by Scott, S. L.
“He is to mine.”
“Oh! You must see these photos. They’re my absolute favorite. I really need to get them framed one day.” She leans around to the other side of the fridge and pulls three photos down. “This one is a quote that Laura—”
“Used to say.” My heart skips a beat just seeing it. I look at the turquoise cinder block wall with the quote spray-painted on it. “Dare said this the first time we met.”
“I got a little of that story from Rob, but you know he has a way of making a short story shorter. Men.” She laughs, rolling her eyes. “But you met Laura when you were little?”
“I did. Just by chance.”
“Nothing is by chance. It was meant to be.”
I’ve had that thought so many times. Out of all the people in the world, in Austin, the houses, and the years, they were at mine exactly when I needed them. Just as the band saved him, he saved me. I’m already living a life that makes me happy because I was reunited with someone who believed in me.
There’s strength in our union, an understanding that whatever we are, wherever we’re from, and no matter where we’re heading, Dare and I are meant to be. My soul knew the moment I met him.
“I believe in destiny.” Glancing at the man on the back patio playing his guitar, I add, “I believe in Dare.”
That gets me brought into a warm side embrace. “It’s too soon to talk marriage, but like I said, you make a lovely couple.”
Is it too soon? I feel like we spent so many years trying to find each other that I’m not sure I want to waste anymore time. My life is better with him in it, and that is worth celebrating.
She hands me the next picture, and this time my heart stops as I stare at it. “Where’d you get this?”
“From Rob. He never confirmed it, but I think he did that graffiti after his mom died. There was this house she loved. I never saw it. It was something just for them. Over on the—”
“West side. Off Red Bud Trail.”
Angling her head, curiosity enters her tone when she says, “That’s right.”
“My house.”
She looks down at the photo again with a furrowed brow. “If that’s your house . . .” Holding up the last photo, she asks, “Is this you?”
Just when my heart had recovered, kismet strikes again and throws another curve ball. I remember that so well, and here I am faced with not only my past but also my future all in one fell swoop.
I remember wearing that outfit all the time when I was nine.
Red heart-shaped sunglasses situated on my head.
Yellow ribbons dangling from my pigtails.
Blue eyes thrilled to have someone to play with.
Smile full of hope a lot like she described Dare’s.
“That is me.”
“Well,” she starts, but stops with her hand covering her heart. “That is just incredible.” Turning it over, she reads, “Pepper.”
“That’s what he called me because I asked so many questions.”
“A lawyer even then.”
A giggle escapes her, and she turns to me with tears in her eyes. “Laura had this printed and told me how she’d met the cutest little girl that day. Bold and beautiful. Inquisitive and clever. But what she loved most was that you still believed in fairy tales and saw the good in everyone. You were exactly who she wished for her son one day.”
I used to cry from frustration and sadness. These days, I don’t deal with either of those emotions. It’s happiness. My heart swells, and the tears start flowing. And when Dare enters the kitchen, he pauses, his gaze volleying back and forth between the two of us. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Helen replies.
I say, “Everything is perfect.”
* * *
Propped by my elbows on the bar behind me, I watch my man on stage singing songs that I feel deep inside were written for me long before we met, before we were reunited. A girl next to me calls Jake, the bartender. I overhear her order, “A beer for the lead singer.”
I could step in and mark my territory, but I’m not jealous. Jealousy comes from an insecurity I don’t possess when it comes to him. I don’t have to be. I feel his love every day. I laugh when Jake says, “I’ll add it to his tab.”
The song ends, and Dare finds me again, always seeking me out in the crowd. “This is for my girlfriend,” he announces for the world, or at least Shep’s on Sixth Street. “Without her, I’m nothing.”
With him, I’m everything.
A guy next to me says, “I’m told you’re the singer’s girlfriend?”
I turn away from the band. By the man’s polite demeanor, I don’t think he’s hitting on me. “Yeah. That’s my hero up there.”
He hands me a card. “I can’t seem to get the band to return my call. I was wondering if you might give me some insight.”
Flipping the card over in my hand, I read Outlaw Records. “Is this for a record deal?”
“It’s for a meeting. Most bands jump at the chance for a meeting.”
“They’ve been really busy the past few months.” I leave out the arrest, charges, Dare and me moving into together, my exam, the band finishing their album, and just life.
His eyes watch The Heroes play. “I get that, but I’m trying to get a feel for what their big goals are.” Turning to me, he asks, “Any idea?”
“I think that’s something you’d have to speak to them about.”
“Do they have a manager or a rep I can talk to? I couldn’t find anything on their website.”
Dare to be bold. “I’m their attorney and handle their contracts and negotiations.”
“They have an attorney but no manager?”
“It’s a unique situation.”
“Seems so.” Eyeing the card in my hands, he says, “I’ll leave that card with you then, but I’d like to set up a meeting with the band soon to discuss an opportunity.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“Thank you. Do you have a card?”
“No.” We shake hands and introduce ourselves.
