The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Thirty Two

        "Y'all have a great day at school! See you in a couple hours when we pick you up. Love y'all!" Lacey called out her window to her two brothers like a helicopter mom watching her babies walk into their first day of kindergarten. 

      Hearing a quiet chuckle from her left, Lacey pulled her head back into the truck, giving Slade a teasing glare. "Why are you laughing at me?" She questioned.

     "Darlin', I'm not laughing at you. I'm just thinkin' about how dadgum adorable you are and how good of a mother you will be when the time comes." Slade reached his hand over to grab Lacey's, weaving his fingers through hers. 

      "That's ironic because earlier I was just thinkin' about how great a father you would be. Honestly, the way that you comforted Ryder when he was upset earlier just made me fall in love with you even more." 

       Slade didn't respond, well, with words that is. With that cockeyed smile on his lips, he leaned across the center console, silently asking Lacey for a kiss. Just before their lips could meet, a car behind them noisily blared their horn. 

      Looking in front of him, Slade saw the reason that he was being honked at. Dropping the truck into drive, he waved to the parent behind him, as he moved forward in the drop off line so he was no longer blocking the cars behind him. 

     As Slade made his way to the auto parts store to pick up the new starter for Willie's truck, Slade held onto Lacey's hand, the only sound in the cab coming from the quiet music filtering out of the speakers from the radio.

      Watching the scenery pass by out her window, a thought came to Lacey's mind. "The other day, when you proposed to me, you said that you had talked to my dad. Are you goin' to tell me what he said?" 

      "That's been botherin' you all day, hasn't it? You've been dyin' to ask me, haven't you?" Slade took his eyes off the road momentarily to ask. 

       "Maybe." Lacey shrugged, probing Slade on to answer her question by pushing her eyebrows up, silently telling him to tell her the story.

        Letting out a sigh, a slight smile rose to Slade's lips as he looked back to the road. "Well, I'll be honest with ya, darlin'. I wasn't fixin' to propose to you when I did. I was fixin' to wait until I talked to your dad first, and bought a ring, but I couldn't wait any longer, which is why I proposed when I did. The moment was far too perfect to pass up. So, I talked to your dad after church on Sunday, and asked for his permission." 

     "Okay." Lacey drew out. "And what was his response?" 

      "The usual." He grinned over at Lacey, knowing he would start to get all sentimental if he replayed the conversation he had with Zane.

       "Oh, come on, you have to tell me now." Lacey rested her head back against the head rest, giving Slade a look. 

       Clearing his throat and changing his posture in his chair as he drove, Slade focused on the road, his grip tightening around the wheel. "He told me to never break your heart. He said, 'take care of my baby girl. She deserves nuthin' short of the best.'" Slade mimicked Zane's voice perfectly. Letting out a slight chuckle, Slade added, "He told me he would tan my hide if I ever mistreated you. But then after that, the conversation turned more serious." Slade cleared his throat again, swallowing the lump rising in his throat. It was crazy how emotional the engagement made him; he was never really the sentimental type, but for some reason, marrying the woman of his dreams, made him become an emotional teddy bear.

      "What happened?" Lacey watched Slade's eyes closing and shutting quickly, blinking rapidly, as if to try cleaning them from something that was blocking his vision.