by Lori Leger
“What did you see, Mike?”
“There was a seat in the middle—a toddler’s car seat. It was carrying a child. I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a little girl, because all I could see was a head full of dark curls. But Angel, instinctively, I knew that child was ours.”
CHAPTER 28
“Liam, pass the pasta salad, please,” Sarah said for the second time, again with no results. “Nash!”
It finally snapped him out of his daydream. “Yeah? Did you say something?”
“For the third time, could you pass the pasta salad please?”
He gave her the bowl, along with an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. My mind was somewhere else.”
“No kidding. Where’ve you been?”
“Hmph, somewhere between purgatory and put me out of my misery,” he said. “Wherever I end up, it looks like I’ll be there alone.”
She sucked in her breath, sending him a sympathetic look. “You know how badly Angelique didn’t want to hurt you, right?”
“Yeah, I know. That’s probably why she put it off for so long. Harper’s a good man and he’ll be good to her. I sure as hell can’t complain. She gave me a second chance when most women wouldn’t have let me in the door.”
Sarah placed a spoonful of pasta salad on her plate. “Angel’s a good person. She gave me a second chance too. God only knows what I’d be doing if I hadn’t gotten the job with Dr. Maze and his staff.” She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. “And if you love her as much as you say you do—”
“I’d let her go, I know. What a stupid damned cliché.”
“Well, damn, Nash. I was going to say you’d be happy for her, but you’ve kind of ruined that for me, since it’s even more of a cliché.” She waited for him to face her then crossed her eyes until they both burst into laughter.
“I am happy for her, and him too, for that matter. They make a great couple, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be miserable around them for a while. There are two things I want right now. First, to know that you and the twins are safe and sound from your ex-asshole for good, and second, to see Louisiana in my rear view mirror.” He took a sip of tea and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “When are Daniel and Leah coming back from Houston?”
“They should be back by tonight. They’ll probably be loaded down with gifts and clothes for the girls. God, I wish they didn’t do that. I already feel like I owe them so much.”
“Just let ‘em. They love all three of you like family. They’ve told me that on numerous occasions.”
“But, it’s not necessary.”
“It makes them happy,” he said, reaching for the cell phone in his pocket. He looked at the screen and frowned as he answered. “Nash here.” He walked into another room to speak.
Sarah cleaned her plate and loaded her and Liam’s dishes into the dishwasher. She was humming a country hit to herself when Liam’s voice broke in from behind her.
“Sarah.”
She turned to face him. “Yeah?”
“I need you to take a look at this picture—it’s a tattoo.” He walked over to meet her and manipulated a photo on his phone screen. “Does this look familiar?”
Her heart pounded, as though sensing how important this call could be. She stared at the screen. A picture of a tattoo, a familiar one of a snake all coiled up and beginning to swallow its own tail. The tattoo seemed to be located on a man’s back. “Where on the back is this located?” she asked, knowing how much this answer was worth to her and her daughters.
“It’s on his left shoulder blade.”
Sarah’s hand flew to her mouth. “Is he …”
Nash nodded. “Yeah, he’s dead. The face,” he stopped. “They, uh. Well, he can’t be identified by his face. The body washed up on a beach just across the Texas line.”
The glass she held fell to the floor, filling the room with the sound of shattering glass and the floor with shards of crystal. “Oh God.”
Nash pointed in her direction. “Don’t move.” He backed out of the room to finish the phone call.
Sarah stood frozen in place until he returned.
“Are you cut anywhere, Sarah?”
“No, I’m just-I’m …”
“Look, he’s the father of your daughters. It’s only natural that you’d be sad at his passing, no matter the circumst—”
“I’m so relieved!” she cut him off in a rush of breath. “Oh God, I feel like this slab of cement has been lifted from my chest.” She approached him cautiously, stepping around broken glass. “Are they sure it’s him? Are they sure he’s dead? Is there any possible way he could show up where the girls and I are? At any time?” She rang her hands. “I need to see him. I have to see all of him. I have to know if it’s him.”
