Strawberry Wine (Chris Evans Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

The rest of the morning, Chris taught Carter how to properly put a saddle on a horse. Carter has gone horseback riding before, but she had never had to put on the saddle herself. She figured since she's now living on a farm, she needed to know.

Chris explained the horse she had was Bucky JR, the son of the horse Y/N was in love with when she spent her summer here. Carter continued to ask questions about their relationship, but she asked more about Chris. She wanted to get to know him.

When Chris and Carter returned to the barn, Y/N had just walked in with two water bottles for them. Her lips formed a huge smile when she saw them both laughing as they walked in with their horses.

"I'm guessing everything went well?" She asked. She noticed the joy in Chris's eyes. She had never seen him with that kind of happiness before. It was different from the awe and love he has in his eyes when he sees her. It was a similar look she saw in her late husband's eyes when he spent time with Carter. Her mind wandered back to when she talked about kids with Chris.

Y/N shifted a little. Chris noticed her nervousness. He chuckled and tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest. He kissed her cheek. "What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

She slightly groans. "Nothing. This stupid question popped on my head and-" she shook her head. "Never mind."

"Hey, there's no such thing as a stupid question," he gently cupped her cheek and turned her to face him.

She sighed as her shoulders dropped. "Okay, fine, but don't freak out, okay? Because I'm just asking in general," she paused for a second. She finally locked her eyes with his. His blue eyes were warm and kind. "How do you see your future? Like do you want to get married someday... have kids?"

"Well," he fought the urge to smile. "I definitely want some kids, but I prefer all boys."

"Hey! What's wrong with girls?"

"'Nothing, but I know if I have a girl,," he paused for a second, "she's gonna be a huge daddy's girl. She's gonna make me soft and mushy and emotional-"

"Awww," Y/N cooed. She kissed his cheek. "There's nothing wrong with being a sensitive man."

"I know, but I don't know how else to explain it, but she'll be the death of me, in the most beautiful way. Like she'll have my wrapped around her finger," he said sincerely. "What about you?"

"Oh, definitely all girls," she teased. Chris's head rolled back as he laughed hard at her response. After Chris calmed down, he saw the smallest smile on her face before it slowly faded. "If I'm being honest, I've never thought about having kids before. I'm only 17. I have my whole life ahead of me before I should even think of the possibility of kids in the future."

"But..." Chris lingered, sensing there was more to her statement.

"Then, I met you," she whispered. "And everything changed. All I see is you."

Chris remembered when he overheard her talking to Bucky about falling in love with him the other day. It was the moment he realized she was the one. Now, listening to her talk about her future, with him, he couldn't be happier knowing she wanted the same thing he did. He pulled her closer and leaned down, kissing her softly.

"I love you so much," he said in between kisses. He wanted to say more. He wanted to say everything. He wanted to promise her everything she wanted, but he couldn't. Their love story was on a time clock. She would leave by the end of the summer. Although deep down he knew he would never love a woman, he didn't know what was in store for them.

"Hey, where did your mind go, sweetheart?" Chris asked, pulling Y/N out of her memory.

"Sorry," she shook her head. "What did you say?"

"I said things went great with Carter," he answered with a smile. "You raised a good daughter."

"Thank you," she sat on the porch swing and patted the empty seat next to her. Chris sat close to her before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she played with his fingers. "I'm not gonna lie, it was hard. Carter's dad was gone most of the time for the war. I had to move back home after he passed. There was no way I could have done it by myself. I needed help."

He kissed her forehead. "I can't imagine what that must have been like, to raise a daughter while grieving the loss of your husband.... You truly are an incredible, strong woman."

"What about you?" She looked up to see him.

"What about me?" He asked, confused.

"Tell me about you and your past," she paused. "I mean, I know you don't have any kids, but was there a possibility at some point? I mean you were engaged."

Chris exhaled deeply. "Her name was Jenny. A mutual friend introduced us and we started dating. It was kind of quick and fast, but within a year, we had a pregnancy scare. I was kind of bummed it wasn't positive. She, on the other hand, was relieved the test was negative. I learned that day she never wanted kids, but for whatever reason, I still continued to see her. Propose to her. I guess," he shook his head. "I did it for everyone else. They all expected us to get married. It didn't help that our family and friends kept saying I'm at an age where I should already be married and have kids already."

She remembered he had briefly mentioned he was left at the altar because he was never in love with his fiance. Y/N hesitated before she asked, "why did she leave you at the altar?"

"That was my fault. I got drunk one night and talked about you," he swallowed hard. "When I realized she wasn't walking down the aisle to meet me, I found a letter she left me. She said she woke up with a horrible feeling about getting married. She couldn't stop thinking about my drunken night when I talked about you. She had asked someone about you and they told her everything. She couldn't marry someone who was in love with someone else."

"I honestly don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry, Chris."

"I'm not. It wasn't meant to be," he shrugged. "And, I'm glad I didn't go through with it. I would have been lying to her, more importantly to myself. I believe everything happens for a reason," his lips formed a small smile. "I mean look where we're at now."

She smiled before he kissed her.

"I have one more question," she asked.

"Shoot."

"Well, how did everyone else take the wedding being called off?"

"Out of everyone, my mom took it the hardest," Chris answered. "I don't think it's because she liked Jenny. I think it's because something horrible happened to her baby boy and she couldn't prevent it from happening to protect me from it."

Now that she was a mother, Y/N totally understood how hard Lisa must have taken it. As a mother, you want to protect your babies from any pain.

"Now, I have a question for you." Y/N hummed in approval, signaling Chris to ask away. "Do you want to get married again?"

"After Carter's dad passed away, I told myself I would never get married again." She paused. "But, being here back with you... I'm open to the idea of someday getting married again."

Chris smiled at her.

"But-"

Chris chuckled, "I knew there was another but."

"I love you, Chris, I do, but I want to take things slow. Is that okay?"

He cupped her cheek. "We can go as slow as you want. I got all the time in the world for you, sweetheart. I ain't going nowhere without you."