Diamond Soldiers

by Pinki Parks

  A car pulled up in front of the diner. A casually dressed chauffeur stepped out and entered the diner. They didn’t have fancy limos or chauffeurs over in Briton but they manage to send someone out to get her, regardless.

  “Excuse me, I’m looking for Brook Tilson.”

  “That’s me.” Brook got up from her seat.

  They all stood up and paused. Sam walked around the counter to give her a hug. “Goodbye sweetheart. It was real nice meeting you.”

  “Goodbye Sam. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for everything.”

  Everyone paused again. Brook and Deacon didn’t quite know how to say goodbye to each other.

  “Miss?” The chauffeur called out. “Do you have any bags?”

  Brook turned to the driver. “Yes, they are in Joey’s car out front.”

  “Yeah, I can help you with that.” Joey stepped up to go towards the door.

  “Joe, I got it.” Deacon said. He wanted to walk Brook out.

  Brook turned towards Joey. “Well, goodbye Joey.” She bends down to give him a hug.

  “Bye Brook.” He hugged her back.

  Deacon walked her out to the curb. He opened the trunk to his Escalade and went to get the bags but Brook held his hand and he turned his body back towards her. She was used to chauffeurs and knew he would take care of the bags. Deacon didn’t realize that until after the fact.

  They didn’t kiss. They just hugged and he kissed her on the top of her head. “I’m gonna miss you.” Deacon whispered from the top of her head.

  She gripped him even tighter. “Me too!” she said softly.

  As she got into the car, she turned and said “Take care of yourself.”

  Deacon put one hand on the top of the car and the other on the top of the car door and leaned in. Not knowing what to say to her. He just stared at her. Their eyes locked in a moment of sadness. He reached down and brushed her cheek with his hand. Then he laid his hand down on her knee and squeezed it, stood up erect and hesitantly shut the door, knowing she had little time to waste. She put her hand up as the car drove off. And then she was gone. Deacon stood watching the car disappear down the road, put his head down and walked over to his shop.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brook was sitting in the back of the Mercedes SUV thinking about her father. She wanted so badly to talk to him, the car was not moving fast enough. A wave of guilt, shame, and betrayal filled her body and she put her head into her hands and cried softly. If only I had taken my phone with me, she thought. If only I had called him right after I found out about Brad’s arrest, she continued with a river of ‘if only’ she had done this or that. The car drove up to the small airstrip, her father’s jet sat waiting ready for take-off. Brook stepped onto the plane, sat in her seat, and waited in silence. Patrick, the flight coordinator walked over with a glass of water and placed it next to Brook.

  “Can I get you anything, Ms. Brook?”

  “No. Thank you, Patrick.” Patrick had been under her father’s employment for many years. She knew him well.

  As she sat, waiting for take-off, back in her usual luxurious surrounding, Brook, could only keep her mind on one thing. Her father. Patrick came back with the phone. “Ms. Brook, you have a call from your mother.”

  Brook had forgotten about the phone on the jet. She could have called her mom as soon as she arrived. “Mom?” her voice shivered.

  “Brook, sweetheart.” Her mother took a long pause.

  “Mom, how’s dad? Tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Brook, honey, your father died.”

  She fell silent. It was as though time froze.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you like this, sweetheart. But, he lost consciousness and then we just lost him. I’m so sorry, Brook.”

  She let out a little cry, still holding in her pain, not knowing how she felt, she was so overwhelmed.

  “Oh, God, try to rest, and you’ll be home before you know it.”

  Brook, stunned face, her eyes glazed over staring at nothing.

  She held in her tears and muttered. “Okay.” Before she could say anything else, the line disconnected.

  Brook blink twice then put the phone down. She slouched in her seat and looked up at the ceiling. When she woke, she was in Orlando.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Brook, are you still with us?” Perry saw that she was daydreaming in the boardroom.

  Brook had forgotten where she was for a minute. She had been meeting with the board, the lawyers, the presidents, all the heads of her father’s companies. With Perry at her side, giving her the run down on everything as she was about to take over as CEO of Tilson Enterprise. She had been operating on autopilot for the past month after her father passed. Not one word from Deacon. She also hasn’t had a moment to herself, not to mourn her father, not to quiet her mind, not to call Deacon. The ‘I can’t believe this has happened’ phase had ended after a month of adjustments and mostly taking care of everyone else.

  She sat in her father’s leather high back chair at the head of a large meeting room table, staring out the window, Brook shifted in her seat slightly as she started to come back to life. She was about to move on with life without daddy. She handed off some of the important positions to others, whom she thought could handle the job and who were more fit to be president.

  “Call, that reporter from Business Week and tell them I am ready to do the story.” Brook’s team tried to keep this out of the papers for as long as she needed. They paid off reporters and media heads not to announce her take-over until she was ready. With the ex-husband in jail and now her father, the businesses under Tilson Enterprise would surely suffer a blow. So far, they’ve only announce her father’s sudden death. That happened before the family could even blink.

