Sheltered Hearts (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 2)

by Mary Crawford

  I watch with amusement as Mitch puffs out his chest and replies, “True, Elliott built it — but, you happen to already be in love with the guy who told him to; I say you’re well ahead of the game. Do you want to go check it out?”

  “Is there casserole at a church potluck? Of course I do!” I answer with a breathless giggle.

  Mitch grabs my hand and I practically drag him across the lawn to see the new gazebo. It looks like something out of a fairytale. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The one in my yard in Florida was nice enough, but it pales in comparison.

  Mitch helps me up the little step to the gazebo and suddenly backs me up against one of the pillars. He pulls my knit hat off and threads his fingers through my hair. I wince a little as his gloves catch. He notices and pulls his gloves off and tosses them aside before placing his hands at the nape of my neck. I don’t even try to suppress my contented moan as he kisses me deeply. He pulls away a fraction of an inch and whispers, “You have no idea how much I miss you. It’s been crazy at Hope’s Haven. I feel like I saw you more when we lived forty-five minutes apart than I do when we live two miles apart. It’s crazy, but I feel like I never see you and I haven’t even gotten a chance to say thank you for being such a rock. I love you, Jess.” Mitch kisses me again, this time much more tenderly, as if he’s trying to convey more words than he can say.

  I rock up onto the balls of my feet as I try to increase the intensity of the kiss because Mitch is not the only one with a message to convey. “I love you, too. You’re not the only person in our relationship with the crazy job. I have been pulling some insane hours too, there’s plenty of blame to go around. I keep thinking that eventually things have got to settle down. We won’t be remodeling things forever, starting a new business and learning new jobs, right?”

  Mitch nods and backs away as he motions for me to have a seat. I’m puzzled when he doesn’t sit down beside me but walks over to the other side of the gazebo. It looks like there are cup holders over there similar to the ones next to me. I watch as he opens a funny little cupboard and a speaker emerges with a cord designed to attach to his phone. I smile when I hear Eli Mattson’s version of Favorite Things being piped throughout the gazebo. Mitch leans down and pulls out a bowl of fruit and a bottle of something from a small refrigerator. He hands the bowl to me and sets the bottle down on a little end table. “I guess I forgot the cups, I suppose we’ll have to improvise,” he comments, as he looks around the gazebo.

  “Look at this place! It’s amazing. Do I look like I’m even going to care about a couple of little cups? I can’t believe you planned this. I totally love it.”

  “I love it, too. I had a vision in my head of what I thought it might look like, but this is even better. I knew that you would want someplace for hummingbird feeders and I wanted to make you a private spot where you could come out and read your books so I thought that this would be a great way to combine the two ideas. Elliott worked really hard to get this done before they have to go home for their busy season, just in case you wanted to have it available for your friends to use for their wedding. To be honest, I’d really rather be selfish and keep this as our special spot. I’m afraid that makes me sound awful.” Mitch opens a bottle of sparkling cider and offers it to me as he unwraps a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries and holds one up for me to take a bite.

  “I have really great memories of the first time I saw you lost in the world of music by yourself in the gazebo and I don’t want to share those memories with anyone. I know that you have your idea of what your perfect wedding looks like. Mine looks like a beautiful summer day with just you and I and a few of our closest friends out here in our backyard with your hair down flying in the wind with you wearing white lace and me wearing comfortable jeans when we say our promises to each other in front of the people we love.”

  My eyes tear up as I think about his vision of our love story. I swallow hard before I answer, “Well, then I guess I better choose a great color to paint our house that looks really good in wedding pictures because next summer seems like the perfect time to tie the knot.”

  I ROLL MY SHOULDERS AND watch Jessica as she tries to figure out which graduate is Stuart. It’s going to be a long weekend. The flight wasn’t as smooth this time. I’m working with a very smart dog named Tucker, but I discovered today in a really awkward encounter that he’s not fond of people with crutches or white canes used by people with visual impairments. This could be the factor that excludes him from being a service dog of any type. Unfortunately, you take rescue dogs however you get them and sometimes they have pre-existing hang-ups; it’s something that I’m going to have to discuss with Devon. Devon was planning to use him as a PTSD dog. However, if he reacts negatively in public, that could be a real problem. This weekend was his test to see how he handled flying; although he did fine on the airline test, he flunked other parts of his exam.

