Reed gets behind me again and tucks my body to his. I lie on his chest careful of my throbbing head.
“Never ever letting you out of my sight again. You and Davis are traveling with me from now on.”
“Baby, she did this on purpose. She knew you would be on a plane. It’s over, she’s dead.”
“You will never know the panic I felt. I was helpless and terrified. If something happened to you—” His voice cracks and he shakes against me.
I let him cry for a few minutes allowing my own tears to fall. We hold each other not saying what could have happened. I know neither of us would have survived if Davis was shot.
“I talked to the pediatrician and we are starting counseling tomorrow with a child psychologist. They think it’s better to do it immediately. They also suggested we do our best to encourage him to talk but be careful what we say in his presence. Any type of fear could trigger something in him. We’ll know more after the first few sessions.”
“Okay.”
“And I want you to have counseling. Katy too when she is well.”
I press deeper into him and raise my face to his. Our lips are so close I can feel his breath on mine. I bite gently on his lower lip and he opens to give me access. The kiss is slow and gentle at first but turns passionate and possessive. I grip him tightly, soaking in the comfort of his taste, scent, and warmth.
“Jesus Christ! Some things never change!” Sophie walks in with Amy and Cara in tow.
I slide back embarrassed but Reed holds me in place.
“I talked to the charge nurse and she said I could help you shower and change into some new pajamas. But then you have to get back in bed for the night.”
“Thanks.” I move to get up and he helps me to the bathroom. Sophie joins me and washes my hair gently. I feel my heart start racing when I see some dried blood on my chest from when I reached for Davis this morning. Images flash in my head and anxiety starts to rise. Sophie notices and finishes quickly wrapping me in a warm towel. She holds me until my heartbeat returns to normal. I dress in my favorite pajamas appropriate for a hospital full of people.
Reed is on the phone when I crawl into bed and comb thru my hair. Davis and Luke return with the soup. The smell actually makes my stomach growl.
“I’ve made an official statement through the team which will air soon. National news coverage has picked up the story and the police are watching the entrances and exits to the hospital. Grange and Darius are going to be outside the room until we know what happens with Katy. Mr. Moore is expected to release a statement as well tonight.” He tells us.
“So what now?”
“Now, you rest. We see what happens tomorrow and decide our next steps.”
Everyone in the room agrees and we try to lighten the mood for Davis’s sake. I still have so many questions, but don’t want to rehash any of it. Everyone fields calls from our closest friends, assuring them I am okay and we are waiting on news about Katy.
The nurse finally lets Reed and I visit Katy when she’s moved. I try to control my sobs when I see her limp body hooked up to all the machines. Holding her hand tightly, I tell her over and over how much we all love her. The nursing staff has to pry me away from her when my time is up. We pass Sophie and Luke in the hallway and she is leaning into his chest crying. She is just as upset as I am. Amy and Cara are reading Davis a book. He is almost asleep so I sneak back into bed and Reed goes to change.
“Arianna, I am so sorry. I never in my wildest dreams thought Alex was psychotic.” Cara apologizes.
“Ari.”
“What?”
“Ari. My friends call me Ari. That’s what I want you to call me.”
Reed slides in behind me in bed and squeezes my shoulder. This means a lot to him. Cara’s eyes fill with tears but she wipes them away as she nods. Luke and Sophie come back to say goodnight and promise to be here in the morning. Grange follows Cara and Amy for the night, leaving us with Darius on watch. I fall into a restless sleep but Reed holds me tight. Sometime during the night, Davis crawls in bed with us and curls up in my arms. I finally fall into a deep sleep praying for Katy’s recovery.
Reed
Sweat breaks out on my forehead as I hear her screams through the phone and the gunshots ring out. My heart beats double time and threatens to stop altogether. Ari and Davis’s faces flash through my mind as I open my mouth to scream. I jolt awake and look around to make sure it was just a nightmare. Ari and Davis are snuggled into me and their warmth seeps into my skin.
