by Eve Gaddy
Delilah dropped to the floor. She heard another shot and saw Cam stagger back. Oh, God, please don’t let him be hurt, she prayed. Not Cam. Bad enough that Gabe could be dying.
“Police! Drop it!” Maggie commanded.
Avery turned the gun on her. In slow motion, Delilah heard the crack of an explosion, saw blood blossom on his chest. He stood for a moment, the gun slack in his hand, bleeding, an expression of surprise on his face. The gun fell. He pitched forward and face-planted on the floor.
Seconds later she was in Cam’s arms, sobbing, clutching him, unable to believe he was there and he was safe.
“It’s over. You’re okay.” He kissed her, repeated the words. “You’re okay.”
Tears were falling so fast she could hardly see him. “Gabe. I think he killed Gabe.”
Cam left her to go to his brother. Delilah looked at her hands, realizing there was blood on them. Cam’s blood. “Cam, you’re bleeding.”
“It’s just my arm. It’s nothing.”
She got up shakily and walked over to them. Cam turned Gabe over and put his fingers on his neck. “He’s got a pulse. His eyelids are fluttering. He’s coming around.” He looked at her. “Hand me something to staunch this blood. He’s bleeding like stink.”
Gabe groaned. “Not dead,” she heard him say.
She grabbed the handiest thing, yanking a cloth from one of the tables, and gave it to Cam. She crouched down beside Gabe. “You idiot,” she said. “Why did you do that? You could have been killed.”
His grin was weak but still cocky. “You’re welcome.” He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. “Damn, Cam, what are you trying to do to me? My head is what’s killing me. That’s just a flesh wound.” Looking down at the cloth Cam had packed on the wound, he added, “I think.”
The sound of sirens filled the air. “Nice of them to show up,” Cam said grimly. “After everything is over.”
“Freeman’s dead,” Maggie said, kneeling beside the body. She got to her feet, pulled out her radio and spoke into it. “All clear. The gunman is dead. Request immediate medical assistance. At least one civilian is down.” Pausing, she looked at Delilah. “Are you hurt? Did he shoot you?”
Delilah shook her head. “Gabe’s hurt.”
“One civilian down,” she said, then signed off and came to help.
Cam was trying to make Gabe be still and let him put pressure on the wound, but Gabe wasn’t cooperating.
Maggie pushed Cam aside. “Let me do this, Cam. I have some EMT training.” When Cam didn’t move she added, “See about your own wound. Delilah, put some pressure on that. And get some ice for your face after you do. Lie down and be still,” she told Gabe.
“Maggie?” Delilah said. “If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know what we would have done. Thank you.”
Her mouth tightened as she knelt beside Gabe. “I just wish I’d gotten here a little sooner. I came as soon as I heard he’d skipped town.”
Cam took Delilah in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t remember ever being that scared in my life. Thank God you’re all right.” He pulled back and looked at her, touched his fingers to her bruised cheek. “He’ll never hurt you again.”
“I can’t believe it’s over.” She looked over at Avery’s body and shuddered. Then she leaned back to meet Cam’s eyes. “You could have been killed. Gabe almost was. It’s my fault. I brought this on you. If I’d gone to a shelter in the first place—”
“Delilah, don’t do this. If you do, he wins. Freeman’s responsible for all of this, not you. He’s the one who shot Gabe. Who shot me. He’s the one who would have killed you.” He kissed her mouth, very gently. “He’s dead. It’s over. And thank God that it is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EVERYONE WENT to the hospital. Cam was treated and released, and though he’d insisted Delilah be examined, the doctor had said she was fine.
Gabe had been admitted and released the next day. The gunshot wound wasn’t serious and had been treated immediately but the possible concussion from the blow to the head kept him there overnight.
It turned out Freeman had found Delilah not through his police contacts but through the private detective. Apparently the man had run into Rachel on his way out and had shown her Delilah’s picture. Rachel had said Delilah worked there and then promptly forgot to mention it to either Cam or Delilah.
Several days after Freeman was killed, Delilah received a visit from his lawyer. He asked to see her alone, so Cam let them use his office. A short time later, the lawyer left and Delilah came out, looking shell-shocked.
“I inherited his entire estate. He died without a will, so it all comes to me.”
