Promises of Forever

by Celya Bowers

  Kayleigh laughed. “How do you know I didn’t cook it?”

  Ted shook his head. “Remember last Christmas?”

  She lowered her head. “Point taken.”

  Finn felt there was a story in there that he was missing. “Okay, what happened?”

  Kayleigh and Ted shared a laugh, before she finally spoke. “If you must know, I was trying to make Christmas dinner, and I burned the turkey.”

  “Honey, that’s not so bad,” Finn tried to sound encouraging, knowing how daunting a task a holiday meal could be.

  “She left out the part about it being from Luby’s. All she had to do was heat it up, and she tried to heat it up in the microwave.”

  He was obviously missing something. “So?”

  Now Ted was really laughing. “You know the type of container it comes in.”

  Then it all made sense. The food comes in foil containers to keep the heat locked in, but you can’t put foil in the microwave. “Oh, baby.”

  She was laughing. A little. “Yeah, Uncle Teddy and Daddy laughed about an hour. Needless to say, I think we ended up at a restaurant for Christmas dinner after the microwave exploded.”

  He felt awful for Kayleigh, but didn’t want her trying to make apologies for who she was. He loved the person she’d become, and it didn’t matter to him one bit. “Everyone isn’t made to cook, baby.”

  “Thank you, Finn.”

  Ted looked between them and smiled. “Tell me how you’re feeling, really? You don’t have to keep a brave face for me,” he said in a kindler, gentler voice.

  She took a deep breath. “At first, I was scared out of my mind and I thought he was going to kill us. I was so mad at my boss for trying to set us up. Then I thought about everything I have in my life now. I couldn’t let that moron end it because I couldn’t give him the answers he wanted. I didn’t like my boss, but I wouldn’t have wished him a horrible end like that.” She looked at Finn with teary eyes. “Then when Harley and I rushed him and he dropped the gun, I took my chance.”

  “I’m very proud of you, Kayleigh. Your dad would have probably popped a vest button with pride.”

  Finn felt like he wasn’t in the room. Kayleigh and Ted had a special bond, and he didn’t want to intrude on their time together. He left the room with the excuse that he was going to get the dessert.

  * * *

  Uncle Teddy shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought I’d see this in all my days.”

  Kayleigh looked up from her plate. If she didn’t stop eating so much, she was going to gain weight. “What are you talking about, Uncle Teddy?”

  “I’m talking about you and Finn. I’m proud, of course, you guys need each other. I never thought he’d be in love this much, this quickly.”

  So much made sense. Uncle Teddy was up to his old game. “Don’t tell me this was all you?”

  “Not all me. I just had you guys meet. You took care of the rest. I haven’t seen you look this contented in a long time.”

  She sat up and laughed. “You can’t be serious! I was involved in a murder yesterday. I’m a mess.”

  “Honey, yes, there’s that. It was self-defense, so quit acting like you’re Fort Worth’s answer to a serial killer. No charges are being filed. You have a calm about you that’s been absent from your pretty face in a long time.”

  She thought it was time to know the truth about the past. “Uncle Teddy, why were you and Daddy such good friends? I mean you were on opposite ends of the financial spectrum.”

  “So are you and Finn. Do you love him any less?”

  She couldn’t deny it. She’d thought about it, pounded the issue to death, but when it came down to it, she wouldn’t love Finn any less if he didn’t have a penny. She loved him so much it bordered on pain. “No.”

  “Well, that’s why we were friends. He treated me like a friend. It was never about how much money I had. It was about friendship.”

  There had to be something else. His answer was too concise and probably would fool the average person. “Why?”

  “You’re not going to let this alone until you know the whole ugly truth, are you?”

  “No, I won’t. Momma always said you brought her and Daddy together.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” He took a long drink of wine. “You have to realize all this happened over forty years ago, and it was a different time.”

  Kayleigh knew this was going to be a painful journey down a road she probably should have missed, but it was part of her parents’ history and she had to know the real truth. “Yes, I know it was a turbulent time in the nation’s history. Come on with the goods.”

  He sighed. “Your mother came to work for me fresh out of college. I thought she was the prettiest thing I’d seen in a long time. She really loved learning about law.”

  “Momma loved reading. I think that’s where I got it from.”

  Uncle Teddy nodded. “Probably. She gave that job everything. She worked late all the time. I found myself looking forward to late nights and us being alone surrounded by all those books.”

  Kayleigh saw the picture he was painting and she didn’t like it. “Uncle Teddy, I don’t have to hear it.”

  “Yes, you do. All I ask is that you don’t judge me, your mother or your father when I finish this story. You’re very important to me, Kayleigh.” He glanced at the door to the kitchen and called, “You better get out here, Finn. She’s going to need you.”

  Like she hadn’t been through enough in the last twenty-four hours. But she’d asked for the truth, and she was going to get it. Finn came in with another bottle of wine.

  “Just in case.”

  “Smart man,” Uncle Teddy said. He poured another glass and continued his story. “Being in such close proximity to each other led to the inevitable.”

  Kayleigh’s heart broke for her father. How could Uncle Teddy sit there so calmly as he tore her family apart?