I slide out quietly and go to the bathroom to wash my face. I hate to admit this but I think the pediatrician was right. I may need to get professional help too to erase the voices and images that ran through my mind when she started screaming. But I’ll do whatever it takes because she’ll need strength to get through this. If Katy doesn’t make it, I’m afraid of what will happen.
“Reed?” Ari groans and I rush back to her side.
“Angel, what’s wrong?”
“Help me get up? I have to use the bathroom and Davis is tangled up with my legs.”
“Gladly.” I lift him and use my other hand to help her out of bed. When she shifts, I see the ugly bruise on her head and anger rises in my chest. I promised Luke and Sophie to tone it down, but in my mind, I want Luke to shoot Alex Moore all over again.
The nurse confirms we will be discharged in the next few hours. I take a quick shower and change and then help Ari and Davis get dressed. I try to send Darius home for a while, but he refuses. My mom worked with Connor to rent us a house for the rest of the week. We can’t go back to Ari and Katy’s and I don’t feel comfortable going to mine until Katy is out of the woods.
I take Davis down to the professional offices for his counseling appointment and Luke and Sophie sit with Ari. The ICU nurse actually allows all three of them to visit Katy while waiting to be discharged. There is no change but she made it through the night, which is encouraging. My phone buzzes with a message to meet my mom in the waiting room.
When I get there, I freeze. The entire room is packed full. Teammates, wives, girlfriends, coaches, and team administrators stand around. Some of the wives are consoling Katy’s friends who seem distraught and lost. A feeling of love bubbles up in my chest and I know Ari needs to see this. After shaking a few hands, I grab Davis to go with me to get his mom. Cara offers to watch him while I wheel Ari to the surprise in the waiting room.
We are swarmed instantly once we get there. She looks up at me with shock on her face but doesn’t have time to say anything before she is surrounded. There’s lots of kissing and hugging. Both Lamar and Bobbie lift her up in a tight embrace. No one really mentions the reason for being here. The news reports were fairly accurate, even giving Alex’s name, but we didn’t report that she tried to kill my son first.
After half an hour, I wheel her back to her room. The group had made sure that we will have food and dinners at the beach house, and Connor was sticking around to help if needed.
The doctor releases us shortly so we send everyone back to the house and we sit in the ICU waiting for the doctor. The machines beep and hum in rhythm and Ari talks to her grandma softly holding her hand. Her coloring has returned but she still has machines hooked up everywhere.
“Reed?” Ari says softly. “I’ve been thinking about something this morning.”
“What Angel?”
“We can’t get married in two weeks if Katy can’t be there. It wouldn’t be right.” The situation hits me like a blow to the gut. She’s right.
“Okay.” As soon as the word slips my lips the machines start going crazy. Paper flies out of one while blue lines on the monitor spike. Nurses rush in and push us out of the way. They start checking vitals and punching buttons.
“What happened?” one of them asks us.
“Nothing we were only talking to her. I promise.” Ari sobs.
“There’s a good chance she can hear you. Make sure you don’t talk about anything that would upset her.”<
br />
We both nod and watch as they work to get her stabilized again. Once she is calmed down we get five more minutes to visit.
“Grandma, can you hear me?” Ari whispers.
I see her squeeze her hand in response. Our faces both show relief.
“Grandma did we upset you talking about postponing the wedding?”
Nothing happens for a few seconds and Katy’s eyelids start to flutter. She opens them and finds us both staring at her with tears in our eyes.
“You get married. It’s been too long and too hard of a struggle… Deserve happiness.” She rasps and then winks at me.
She doesn’t say anything else but falls back asleep peacefully. I watch Ari’s face for any sign of emotion and am surprised when she smiles. Her dimples shine and cause my heart to flutter.
“I guess we’re getting married in two weeks.”
“Mrs. Reed Matthews. I like it.”
The monitors beep again and we smile knowing this time she liked what she heard.
