Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love)

by Minerva Vesta

  “Oh my gosh!” I screamed.

  The paramedics and police officers rushed over to the scene. The driver came to a screeching halt, but not before Jenny’s body was dragged a few feet.

  “What just happened?” Sean asked. With him lying down, he missed the entire thing.

  “Jenny just got hit by a truck!” I yelled.

  “Oh great, she can have my ride,” Sean fussed as if I’d just told him we were having tacos for dinner. “I need to get out of this thing. All I want is my bed and you by my side.”

  “You better think again. You’re going to the hospital,” I said before easing out of the ambulance.

  I trotted over to the scene, doing my best not to look at the carnage.

  “Is she okay?” I asked one of the police officers.

  “She’s still alive. Lucky for her, we’ve already got the emergency response team on site,” he replied.

  I looked at the truck and read the logo: Elizablu’s Antique Furnishings ~ The Very Best of Luminescence.

  A woman, with hot pink dreads, was standing off to the side. It was the person driving the truck, a beautiful, brown skin woman with a thick southern twang. Her cat eye glasses sat on the tip of her nose, reminding me of my librarian from high school.

  “I swear, I didn’t see her. She came out of nowhere.” I heard her say to the officer. Her southern drawl was oddly soothing considering the circumstances.

  “We all saw what happened, ma’am. None of this is your fault. But I will still need you to stick around for a while so we can get an official statement.” He told her.

  “That’s fine,” she replied before walking back to her truck.

  I walked back to the ambulance and hopped inside. I sat next to Sean and placed my head against his chest.

  “You okay?” Sean asked as he gripped my hand. I was thankful the drug was finally leaving his system. The first thing the paramedics did was hook him up to an IV.

  “Yeah…I can’t wait to get back to the safety of our house,” I breathed out a heavy sigh. Sean chuckled as he pursed his lips for me to kiss him.

  By far, this was the wildest night of my life. Possibly the most traumatic thing I’ve ever had to experience. I was just thankful though. So many things could have gone wrong. My luck wasn’t always the best. More times than not I’d cursed the universe for my long string of bad luck. But tonight, I felt like I got a bit of redemption. I could have lost Sean. Jenny could have easily given him a fatal dose of that sedative. Hell, she could have kidnapped him to a place where we couldn’t have easily located him. There were so many scenarios where the outcome could have been much worse.

  I was lucky to have Sean back safe and sound.

  CHAPTER 38

  LASHAWNDA

  I wanted to spend the next week lounging around my house. No phones, no emails, no meetings. But there was work that needed my attention.

  Sean left early in the morning to get a head start on analyzing the first round of data from the MIND Project. That meant I was running late because he wasn’t there to light a fire under me while I got dressed. The extra fifteen minutes I took looking for my car keys added to me getting caught in the morning rush hour traffic. Luckily it was only fifteen minutes. I eventually found them in my purse.

  I stepped off the elevator and rounded the corner to my cubicle. Dr. Barnes’s door was open, and I made a detour there before going to my desk. When I walked in, I found him ticking away at his keyboard. Those two pointer fingers were moving quicker than I’d ever seen.

  “Good morning, Dr. Barnes,” I greeted.

  “Price.” He gave me a head nod, not bothering to look up. “Eventful weekend wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, eventful,” I chuckled. “I see you’re at it again with the emails.”

  “Don’t mock me, Price. I am still your boss,” he replied, humor dry as always.

  “I promise I hold you in the highest esteem, Dr. Barnes. If you need anything, I’m here.”

  He grunted in response. I took it as a sign; I had been dismissed from his thoughts. I closed his door, going back to my desk to begin weeding through my pile of emails.

  The buzz of the office was louder than normal. By now, everything that happened at the hotel was public knowledge. A few people had witnessed Jenny’s accident involving the truck. It even made the local news. I was thankful they didn’t go into specific details about what led up to the event. I was sure to call my dad before the story aired. The man would have gone out of his mind if he heard about our involvement with Jenny’s accident on the ten o’clock news.

