by M. L. Ray
“More than likely. Uh oh, Trey just stepped out of the bank and he was looking this way while he pulled his cell phone out. I’m guessing he’s telling your brother we’re in town.” Peter put the car in reverse, and then pulled back out onto the street. He slowed down and waved to Trey as they drove past, seeing the grin on his face. Yep, Tyler knew they were home!
Peter didn’t even get the vehicle to a complete stop before Michelle, Jenna, and Tyler came out of the house. Brooke threw open the door, and found herself pulled up into her brother’s arms and surrounded by two women she’d grown up with. Without even knowing it, she found herself crying and laughing all at the same time.
“Tyler, I’m so sorry,” she told her brother.
Tyler hugged her tight and then told her, “I wish you would have told me what was going on when you were home last, but that’s water under the bridge. We’re going to get through this. Together.”
Brooke nodded, and then released him to hug both Jenna and Michelle. “Congratulations!” Peter had told her about both couples getting engaged during the annual Harvest party, and Brooke had been overjoyed to know that her brother and her friends had found happiness together. Is that what Peter and I could have? Someday in the future?
Tyler helped Peter grab Brooke’s duffel bag just as Trey drove up behind his vehicle. Jenna ran over and kissed him warmly. She walked towards the house with him, arm in arm. Trey hugged Brooke and then shook Peter’s hand, “Good job, man.”
“Come on into the den after you get yourself something to drink from the kitchen,” Tyler instructed everyone, heading there himself and tossing another log on the fire. Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away, and Old Man Winter had decided to bless the mountains with a fresh blanket of snow, dropping more than six inches in places.
A few minutes later, everyone was seated around the den and Peter knew that he wasn’t going to get a better time to make his announcement. “So…I had a call from Chandler when we stopped for fuel just after lunch.”
Brooke looked at him and frowned, “Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because,” Peter told her with a smirk, “I wanted everyone to hear his news at the same time.”
“What news?” Brooke asked, nerves making her voice shake.
Tyler and Jenna were sitting on either side of her and reached over to hold her hands, “I’m sure it’s fine. Isn’t it, Peter?” Jenna told him, urging him silently to get on with it.
“It’s great news, actually. The agent in charge got his search warrant and paid Zachary a little search and seizure visit around 3 a.m. two nights ago. They not only found the vitamin bottles right where you said they were kept, they found secret video tape that Zachary had been keeping of the apartment.”
“What?!” Brooke cried. “He was videotaping me?”
“Yes, but before you start crying, that works against him. The agents went back a few weeks and saw everything from you searching for a phone, to trying to leave the apartment and finding it locked from the outside. They’ve even managed to identify the doctor Zachary brought in the next day, and he’s agreed to tell everything for a reduced sentence.”
Brooke was stunned, still unable to believe that her nightmare might truly be over. “So, are they arresting him?”
“They already did. Chandler said the judge was so upset at his duplicity within the DA’s office, she denied his bail and is holding him without bond until trial.”
“Which will be?” Brooke asked.
“Three or four months. The FBI is still building their case and trying to wrap up as many loose ends as possible. Chandler said to tell you that Marco is chilling as well.”
Brooke nodded but her mind was already making plans. If Zachary goes to court in three or four months, that means I could be free of him legally soon after that. I wonder if Peter will still feel the same…
“Brooke!”
She looked up to see everyone watching her closely, “What?”
Peter grinned at her, “Did you hear what I just said?”
“Uhm…about Marco…”
“No, after that. About the other things the judge did on your behalf.”
“No, sorry. I was…”
“No need to explain. Let’s try this again. Chandler is coming from Denver tomorrow and he will be bringing some very important papers with him. First, the judge has ordered an independent auditor to review your financial matters, and she has promised to make sure all your assets are returned to you post haste.
“Secondly, she signed your divorce request. Given that Zachary acted in extreme malice towards you, and only used the marriage as a way to control and conceal his nefarious actions, she is ruling the marriage null and void.”
“She annulled it?” Brooke asked incredulously. “Can she do that?”
“It’s already been done. For a marriage to be legally binding in the State of New York, both parties must enter into the arrangement in complete control of their faculties. The doctor admitted that he began providing the narcotics to Zachary almost a week before the actual wedding took place.”
“Brooke, that’s wonderful news!” Jenna told her, squeezing her hand until it hurt.
Brooke looked at Peter, feeling as if she’d just been given the best present ever. Thank you, God. I know I don’t deserve this chance, but thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Tyler could see the news had shocked his sister, and he suggested she take a few minutes to let everything settle in. “Why don’t the rest of you help me get dinner on the stove?” Everyone but Peter followed him from the room.
Peter walked over and sat down next to her, picking up the hand Jenna had been holding moments earlier. “You’re a free woman. No longer married, nor will there ever be a record that you were once married to Zachary Grayson.”
She watched his face, and then reached up and pushed a lock of his hair back off his forehead. “That’s pretty amazing news. It’s so much more than I ever hoped for.”
“God’s pretty amazing when he works. Now,” Peter returned her caress, cupping her jaw and smiling when she tipped her head further into his palm, “I believe I promised you something once you were no longer bound to that man.”