“You can’t see all of him, Sarah.”
“Why the hell not? I can take it if it’ll prove to me that it’s him.”
“Because, there is no body,” he said calmly. “There are body parts, all found in a large cooler someone found washed up on a beach. Texas state police suspect they used at least a couple more coolers because, well, all they have is a torso and his upper legs.”
“I don’t care. That’s enough to prove if it’s him or not. Can you arrange it for me, Nash?”
“I suspect someone from the Texas troopers will be calling you soon enough to make some kind of arrangements. They’ll be sending more photographs soon of any distinguishing marks they find.”
Sarah felt herself nodding. “Fair enough.” She looked around at the broken glass on the floor. “Dammit, look what I did.” She step out of the room and returned with a broom, a dustpan, and a small shop type vacuum; between the two of them, they had every splinter of glass cleaned up in a few short minutes.
After checking on her sleeping babies, she returned to the kitchen to find Nash pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked up, his eyes questioning.
“You want a cup?”
“Sure.” She accepted the mug of coffee he’d prepared the way she liked it and they made their way to the den. Settling deep into the comfy leather couch, each on opposite ends, he spoke what had been on her mind.
“It looks like I won’t have to wait long to head back home.”
She thought of one person who’d be disappointed if he left. “Why don’t you stay here, Nash? We like you and you have connections and friends here. I mean, I know you’re my bodyguard, but we’re friends, right? Leah and Daniel like having you around and the twins are crazy about their ‘Uncle’ Liam. Annie, Drake, Tiffany, and Red…” And Melanie. “You could have a good life here.”
“I have a good life in Lubbock. I have connections there too, and friends. Grant it, they’re a little different from you guys. Not nearly as friendly, but they have my back. I have a history there.”
“From what you’ve told me, what you have there is a past. Maybe you should stay here and make a future.”
“A future alone.”
“Just because you won’t have a future with Angelique doesn’t mean you’ll be alone.”
“Sarah, stop.” He placed his hand on her forearm. “What I don’t want is to see those two together and feel bad about it. I can’t handle that. I need to go back home. I want to go back home, at least for a while, anyway.”
She studied him closely, and could tell he was being honest about the situation. It took a big man to admit he was hurting, and he was both—a big man—and hurting like hell.
“I’ll get the door, babe.”
“Thank you,” Angelique called back to Mike, as she put the finishing touches to her clean kitchen. She smiled, hearing the two masculine voices of the men she adored. She knew now, that one would remain a dear friend while the other would eventually be so much more than that.
“Hey beautiful.” Liam spoke fom the doorway of the kitchen.
She turned, beaming up at him. “Hey you.” She grabbed a dishtowel to wipe her hands and met him for a hug. “How are you?” She peeked around him. “Is Sarah wit
h you?”
“Nope. No Sarah. We just got back from Beaumont. She positively identified the remains of Troy Richard. They’re running a DNA test, just to be sure.”
“Oh my God. Really? When did they find him?”
“Texas State Police called last night, and sent me images of identifiable marks on his body. They eventually found all of him in three separate containers either washed up on a beach somewhere or still floating in the gulf. That old boy must have pissed somebody off pretty damn good before he made a run for it.”
“Drugs?” Mike asked.
Liam shrugged. “At this point, we can only speculate. Anyway …” He slapped his black Stetson on his leg nervously. “I came to tell the two of you I wish only the best for you guys. And goodbye.”
Angelique felt her heart drop a bit although not enough to dispute that he was making the right choice. She suddenly remembered how sick she’d felt the first time she saw Red and Tiffany on the dance floor together, and she hadn’t even been in love with Red. He must be hurting terribly, and if she knew anything about the man, he was feeling guilty as hell about it.