  The following day I had gotten word from the police officer assigned to the case that Jenny was alive but had sustained extensive injuries requiring her to remain hospitalized for weeks. She would also need reconstructive surgery for the damage to her face. With a prosthetic and physical therapy, they were hopeful she would regain the use of her right arm. The mangled arm was dragged underneath the truck. It was beyond anything surgery could repair.

  After all her scheming, Jenny was the one who suffered the most. Sean had spent a few hours in the ER, but after his toxicity screen came back clean, he was discharged.

  The biggest surprise was getting a call from Jenny’s father. The officer wanted to know if it was okay to give him my number. I had no ill feelings toward him, or his daughter, so I permitted him to call. The conversation with Connor Reed was enlightening. He and his wife Sharon spoke to me in depth about Jenny’s drug use and the childhood trauma she experienced from living with her mother. For years they tried to reconnect with her with little success. It gave me hope when Mr. Reed told me he would have Jenny moved to a hospital closer to their home for her recovery. The man loved his daughter and still wanted the best for her.

  I’ve been by Sean’s side since the night of the party. Today was the first day we hadn’t been up under each other. I craved the feel of his skin touching mine like I needed air to breathe. We spent the entire day afterward lying in bed and making love. The only time we left the house was to have dinner with the family at my parent’s house on Sunday.

  There was a brief discussion in the car about telling everyone the details of what happened. Sean didn’t want to freak his mother out, and I didn’t want to keep it a secret in case they found out from someone else. Mrs. Colcord had been furious when we told her. She was now guilty of hugging and kissing Sean more than usual.

  I smiled thinking about Sean being treated like a big baby since the whole ordeal. It was a sign there were some very protective women in his life who loved him dearly. Even Crystal and Stacy were calling, checking up on him. Brent, Jackson, and Ian planned to come hang out with him in a few weeks. They had another fishing trip planned.

  Checking the time on my computer, it was a little past eleven. I was surprised I hadn’t heard from Sean. Usually, he would text to make sure I made it in the office. I pulled up a blank email and sent him a message inquiring what his plans were for lunch.

  While I waited for him to reply, I got a distinct feeling someone was watching me. I looked up to see a sign posted on the wall across from my cubicle. It had a huge arrow with the words ‘look down’ in bold letters.

  “What in the world?” I stood up. Was someone playing a practical joke on me? My curiosity was piqued. I looked over the hedge of the cubicle but didn’t see anything. Climbing on my desk, I looked over, shocked to see Sean’s face smiling up at me.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hey. What are you…”? I couldn’t get the rest of the words out.

  A shuddering gasp left my throat when I recognized he was on one knee with a ring outstretched. My heart felt heavy in my chest, and the neurons in my brain went haywire. I knew what was happening. I’d dreamt of this day for a while now. But I couldn’t think clearly enough to do anything but whimper like a wounded puppy.

  “I know this isn’t super romantic or anything. If you want, I’ll do it over again. I had this whole thing planned out at the beach. But then Saturday
didn’t really go as planned.” He paused and audibly gulped. “I figured what better place than were we first met. Technically, it was in the elevator. But right here is where I first laid eyes on you.”

  His face tightened and the once nervous guy I met so many months ago was once again before me. Sean cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. My smile bloomed even wider, ready to hear his speech.

  “Okay, so I first laid eyes on you at this very same spot. I remember thinking, ‘wow, that is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.’ And, I also thought you had some amazing…” His eyes move toward my chest as I smirked at his cheeky grin. “Well, you already know how I feel about those. You are the only woman in this world I’ve ever been in a relationship with, and the only one I’d like to spend the rest of my life with. I want to grow dusty, old, and gray with you. I want to have a ton of children with you. I want to be your husband. So…I am hoping you would do me the honor of being my wife.”

