Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3)

by T. E. Killian

  With that, he was gone and Wayne had Sonia to himself.

  When he just stared into her eyes, she seemed to squirm a little. “You don’t have to worry about the shooting at all Wayne. There will be a formal hearing next week, but with all the witnesses and Baar on that video, it will just be a formality.”

  “Sonia!”

  At his sharp tone, she jerked her head around from looking at the door that Grant had just passed through.

  When he knew he had her attention, he said, “Sonia, I love you.” He reached for her hand and clasped it in his. “I love you and I know you love me too.”

  There was a chair nearby, so she pulled it over next to the bed, and almost fell into it.

  When he knew he had her attention again, he said, “I would have liked to pick a better, more romantic time and place, but this is where we are right now and I want to do it right now.”

  At her look of confusion, he waved it off with his free hand and said, “Sonia Nordstrom, will you marry me?”

  She stared at him, not blinking, for so long that he was afraid that either she didn’t hear him or she was going to turn him down.

  * * *

  Sonia’s breath left her lungs in an audible whoosh. She tried but she couldn’t breathe any air back into her lungs. She thought she might pass out.

  Then she looked down into Wayne’s smiling face that was slowly losing its smile. That was when all of her doubts just disappeared. That was when she knew beyond a doubt that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man who had proven himself so many times.

  Her first attempt at speaking was only a croak as she was finally able to pull air desperately back into her lungs. Then she let out that breath, breathed in again, and said, “Yes, Wayne Newcomb, I will marry you.”

  Wayne let out a whoop that brought a nurse running into the room. They both laughed and Wayne said, “I’m okay, we’re just happy, that’s all.”

  With that, the nurse backed out of the room with a skeptical look on her face.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Wayne was fidgeting so much from excitement that the nurse kept fussing at him to be still so she could finish helping him dress. He was excited because Sonia was picking him up in a few minutes to take him to his grandparents’ estate for a bigger than usual Sunday dinner.

  This was to be the last gathering for a while with everyone there. It was also going to be a going away party for his grandparents. They were leaving tomorrow to fly to Europe to begin a three-week Mediterranean cruise. After that, they were going on a three-week tour of continental Europe before finally coming home for a while.

  Wayne was excited for his grandparents. No one deserved to travel and have fun more than they did.

  But, most of his excitement came from the fact that he couldn’t wait to finally be able to announce to the whole family that he and Sonia were getting married. Granted, he didn’t think anyone would be too surprised, just at how soon it was coming about. For that matter, if he were to be honest with himself, he was surprised about that too.

  He was also more than a little nervous since Sonia’s parents would be there too. He and Sonia had talked about that and decided that it would be awkward at best for him to travel down to Phoenix at this point, so he had asked his grandparents to invite Sonia’s parents to today’s dinner too. He had been thankful that his grandfather hadn’t questioned him, but simply agreed.

  Wayne couldn’t wait any longer. He asked the nurse to wheel him through the front door and out onto the small porch so he could wait for Sonia there.

  Finally, she pulled up in the circle drive in the pickup he had had delivered to her condo so they would be able to store his wheelchair in the pickup bed.

  Once they were both situated in the pickup cab, she said, “Wayne, I hope you don’t mind, but I had nothing to do with all of this.”

  When he turned a puzzled look her way, she motioned toward four vehicles lined up at the curb in front of his house. “Your grandfather told my dad to bring everybody, all my brothers, their wives, and their kids.”

  At first, that only made Wayne more nervous, but when he thought about it, he knew it would be better to make his announcement only one time. “I think I’ll live through it.” When she let out a breath of relief, he added, “But, I don’t want you to leave my side all afternoon, okay?”

  She laughed and said, “Okay, Wayne, you’ve got a deal. I’ll be your body guard again.”

  She motioned toward the four SUVs. “Do you realize how many people are going to be there today?”

  When he just smiled, she said, “There are fifteen from my family alone out there.”

  He laughed and said, “Yeah, with all of my family added in, that would make it around thirty people all together.”

  Then he had a thought. “My grandfather has done it again. I have a feeling that sly old fox knows that you and I are going to announce our plans today.”

  When she turned a quick, puzzled look his way he continued, “Yeah, I only asked him to invite your parents. Why else would he want all of your family there too?”

  He thought for a moment. “You know how much he has emphasized how the family has grown from just the four of us Newcombs. First we added the Thompsons when Kelly married Grant and then the Beckers when Alison married Stan.”

  He hit his hand on the door armrest. “Now, I’m sure he’s planning on including all the Nordstroms as well.”

  She was actually grinning at him now. “Yes, Wayne, I think you’re right. Now you’ll be able to experience what I’ve always had with a huge extended family.” She frowned. “Do you think you’ll like it?”

  He laughed and her face dropped. But he quickly added, “No, Sonia, it’s not like that. I think I’ll enjoy it so much in fact, that I can hardly wait.”

  She laughed and he could tell that she was relieved. “Well, you won’t have long to wait.”

  As she said that, she drove the truck through the gate into the large parking area at the Newcomb estate.

