Only in Oklahoma (At the Altar Book 6) Read online

  She sighed, looking over. A rock, bigger than her fist, had just flown through their window, and rain was starting to come in through the hole that had been left. "A rock. I think the wind just flung a rock through our fifth story window!"

  "I told you not to tell me what it was!"

  "I'm a terrible, disobedient wife, but our hotel room is getting drenched." She sighed heavily. "I'll get our stuff packed up while you call the front desk for another room."

  "Can't we stick a sock in the hole? Just for a little while?"

  "I don't think that'll work." She frowned over at the window. "At least it wasn't the ship I predicted!"

  He rolled to his side and stood up. "Thank God for small favors, I guess." Striding to the hotel room's phone, he picked it up and dialed the main desk.

  She got dressed and worked on packing their things. They still had thirty-six hours of honeymoon left. It would only get better from there, right? There was no way it could possibly get worse.

  As soon as the thought entered her mind, she shook her head. Thinking things like that would only make it worse.

  Chapter Five

  An hour later, their things had been packed up and Michaela and Jon were in a new hotel room. She looked around. "At least this time, they gave us a window that's not facing the ocean. I mean, I loved the view from the other room, but we don't have to worry about anything getting blown in from the sea."

  Jon sighed. "Yeah. Do you realize how many times we've been interrupted now?" He closed his eyes to count, and he realized it was too incredible. No one would ever believe this story if they told them.

  "I don't even want to think about it. It scares me."

  "It should! This is getting ridiculous! I feel we're living through the next big romantic comedy movie, 'The honeymoon that wouldn't happen.'"

  She laughed. "Who should star in it?"

  He shrugged, taking his shirt off. "I have no idea. I just want to get to the happily ever after that follows the most wonderful sex that's ever been imagined."

  "I think we can make that happen!" She walked to him, kissing him. "Maybe we're undressing too quickly, and if we sneak up on it, we can make it through this."

  "Make it through this? It's almost like you're talking about a bad doctor's appointment or something!"

  "I know. I'm terrible!" She sighed. "It feels like if we can get through the first time, the other times will be easy, though, doesn't it?"

  "Yes, it does. But I feel like we're never going to get there." He rested his forehead against hers. "I've always thought of myself as a patient man, but this is getting absolutely ridiculous!"

  She grinned. "You are a patient man. I think any other man would be yelling and bad-tempered by now."

  "What good would that do me?"

  "Absolutely none." She stroked his cheek, feeling the stubble of hair he'd grown since shaving that morning. "Thanks for being so easy to deal with."

  "I promise you, if this lasts for much longer I won't be. I'm slow to anger, but it's not pretty when I get there."

  She grinned. "I'll do my best to always stay on your good side then."

  He brushed his lips across hers half-heartedly. "I'm afraid to start anything. I know we're going to be interrupted again, so what's the point?"

  "Are you saying you want to wait?" she asked, surprised. He wouldn't say that, would he?

  He shook his head. "I'm saying I want to shoot the next person who interrupts us."

  She grinned, pulling his head down to hers and kissing him. "Then let's take advantage of our time alone together."

  "I do like the way you think." He picked her up and carried her to the bed, dropping her on it and looking down at her. "I'm just going to stand here for a minute while I wait for someone to interrupt."

  She grinned. "Oh, stop. Just get over here and kiss me, and all will be good."

  He put one knee on the side of the bed, and an alarm started blaring loudly from the hallway. "You've got to be kidding me! Is that a fire alarm?"

  The hotel phone rang, and he strode to it, ready to scream at someone. She may think he was being calm about it, but he was really getting frustrated.

  He picked up the phone. A recorded voice came on the line. "We're sorry to inform you that the hotel must be evacuated due to the storm. Please pack your things. A credit will be applied to your form of payment."

  He dropped the phone in the cradle and looked at her. "You're never going to believe this."

  She propped up on her elbow. "What now?"

  "They're evacuating the hotel due to the storm. We have to pack up and find somewhere to go."

  She laughed, tears rolling down her face. Her side hurt she laughed so hard.

  "It's not funny!" he protested, obviously wishing there was a person to blame so he could hit them.

  "It's either laugh or cry at this point. Unbelievable." She rolled to the edge of the bed, doing her best to control her laughter. "At least we're still packed up from before. And we didn't get undressed this time."

  "I hope they have a hotel to put us in."

  They went down to the front desk, and it was mass pandemonium. He inquired about another hotel, and the desk clerk just shrugged.

  "Why don't I call my friend, Brenda? She can put us up for the night, I'm sure. I'm worried it wouldn't be safe to go far, and she's close."

  He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't want to stay with your friend on our honeymoon. I want to make love with my wife!"

  She realized people were looking at them. He'd yelled that a little too loudly to be heard over the alarm that was still going off. "It's better than sleeping in the car," she said.

  Jon nodded. "Fine. Call her."

  Michaela picked up her phone and called Brenda, explaining the situation. "We understand. That's fine. Sure."

  She took his hand, pulling her own suitcase out the front door and under the covering. "We can stay with her, but it's a one bedroom apartment. She said she'd sleep on the couch and we can have her bedroom, but that doesn't seem right."