  Yes, yes, yes. I screamed. But, the worried expression on Sean’s face made me realize, I’d been screaming yes in my head.

  “Shawnie say something,” Sean pleaded.

  We had gained a small audience from the people who sat near me. More and more were showing up as word spread about what was happening. I even caught sight of Mallory and Brad standing down the hall. The woman was practically gushing in tears at Sean’s nervous proposal.

  And, here I was, awestruck to the point of silence. My mind was still screaming, ‘yes’, but the words wouldn’t leave my lips. I placed a hand over my rapidly beating heart to get it under control. But, unfortunately, I also let go of the top of the cubicle. Two seconds later, I lost my balance and went tumbling backward off my desk. The loud crashing brought even more people over to see what happened.

  I was a tangled heap of clothes and my chair.

  I looked up to see a worried Sean racing into my cube. He sat on the ground and slowly pulled me into his lap. He had the cutest pout on his face as he pressed a hand to my forehead. I smiled and hid my face into the crook of his neck.

  “Are you alright?” he asked with concern.

  “Yes…I’m okay.”

  “What am I going to do with you?” Sean asked rhetorically.

  “Hey, at least I didn’t fall in the bathroom again.” I reminded him of my previous mishaps.

  Sean laughed with me as he too recalled some of them.

  “Did you mean it?” I asked, voice low enough only he could hear.

  “Of course, I meant it.” Sean replied, voice stern.

  “Are you sure?” I asked skeptically.

  Sean side-eyed me. “How about it, beautiful? What do you say about me as your husband?” he asked

  “I say, ‘yes,’” I finally breathed out.

  Before I was able to catch my breath, Sean stood and pulled me to my feet. He then proceeded to place the most stunning ring I had ever seen on my finger. The echoes of applause and cheers were lost to the background. We were too busy sharing a heated kiss. Sean poured every ounce of feeling and promise of long years of love and devotion I could expect from him. He was holding me tight as if he was afraid I’d slip away. I was far too happy to complain about my inability to breathe.

  I was still very much enjoying Sean’s lips, when I heard Dr. Barnes terse voice.

  “Damn it, Price; I thought you two stopped all that nonsense months ago.” His complaints fell on deaf ears. “Well, I guess if you must. But, hurry up I’ve got an emergency.”

  I finally pulled away from Sean. His eyes were glossed over from our heated kiss. I had protested the use of his secret room before. But I was reconsidering it. We might have to make a trip there before the end of the day. I was desperate to feel his bare flesh against mine.

  With another small kiss, I finally unwrapped my arms from around his shoulders.

  Our coworkers came over to congratulate us, offering pats on the back and well wishes. I was beaming from ear to ear; until, I saw Dr. Barnes’s face. He was over the dog and pony show. I playfully rolled my eyes at him and ushered everyone out of my workspace.

  “Okay, let’s go, since this is a life or death situation,” I said to Dr. Barnes.

  I walked behind him as he made his way to his office. Sean had refused to let go of my hand, so he followed as well.

  Dr. Barnes sat down at his desk and faced the computer screen.

  “Now, how do you send this with this message?” He pointed at the open Word document and the monitor.

  Sean shook his head at the older man’s bewildered expression. He pulled me just outside Dr. Barnes’s door and gave me a quick kiss before walking away. “I’ll see you later, Mrs. Colcord.”

  A small smile played on my lips as I let his words sink in.

  “We’re not even married yet. I just said, ‘yes’ to your proposal five minutes ago,” I said to his retreating back.

  Sean turned back, retracing his steps; he lightly kissed me again. The sweet sigh that followed was all the encouragement he needed to delve deeper into the recesses of my mouth. I loved when he kissed me like this. It was like our first kiss all over again.

  When he eased back on his heels, I was dazed with a dangerous need. When we got home, later, we would have all the time in the world to celebrate, and a lifetime to enjoy the aftermath of me becoming his wife.