  “I’ll have Kate take care of it.” Morgan, who was head of PR and communications replied.

  “Brook, can we get back to Lockwood Steels?” Perry was trying to continue the meeting with ten other members at the table, all eyes on Brook. They were in the middle of buying Lockwood Steel when her father died while negotiations were at a stand-still.

  “Perry, I need take the afternoon. Can you finish up here without me?” She got up before he could answer and headed for the door. He followed her and said in a low whisper “Are you alright?”

  “I am now.” She looked like her mind had cleared up and was ready for the mountain of work that laid ahead of her. “I just need the afternoon.”

  “Fine. Absolutely.” Perry obliged. “Whatever you want.”

  “Thanks Perry.” She walked out looking more confident than ever. Her assistant, Christine followed her. “Call the stables for me. Have them take Griffin and Skyla to Evansville for me, immediately.” She stopped, took out her cell phone and sent Christine a text. “Send them with a large bouquet of flowers and this note.”

  Christine read the text. “Yes, Ms. Tilson.”

  Brook kept walking as Christine stood there to input it into her calendar. Brook stopped and turned “And make sure it gets there before the Business Week story gets out.”

  “Yes, Ms. Tilson.”

  “I will be going to Ashbury Lake this afternoon. Have the car ready for me.” Brook wanted to go back to Middleburg, where she spent her summers as a child. Her grandparents’ house was still there, untouched. She knew it wasn’t going to change the fact that she would be one of the youngest female CEOs of a multi-billion dollar company, but decided to start living her life for her and no one else.

  Even though this was, what may seem to some, a small and pointless trip, to Brook, it meant something. Something she had learned from Deacon, it is better to stay still and watch the world around you. She realized that she did have roots, in Orlando, and they ran deeper and spread wider than she had imagined. She had thought about Deacon many nights. And many times, she wished he was lying next to her, holder her in his strong bear-like grip.

  After a mont
h of being back, Brook knew that if she had gone back to Evansville, she would be doing it for him, when she so desperately needed to find herself. As CEO, she would be force to make the final decision rather than follow what others dictated her. Over the past month, she learned more and more about herself through the kinds of decisions she made. It was a refreshing new look on the world, being in charge, instead of being a follower, Brook thought.

  She even thought of ways to get Deacon to come to Orlando, but she couldn’t bring herself to go through with it. It would strip him of everything he knew, who he was. Buying him a ranch would be stripping him of his manhood. Deacon was a man that earned for himself, never would he take a handout, she knew that much. The impossible reunion sometimes made her sick and she would lay awake at night wishing for a solution that would come from the heavens. But now, she knew. Although it wasn’t the reunion she had hoped, she did the next best thing.

  ***

  Deacon had finished fixing Brook’s car shortly after he had left. It laid there in his garage, untouched, not knowing what to do with it. He couldn’t bring himself to call her. It was a family thing and he wasn’t about intrude. He knew that she must have been going through some stuff and if she needed to, she could call him.

  The first week after she left, he would jump every time his phone rang but the anticipation of something that would never come finally took its toll on him. He finally put her out of his mind. He needed to move on for himself. What he had learned from her, moving on didn’t mean forgetting the past. It comforted him to know that she would hold the same precious memories of their time together as he would. And with that, Deacon was able to let go. He thought about selling his garage to put the down payment on the ranch but never made the move.

  “Hey Deac. You got a delivery!” Joey hollered from out front. Deacon, in the back office yelled back. “Just bring it to the back, Joe.” Deacon thought it was another part being delivered.

  “Can’t do that Deac.!”

  “Why not?” Deacon was busy sorting out his month-end receipts and didn’t want the interruption.

  “Deacon! Come out here!” Joey popped his head in the garage and yelled once again.

  Deacon, slightly peeved, put his stack of receipts down and went to see what in the world was going on with Joey. He came out to a sight that he had never expected to see. Two beautiful horses on his lot with a great big red ribbon and a bouquet of flowers.

  “You got flowers, Deac!” Joey laughed in excitement.

  “What in the world…” Deacon quickly opened the attached card that read ‘To the best mechanic in town. Thanks for starting up my engine. Brook. PS. Please give Griffin and Skyla a good home.

  “What is all this? Are you thinking of turning me into a stable boy or something?”

  Deacon smiled at the amazing gift “I just might.”

  THE END

  *****

  One More Thing…

  If you liked this book, kindly leave us a review on Amazon! We truly appreciate your honest opinion. Please write a short or long review or leave a video review!

  Sign up Here to Join our Angel Heart Book Club! (Click the link or enter (Enter https://forms.aweber.com/form/94/926626094.htm) into your browser.)

  Join us on Facebook at @angelheartpublishing or click Here. Click on the Groups tab to join our Pick-of-the-Week Ebook discussions!

  SNEAK PREVIEW

  Sergeant Hardcore

  Alpha Male Bad Boy Military Romance

  By Pinki Parks

  Chapter 1

  Chelsea

  I was sitting there enjoying a drink to soothe my nerves before my flight to Guam. My friends Lindsay and Harmony had convinced me to take off the shackles of society for a week of rest and relaxation.