  He shook his head. "No, you sleep with her, and I'll take the couch."

  "I'm sorry," she said, her voice soft.

  Jon groaned. "You didn't do it. I feel bad for getting angry, but this is ridiculous." He knew he was repeating himself, but there was no other word to describe the situation. How many times could they be interrupted before he curled into a fetal position and cried from sheer frustration?

  "It is." She sighed. "I've been to Brenda's, and I can get us there from here. We should go. Her plans for the evening were cancelled because of the weather."

  "Okay. You wait here with the luggage, and I'll go get the car." He gazed out at the rain that was coming down in sheets. "I hope Brenda has plenty of hot water, because I'm going to be soaked after this and needing a shower." With that, he ran out into the rain to get the car.

  *****

  An hour and a half later, Jon stepped out of the bathroom at Brenda's apartment, drying his hair with a towel. He spotted Michaela at the window, staring out at the storm. He walked up to her, unsure of where her friend was. "I'm sorry for being grumpy."

  She laughed. "It's a crazy situation. You have every right to be grumpy about it."

  He sighed, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I hope we can get a hotel for tomorrow night. I'll look for one now."

  "That sounds smart to me."

  Brenda walked into the room. "Anyone hungry? I can cook—something." She seemed confused at the very idea of cooking. Like she had no idea what she had.

  "We ate shortly before we had to evacuate the hotel," Michaela told her. "Thank you, though. Hopefully by morning the storm will blow over."

  "Well, I'm not sure if I should play hostess, or run away and leave you two alone, so I'm just going to go to bed. Are you sure you don't want me to take the couch?" she asked, her eyes meeting Jon's.

  He shook his head. "No, I don't want to kick you out of your bed." It's not like he'd make love to Michaela in
the tiny apartment anyway. It wasn't private enough for his tastes.

  "All right." Brenda went back into her bedroom and shut the door.

  "I feel like I should go to bed when she does, so I don't wake her later," Michaela told him, kissing him quickly.

  He nodded. "You probably should. I'm going to find us a hotel and go to sleep. I want to save my energy for tomorrow when I plan to keep you up all night!"

  She grinned, nodding. "Sounds good to me!" Wandering off into the bedroom, she shut the door firmly behind her.

  Brenda smiled at her. "He seems nice."

  "Oh, he's wonderful. We've had so much weird stuff thrown at us, and he's had a great attitude through it all."

  "What do you mean?"

  Blushing, Michaela explained about all the interruptions. "It's been crazy!"

  Brenda laughed. "I know it's not really funny, but—I don't know how else to react!"

  "Oh, I know. When he told me they were evacuating the hotel, I just laid there and laughed for a minute. It was that or cry, and crying is pointless."

  "I've never seen this bad of a Nor'easter come through at this time of year. It's special for your honeymoon!"

  "Lucky us."

  "Yeah, if you guys ever do figure it out, let me know how it goes," Brenda said with a grin, settling onto the bed on her side.

  "I really don't see that happening." Michaela wore her tee shirt and a pair of shorts to bed. She hadn't packed any pajamas that would be appropriate for her friend to see. "G'night. And thanks again for giving us a place to stay."

  "No problem. Just wish I'd had a bigger place so you two could have some privacy, because I wouldn't interrupt."

  "I know."

  Out on the sofa, Jon checked rooms in local hotels for the following night. He tried over and over, and finally found a vacancy. It was in Boston, and they had one room left. "I'll take it!" he practically shouted into the phone.

  "It's all yours, man," came the answer from the other end of the line. "Let me get your credit card number."

  Jon noted the location of the hotel and laid back on the couch. Finally. They'd have somewhere private to be.

  *****

  Brenda had the morning off work on Friday. "I can cook breakfast for all of us," she offered.

  It was already after ten, and Jon had confirmed they could get to the hotel anytime after two. "No thanks," he said, not feeling comfortable infringing on her hospitality any longer. "We'll find something on our way to the hotel in Boston." Thankfully it was near the airport, so they'd be able to leave early for their flight to Oklahoma.

  Once they were back in the car, Michaela sighed. "I love Brenda, but not on my honeymoon."

  "I don't want to see or talk to anyone but you for the next twenty-four hours until we have to head home." Was it too much to ask? To spend time alone with his wife just this once?

  She couldn't stop wondering what their home would be like. "One bedroom apartment?" she asked.

  "What?" he asked, confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah, my apartment is one bedroom. Tiny really."

  "Cozy," she said with a grin.

  He laughed. "Let's see if you're still saying that when you see it." He looked around for a place to stop for breakfast, realizing he was suddenly very hungry. "Do you want to stop and eat here or closer to the hotel? From what I can tell it's about an hour's drive."

  "Let's stop around here. I'm really hungry."

  "Did you want to have breakfast with Brenda? I should have asked instead of making the decision for both of us. I'm sorry."

  She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I want to spend time with you. It felt weird being with her while we were on our honeymoon."

  He pulled into the parking lot of a large chain restaurant famous for breakfast. "How's this?"