  “I know. I’m just practicing,” he replied as the pad of his thumb caressed my chin. His eyes never left mine. My cheeks flamed under his adoring gaze.

  “I love that I can still make you blush. I hope twenty or thirty years from now to still be able to do that.” Sean smiled down at me, before placing a contented kiss on my forehead. “By the way, you’ve been my wife for a long time in my mind. I’m just glad I’m able to say it out loud.”

  Once again, this man had left me speechless.

  Sean turned on his heels. I watched with delight as his firm backside walked away from me. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and started tapping it against his thigh at random intervals. When he finally took the corner and disappeared from my view, I turned back to Dr. Barnes.

  “Alright, Dr. B. I think it’s time you finally learn to speak a little German.” I smiled at Dr. Barnes’s look of outrage. I ignored his mumblings and began describing how to send an email with an attachment.

  For years, I thought I would forever be single. but now, everything had changed. All it took was a torn blouse as a result of my clumsiness and three seconds of staring into striking green eyes over the hedge of my cubicle.

  EPILOGUE

  Mr. And Mrs. Colcord sat in bed enjoying the early morning before the house descended in its usual ruckus.

  Lashawnda had cleared her calendar of her usual weekend clients. As one of the most sought-after psychologists in the city, she was constantly turning away new patients. Her empathetic personality, and the ease in which she made people feel comfortable, made her a natural at her job. When she first graduated, she had a tough time adjusting to not being under Dr. Barnes tutelage. After a few months of working with an agency, she decided owning a practice made her feel most comfortable.

  Sean supported her all the way.

  She was there for him when he finally went back into the academic setting. From his time working at H&G on the MIND Project, he realized he missed hands-on research. With Dr. Vanderpool’s recommendation, he secured a position at the university as a professor. His position also gave him the opportunity to provide mentorship to young scientists.

  Sean loved his job even though he hated dealing with the politics.

  It was Saturday, and they planned to take the children to the beach one last time before school started. There were also plans to take them shopping for school supplies. But, Lashawnda wasn’t sure if she could deal with the headache of having all five children out at the same time.

  Sure, she’d only given birth to four children, but Sean made the fifth.

  He would often act like one of them. Rough housing with the boys or making faces so
Ella would snort whatever beverage she was drinking at the table. Lashawnda knew she would get a lot more done if she went shopping by herself. The only downside was she may end up returning a few items because the kids didn’t like a certain character backpack, or if she got the wrong pencil box color.

  With a dramatic sigh, Lashawnda eased her body closer to the middle of the bed and slowly rubbed her husband’s naked stomach.

  She wished they could have an extra day to themselves before the weekend ended. If their parents were in town, Lashawnda would have called them up and dropped the kids off, so she and Sean could have some adult time. But they were helping Stacy get the house packed up for their big move back to Florida. Stacy had finally decided it was time to be closer to the family.

  She couldn’t even call Crystal and Brent. They were taking the little ones up to visit Brent’s parents. If this trip went anything like the first one, Lashawnda was sure Crystal would end up breaking her vow to stop cussing.

  Thoughtfully weighing the options, Lashawnda was rewarded with the sound of her husband’s sleep induced voice.

  “You know, I just thought of something,” Sean said.

  “What’s that?” Lashawnda asked.

  “If we’re in the same room and someone says, ‘Hey, there’s Dr. Sean Colcord.’ Neither one of us would know who they’re talking about.” He paused letting his words sink in. “You know it would be very confusing.”

  Sean propped his hand on the back of his neck and looked at the ceiling, smiling fondly at his mind-blowing observation. The room became very quiet as he waited for Lashawnda’s response. When it seemed like she wasn’t going to give one, Sean looked over at her and found her staring right back at him with her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

  “What? You know, since technically we could both be Dr. Sean Colcord,” he replied as if his little observation was an insightful as the discovery of the smallpox vaccine.