Brooke nodded her head, her eyes dropping to his mouth as she waited for him to kiss her. When he didn’t immediately act, she couldn’t help the request that spilled from her lips, “Please. Peter, kiss me. It’s been far too long since you did last.”
“Far too long,” he agreed, dipping his head and lightly touching his lips to her own. Neither one of them moved for the longest time, they just remained there with their lips touching each other. Brooke was holding her breath, but finally had to inhale, and that’s when Peter deepened the kiss. This is more like it!
He kissed her thoroughly, not releasing her lips until they were both out of breath. “Wow!”
“Wow doesn’t even begin to describe that,” Brooke told him.
Peter kissed her softly once more and then pulled her up from the couch and towards the kitchen and the others, “Fair warning. I’ll give you a month to get adjusted, but then I aim to ask you a very important question, and the answer had better be ‘Yes’!”
Brooke laughed at him, “You can’t demand I say ‘Yes’.”
“I just did. And you know what, in a month, you won’t want to say ‘No”.”
I don’t want to say ‘No’ now! “We’ll see.”
Peter gave her a sideways grin, and then shook his head at her when he realized she was trying to tease him. “One month.”
Chapter 53
Chandler arrived late the next afternoon, and just like Peter had said, he had several pieces of paperwork for Brooke. The most important of course, was the paperwork nullifying her marriage to Zachary Grayson!
His visit was short and sweet, and Brooke was thoroughly enchanted by the older man. “Are you sure that you don’t have a wife somewhere waiting for you?” she asked as he prepared to leave their sleepy little town.
“No. My work was my wife, and a hard taskmaster she was. I have several nieces and nephews though, and when I retire next month, I am going to enjoy spending the holidays with them.”
Brooke smiled at him, “So, I haven’t asked yet, but will I have to go back to New York and testify against Zachary?”
“Well, that depends on the judge who gets the case, and whether or not they agree to accept a plea deal from his lawyers.”
“Is that likely?” Brooke asked, not wanting to hear that Zachary might be set free any time soon.
“No, probably not. The agent in charge is fairly certain that Zachary is the man they’ve been looking for. If they can prove that, he won’t be given the option of a plea deal.”
“What do they need to prove his guilt?” Brooke asked.
“They need to tie him to having dealings and changing money with any of number of South American bad guys.”
Brooke was silent for a moment as she dealt with one of her biggest fears concerning this part of her life. The pictures! Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Would pictures of some of those people help?”
Chandler looked at her and nodded his head eagerly, “Would they ever? Would those same pictures have you featured in them as well?”
She nodded her head, “Yes! I think so. Marco was advertising my escort services and photographs to be seen with me. He had advertisements written in Spanish in his office the last time I confronted him. He’s not the smartest cookie in the jar; he probably still has them lying all over his desk.”
Chandler scribbled a few notes down on a piece of paper and then grinned at her, “I’ll let the agent in charge know. I believe they searched Marco’s home, but not his office yet.”
“Just…could you ask your friend to try and contain those photographs? To my knowledge they weren’t released inside the United States, and I’d really like to keep it that way.”
“I’ll pass that information along. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Brooke breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a small smile, “I’m glad.”
Chandler saw Peter come out of the diner, and he met him halfway with a handshake. “You take care of that girl there. She’s been through a lot and doesn’t think she’s strong, but I’ve been doing this a long time. She’s got an inner strength she’s not even aware of. She deserves to be happy for the rest of her life.”
Peter gazed at Brooke and nodded his head. “That would be the number one goal of my life right now. Shall I have Michelle send you an invitation to the wedding?”
Chandler laughed and slapped him on the back, “You do that, son. I must just come back to Colorado to congratulate you both in person.”
Peter joined Brooke, and they watched as the man drove out of town. “Everyone’s waiting for you back inside the diner,” he reminded her when she would have stayed outside in the cold a little while longer. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, having come outside without grabbing his coat first.
“You’re cold! We need to go back inside,” she told him, hurrying them both in the direction of the front door.
Brooke was greeted by warm hugs and friendly handshakes from the diner occupants. George was in his usual place behind the cook stove, and he waved a spatula at her by way of greeting.
Missy was very pregnant, and waddled her way between Jenna and Michelle to give Brooke a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back home!”
Brooke looked down at her stomach and then asked, “Should you be here?”
Missy laughed, “I still have a few weeks left to go. Or so the doctor tells me. Personally, I think this baby is going to make an appearance around Thanksgiving, but what do I know?”
Brooke laughed a little and then was pulled away to receive more hugs and greetings. By the time she and Peter reached the circular table that had been reserved for their small little group of friends, she was laughing and relaxed in a way that hadn’t occurred in years!
“So, what was the purpose for this little gathering?” she asked everyone at the table once they were seated.
Jenna spoke up first, “We’re supposed to be picking dates to get married.”
“Oh yeah. I thought there was a specific reason we’re all piled into this booth like sardines in a can,” Trey told her.