She and Mike exchanged a look of complete understanding before she met Liam’s uneasy gaze. “You know how much we both care about you, right?”
He nodded. “I do know that, and that’s why I have to go.”
“I know you do. For now, anyway. But I also have a feeling you’ll be back here one day. You’re like Mike, you know. You may have been born a Texas Longhorn, but we’ll turn you into a halo wearing, New Orleans Saints fan one of these days.” Nash shook his head and laughed, as he made his way to the front door. “Maybe one day, Angel. I figure I got at least a year or two of season tickets to buy so I can watch my ‘Horns’ whip up on those LSU Bengals.”
“Pfftt. In your dreams, cowboy.”
“We’ll see.” He shook Mike’s hand then crossed the threshold out to the porch. He swung around, a trace of a smile on his face. “But until then…” He held up his right hand, his index and little finger extended with his thumb holding down the ring and middle fingers. “Hook ‘em, Horns!”
“Yeah, right!” Angelique snorted. “We’ll see you in Death Valley next fall, cowboy. Our Bayou Bengals just love cooking up a good ol’ Longhorn stew.”
Liam laughed again as he looked at Mike. “Is she always that serious about her college football?”
“God, you should here her during a Saints game.”
“She gets ‘Who Dat?’ fever, too?” Liam groaned.
“You bet your ass I do, and I’ve got the number nine jersey in my closet to back it up.” She grinned up at him.
Nash clucked his tongue. “Hopeless.”
“Just waiting on another Black and Gold Super Bowl, baby,” she added.
Nash tipped his hat and turned toward his truck, muttering “Damn Crazy Cajuns.”
Angelique stood arm in arm with Mike, watching their friend climb into his truck and back out of the driveway. She closed the door and leaned against it, staring up at her choice for the rest of her life. She smiled into his sexy eyes, knowing she’d chosen wisely. “I hope he comes back one day. I know someone who’s dying to make him a good match.”
“Yeah, Mel’s gonna be real disappointed when she finds out he’s gone.”
Angelique cocked her right brow curiously. “You know about that?”
“Mmmhmm. I know a lot of things.” He pulled her close with his left arm.
She linked her hands around his neck. “Is that so? You got anything you want to share with me tonight…Cowboy?” she purred into his ear before nipping at his lobe.
“Something big.” He pressed his thick, hardness against her.
She shivered at the promise of what was hidden behind his tight, zipped jeans. Taking his hand, she pressed a soft kiss upon his palm and led him to her bedroom.
“Seriously?” He lit up like a kid with a season pass to Disney World. He halted, jerking her to a stop. “What about Sonny? You don’t think he’ll get angry or jealous or anything, do you? I’d hate to have your doors start sticking because of me.”
“I’ve already explained it to him, just in case,” she added in a whisper. “Besides, I hardly think he’d be shocked, given his owner’s past sex-capades.” She gave a gentle tug and they restarted the trek to the bedroom.
“What about your therapist? Won’t she disapprove?” He sounded somewhat doubtful.
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “I called her this afternoon. She said I’d made my decision as that of a mature woman, using all the criteria available to me, without the use of sex as a crutch to sway my opinion one way or the other.”
“Okay, so that means—”
“She basically told me to go for it.”
“No kidding? We have your shrink’s blessing?” He still looked as though he was afraid to believe it.
“Oh babe, we have more than that.” She pulled him through the door of her bedroom and then turned him, pressing him gently down onto the mattress. “We have doctor’s orders.”
EPILOGUE
“Honey…I’m home!” Angelique called out, kicking her shoes off at Mike’s front door. She lifted her face, sniffing at the delicious aromas permeating the air. “Something smells wonderful.” She entered the kitchen and peeked inside the black iron Dutch oven he loved to cook in. “Mm, beef stew.” She closed her eyes and inhaled, catching the subtle scents of several different spices, as well as a fine wine in the thick gravy. “Mmm, that’s gonna be so good.” The sound of her voice barely covered the growling of her stomach. She’d chosen the perfect day to work through lunch, what with the overabundance of calories this meal promised.