When we get back to the rental house, it’s quiet. My mom left a note she is at the pool with Davis and Darius is with them. Ari lies down for a nap and I unpack us and return some calls. Connor stops by and I give him all the details of what happened including a step by step of Alex’s delusions that we were going to have a relationship. Being my agent, he recommended some PR options. Being my friend, he sympathized with me.
He stayed while I prepared dinner from some of the food dropped off earlier today. Ari woke up when Davis came back from the pool and they started a puzzle. Our crew came back over around five and Luke brought me a much needed bottle of Jack Daniels. There was a definite heaviness in the air, but we all kept up appearances for Davis’s sake.
When my phone rings with an unknown number, a sense of dread washes over me. I answer and then look at Ari with devastation in my eyes. Her face crumbles and she falls into Luke wailing in pain. Today at four thirty-six pm, thirty hours after taking a bullet to save my son, Katherine Anna Williams died.
Chapter 33
Ari
Two hours. In two hours, I’ll be walking down the aisle. I feel like throwing up. Everything I have ever dreamed of is coming true, why am I so nervous? Probably because I haven’t seen Reed since last night’s rehearsal and his presence alone calms me.
He hasn’t left my side since Katy died. Everyone rallied together to plan the perfect funeral and service for my grandmother as I fell apart. Thank God, Luke and Sophie knew where all the legal documents were to make arrangements. Katy has specific instructions on the church and funeral home. Her plot was with my family so we just had to schedule everything. Davis was so confused about what was happening and started having nightmares. His counselor asked Reed and I to join him in session where we explained that Katy had gone to heaven. He asked a ton of questions and I was strong enough to answer, but I cried myself to sleep that night.
After that day, I got stronger. I went through Katy’s papers and started arrangements with her lawyer for probate. Everything was left in my name. I couldn’t go back to the house after the police cleared the scene of the crime so, Reed made arrangements with an interior designer to redesign the entire first floor. I didn’t want to sell the house, but I never wanted to see the original dining room again.
One thing I knew was the right thing to do was make amends with Cara. She would never be my best friend, but she did have a part in saving my son and my life. I invited her over and we talked, really talked. We both cried for losing people in our lives and making mistakes. I forgave her that night because even through the devastation she caused, she came through in my time of need and saved me and Reed a lifetime of heartache.
The day of the funeral, I cried about losing the last parental figure in my life and Amy stepped in immediately. She held me close promising me we would always keep my grandma’s memory alive. Then when the limo drove up and I saw the street lined with people paying their respects, I held my head high. She deserved it. The church was filled with people, but one entire section was Reed’s football friends and I realized I had a huge extended family now. I pulled my shit together and acted like the strong lady my grandmother raised me to be.
I wept a few tears during the service, but nothing could have prepared me for the speeches both Reed and Luke gave. I laughed, I cried, and I smiled at the memories they spoke about. There was not a dry eye in the church.
The football wives and grandma’s book club arranged for the luncheon after the service and it would have made Katy proud. People treated me delicately until I finally said, “Fuck it, let’s party.”
Our guest list for the wedding grew that day, but Reed and I didn’t care. We wanted everyone that loved Katy to join in our marriage celebration. Once the funeral services were over, we moved back to Jacksonville and Reed went back to practice. The whole team and staff were understanding of our situation, but he needed to get back and I wanted a sense of normalcy. Once everything was done, there were only four days until we left for Cumberland Island to get married.
We invited only twenty-two people to the wedding, but three hundred are expected at the reception. Reed reserved a few rooms at the Greyfield Inn for us. Even though it was hard, we decided to spend the traditional night apart because Katy would have insisted. Davis stayed with all the guys and spent the day with them as well. Amy will bring him to me as soon as the guys are done with their pictures. The only time I left this suite today was to run a few miles.
Sophie and Cara helped me get ready so now I’m just waiting for Amy to return and then take our pictures.
“Get away from that window!” Sophie snaps at me. “You aren’t allowed to see Reed and he’ll be back any second.”
“I can’t help it; the butterflies in my stomach have butterflies.”