He looks back at the stage. “They’re good. Damn good. Raw. Rough. Captivating energy. We only sign bands we believe in.”
“And you want to sign The Heroes?”
“I think it would be stupid to let them go.”
I watch Dare hold the microphone to his mouth, my whole body clenching in memory of how he holds me—possessive, passionate, appreciating every last inch of my body. “Did you hear about them from Dick James?”
“Who?”
“The DJ?” From the blank expression, I get my answer. “Never mind. I’ll let them know you came by tonight.” A DJ holding an invisible future over their head for so long makes me angry. Dick James didn’t make them, and he sure as hell won’t break them. I tuck the card in my back pocket.
“Thanks. I hope to hear from you soon.”
“We’ll be in touch.”
The last person to say that was Lloyd. What a loser. He came around begging me to get my father to put in a good word for him. I told him I’ll have him arrested for trespassing if he ever comes around again. Then I slammed the door in his face. He was lucky Dare wasn’t home at the time.
Sadly to report, he landed on his feet as an entry-level clerk down at a small attorney’s office just northeast of the city . . . for a short time. But karma got her revenge and like his father, Lloyd’s license has been revoked, and they must face the charges against them. Times are tough for the Sanders these days.
Good.
Just as he leaves, Stascia returns from the bathroom. “That line is ridiculous. I missed half the show.”
“I told you not to break the seal. Once you do, you’re stuck back in that line every thirty minutes.”
She laughs. “Yes, my mistake. But I’ve drunk five gallons of water today from the move. Why did I decide to move in August? It was miserably hot today.”
“What did you move exactly? If my memory serves me correctly, it was Romeo moving your cl
othes into Dare’s old room.”
“I still can’t believe I agreed to live with these guys.”
“When opportunity arises, you have to jump on it. They needed someone to help with rent, and you wanted a change of scenery.”
Jake sets a bottle of beer from Dare’s tab in front of her. She says, “Mission accomplished. My parents are still freaking out. I can only imagine the gossip during bridge this week.”
We both laugh. “More importantly, how is the west side girl adapting to being an Eastsider?”
“It’s been all of five hours, so I’ll have to report back on that. Great so far.”
The set ends, and Dare hands his guitar to English before jumping off the stage to head my way. The crowd moves for him like he’s Moses parting the sea. Cupping my face, he kisses me, marking his territory. I’m weak in the knees with this man.
With his forehead against mine, we catch our breaths, and then as if air isn’t enough, he takes a deep breath and inhales mine. When his warm eyes meet mine, he asks, “You ready to go home?”
Home.
Wrapped in his arms.
When he’s deep inside me.
Our little bubble of two. One day becoming three.
Together.
That’s home to me.
But tonight, the little one-bedroom cottage at the back of my parents’ property will do. We have been given all the privacy we could ever want or need, and the free rent isn’t bad as we start our future together. This new beginning has not just been about Dare and me, but also my family.
But with Dare? I had no clue that you could fall more in love with someone daily. Dare pushes me, challenges me, catches me when I fall. So when I think back on what Helen said a few weeks ago about too soon for marriage, I don’t believe that when it comes to Dare. Our past, our present, and our future . . . he’s the man who I’ll always love, no matter where life takes us.
He says, “I can’t wait to make love to you.”
And he can’t get enough of me.
“Let’s go home.”
Epilogue One
Weatherly
“How much longer?”
“Not long. Be still, babe.”
“I can’t be any stiller than I already am.” Lying flat on my stomach, I shift my head and rest my cheek on the other hand, trying not to let my impatience leak out more than it has. “It hurts.”
“Breathe through it and take it out on my hand.”
“I’ll take it out on you all right.” In the bedroom. My inside joke makes me laugh.
Dare scowls, “C’mon babe. Don’t move. We don’t want to screw this up. One shot is all we’ve got.”
“I can’t believe I agreed to this. How much more until you’re done?”
When he leans back in the chair, he’s smug, proud of his work. “Your ass is incredible. The tattoo isn’t bad either.”
The tattoo on the side of my wrist has healed. Dare to be Bold reminds me to live this life I’ve been given without regret and to never let anyone hold me back from owning my dreams. I love it so much that I came back for another. Dare thinks this one on the upper part of my ass is for him, but like his tattoos, mine mean something special to me. “Very funny. For real, though, how does it look?”
Dare takes a photo and shows me. “What do you think?”
Smiling, I stare at the little rose-colored heart-shaped glasses I used to wear everywhere when I was a kid. I don’t have them now, but this tattoo will always be a reminder that nothing is impossible. “I love it.”
“Me too. It suits you, Pepper.”
I’m cleaned up and the tattoo area prepped for healing. My dress falls loosely around me when I stand. Dare’s arm comes around me so naturally that I don’t think he even realizes we haven’t always been one. He then asks the artist, “You ready for me?”
Soon, he’s in the chair adding another tattoo to his collection. This one is just for me. The artist has known Dare for years, so like many others, he asks, “You sure you want to commit to this so soon?”