  Abruptly, Jessica lets out a gasp followed by a big sigh as she turns to me and states, “You know, I was beginning to think that all of this stuff was over. When were you going to tell me that they were still doing all this crap?”

  I pull my head back into the conversation and look around quickly as I try to figure out what she’s talking about. I apologize, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention, what were we talking about?”

  She points to a woman with uncovered dark hair even from our high vantage place, I can vaguely make out suspenders. I have to admit, Jessica has a point, even from the nosebleed section, that looks suspiciously like Darya next to a grad who looks very much like Stuart. Now that her suspicions have been raised, Jessica is carefully studying every single guest. When she sees both Tristan and Isaac, her eyes swing back to me as and she narrows them suspiciously. “When were you planning to inform me?” she demands.

  “I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to be telling you, Red,” I protest.

  “For one thing, I didn’t realize that Stuart and I were traveling with our own security detail. It would have been nice to know that. If nothing else, I might’ve worn more practical shoes.”

  “I thought the answer to that question was pretty obvious since we moved all the way to Kansas,” I reply dryly.

  Admittedly, I am very tired, but I probably should’ve thought about that one before it came flying out of my mouth, it sounded a whole lot meaner than I intended and Jessica looks like I just verbally backhanded her.

  “Wow! I get extra asshat points for that one, don’t I? Look, I’m sorry. That was way out line. As far as I know, they still haven’t figured out who issued the threat against you in Hope’s case. There haven’t been any new threats so, I think they’re just being really careful.”

  “Why is Officer Virk guarding Stuart?” she asks.

  “I bet they’re watching Stuart since this is such a high-profile thing for him and because he gave testimony in the juvenile proceeding about Hope’s condition. That’s all.”

  Jessica groans softly as she replies, “It’s just so easy to forget all of this when we’re back home. I mean, if you think about it, I literally live in a fantasy world all day. I read lovely stories to largely happy kids all day. We are going to live in an idyllic house next to a guy who pretty much believes the best about everyone.”

  “True, Walter is a glass half-full kind of guy,” I interject.

  “Right now, the most conflict we have in Kansas is among my grandma’s soap opera characters. Even though raising funds for Hope’s Haven is a little stressful, even that’s not too bad because Janice is doing a pretty phenomenal job. It’s easy for me to believe that my life is just about as perfect as it gets — knock on wood — so, I don’t even want to think about how ugly it could be. I don’t want to think about it ever. I especially don’t want to think about it this weekend. Stuart and I have worked too hard to not graduate. Well, Stuart has worked a whole lot harder than me, but — still, you know what I mean.”

  I hug her closer to my side as I respond, “I understa
nd what you mean. Sometimes, I feel the same way. I feel like I have won the lottery because you are in my life. My life is perfect in ways that I couldn’t have imagined a couple years ago. I don’t feel torn apart in a million directions anymore. Thanks to you, I have direction, focus and mission — and when Sabien died and I almost lost it, you stayed the course and never lost the vision or your belief in me. Your faith in me and in Hope’s Haven allowed me to go get the help I needed to cope with what happened and move on so that I could help other people. Without your support, I don’t know that I could’ve reached out and gotten help. Depression is a scary thing. Things are better now and Hope’s Haven is growing and Devon and Zoe are training other dogs.”

  Jessica kisses my temple and whispers, “I’m sorry it hurts so much.”

  I gently kiss her and then continue explaining, “No matter how perfect Kansas is and how much I love it, it’s not all great because you’re not safe. Not until Isaac or the law enforcement officers in Florida find every person who has threatened you. This stuff keeps me awake at night. I never expected to find you but now that I have, I never want to think about living my life without you. I want the kind of love story that Wilma and Walter have. It’s exactly like you always say, one small gesture at a time, one small smile at a time, one heartbeat at a time.”