  Sonia had barely parked when the big guy, Leo, was at the tailgate pulling out Wayne’s heavy wheelchair with one hand and placing it on the ground next to his door.

  Wayne had the fleeting thought that the guy should have been a cop the way he moved so quickly and quietly. Then he remembered that Leo had been exactly that in the Air Force.

  It was one of those rare late June days in the upper desert when the eighty-degree temperature combined with the fifteen percent humidity to make a perfect day to eat outside in the shade of the large patio. A slight breeze added to the comfort factor.

  There were three large tables placed parallel to each other. But, when Sonia pushed Wayne’s wheelchair onto the patio, the Newcombs, Thompsons, and Beckers were all standing waiting to be introduced to Sonia’s family.

  Once the introductions were completed, Harold motioned for Sonia to push Wayne’s wheelchair over to where he and Beth were standing.

  As soon as they arrived, almost as if it had been prearranged, everyone else stopped talking and turned toward the foursome.

  His grandfather leaned over and spoke softly to Wayne. “I think they are all ready for your announcement now.”

  Wayne looked as Sonia who had also heard what Harold had said, and they both burst out laughing. At Harold’s perplexed look, they laughed even harder.

  Sonia pulled two tissues out of her purse and handed one to Wayne so they could both wipe the tears of mirth from their eyes.

  By the time Wayne began speaking, everyone was shifting from side to side attempting to get a good look at him in his chair.

  Wayne reached up and took Sonia’s hand in his. “Everyone . . . I would like to announce that I have asked Sonia Nordstrom to marry me and she said yes.”

  Everyone was talking at once and there was suddenly a crush of bodies around them as they all tried to get near the couple to congratulate them all at the same time.

  Harold raised his deep voice to be heard over the clamor. �
��Stop please! Everyone take a step back and let’s do this in an organized manor so that Wayne and Sonia will both survive to actually get married.”

  Laughter erupted and things smoothed out to a much more organized series of congratulations from all those present.

  * * *

  Sonia didn’t realize that she had tears rolling down her cheeks again until one fell on her arm. As she wiped her cheeks with another tissue, she tried to look over the crowd of people surrounding her and Wayne for her parents. She needed to talk to them now. She had to know how they truly felt about her and Wayne getting married.

  Before she could find her parents in the crowd, each of her big brothers came by. Without saying a word, each one hugged her, and shook Wayne’s hand before moving on.

  Finally, she spied her parents standing together back away from the crowd. Without thinking or even saying anything to him, she grabbed the handles on Wayne’s wheelchair and pushed him over to where her parents were standing.

  As the wheelchair came to a stop, Karl leaned over Wayne, placed his left hand on Wayne’s left shoulder, and grabbed his right hand in a hardy handshake.

  Sonia let out the breath she’d been holding and turned as she heard her name called softly. Her mother was standing beside Karl with her arms outstretched.

  Sonia didn’t hesitate. She walked into her mother’s arms.

  “I’m so happy for you Sonia, dear. Wayne seems like such a fine young man. I just know you’ll be happy together.”

  With that, Sonia was reminded of her parents’ rather precarious relationship. She leaned back a few inches to look into Errika’s smiling face and motioned toward Karl with her head. “How about the two of you?”

  Errika’s smile grew brighter. “Oh, Sonia, it has been truly wonderful. Karl and I couldn’t even remember why we used to argue and fight the way we did.”

  She leaned toward Sonia again placing her mouth near Sonia’s ear and whispered. “We’re man and wife again.”

  Sonia was a little slow at comprehending what her mother meant, but when she did, she couldn’t help but laugh aloud as both she and Errika blushed. She hugged her mother again and said, “I’m so happy for you two as well.”

  She turned to Karl. “Dad . . .”

  He stepped over to stand in front of her and looked down at her. “Sonia, can you ever forgive me for not going after your mother when she left all those years ago?”

  Tears came to her eyes again and Sonia reached out to pat her dad’s cheek. “I already have, Dad. The key person you need to ask to forgive you is Mom, and I have a feeling that she’s already done that.”

  “Yes, I have.” Errika chimed in.

  They all three hugged each other just as Harold began calling everyone to take their places at the tables.

  Beth Newcomb was suddenly next to Sonia. “We would like for you and Wayne to sit with us, dear.”

  Sonia pushed Wayne’s wheelchair behind Beth to the head table. Once they were there, and everyone else had taken a seat, Harold addressed the group.

  “The first thing I would like to do is to thank God for sparing my grandson and Sonia. They both could easily have been killed yesterday. With that in mind, I’d like to ask Grant to stand up and give us all an update on the situation or case if you will, that is finally coming to a conclusion.”

  Grant stood and said, “Well, I shouldn’t really be the one standing here talking about the case. If it hadn’t been for Sonia and Wayne finding first the audio recording and then the video recording, we’d still be trying to find out who was behind all this and trying to get the proof.”

  He paused to look around. “I hope you’ll understand that there are some things I’m not able to tell you yet, especially some of the details.”

  When a murmur of agreement came from the group, he continued, “I’m sorry to have to tell you that our local county supervisor as well as our state representative were both involved in this series of crimes and have been arrested. Not only that, but this one hits us police officers extremely hard. One of our own police commanders was also involved.”