“Never more sure about anything in my life,” Dare replies. “I was committed to Weatherly the minute I met her.”
The needle punctures his skin, and over the next hour, we watch as the yellow ribbon is combined with his favorite tattoo—the abstract heart inked on his chest. Two becoming one.
Once upon a time, a boy full of hardships and bravery found a girl with ribbons in her hair who still believed in fairy tales. The words he spoke that day were locked away until she found him again.
Through true and unconditional love, he opened her heart to their destiny. Because what he said was true: Beauty attracts the eye, but the soul captures the heart.
Epilogue Two
Dare
I used to have highs and lows, days that seemed to mimic my mood with no in between. That has changed over the past four months. Life is good, steady, and opportunities are ahead for Weatherly, the band, and me.
Helen is right. It’s too soon to get married, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to lock this relationship down permanently. I look back over my shoulder toward the car where my girl is waiting for me. She gives a little wave.
Turning back to the plaque under the abstract heart sculpture, I rub my finger over it. “Why do I feel like you had a hand in this, Mom?” I think it’s easy to credit fate that Weatherly and I were always meant to be, but I think my guardian angel had a hand in our destiny. Without her, I don’t know that we would have ever met. “Thank you.” I stand and shove my hands in my pockets. “Wish me luck.”
The wind whispers in the breeze that comes from nowhere, causing me to pause. “You’re right, Mom. I just have to own my dreams.” I walk back to my girl and kiss her.
“You ready to hit the road?” she asks.
“If my Pepper wants to swim, let’s swim.”
She reads over the emails from Outlaw Records and the contract on our drive to the swimming hole. While hiking to the secret spot, she says, “I’ve gone through the entire contract. It’s a good deal, Dare. It’s Johnny Outlaw and The Resistance. They’re musical legends. They launched The Crow Brothers and Faris Wheel. This is the break you’ve been wanting.”
“The call last week went well, but we were waiting to hear the details. Securing a deal is why The Heroes made an album. Trust me, the guys want a deal, but they want the right deal, or we’ll stay indie until it is right. If you say this is good for us, we’ll take the meeting in LA.”
“It’s a solid offer. Life-changing, and from the research I’ve done, it’s more fair than any other major label will give you.”
We reach the emerald pool just beneath the rapids and short waterfalls of the rock cliffs. “I’ve never been to LA.” Stripping off my shirt and shoes, I walk around and jump in. “The guys told me if you think it’s a good contract, then we’ll sign. So I guess we’re signing our first record deal.”
She tugs her clothes off, revealing that hot bikini-clad body. Standing at the top of the rocks, she scans for the best place to jump in. My arms . . . I wave at her. Her trust was given to me the night we met. She never fails to make me feel incredible. Landing in my arms—her trust, her love, her heart and soul—I kiss her the moment she surfaces from under the water.
“Congratulations, hero. You just got yourself a deal.”
“I already have the best deal in town.” I kiss that soft spot behind her ear and watch as her body covers with bumps. “That’s you, babe.” Working for a small law firm keeps her busy, but with a long holiday weekend, she’s all mine again. And I intend to take full advantage of every minute I get to spend with her.
“My boyfriend is a sexy fiend.” With a smile, she dips back, relaxing in my arms. “I love it here.” When she lifts back up, the water reflects in her clear blue eyes, and her pink lips are ripe for kissing.
I struggle to breathe as her beauty overwhelms me. I say it, not because I’m nervous to commit and want to get it over and done with, but because she’s the a
ir my lungs need, the missing puzzle piece to my soul. “What about your fiancé?”
She laughs, but when I don’t, she asks, “Are you being serious right now?”
“Yes.” With her body wrapped around mine under water, I hold on to her. “We’re young and still new, but I know I want to spend my life with you.” I shrug. “I don’t care what anyone says. I only care about what I feel, and God, I fucking love you.”
Pushing off, she says, “Are you asking me to marry you?”
My heart is thundering in my chest, and the more I look at her and see that future I want so badly in her eyes too, I reply, “I think I am.”
“You think?”
“I am. I love you and want to marry you, Pepper.” Although her face is frozen in shock, she’s treading water like a pro. Reaching underwater, I take her hand and pull her back to me. “Will you marry me?”
She hugs me and with her lips to my ear, she whispers, “I love you so much, Robert.” She grins. “Rob Dare Marquis. Of course, I will.”
I lean back and capture her lips. “You just made me the happiest man.” I kiss her, moving through the water with her in my arms.
We swim apart, and she dives under. When she pops up, she’s a sun goddess in an emerald sea.
I say, “Now that we’re engaged, when’s the wedding?”
“My mom will go insane with the planning. How do you feel about a long engagement?”
I swim to where I can stand on the rocky bed. “If it ends in marriage with you, I’ll wait as long as I have to.”
“We could get married here.”
“It’s a great place.”
“It’s the most peaceful place on earth,” she says. I sit on the shore watching her float on the surface of the water. “It’s our place.”
Looking around, there’s not another soul for what feels like miles. She’s right. “This is our place.”