“We all used to fit just fine, but then you boys went and developed muscles and stuff,” Michelle told him.
Tyler leaned over and tickled her, “You happen to like my muscles and stuff.”
Michelle kissed him on the lips briefly and then laughed, “Yes I do!” The air was light and carefree and Brooke couldn’t believe she’d given this up, once upon a time.
“Happy?” Peter asked her, seeing the light in her eyes that had been missing these last few days.
“Yes! I didn’t realize how much I missed this camaraderie.”
Peter wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and when she didn’t pull away, but instead leaned her head back against his shoulder, he knew he was never going to make it a month before asking her to become his wife. No way would he be able to hold out that long!
His free hand drifted down to his jeans pocket and he touched the small jeweler’s box he’d tucked there that morning before leaving the ranch. He’d had that ring since the night of the senior prom; the same night Brooke had announced she was moving to California right after graduation.
He’d kept the ring out of sight then, but he’d already believed that God would one day bring her home and back into his life. Thanks!
“So, I know it’s like only ten degrees outside, but I would love to see the old bridge after we eat.”
All of the girls eagerly nodded their heads, and started chattering away about the times they’d spent on that bridge. The men looked at each other, and realized they would be taking a walk right after eating. The trail to the bridge was most likely covered with fresh snow, which would make it slick. None of them were willing to let their women make the trek alone and without a big strong man to hold onto.
“I would love to join y’all, but this baby might be having other plans,” Missy announced from the corner of the booth where she sat.
Everyone looked in her direction and then spurred into action, “Thanksgiving, huh? That’s still a few weeks away,” Jenna told her with a smile.
“Well, either this baby’s wanting to come today, or something isn’t agreeing with...,” she broke off as another contraction stole her breath away. When it was over, she breathed deeply, and then looked towards the kitchen window. “Who wants to tell my dad?”
That spurred everyone back into action. Tyler went to get his vehicle and pull it around by the back delivery door. Trey and Peter took care of telling George that he was about to become a grandfather, carefully turning off the kitchen appliances and the gas that fed the large cooktop.
“I guess dinner’s going to be at the hospital in Montrose,” Trey commented as he and Peter made the other diners aware that the restaurant was closing for the day. Immediately.
“Guess so.”
Jenna came back into the dining part of the restaurant a moment later, “Tyler is driving George, Michelle, and Missy to Montrose. I told him we would be right behind them.”
“We can do that. Hey Peter, do you and Brooke want to ride with us?”
Peter shook his head, “No. We’ll be along in a little while. I’ll stay here and double check that everything got shut down correctly.”
“Good enough. Let’s roll,” he told Jenna with a smile.
Chapter 54
Peter watched them leave, and then he locked the front door and turned to see Brooke standing in front of a picture on the back wall of the restaurant. It was a picture of the girls, sitting inside the covered bridge, taken several years before Jenna had left them the first time.
“Remembering good times?” he asked, coming up behind her.
Brooke nodded her head, “Those days were so easy. Who knew how messed up life could get from there?”
“You a
ll have had some bumps along the road. Jenna lost her mom. Brooke and Peter just about didn’t find each other because she was afraid of getting hurt. You had a few trials of your own.” He was prevented from saying anything more when the sound of loud pounding echoed on the front door. “Let me see who that is.”
Peter opened the door and saw a very athletic man sitting in a wheelchair with a smiling woman standing right behind him, “Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” the man said. “My name is Adam, and this is my wife Lorelei. We’re looking for directions to Tyler Jameson’s place.”
Peter immediately smiled and shook both of their hands, “Wow! Tyler was expecting you last week sometime but said you’d had some vehicle trouble.”
“Just a bit, but everything’s fine now.”
“Good to hear it. Well, Tyler is currently on his way to Montrose so that Missy can have her baby…”
“Tyler’s gonna have a kid?” Adam asked in shock.
Peter shook his head, “No. That came out wrong. Tyler is engaged to Michelle and they are transporting a mutual friend to the hospital to have her baby. We were getting ready to head that direction ourselves, but I’d be happy to let you follow me up to Tyler’s place. Stephanie’s dad, another member of the community, finished the repairs and remodel, so it should be all ready for your arrival.”
Adam nodded his head, “I still can’t believe we’re here.”
“You’re going to learn to love it, just like we do.” Peter felt Brooke come up behind him and smiled when she wrapped an arm around his waist. “Brooke, these are the friends Tyler was talking about. This is Adam and his wife Lorelei.”
“I’m so happy to meet you. I’m Tyler’s sister, Brooke.”
“The fashion model,” Adam added.
“Not anymore.” Brooke smiled and then looked at Peter, “I’ve retired.”
Lorelei laughed, “Well, you’re gorgeous, so don’t be surprised if that doesn’t last long.”
Brooke liked these people, and she and Peter led them back up to the ranch and showed them the smaller foreman’s house where they were going to be living. Adam Landry had been injured while bull riding, and while the doctors hadn’t been highly optimistic for a complete recovery, he’d recently started to gain some feeling back in his feet and legs. A good sign that his spinal cord was finally starting to heal.
