The First Thanksgiving After
By Cleo Taurus
The house was full of laughter and good cheer. Preacher had
allowed his Rose to invite the other happy couples that had no close family
over to celebrate the food filled holiday. Putting the finishing touches on the
large table, Rose looked over the crystal and fine china that had been given to
them as wedding presents. Her mind went back to other holidays, the ones she
suffered as a child growing up in a house so cold it would have given the North
Pole a run for its money for sheer frigidity. Preacher, Taylor and the other
men were in the great room watching football on the big screen, and the women
were laughing and talking in the kitchen. Rose just stood there, counting
places, making sure each setting had the correct number of utensils and wine
glasses when she felt a hard smack on her ass. Stifling a yelp, she looked over
her shoulder and glared at her husband and Dom, Preacher.
“What was that for Sir?” Rose could see by the look on his
face not to call him anything else.
“Where was your mind at my Rose?”
“On the table!” Rose
answered as she rubbed her sore ass cheek.
“No, it wasn’t and you know not to lie to me. It was on HER, wasn’t it?”
Rose sighed quietly and stood there, safe in Preacher’s
arms. It had been a rough and also wonderful year for her, and it was all due
to the man holding her close now. When her mother died, she completely shut
down mentally and emotionally. It was only through the love of her Dom, and
what he had to do to bring her out of it, that she was sane and happy. Rose
leaned her head back against his chest, and tried not to let a tear slide down
her eye.
“Yes, it was Sir. But only for a moment.” She turned around
and faced him, her arms sliding around his waist. Looking into the eyes of the
man she loved and would die for, her mind was at ease, and her heart was full.
“What’s on your mind my Rose?” He asked her as he tightened
his hold on his wife.
“I know it’s stupid, and I don’t know why I feel this way,
but I wonder what she would have thought about you and I. I mean, I know her
opinion of me wasn’t much when she was alive, but I once thought if she could
see how happy I am, then maybe she would accept me.”
“Then you would be wrong Rosie doll.”
The strong voice coming from across the room made her jump. She
thought they were alone. When she looked over her shoulder a smile broke across
her face and she pulled out of Preachers arm. It was her brother Tim, standing
next to the table smiling, and behind him his partner Warren.
“I didn’t expect you to make it! I thought you were going to
Megan’s for the holiday!” Rose jumped in her brother’s arms and gave him a
tight hug.
“Not a chance in hell would we go there Rose, there’s no
place I would rather be then here with you and Brice.” He held her with one arm and walked over to Rose’s
husband, shaking his hand. “Thanks for the invite.”
Preacher shook his hand and pulled his wife back against
him. His arm slung over her shoulder, Preacher gave Warren a nod, and then
turned to her brother again.
“Glad you two could make it; you both are always welcome in
our home, and at our table. Rose, I think we need two more settings don’t you?”
She hurriedly went to grab everything and as Preacher
watched her scamper away he let out a chuckle. In the months since they
married, she had barely had a need for what he used to give her. Now, it was as
simple as having her sit at his feet in the evenings, or tying her to the bed
at night next to him. Preacher could
tell when she needed something extra, and he made sure to give it to her. Never
again did he EVER want to see her so shut down as he did that night.
“I never thanked you Brice, for what you did for Rose.”
Tim’s voice was calm and confidant, and as the two men stood
there facing each other, an unspoken understanding passed between them.
“I love your sister, what I did, to her, was for us both.”
Preacher knew that Rose had confided in her older brother, and he was fine with
that. After all in his mind it was hers to tell. If she was ok with it then so
was he.
“I know what a bitch my mother was, and as much as I tried I
couldn’t save her, only you and your love could do that.”
“I would do it all over again just to see her smiling at the
end of it. I hated to hurt her, but I knew it was what she needed.” Preacher
turned to look at Tim, his eyes never leaving the other man’s. “But she hasn’t
needed that kind of pain since that night. She’s stronger now, more… content.”
Just then Rose walked back in the room and quickly made two
more places at the table. Smiling up at her brother and Warren, she hugged them
both again. “I’m so HAPPY you two are here!”
Preacher had called everyone into the dining room as Rose
told him all was ready, and he stood at the head of the table. Looking around,
surrounded by his closest friends, family and the only woman he ever loved, he
took her hand in his. Rose was his Thanksgiving, she was what he would be
forever thankful for.
Her husband on one side, brother on the other, Rose was
thankful for them both, and the loss of love from her mother wasn’t as
important as she once thought. That is what she was truly thankful for.