  “I know you think I’m some kind of son of a bitch, but I did care for your mother. Still do to this day. We couldn’t help ourselves, and passion took over.” His voice was barely audible.

  She felt Finn push a napkin in her hand. How could her mother keep such a secret from her? “But she always said how much she loved Daddy,” Kayleigh couldn’t help reminding him.

  “She did. At this time they hadn’t met. We made love in my office. It was like we had been introduced to a lethal drug and couldn’t get enough of each other.”

  She didn’t want to hear one more awful word. She wanted to forget this conversation ever happened. How could her mother and her godfather do such a thing?

  Still he continued. “Six months went by and we were still crazy for each other, but I knew I couldn’t introduce my business associates to my young, black girlfriend who worked as my secretary. My practice was just getting off the ground. Plus, she couldn’t tell her parents that she was seeing me. I’m a good fifteen years older. We saw the handwriting on the wall. Then I remembered your father. He was the lawn guy at my golf club.”

  Kayleigh sighed. “Were these the only two black people you knew? So you decide to get them together.”

  “I know you’re angry and this is why you’re speaking to me with such a vile tongue. It was never like that. It wasn’t just like we could stop what had happened to us. I told her about him, but she wasn’t interested. She decided she was going to go to law school.”

  “Mom never went to law school,” Kayleigh said.

  “I know. This is where your dad comes in. Since she didn’t want to meet him, I had to fix it to where they could meet.”

  “Uncle Teddy?”

  “Yes, I loved her, but we could never be. I didn’t have enough backbone to stand up for her. I wanted her to be happy. I knew your dad was a good, hard-working man. By this time he was also doing my lawn as well as the golf club. He’d gotten into some legal trouble through no fault of his own. Someone had borrowed his car and was involved in a fatality. So he came to the office and he met her.”


  Kayleigh couldn’t decide who to be mad at in this whole mess. “So you turned your back on love so Mom could be with a black man?”

  “You know I never looked at it like that, but yes, I guess I did. I always thought I was doing what was right.”

  She wiped the steady stream of tears from her face. “Uncle Teddy, you loved her, but you let her go.”

  “Why do you think I sent you to Finn? Don’t let society tell you who to love. You’re so focused on school; you’re letting your life pass you by. I promised your dad I’d make you see the light.”

  She still didn’t understand. “But you let the love of your life marry someone else?”

  He laughed, but it held no humor. “When your mom and dad finally started dating, it wasn’t long before she’d gotten pregnant. When it’s meant to be, things happen. They’d been together less than four months and she was pregnant. Needless to say her parents weren’t happy about the unplanned pregnancy, but I smoothed it over for them. They were married as quickly as possible. I let them have a house I was using as rental property rent-free, and your dad went to college to be a landscape architect.”

  Kayleigh’s head was spinning at the events set before her. “So Mom’s little story about me being early was just that.”

  Ted smiled. “That was her. She couldn’t tell you that she was already pregnant when her and your dad married. She’s too much of a lady for that.”

  “You still love her, don’t you?”

  “Till I die. Things changed once you got here. She did love your father and wanted him to know what had happened between us. He wasn’t happy about it, and it took him some years to get over it, but he did and we became friends.”

  “You’re my godfather?”

  “Because she wanted me to be a part of your life. When she got sick, my world ended. I threw myself into work. Making deals all across the world. I didn’t want to be here when she died. And I wasn’t. I was in Australia.”

  She remembered it well. Her father hadn’t attempted to contact her uncle at all. She was mad at her father, and now she understood. They both loved her and grieved in their own way.

  “Now, you know why your father and I were such good friends. I hope you don’t hate me for what I’ve told you and please don’t shut me out of your life. I don’t think I could bear it.”

  Like she could even think about that. Both her parents would come haunting her if she did. She stood and hugged him. “There’s no way I’m cutting you out of my life. I love you, Uncle Teddy. I know how difficult it was for both you and Mom to make that decision.”

  “Know that she loved your daddy very much.”

  “I know. It just seems so fantastic all this happened and no one ever said anything. I can’t remember a time when you weren’t in my life. Thank you for telling me.” She went back to her seat and drank the rest of her wine. She poured another glass. Love was hard enough without someone telling her who to love. Would she be stronger than society? Nowadays, it was different; she and Finn had differences, but they could overcome them, right?

  Uncle Teddy was laughing at her.

  “What?”

  “You’re zoning in and out. I was telling you that you needed to take some time off from work. You have more than enough money to tide you over for a few months.”

  “Uncle Teddy, you know I’m not an idle person. What happens when school is out?”

  He gave one of his famous martyr sighs. “If you must do something, go back to volunteering. I’m serious, Kayleigh, you need some time for you. Either you take a leave of absence or I’ll make your doctor enforce my rule.”

  “You wouldn’t?” She heard Finn chuckle.

  “Do you really want to find out? You’re all I have left in this world. You think I’m going to let you waste away to nothing in a job you don’t like anyway?”

  She knew he wouldn’t. “All right, I’ll take the rest of the semester off. I don’t think I could go into the office right now anyway.”