He studied her. “You don’t seem very pleased about it.”
“I don’t know what I am. I don’t want his money. I was about to divorce him. It feels—” She gestured helplessly. “I don’t know, wrong.”
“Why, did he make it illegally?”
“No. No, it’s legitimate. But…there’s so much.”
“Just out of curiosity, how much?”
“Three million dollars.”
“Wow,” he said when he found his voice.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about this,” she said. “I have to think about it.”
He wasn’t sure what he thought about it either. His grandmother’s engagement ring had been burning a hole in his pocket for days while he waited for the right time to ask Delilah to marry him. He’d finally settled on tonight.
Something told him she might be a little distracted. But he couldn’t wait any longer. So he went ahead and made his plans. He conned Cat into making the two of them a romantic dinner, then surprised Delilah by having a late supper on the beach. The late-October night was mild, and the sand was dappled with moonlight from the full moon. It was a good choice. Quiet, deserted. Romantic.
They’d finished eating and she was sitting between his legs with his arms wrapped around her. From time to time, he picked up the wineglass beside them and fed her wine or took a sip himself.
“This is nice.” She ran her fingers idly over his forearm and sighed. “How did you get Cat to make the dinner?”
“I told her I wanted to romance you. She’s a sucker for that kind of thing.”
Delilah laughed and kissed him. “Tell her it worked.” They were quiet a while and then she said, “I think I’ve decided what to do about the money.”
“What’s that?” He didn’t really want to talk about Freeman’s money, but he resigned himself, knowing it would nag at her until she did.
“At first I was going to give it all away, but I decided that was a little melodramatic.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “So I decided I’d do something good with it. Something that will help women like me. Like Anita.”
“A shelter?”
“Maybe. I was thinking of a foundation that could do several things. Fund another shelter, or improve security in existing ones. And—”
She turned in his arms and looked at him and he could see excitement shining in her eyes. “A scholarship program. For battered women to attend college or graduate school. What do you think?”
“That sounds like a great idea. What are you going to call it?”
“Anita’s fund,” she said softly.
“I think she’d like that,” he said, and kissed her.
“I’m not giving it all to the fund. I’m going to use some of it for me to go to school. I still want to be an accountant.”
“So being independently wealthy hasn’t changed your mind about that?”
She laughed. “Did you think it would?”
“I don’t know. I wondered if you’d changed your mind about something else.” He moved away from her so he could dig in his pocket. It took him a minute to locate the ring, but his fingers closed around it and he pulled it out.
He held it out to her. “About you and me.”
She didn’t take it. She stared at it, at him, and said, “That look
s like an—” She cleared her throat and started again. “It’s a ring.”
He smiled. “That’s right. My grandmother’s engagement ring. Will you marry me, Delilah?”
She looked stunned. Could it really be such a huge surprise to her? The longer she stared at him in silent surprise the more nervous it made him.
“Delilah? Aren’t you going to say something?” Preferably yes. Or even, yes, Cam, I love you. Instead she just sat there, looking a little green around the gills.
“You’re asking me to marry you.”
“That’s generally what a ring and a proposal mean. I asked you before, but I couldn’t give you the ring.” Why was she sitting there gazing at him as if he’d lost his ever-loving mind?
“I thought—when you didn’t say anything I didn’t know if you still wanted to.”
“I want to marry you more than I’ve ever wanted anything else.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Thank God,” he said, against her mouth. “You had me worried there for a minute.”
She eased back and held out her hand. He slipped the ring on her finger. Kissed her knuckles, then turned her hand over and kissed her palm. “I love you, Delilah. I want to make you happy.”
“You already have. I’m so happy I’m almost afraid to believe it’s for real.”
“Believe it.”
She held out her hand and admired the ring, a simple diamond in an old-fashioned setting. “It’s so beautiful. Did you say it was your grandmother’s?”
He nodded. “I’m the eldest grandson, so she wanted it to come to me.” Keeping her gaze, he added, “In case you’re wondering, Janine never saw this ring.”
Her smile grew even brighter. “I’m glad.” She went into his arms and kissed him again.
Deepening the kiss, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. Tasted her sweetness, rubbed his hand over her breasts. He wanted her now, soft, sweet, giving, surrendering to him in passion. In love.