  “That’s how I see our love story, too. I can’t tell you how much I wish that I had never seen that stupid car. This is so crazy. I never even saw anything that the police could really use.”

  “Jess, think about it though. If you had never seen that car, you probably wouldn’t have gone chasing after Hope. If you hadn’t gone chasing after her, you and I may have never met. Whether it’s God’s intervention, answered prayers or random fate, you were meant to see a mud covered license plate that day that caught your eye so that Hope would have a new lease on life and I would too.”

  Jessica smiles at me as she concedes, “That’s true, you did rescue more than just Hope that day although, you were kind of a jerk about it.”

  A huge section of the graduating class sits down and we can finally see the veterinary school standing there. I now understand how my diminutive fiancé was cast in so many plays during her academic career. Her voice projects like you would not believe. The crowd around us has their jaws open in collective amazement as she shouts her congratulations down toward Stuart. I see both Tristan and Isaac shoot me twin looks of alarm; they are clearly asking me to keep her as quiet as possible as to not draw attention to herself. Well, that mission was blown all to pieces the minute she decided to become a super colossal fan of my best friend. I glance at her with desperation as my eyes plead for her to stop. She’s having so much fun, there is not a whole lot I can do other than just give her a celebratory kiss.

  The sense of déjà vu is strong. Same hard bleachers, same crowded environment, same crowd noise, different day. This time, it’s Stuart sitting next to me asking me questions. Although, I have to admit his are a little more amusing.

  “Why am I using this cane again? I mean, it’s cool and all but it’s little weird,” he states looking down at the black walking stick sitting in the chair beside him.

  “I’m testing Tucker, remember? He has a thing against canes, sticks, and crutches. I’m trying to acclimate him to them so he doesn’t think they’re scary. Face it, you’re just a prop today.”

  Stuart grins as he responds, “I can live with that.” When he moves, Stuart moans. He stops to takes a couple aspirin and a swig of 7-Up. He glances over at Darya and back at me as he says, “Buddy, what are you doing to me? I’m aware that I may have indulged a tad too much in liquids of a celebratory nature last night while you were cuddling with your gal pal, but did you really have to sic the thin blue line me?”

  “Relax, she’s just here to help keep you safe, not be a buzz kill,” I explain.

  “Dude, there were two of them. It was completely killing my game,” he laments.

  I snicker as I reply, “I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have any ‘game’. You eat Coco Pebbles with strawberry milk and still have a nightlight in your bedroom.”

  Stuart suddenly seems angry as he replies, “I don’t do that stuff anymore. Maybe I want to attract a higher class of woman like Jessica so I’m adjusting my sites a little. Who’s to say I don’t deserve what you have?”

  His mercurial mood shift is a little out of character and takes me by surprise. It makes me wonder what else is going on. We used to poke fun at each other all the time and he never used to respond this way. “Hey, I didn’t mean any harm. I was just flicking you crap. You know me, I’m happy and in love, singing nostalgic Coca-Cola commercials. I want everybody in the same boat as me. Nothing would make me happier than for you to find somebody who makes you as happy as Jessica makes me.”

  “Yeah, I get that — but did you really fall in love with someone whose last name is Walker?” he asks with exasperation.

  “Well… I don’t know… yes… no… I don’t know! That’s her name. Why?” I stammer.

  “Buddy, you just killed our chances of ducking out of this graduation early, I hope you know that,” Stuart quips.

  “You better get used to this whole graduation thing, did I tell you that once Hope’s Haven is up and running, I plan to go back to college and finish my degree. I’m still trying to decide whether I’m going to change my major to Criminal Justice or Forensics,” I announce.

  Stuart high-fives me as he advises, “I vote for forensics because you can cut up dead things. That was my favorite part of vet school. Besides, it’s fun to chase the girls around the classroom with slimy eyeballs.”

  Darya raises an eyebrow at me as she asks, “Is your friend always this charming?” She turns to Stuart and declares, “You know, not all women are afraid of that kind of stuff.”