  “I haven’t done anything spontaneous. This is a first for me.” I was straight-laced never one to go against the natural order of things. Adventure was not my middle name.

  “Chelsea, this is our chance to get out from underneath the domineering thumb of our ex-husbands.” We met in a support group for divorcees. Harmony got the beach house in Guam in the divorce settlement. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t enjoy our windfall.” Harmony looked like a blond bimbo and she used that perception to fool people. The girl had an intellect off the charts but knew how to use what God gave her.

  I was in the mood to try something different and the spicy Caesar was stronger than I had originally thought it was going to be. The rest of the patrons were talking amongst themselves in tiny groups. There was a sense of relief on those faces getting away from the depressing cold and snow.

  “I have the both of you to thank for opening up my eyes. I mistakenly believed I could work it out with Brent. He hid his true face for the first five years of our marriage. He was my first love, but I never did learn what it was like to play the field.” Although we married in our thirties, I never truly had a strong relationship with a man. Right after the divorce settlement was signed on the dotted line I began to notice furtive glances from the opposite sex.

  “We are in the prime of our life. The settlement we all received is going to keep us flush for years. I doubt any of us will ever have to get a real job. I can’t believe neither one of you could guess the reason why I made you join the gym.” Lindsay was a raven-haired beauty standing at close to 6 feet. She could easily intimidate those Guys who dared to undress her with their eyes.

  “I might be a little bigger than the average girl, but I wear it well. I don’t get out of breath as easy and I appreciate the reflection looking back at me.” I was feeling in the best shape of my life and the results from the gym showed it. I was never going to be a hard body with a tiny waist, but I had learned to accept my body type. My hips matched my D cups and that’s all that matters.

  “Guys have a tendency to want a little more to their loving than a stick thin Barbie doll. We all have a lot to offer and there’s no reason why we can’t share the wealth. This is our one opportunity to try out other flavors. I’m looking forward to a more decadent chocolate to my diet.” I didn’t want to tell Harmony, but I wasn’t looking to throw my fishing line into the sea just yet.

  The spicy bean dipped into the Caesar took my breath away. I never was one to indulge and had never been drunk in my life. I had seen my fair share of those acting like idiots after consuming a few stiff ones. Seeing them like I was a fly on the wall gave me a new perspective. I had this feeling I was going to make the acquaintance of other different drinks to numb my senses.

  “The one thing Brent did give me was an appreciation for the arts. I’ve been to multiple plays in the big apple and have graced many different functions for various artists trying to break into the scene. The music of Mozart touches me in a way that I can’t even convey.” I was a flaming redhead, but I didn’t have the temperament to match.

  “I can’t say my time with Jason was all bad. The man was an animal in the sack. If only I could keep his mouth shut after the deed was done life would have been perfect.” Lindsay always knew Jason relied on his good looks and I had to admit seeing him that one time, stirred things up inside. His dazzling smile and physical attributes made him wanted by the female population.

  Lindsay had fallen for his lines without fully realizing his intellectual limitations. There wasn’t much going on upstairs. She finally had enough when she caught him sleeping with identical twins in their marriage bed. This was something we had in common for the reason why we had to cut the matrimony cord.

  About six months ago, I walked in unexpectedly to find Brent in the arms of an 18-year-old college student. The noises coming from the bedroom was like something from the wild. I stood there and watched mesmerized with the way they were moving under the sheets. I didn’t say anything. I closed the door and walked out.

  I stayed in a hotel for three days ignoring his text messages and voicemails. I had designs on getting a divorce and I went to one of the support groups to get the necessar
y advice to go forward. I felt guilty for making it necessary for Brent to go somewhere else to get what he needed. I was reminded by those in attendance in the support group it wasn’t my fault. Lindsay and Harmony became the loudest voices in the room with conviction behind every word.

  I was going to suggest counseling to see if we could make it work. It was when I went to see him at the office things became abundantly clear. I barged in with the secretary breathlessly trying to stop me to no avail. The smell of sex was overpowering and his face contorted into a mask of euphoria gave me the courage to send him the divorce papers by messenger.

  I hired a shark to represent me in court and I didn’t give Brent the chance to speak his mind. He tried to get me alone, but I refused to play his game. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without Lindsay and Harmony whispering in my ear.

  I heard the announcement for those of our flight to begin boarding. I finished off the double Caesar and consumed the spicy bean with a guilty fascination. Any hesitation to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city had vanished with the liquor running through my veins.

  “I have to admit the gym has toned me in all the right places. I’m ready to flaunt my stuff on the beach.” I was 5’7, 165 pounds with my red hair cascading like ocean waves down to the small of my back.

  “Don’t think about the past when the future is right in front of us. There is a lot of fish in the sea. I don’t plan to be alone for very long after we land. I would suggest the both of you follow my lead. I have always been somewhat of a magnet for those looking for a one-night stand.” Harmony had this zest for life and she wasn’t letting her divorce define her.