crybaby ghost writer

Nick winced a little when Tara smacked into the door, then he scrambled to stand up and stop her before she could run away.

“You’re going to ruin my streak of saving you from falling, if you’re not careful,” he said. Her face was red as a fresh beet and he was a little worried she might pass out.

“Sorry,” she said faintly. Nick tilted her face up slightly and she seemed to be trying to avoid looking him directly in the eyes.

“I didn’t mean to just blurt that out,” she said.

“Is it how you really feel though?” Nick asked. She finally looked at him.

“Yes,” she admitted. She seemed surprised when Nick smiled and gently grabbed her face.

“Good,” he said. “Because I fell pretty hard in love with you too.”

Tara blinked several times as she tried to process what he said.

“You… Really?”

“I guess I wasn’t as obvious about it as I thought,” he said, laughing slightly. “I figured you must know that I’m crazy about you. I will write your next book with you, but before we do that, maybe…” He trailed off for a moment, glancing around.

“What’s wrong?” Tara asked.

“I just meant to do this in a more romantic setting than my crowded little ship room. Maybe I should wait till we’re home.”

“Nick!” Tara said indignantly. “Wait to do what? You can’t leave me in suspense like that! What-“

Nick grinned and kissed her, cutting off her protests. She squeaked when he picked her up and set her in his chair. Then he knelt in front of her and took her hands.

“Truthfully, things would seem terribly dull now without you around. Meeting you was the best discovery of my life. And I wanted to ask you if you’d perhaps like to join me on all my adventures, as my wife.”

Tara’s eyes were damp but she laughed. She found herself off the chair with so much enthusiasm she knocked Nick backward onto the floor and kissed him.

“I’m a bit lacking in social understanding, but can I presume that’s a yes?” he asked, sitting up.

“Yes. It’s a yes. And that was plenty romantic,” she added. Nick reached over to brush tears off her cheeks.

“That’s a relief.”

“I don’t really have anyone to invite to a wedding though,” she added.

“We’ll elope,” Nick said. “I’ve no intention of waiting for months of wedding planning anyway.”

They made it home without any further incidents, though the crew looked a bit haggard from how hard Montanez had worked them the entire voyage.

“What’s the matter, boys? Can’t keep up with me? I’m just a senile old man, you know,” he called out as they readied to sail back into port at Pinehaven. Tara hid a giggle behind her hand while Nick smirked. Once the ship was docked, he approached the captain to ask him a special favor. Montanez gave him an annoyingly smug grin.

“I thought you said you weren’t using this expedition as a chance for courtship,” he teased and Nick scowled.

“I’m happy for you,” Montanez laughed, squeezing his shoulder. “You’re a perfect match, and I’ve never seen you smile so much in all these years. I’ll be happy to help.”

Nick didn’t even announce the engagement in the paper. He went home to tell his staff, who were eager to prepare the house to welcome a new Mrs. Thatch. Tara practically hid behind him but everyone was so excited to meet her that she seemed to relax. Nick went upstairs and pulled a box from his dresser. Among things left to him in his parents’ will, his mother had made sure he had a ring to use when he found the right woman. He hadn’t looked at it in years, assuming it would never get any use. Now he took it out and realized it looked very much like his mother’s, with a teardrop shaped diamond flanked by tiny opals and sapphires. There was also a simple gold band that went with it.

“Well the woman did always have good taste,” he said. He and Tara eloped a week after they got home, just enough time for her to get a dress and send for her things. Montanez oversaw the ceremony, and some members of Nick’s staff came as witnesses. Montanez steered the ship slightly out of the harbor and into a sandy cove, teasing Nick about looking nervous until Tara came out onto the deck in her simple ivory gown and Nick forgot Montanez was there.

“When I first met Nick, I didn’t think he’d ever find a girl who’d put up with him,” Montanez began, and Nick rolled his eyes.

“Can we please get on with it?” he groused while Tara smothered a giggle with her bouquet. They didn’t let anyone know about the marriage until they were well into their honeymoon, since Nick had asked the staff not to tell his aunt or make any formal announcement until they were gone. They were gone for six weeks but their return prompted a great deal of gossip. Aunt Mildred came by and gave him an hourlong earful about the Thatch image and his constant attempts to give her a heart attack.

“The Thatch image?” Nick asked. “I was conceived in the coat closet of a university alumni ball.”

He thought Mildred was going to die right there in the parlor. He sighed and patted her hand.

“Come now, Aunt Mildred. I’m married, like you always wanted. And you didn’t even have to get us a wedding gift.”

Aunt Mildred huffed but he insisted she have tea with Tara and by the end of the afternoon his aunt seemed mollified. She even sent them a lovely China tea set, since according to her, she had proper manners and would send a gift even to scandalous elopers.

Now that they were home, Nick and Tara worked together on the Kerelia book. They worked in his parents’ old study. Nick had avoided the room a lot since their deaths but it seemed right to continue work on Kerelia in there. The evening before their book release, Tara was trying to write some note cards for their appearance at the Museum of Ancient History. Nick pulled her from her chair and promptly ruined her hairdo by pulling out all her hairpins.

“Nick, we have to give a speech tomorrow,” she said, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “We need to focus.”

“I am focused,” Nick grinned, thinking about his parents. “I’m focused on my beautiful wife.”

Tara rolled her eyes but then giggled when Nick picked her up and set her on the desk.

“You know I’m not going to use note cards anyway,” he said. “I prefer to wing it.”

The two of them garnered a lot of attention in Pinehaven, between eloping suddenly and then writing a history book together. The turn out all along the book tour was incredible. They were often asked questions about their elopement as well as the book and the expedition, but Nick was fine with casually talking about how ravishing Tara was. She stood off to the side going red in the face but the crowds seemed to get a kick out of it.

By the time they wrapped up the book tour and went home, they got word that William had secured himself a rich wife.

“That’s wonderful news,” Nick said, a sly smile on his face. He had five macaws anonymously sent to William, figuring he might enjoy a reminder of their travels together.

One morning he padded into the parlor to find Tara up on a ladder, helping to decorate the enormous Christmas tree. He waited down below and soon enough she overreached trying to hang a shiny bauble and fell off the ladder. Nick caught her and laughed.

“We really must stop meeting like this,” he teased, nuzzling her nose. He set her back on her feet and she smoothed her dress. Nick watched her ring sparkle on her left hand.

“Why are you looking at me with that goofy face?” she asked. Nick plucked the clip from her hair so her curls fell down.

“Just thinking about what a grand adventure this is,” he said, tugging her closer to kiss her. “Now let’s leave the ladder climbing to the professionals and go explore the kitchen for some cocoa.”

Tara smiled up at him. “Maybe we can excavate some cookies too.”