  I wink at Darya as I defend Stuart, “Generally speaking, my best friend can be a pretty charming guy, if you can overlook his addiction to sugar. He also dresses quite sharply.” I look over at Stuart and advise quietly, “Stuart, you know that game you were trying so hard to have? You might want to ‘up it’. Women don’t get much classier than Darya. Especially if you like them smart, capable and lethal.”

  Stuart straightens in his chair as he holds his hand out for Darya to shake, “Nice to meet you, Ma’am, I’m Stuart Eastwood. Dr. Eastwood. I’m especially kind to animals and small children.”

  Darya tries unsuccessfully to hide her grin as she responds, “I am aware, Dr. Eastwood. You made that abundantly clear at two o’clock this morning when you were arguing with me about whether the live-action version of 101 Dalmatians was better than the animated one.”

  Stuart turns a little green as he replies, “Really? I can’t even imagine which side of the argument I would be on.”

  “I guess technically, you could say you won the argument because throughout the whole night you were on every side of the argument and by the end, you finally threw in the towel and decided that you were solidly in the Lady and the Tramp camp as best movie of all time involving animals,” Darya responds with a laugh.

  “You heard my very persuasive arguments, what do you think?” Stuart asks facetiously.

  “Oh, no, not me — you’re not drawing me into this. I’m Switzerland. My only job is to protect your backside, as handsome as it is,” Darya responds.

  For the first time since we were about thirteen, I notice my best friend is blushing

  ISAAC CATCHES ME IN THE LITTLE kitchen of the parsonage when I duck out of all of the bridal preparations to grab everyone some bottled water.

  “How are my daughters? I didn’t think it was possible, but I think I am more nervous today than I was the day I married my Rosa.”

  “Aside from a little drama over a dropped earring, everyone is holding up beautifully. Your daughters look stunning as usual. They are very happy that you are in their lives so that they can have this father-daughter moment,” I reply, trying to disguise my own pain over the fact that I probably w
on’t be able to have a similar moment at my wedding.

  Isaac notices my pain and says, “Don’t be sad. If your father can’t get his head screwed on straight by the time your wedding comes, your abuelo and I will work something out, I promise.”

  He suddenly starts to pat his pockets as he says, “Speaking of the earrings, your friend Sam said to tell you that he hopes that this is the last time you ever have to be a bridesmaid and that he wanted me to give you these as congratulations for graduating from ‘perpetual bridesmaid’ to bride to be. He’s sorry that he won’t be able to see you the next time you come to Florida because he has been selected to take over a store in Portland. He said it’s not fair that you get romance and he gets rain.” Isaac laughs at Sam’s joke as he hands me the little box.

  “Oh, wow! That’s even further from Florida than Kansas. Good for him for getting a promotion. He’s been with that jewelry company for a while,” I remark. “I’m a little sad that I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Sam. He’s been a really good friend.”

  “He did seem like a remarkable young man. I’ve never seen someone quite so knowledgeable about gemstones and I’ve worked with some pretty qualified experts throughout my career.”

  I unwrap the tiny little box and I’m stunned to see sapphire and diamond earrings. They even match my engagement ring and hummingbird necklace — right down to the teardrop shape of the stones. I look at Isaac accusingly and ask, “Did you have a hand in this?”

  Isaac shakes his head ‘no’ as he responds, “No. I did not. On this mission, I’m only the message carrier. The package came to me already wrapped. Although, the young man said to me that he chose these particular earrings because they would look beautiful with your hair. Now that I’ve seen them, I have to agree with his assessment.”

  There’s just something about men in suits that can render a girl speechless, and these four men are striking. Make it five; Grandpa looks pretty good too. Elliott is standing up for his brother as best man and honestly, I’ve never seen Tristan have a bad day. Mitch looks stunningly handsome as usual. But, the most amazing transformation is in Marcus. He looks like he could have walked right off the pages of GQ. Even his usually wild, spiky hair looks artfully arranged and his nice, sedate black gauges complement his conservative suit. The only embellishment of color is the dragonfly, which has been skillfully embroidered on his charcoal colored tie.