“Come here, baby.” Grandma’s arms engulf me. “This is meant to be, nerves are normal.” I look around and realize I imagined that. But it felt so real, I know in my heart Katy is here with me today.
“I think it’s funny as hell Reed chose an island. Even if you wanted to run, you’d have to swim to get away from him.” Sophie laughs and I join her.
“Not that I want to run, but you’re right. He made sure I would have a hard time escaping.”
We talk a few more minutes about nothing important until Davis busts through the door with excitement. His little tux is adorable.
“Mommy! Mommy! Daddy told me to give this to you.” He hands me a slip of paper.
I unfold it and gasp. Inside is the most beautiful sketch of my name with today’s date. Underneath it, Reed wrote ‘the ink is dry’ on a pink post-it.
“Is that more Reed speak? What the hell does it mean?” Sophie asks over my shoulder.
“It means Reed tattooed this on his body.”
“Is he always this cheesy?”
“No! He’s romantic and loving. This is the most beautiful gift he’s ever given me.” I stare back at her with narrowed eyes challenging her.
“I think the term is p-u-s-s-y-w-h-i-p-p-e-d, not romantic. And I’d take the quarter mil diamond over ink.”
I shoot daggers at her.
“Jeez, Ari, calm down. I’m only kidding. He’s so totally gone for you and you’re perfect together. It’s what girls like me dream about.” She smiles and pulls me into a hug.
“Honey, you ready to go? Luke and Jack had to hold Reed back to keep him from barging up here. We need to get you out of here and get your pictures before he goes crazy.” Amy walks in.
I nod, take Davis’s hand, and follow her out to the waiting car. Luke joins us and we head to the other side of the island. I look at his watch, ninety more minutes until I become Mrs. Reed Matthews.
“You look beautiful,” Luke tells me as we stand outside the small chapel waiting for him to walk me down the aisle.
“Thank you.” I run my sweaty palm down the lace of my dress and take deep breaths. I chose an A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline in the shade of pearl. The lace overl
ay hangs back with a small train, which is tucked in my elbow until we get into the chapel.
“You know this is meant to be right? I’d never wish the devastation you experienced on anyone, but Reed’s going to make your forever amazing.
“If your parents were here, they would be happy Arianna—happy that you have another man in your life that will always love you.”
Emotions start to take over; tears sting my eyes and I blink rapidly to push them back. One of the two photographers comes out and motions to us it’s time.
Luke leads me to the doors and when they open, I lose it. My beautiful little boy is standing there with his hand extended to help walk me down the aisle. This was not rehearsed and when I look at Luke, he has a sly smirk on his face. I wipe my cheeks and take his little hand in mine then finally look up.
When I do, my heart stops. At the front of the small chapel is the love of my life staring at me with raw emotion. His eyes are glassy and his mouth tight. I can see him trying to hold back his own tears. We walk slowly towards him and I never take my eyes off his.
Sophie, Jack, and Luke are the only ones in our wedding party. Reed reaches down and leads Davis to stand beside him then turns to me. Luke places my hand in his and an electrical current runs between us. Suddenly, all I hear is the beating of my own heart and the clicks of cameras.
Luke breaks me out of my haze by kissing me on the cheek and moving to his spot. The minister starts talking about joining together and the love between two people being the catalyst for a relationship. When he says something about heartaches, I giggle. He has no idea of our history, but we’ve had enough heartaches for a lifetime. Reed smiles with me knowing what I’m thinking.
We say the traditional vows and then the ring exchange. When Reed slips my ring onto my finger, my eyes bulge and I inhale loudly. There are a few chuckles behind us. He chose a wrap-around diamond band that compliments my engagement ring perfectly.
“Told you, Angel, every diamond—tenfold.” He whispers.
The ring I slide onto his hand is much more understated, but he wanted plain. Just when I think we are done, Reed and the minister exchange a glance and Reed’s grip on my hands tightens.
Reed's Reckoning Page 28
