Knowing she regretted not exploring a possible future with Ford gnawed at her heart. She knew he’d spent the night with her because Lilly had told her, but she hadn’t seen him yet that day and was anxious for his arrival. He would show up sooner or later and she was going to be ready for it when he did.
Tess made Lilly leave. Told her to get the hell out and not come back, that she would see her sister at home. Then she politely asked her parents to go to the cafeteria to get some breakfast, or better yet, leave the hospital totally and find a restaurant where they could eat. She wanted to rest and they were keeping her from doing that. Lilly knew exactly what was going on, but had the good sense not to let on in front of the folks.
With her eyes closed and the room finally silent, Tess replayed moments from the night before. The sight of Ford’s boots and the feel of his arms around her. Total and complete relief washing over her like a hot shower after a strenuous workout. His lips on her forehead and temples before she lost consciousness. She really wished they hadn’t doped her up so much last night. She would have wanted to see him one more time.
“I would have kissed him,” she whispered to what she thought was an empty room.
“Kissed who?”
Tess’s eyes flew open and there he was, standing at the foot of the bed with his trademark smirk firmly in place. It’s like magic. Whenever I think about him, he just shows up. Not letting her brain get the better of her, Tess grinned and answered immediately. “You.”
Ford didn’t wait for more confirmation than that. He was next to her in two giant steps and grabbing her face in his hands. His lips were hot against hers and Tess pressed against him, burying her fingers into his hair. The kisses said more than any words either of them could speak. When he finally let her up for some air, Tess hugged him tightly, ignoring the pain in her thigh.
“Thank you,” she whispered in to his ear.
Pulling back, he frowned. “For what?” His eyes searched hers for the meaning behind the statement.
“You saved my life.”
Smiling he leaned his forehead against hers. “No, that was the police. I was just there.”
“Pffft, if you hadn’t followed me, I’d probably be dead right now.”
Ford tried to shake his head, but Tess scowled at him. “Okay, you’re welcome.”
That’s better.
Tess wanted to say more, wished she could explain everything she was feeling and thinking in just the right way at that exact moment, but it was all too new for her. She didn’t know how to do it and was afraid if she did it the wrong way, it would scare him off. Instead, she kept her mouth shut for a little while, happy to feel his arms around her and to lean in for a kiss from time to time.
When she finally thought she had a good opening line to start “the talk”, Ford beat her to it with the last thing she expected to hear.
“Hudson knows about us.”
Tess leaned back and let her arms drop to her sides. “Uh oh. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Ford grabbed her hands in his and grinned. “It’s okay, he’s okay with it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
Tess blew out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. It hadn’t even occurred to her to worry about Hudson or any possible fallout between the brothers if she and Ford decided to… to date? Was that what they were going to do? “Geeze, you scared the shit out of me, saying it like that.”
Chuckling, Ford brought one of her hands to his lips and kissed it. “I’m sorry. I’m not exactly the smoothest guy in the world. I think you’re going to have to help me out with stuff like that.”
Returning the favor, Tess kissed Ford’s hand back. “And you think I’m the voice of experience here? I didn’t even think about Hudson. I was more worried about making sure we were okay.”
“Scoot over.”
Tess shifted carefully to the side so he could lean back in the bed and pull her into his arms.
“I know it seems a little late, but I was wondering if you’d be interested in having dinner with me some time. You know, after you get home and healed up.”
Tess laughed and nodded her head, giving him a soft, quick kiss. “I would love that.”
Epilogue
Tess knelt at Jack’s grave and pulled out the dead stems of the last bouquet of flowers she had placed there. Putting fresh blooms in the holder, she smiled and ran her hand down the chiseled marble face of the tombstone. Until last week, his marker was of the flat, in-ground variety with only his name and the dates of his birth and death. Today, the new monument had been installed and Tess felt proud to see it standing over Jack’s final resting place like a beacon of protection.
“Jack Xavier Kingston. Gone too soon, but forever in my heart.”
“It’s lovely, Tess.” Lilly came up behind her and knelt down. “I think you picked out a really nice one.”
“Thanks. He sure deserves it.”
“Yes he does. Except for you, he got nothing but shit in life, it seems.”
Tess shrugged. “Well, not totally, but I know what you mean. I’m glad he’s not here to see all this.” She shivered and cupped her elbows while she crossed her arms in front of her.
Emily Kingston was sitting in jail, charged with the murder of her youngest son. She swore she wouldn’t plead guilty and would go to trial, but Tess hoped eventually she would give up. What was the point? With Tess’s testimony, she would absolutely get convicted. Why waste all that time and taxpayer money? In the end, it didn’t really matter. She was going to prison no matter what and Tess would be more than willing to take the stand and hang her out to dry.
Roger Kingston was also being prosecuted, but not for murder. That was all on Emily. Roger, though, was being charged with all kinds of fraud and perjury counts. When the toxicology report had come back with evidence of foul play, the police had started an investigation long before anyone had even known about it. Detective Isham had been watching the Kingston family and doing whatever cops do to nail people for crimes. It had been as much of a surprise to him as anyone else when Emily turned out to be the murderer. She had met Mike Andrews as a patient of Dr. Guildford and together they had cooked up a way to keep all of Jack’s inheritance for themselves. Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t supposed to die, but Tess was. Logically, Tess understood most of what happened, but emotionally she just didn’t care anymore. Her ex-in-laws were both going to prison, one for the rest of her life and the other for a good portion of the rest of his life.
The only person who remained unscathed as far as criminal charges went was David Kingston. His father had been the one to sign all of the probate documents and make all the false claims. David had only followed his “client’s” instructions. No charges would be brought against him. Instead, he would be left to wonder what the hell happened to his family. Both of his parents in prison and his brother dead. He would be alone and who knew what would happen to him. Sometimes Tess felt sorry for him, but the one and only time she tried to reach out to him, he had blamed her for everything that happened, promising that he would one day get to the real truth and see her punished. That rejection was all the permission Tess needed to finally be done with the Kingston family once and for all.
“Come on. It’s time to go.” Lilly stood up and touched her sister lightly on the shoulder.
“Yeah. I did what I needed to do.”
Tess leaned forward and pressed a brief kiss to the front of the gravestone. “Love you, J.” Then she put her hands on top of it and helped herself to stand.
As she and Lilly walked away, Tess felt the crisp fall air against her cheek. Looking up, she swore the clouds above were making the shape of a smiley face and pointed it out to her sister. “Look, it’s a smile.”
Snorting, Lilly swung an arm around her sister’s shoulders and grinned. “Yep. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the angels put that in the clouds just for you.”
They made their way back through the rows of gravestone
s to the paved road where Hudson and Ford Marks waited for them. Together they leaned against Hudson’s pickup and both offered smiles as they approached.
Still out of earshot, Tess snickered. “Who’d have thought two sisters would end up with two brothers?”
“Sure as hell not me,” Lilly mumbled. “I still think I got the hotter one, though.”
Tess laughed and nudged her sister. “Keep tellin’ yourself that, sis.”
THE END
About the Author
J. Thomas-Like is a writer born and raised in Michigan. She lives with her doting husband, brilliant son, a passel of cats, and a dog. This is her second novel. She started writing at a very young age, and is making her dreams come true, one story at a time.
Check out her first novel, The Widow and the Rock Star, available at Amazon.com
Note from the Author
I hope you enjoyed this story!
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Cover art by James, GoOnWrite.com
Author Photo by Chasing Light Photography
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