  “Good. Now my next question involves you and Finn.”

  Her blood chilled at the possibilities of that question. “What about us?”

  “When is the wedding?”

  CHAPTER 27

  “I can’t believe he went there,” Kayleigh said as she waved good-bye to her godfather. “He rips the memories of my parents to shreds and then has the nerve to ask about a wedding.” She and Finn stood in the doorway watching until the Mercedes was out of sight.

  Finn shook his head. “It was a touching story, baby. He gave up a lot. If the times were different, who knows what would have happened.” He closed the door and led her to the living room. Kayleigh’s brain was probably on overload with the events of the last two days. “It’s still early. Want to watch a movie or something?”

  She shook her head. “No, I just want you to hold me.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I just want something normal to happen.”

  They sat on the couch. “I can do that. Normal is my thing.”

  She looked up at him. “Since when?”

  “Since Ted told that story. Can you imagine watching the woman you love marry someone else, have a family, and that’s all you can do.”

  “I know. At first I was mad at Momma for doing that, then I was mad at Uncle Teddy, then I was mad at Daddy. I just don’t know what to think.”

  He did. Ted gave up the one woman he loved because of the world around him. He wasn’t strong enough to stand up for her. But Finn was. He wanted the world to know Kayleigh was his. First, he had to start with her. “Kayleigh, I have to say something.”

  “Please, Finn, not now. I don’t think I can take what you’re going to say. Can it wait?”

  He had to get it off his chest or he was going to explode. “I’d like to say it now, if you don’t mind.”

  She sighed. “Oh, all right. Make it quick.” She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  It was easy, just utter the words and you’ll feel better, he told himself. “Okay, Kayleigh. Here goes. When Ted was telling you the story of his lost love, it made me realize how much I want you in my life.”

  Her eyes popped opened. “Finn, I am in your life.”

  “You’re not listening.” He caressed her hand. “Kayleigh, I’m saying I love you. I want to hear about everything that makes you you. I want to know every insane idea you and Harley come up with. I want to listen to you talk about Shakespeare. I just want to be a part of your world.”

  “That was what you wanted to tell me?” She moved onto his lap. “Do you have any idea of how scared I was?”

  He smiled. “I had to say it. When we were in California, you made me so happy when you said you loved me. I was afraid I was on the way to another disaster.”

  She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “You know, I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t want to put myself out there like that, but something in me made me say it. You’re right. I did feel better when I did.”

  Finn wanted her, but he didn’t want her like that. “Kayleigh, you know I want you, but you’ve had a crazy couple of days. There’ll be plenty of times later. I don’t want you thinking that’s all I think about.”

  She stared at him, letting his words sink into her stubborn brain. She wiggled her hips, causing him great pain and making him hard as concrete. He moaned as her moves became painfully slow. “What if it’s all I think about?”

  “No, Kayleigh. You’re not thinking straight. I won’t take advantage of you in this highly emotional state. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

  She moved against him. She was tormenting him and she knew it. “What about what’s fair to me?”

  She would push him to the brink of insanity. “I’m thinking about what’s fair to you. You have my love, what more do you want?” He saw the mistake in that question the minute it left his mouth.

  She rose from his lap, and pointed at his very obvious erection. “I want that.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

  She led him upstairs. Yes,
he wanted her like nobody’s business, but he didn’t want her waking up later and deciding that wasn’t what she wanted. They stopped at the bed. He sat down and she sat beside him. She took off her blouse, and then his shirt flew across the room.

  “Kayleigh, are you sure?”

  “You’re talking,” she complained. “You should be taking off your clothes.”

  He liked her enthusiasm and, as she stripped down to her lacy panties, he decided that he probably just should give in to her this one time.

  * * *

  “Wow, Finn,” Kayleigh breathed. “That was awesome. See, you should have just listened to me in the first place.” They had just finished making love for the second time. As usual, it had been wonderful. “You should give a class or something. Not that I’d want you sharing your technique with anyone, but you know.” She snuggled close to him. He was sweaty after their workout, but she didn’t mind.

  He put his arms around her, bringing her body closer to his. He kissed her neck before heading to her breasts. He suckled one and then the other, driving her out of her mind. “You’re the one who could teach a class,” he mumbled against a tight nipple. “Of course, I’m the only student.”

  She ran her fingers through his curly hair as his tongue worked magic all over her body. He kissed her stomach, dipped his tongue in her navel, and then went lower.

  No, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He did. Kayleigh’s head rolled from side to side against the fluffy pillow. The feelings barreling through her body were too intense. She tried to focus on the ceiling to keep her body from floating away. Soon the ceiling floated away, and she grabbed the sheet to hold on.

  When she woke up again, the house was dark and Finn was asleep beside her. Her body was still reeling from Finn’s expertise. Never in her life had a man made her feel like she had. Now she knew what Harley was talking about. Finn took her breath away.

  She got up to go the bathroom. When she returned to bed, Finn was sitting up, waiting for her. “I missed you,” he said. “I could feel you weren’t in bed anymore.”

  That man. The sentiment made her heart swell. “I just went to the bathroom.” She got in bed and kissed him and then settled against him. “Finn?”