  She shrugged. "Sounds good. Really, though, I don't care where I eat as long as we're together." She realized then that she hadn't had the awkward period she'd expected when she'd first decided to marry a stranger. Instead, everything had seemed natural and easy with him.

  He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I feel the same way." He put his index finger under her chin, tilting her face up for his kiss. "Dr. Lachele really is a good matchmaker. I suspected it with Henry and Samara. I know it now."

  Michaela grinned. "You'll have to tell me about Henry. Is he a good guy?"

  They got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant. "Henry? He's a really good guy. When his brother and sister-in-law died a year ago, he took on the responsibility of his twin four-year-old nieces. I think he would have rather done anything in the world than raise two little girls, but he did it. And he even married just to give them a mother. Of course, he fell in love with Samara almost right away."

  "Well, how could he not? She's wonderful. I've known her for a long time, and I just adore her."

  Jon nodded. "I feel the same way. She's very sweet. And she would do anything for those two little girls. You'd think they were her own children with the way she transforms into a mama bear if she thinks they're being threatened. I really like her."

  "I'm not surprised. I always thought Samara should be working with small children, not working for a matchmaking agency, no matter how fabulous the agency is."

  They stopped at the hostess stand. "Table for two?" the woman asked.

  Jon nodded. "Yes, thank you."

  She led them to a booth at the back of the restaurant. "I hope the storm didn't cause too much damage for you."

  Jon shook his head. "We're not from around here." He was certain the storm wouldn't have affected his apartment in Oklahoma.

  "Oh, what are you doing in Plymouth then?"

  "We're on our honeymoon," he said.

  "Your honeymoon? Please tell me you didn't get evacuated from your hotel? I've heard a bunch of stories from people who spent their night in their cars last night, because the hotel on the beach was evacuated."

  "Oh, we definitely were," Michaela said shrugged. "We were lucky, though, because I have an old college friend here in town and she let us stay at her place."

  "Oh, well at least you weren't in your car." The hostess smiled at them handing them their menus. "Have a good meal, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here."

  Jon reached for Michaela's hand. "We plan on it." He smiled at his wife. "I wish we weren't leaving tomorrow."

  She laughed. "Are you sure about that? It seems to me that it's been nothing but chaos since we got here. I'm kind of ready to move on."

  "Yeah, but I don't want to be the only man in the world who has to say he didn't get a chance to consummate his marriage during his honeymoon." He made a face, obviously still annoyed with the whole situation.

  "Hey, it'll be a story we'll never tell our children or grandchildren." She shrugged. "Maybe I'll tell Lachele, though. She'd get a huge kick out of it." Michaela could just see Lachele cackling over the whole thing.

  "Because she's sadistic?" he asked.

  "No, because she's got a sense of humor. In five years we're going to look back at this honeymoon and laugh."

  "Yeah, well, it's not five years yet, and I'm not laughing."

  "You should be. I think we'd both be happier if we could have a sense of humor about it."

  "Maybe. I don't see it happening for a while though."

  They were silent as they studied their menus for a bit. After their breakfast had been ordered, she smiled. "At least it's done raining. It's pretty out today."

  "I wonder how long it's going to take them to fix the damage on the hotel."

  "Why? So we can come back?"

  "Bite your tongue!"

  "Isn't that your job?"

  *****

  A few hours later, they pulled into the parking lot of the new hotel. It wasn't nearly as nice as the one in Plymouth, but all Jon cared about at that point was finding a bed for the two of them.

  They checked in and went to their room, which was located on the first floor near the elevators. "It's going to be loud here,"
she said as they stepped into the room.

  "I don't care. I don't care about anything except whether or not the bed is comfortable."

  She laughed. "I don't think you even care about that as long as it fits two people."

  "You may have a point."

  They explored the tiny room, and she pulled back the drapes to look out onto the parking lot. "I miss our view of the ocean already."

  He walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her. "I do too, but as long as I have you, I'm going to be happy."

  She grinned, turning in his arms and kissing him. "I'm here. And this room is going to be lucky. I promise."

  He kissed her softly, holding her close. "I sure hope so, because any more interruptions, and I may just lose my mind. Do you realize we've been married for over forty-eight hours and still haven't managed to consummate?" When he'd thought about their honeymoon, they'd always consummated within minutes of arriving in Plymouth.

  She grinned up at him. "Well, it's not like it's my fault!"

  "No one's blaming you, sweet stuff." He cupped her bottom through her jeans. "I sure would like to get past this curse someone put on us though. Does your dad know black magic by any chance?"

  "What? Of course not! Why would you ask that?" Had he lost his mind?

  "I was kidding. He did threaten to castrate me, though."

  Michaela turned a giggle into a cough. She really wasn't terribly surprised. "He did?"

  Jon nodded. "At the reception. It was all I could do not to cover up the goods."

  She did giggle at that. "The goods?"

  He waggled his eyebrows at her. "You'll understand when you've gotten acquainted."

  She shook her head. "Do you need a shot of self-confidence?"

  "I think I've got it down," he said smiling.

  He kissed her again, more insistently this time. "I think it's actually going to happen."

  "I hope so." She took his hand and led him to the bed. "I never thought it would be this difficult to make love with my husband."

  "It shouldn't be."