“Mike?” she called, wondering why he hadn’t made his usual appearance by now.
“In here!” he called, from the back of his house.
Resisting the urge to sneak a taste or two, she covered the pot and made her way to his voice.”
“Where are y—” Angelique stopped inside the doorway of his bedroom, shocked into silence at the room’s transformation. Muted light from dozens of candles bathed every surface in a soft, luminous glow.
“Oh…” she breathed, as he appeared before her, sexy as hell in black jeans and a white dress shirt, buttoned down just enough to show a little of that sexy, broad chest of his. Her gaze travelled to his bare feet. Ah, that’s good. No boots to remove.
He walked up to kiss her then handed her a half-filled glass of wine.
“What’s going on here, Mike?” she said, taking the wine, her stomach filling with butterflies at the sight of him, all sexed up with his engines revving and vibrating. Or was she the one revving and vibrating?
“We’re celebrating,” he said, lifting his right arm to tap his own wine glass to hers.
“No sling!” She only just realized he’d been holding a glass of wine in each hand. “Oh, baby, that’s wonderful.”
“It is, isn’t it?” He placed his glass of wine down on one nightstand next to his massive bed. “I figured now that I can use both arms, it was time to do something I’ve wanted to do for over six months.”
He let her have one more sip from her wine before taking her glass to set it beside his. Both hands flew to her mouth as he produced a small, deep blue velvet box and knelt before her.
“Oh…oh.” She struggled to calm the rapid thud of her wildly beating heart.
“Angelique Therese Baptiste, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He opened the box to show her the emerald solitaire, flanked by a cluster of diamonds totaling at least a half carat on each side.
“How did you know?” She squealed, truly delighted with the gorgeous ring.
“You answer my question first, and then I’ll answer yours.”
“Oui, monsieur. Absolutely! Of course I’ll marry you.” She squealed again, covering his face with kisses.
“Bon. Now as to your question,” he said, taking the ring out of its dove gray satin lining and slipping it easily onto her finger.
He stood up, holding both her hands in his own. “You remember when we dropped off your watch to have it repaired in October?”
“Yes, and you picked it up for me a week or so later.”
“That’s right. The woman who’s owned that shop for twenty years said you went by often and always stopped in front of the emeralds. Now, she said you’d told her, on countless occasions, that if you ever got an engagement ring, you wanted the main stone to be an emerald. She also said that a few months earlier you’d seen this particular ring and fell in love with it.”
He brought her hand up to kiss the finger with the ring on it. “What I need to know is if that woman was just feeding me a line of bull to make a sale, or is that really how you feel?”
“It is absolutely true, Mike. The second I saw this ring I hoped it would be mine one day.”
He nodded, seeming to be satisfied with her answer. “And now it is, along with my heart, Angel.” He lowered his mouth to cover hers in a heart melting kiss.
Stop here for Sweet ending…
Continue for a tad more Heat!
She let him kiss her, waited for the kiss to work its usual magic on her by turning her insides to mush. Within seconds she wanted him…needed him as near to her as possible. She pushed him gently to a seated position on the bed, ever mindful of the incision from his surgery, while unbuttoning his shirt. She pulled it away from his shoulders and down his arms, in a rush to have him bare-chested and at her mercy.
“Someone’s in a hurry today.” Mike laughed as she pushed him back on the bed and tackled the snap and zipper of his jeans. “It took me hours to get myself ready for tonight, but does she notice? No! She just commences to ripping my clothes right off of me, without even a ‘Looking good tonight.”
She paused, letting her hands fall away from the waistband of his jeans, already halfway down his hips. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” He grimaced, pushing down the front of his jeans, she suspected to relieve the throbbing erection inside his boxer briefs. “Hell no. I’m dying here, babe.”
