, maybe you're right.”

We were escorted inside and went directly to the restrooms.

After ten minutes, I finally came out of the ladies to immediately see Duke and Steel.

They both gave me a nod.

“Where’s…” I paused when I saw my fiancé and his guards. I froze as it hit me all over again. “...My fiancé!” I yelled as I rushed over to Legend to jump into his arms, kissing his cheeks and forehead. “That is who YOU are, Mr. Giovanni Cassio Descalia. My fiancé! You know what that means?”

Legend was laughing as he replied with his own question, “It means we are gonna get married?”

I nodded. “Si, you are correcto! We will have a white picket fence and 2 point 5 children.”

Legend whirled me around and asked, “Can we get a dog?”

Nodding again, I said, “Oh yes, we are gonna have 2 point 5 dogs.”

The big men all looked uncomfortable at the attention we were attracting.

Tito and Rocky glanced at us with half smiles as they kept an eye on our surroundings.

Duke did not smile as he looked back and forth. Steel stood behind us.

Legend kissed me soundly then set me back down on my feet. “Just remember, we are now a sure thing. No more doubts. Let’s make all kinds of wild wonderful plans. Wedding, honeymoon, where do we want our house to be…all of it.” He looked into my eyes and added softly, “The whole deal…”

I gazed into his warm eyes and again, I got choked up.

Legend framed my face with his hands and smiled at me. “Ok, warrior woman, stay calm now.”

I laughed then sniffled a little as I leaned close and told him, “No worries, I would never cry in front of Duke.”

Legend chuckled as he shook his head. “Ok, is there anything you want?”

I wiggled my brows at him. “Well, now that you mention it. I like that thing you do with your tongue. You know when you kissed my—”

Legend placed his hand over my mouth as he gasped. “No babe…I mean in the store. You know like a little stuffed beaver or something.”

“Oh, mio dio!” Rocky exclaimed as he looked pink in the face.

Duke now stared at us with wide eyes.

Tito shook his head and motioned to the aisle we stood in. “He means those beavers.”

We all looked over to see the Famous Buc-ee’s stuffed beaver toys.

Rocky was stunned then he laughed.

I stepped forward and grabbed one. “They are so cute!” I rubbed the soft fake beaver fur against my face. “I have a couple Buc-ee Beavers at home but not one this size.” I wandered down the aisle. “Are any of you hungry? They have the best donuts here.”

No answer, except for Legend taking my hand. “I love them too. Let’s get a bear claw.”

“Bear claw?” Rocky asked as he moved ahead and kept looking around. “Is that another trinket?”

“No, brother,” Tito explained. “It’s like an apple tart cinnamon pasticceria.”

“Oh, si. A pastry. Si, I’ll take one for the road.” Rocky nodded.

Behind us, Duke and Steel remained silent.

Legend turned and asked if they wanted anything.

Both men shook their heads.

“Come on, you gotta have drinks at least,” I said as we made it to the food area. “Legend, grab them two Dr. Peppers.”

He grinned at me and asked, “In the bottle?”

I laughed and told him, “Only the best for our enforcers.”

As we went through several food areas and the five aisles of candy, Rocky whistled and commented, “This is the most junk food and snacks I have ever seen in one place.”

“Oh, yeah,” I agreed. “It has the most unneeded, unnecessary, mostly useless items under one roof than any place in the world, probably. My dad said it was built on the Texas principle.”

The two Italian men shook their heads.

“Principal?” Tito asked.

“That’s right.” I nodded at him as I picked out a candy bar and explained, “ If you're gonna do it. Do it big. ”

“Yeah, cause nothing small will ever survive out here,” Duke actually spoke up for the first time. “My pa had a saying of his own… ‘You can all to go to hell, and I will go to Texas.”

I laughed. “Duke, some people might say that’s the same exact thing.”

“Bite your tongue, missy!” he retorted.

“Yeah,” Steel said covertly as he glanced around like he feared someone close by might have heard the insult to the Lone Star state. “We are still in Texas, ya know?”

We all chuckled as we shook our heads.

“Nah, Texans for the most part, mind their own business,” I explained. “Uncle Zed always says, ‘Not my barn, not my cattle.’ ”

“Well that makes sense,” Legend said as he shrugged. “He owns a cattle ranch.”

“I always liked, well,bless your heart.” I gave Legend a wink.

“That’s one that is not what it sounds like.” Legend shook his head as he smiled.

Rocky looked between us and said, “Why? It sounds nice and kind.”

We laughed as did Duke and Steel.

“No, it can be like a pity line,” I explained. “Like someone who isn’t too smart or is dressed badly. Like aww your poor thing, bless your heart.” I paused and looked over at all four guards. “Then my dad would say that all four of you are corn fed, for sure.”

Legend laughed. “I never understood that. Like eating corn could make you huge or something?”

I agreed as I chuckled with him. “It’s something about grain fed and corn fed? But like Uncle Zed always says, that’s a whole ‘nuther can o’ worms. I asked him once…. Uncle Zed, have you ever seen an actual can of worms?”

All of us were snickering.

“There’s lots of them. And some of them really make you think.” Legend grabbed my hand and said, “But Zed was always warning me about you.”

“About me?” I asked as I stared up at him.

“Yes, he said you weren't going to give up on me.” Legend paused and seemed to try to remember what the saying was. “What was it he told me?”

“She’d charge into hell with a bucket of ice water,” Duke interjected.

We all looked over at him.

He shrugged.

I shook my head and remembered one of my favorites as I braced my hands on my hips and stated, “I figure I might as well. Can’t dance, never could sing, and it’s too wet to plow.”

Now other people in the store were laughing with us.

Steel laughed. “Or what about… She raised hell and stuck a chunk under it. ”

“I never understood that one,” Legend replied. “A chunk of what?”

“My favorite is… Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered . Or… skin your own buffalo ,” Duke said.

We all paused to look over at him.

Legend chuckled. “I think he means the same thing…Mind your own business.” He looked over at Duke to ask, “Right?”

The large biker smirked.

I shook my head. Duke could be creepy. I think he was joking, but who the hell knew? Uncle Zed did tell me once that Duke was… Two sandwiches short of a picnic. I again burst into laughter.

Legend looked over at me.

I covered my mouth and shook my head at him.

After the booming laughter, we knew we were drawing too much attention so we all got donuts and walked around while looking at different items. Well, our enforcers didn’t get anything except for the Dr. Peppers, but despite the previous joking, they and the two Italian cousins remained very alert and on edge.

I should have been the same way since we did get attacked on the freeway but I was just too damn happy and excited. I swung Legend’s hand in mine like I was in high school. I was giddy almost. All, while my version of an old song Chapel of Love kept repeating in my mind.

Going to the chapel and I’m gonna marry Leh-eh-eh-edgend.