They lay down and he kissed her again, slid his hand beneath her shirt to caress her breasts. “Have you ever made love on the beach?”
“No.” Her hand slipped down to his fly and she stroked him. “Am I about to?” She stroked him again, harder this time.
“If you keep doing that you are.” In about twenty seconds, in fact.
She smiled and did it again.
He rolled on top of her, settled between her thighs. “I want to see you wearing my ring.” He kissed her, long and leisurely, feeling the heat build. “Only my ring.”
A slow, wicked smile curved her mouth and she pulled his head down to hers. “I think I can manage that,” she said, and kissed him.
A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKS LATER, Delilah’s wedding day dawned. She woke up slowly, in Cam’s arms. “Morning,” he said, and kissed her. “Happy wedding day.”
She smiled. “Happy wedding day to you, too. I still can’t believe it’s happening.”
“Let me see if I can convince you,” he said, rolling on top of her.
Someone pounded on the door before he could get started convincing. “That’s probably Gabe,” she said. “Coming to take you away.”
“Tell me again why I have to leave?” he asked after he got dressed.
“Because your sisters said you had to,” she told him, laughing.
“And if I didn’t get you out of here, they’d nag me to death,” Gabe added. “So let’s go.”
“I’ll see you at the church,” Cam told her and kissed her goodbye.
“Plenty of time for that later,” Gabe said, dragging him away when he would have kissed her again.
After Gabe and Cam left, her soon-to-be sisters-in-law and mother-in-law arrived to help her get ready.
Cat, who was around her size, had offered to lend Delilah her wedding gown. When Delilah had protested, Cat had told her with a mischievous smile that the Randolphs were very traditional and she had to have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. The dress could be her something borrowed.
So Delilah accepted. The gown was beautiful and she was very touched Cat had wanted her to wear it.
Two hours after they had arrived, Delilah was nearly ready. The gown was deceptively simple, a strapless ivory satin with a sweetheart neckline and a long train of antique lace. Gail gave her a blue garter to wear for her something blue, and she wore Cam’s grandmother’s engagement ring as something old.
“But now you need something new,” Gail said. “Mother’s taken care of that.”
Meredith handed her a long, narrow red velvet box.
Startled, Delilah looked at her. “Oh, I couldn’t— It’s so sweet of you, but—”
Meredith laughed. “It’s tradition. You’ll hurt my feelings if you don’t accept it.” Delilah still hesitated and Meredith added, “Your own mother couldn’t be here, Delilah. Let me spoil you a little as I know she would have loved to do.”
Delilah had to blink away tears before she opened the box. A delicate gold charm bracelet with a single charm dangling from it lay inside. “It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at the intricately designed charm. “It’s a Chinese symbol, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I don’t know what it means.” She looked at Meredith for enlightenment.
“It’s the Chinese symbol for happiness.” She smiled and fastened the bracelet around Delilah’s wrist. “Cameron can add to it, but I wanted to start one for you. Gail and Cat will tell you I gave each of them one on their wedding days.” She glanced at Gail.
“You didn’t give it to me until my second wedding,” Gail said. “When I married Jay.”
“Yes, I know,” Meredith said drily, and they all laughed.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you,” Delilah said, fighting tears.
“You’ve made my son very happy,” Meredith said, and kissed her cheek. “And that makes me very happy, too.”
“Now you’ve done it,” Cat said, when Delilah started to cry. “She’ll have to reapply her makeup.”
“You’ve all been so sweet to me. You don’t know what it means to me that Cam’s family has been so kind.”
“We love you, Delilah. You’re part of our family now,” Gail said.
“And the Randolphs stick together,” Cat added, hugging her.
“Welcome to our family, Delilah,” Meredith said.
An hour later, Delilah waited in the alcove at the Randolph family church in Aransas City, filled to overflowing. The wedding march started and she walked down the aisle to Cam’s side, knowing she had everything she’d ever wanted, everything she’d ever imagined. Family, friends, and the man she loved waiting for her.
“You’re more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you,” Cam said when she reached his side.
“That’s because I’m happier than I’ve ever been,” she said, and put her hand in his.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1139-1
SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS
Copyright © 2005 by Eve Gaddy.
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