  When the expressions of shock lessened, he continued. “But I am pleased to say that she is turning state’s evidence and has virtually handed us the politicians and some others on a platter.”

  When Grant sat down, the group became quiet. Sonia thought that they all seemed to be anticipating something. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it might be.

  Then Harold stood again and said, “Now, I would like for my future granddaughter-in-law to give us all the details of their wedding plans.

  Sonia wanted to find somewhere to hide. No way did she want to get up in front of all of those people. She looked to her left, all three of her brothers were sitting on that side, and they stood and gave her mock threatening looks, which brought a smile to her face. She looked to her right and her parents were both smiling at her. What a contrast.

  She took a deep breath and stood. “As my mentor at the department, Commander David Jessup is fond of saying, I’m a cop not a public speaker.”

  Everyone laughed and Sonia felt a little more comfortable to continue. “Well, as Wayne announced earlier, we are getting married.”

  Soft laughter and giggles met that statement. She shook her head. “I still can’t get used to saying that.”

  Laughter interrupted her again. “As you all know very well, Wayne isn’t going to be doing much walking for a couple of months so the wedding will have to wait for him to be able to at least stand up there to say ‘I do.’”

  She waited for the laughter to die down again. “All of you from here in Sycamore probably know that Wayne’s birthday is October fifth. And all of my family knows that my birthday is October seventh. So, and especially since October sixth is on a Saturday this year, we have decided that we will get married on that day.”

  Laughter and applause greeted that announcement. She continued, “But, I’m afraid that all of you Nordstroms will just have to make the trip back up here again. Because I want my wedding to be in my church.” She looked down at Wayne. “It’s also Wayne’s church now too. So, that’s where it will be. After all, isn’t October here the best time of the year.”

  After dinner, Sonia found a quiet place over by the tennis court and pushed Wayne’s wheelchair to a bench at the side of the court. She sat on the bench and placed her hands in his.

  She looked into his eyes. “Wayne, I want you to know that even though I did everything I could for two years to keep you at a distance, I couldn’t be happier right now.”

  He started to speak.

  “No, please, Wayne, let me finish.” She squeezed both of his hands. “I have never been more sure of anything in all my life. I want to marry you and I want to have a baby as soon as we can.”

  She leaned back, waiting for his response, half-afraid that he wouldn’t agree.

  Wayne squeezed her hands this time. “Sonia, there is absolutely nothing I would like better.”

  Sonia almost leaped into his lap before she remembered his legs. Instead, she leaned over him and kissed him. Wayne pulled her into his lap anyway and deepened the kiss. Neither one was aware that their audience of thirty was cheering them from the patio.

  Epilogue

  Eighteen months later . . .

  It was one of those perfect December afternoons in the upper desert when the temperature was in the low seventies that the whole Newcomb-Thompson-Becker-Nordstrom clan chose to gather at the Newcomb estate.

  The joyous occasion was to celebrate the dedication of Wayne and Sonia’s two week old son who was named after his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

  Yes, as Wayne thought about that, he reaffirmed in his mind that it had been the right thing to do. He had truly forgiven his father for abandoning him and Kelly for all those years. Yes, he had completely resolved all of the issues that he now realized that he’d had to resolve before he could move on with his life.

  He smiled at his wife sitting next to him, the
n Sonia turned her beautiful face toward him and smiled back at him. How had he ever been so lucky to have found her? He had to admit, though, that there were many times over a two-year period that she wouldn’t even speak to him much less go out with him. But, because of her, he had changed enough for her to let him in.

  He was certain that if it hadn’t been for Sonia getting right in his face many times, he would never have been able to come as far as he had. He had drifted aimlessly for more than ten years, but now he had an anchor in his life. He had purpose. He had love. Now, his life was complete with the most beautiful woman in the world at his side and their son in her arms.

  Wayne’s thoughts were interrupted by his grandfather clearing his throat loudly. Wayne smiled to himself. He knew what that meant. They were about to either get a speech or a toast, or maybe even both.

  Harold Newcomb stood and held up his tea glass. “I think it would be appropriate at this time to make a toast.”

  Before he could continue, Beth, his wife, stood and placed a hand on his arm. “Not this time, Harold. I want to make the toast this time.”

  Everyone in the large gathering laughed then grew quiet in anticipation of what she might say after her unprecedented taking of control.

  Harold grinned down at his wife and took a step back to allow her to have the floor, so to speak.

  Beth cleared her throat and began. “First, I would like to make a toast to all five of our great-grandchildren.”

  When a murmur ran through the group, she said, “Yes, I can count, but Harold and I consider Alison and Stan’s two as our great-grandchildren as well as Kelly and Grant’s two and Wayne and Sonia’s son.”

  Harold stepped back up beside his wife and said, “You wouldn’t be talking about Harold Wayne Newcomb IV now would you.”

  They all laughed.

  Beth cleared her throat to begin again. “The second thing is that I would like for all of you to know that there isn’t a finer extended family anywhere in the world than what Harold and I see before us right now.”