by Ladew, Lisa
Sara shook her head minutely, but her eyes were softer, less sure of her wrongness. Her chin quivered and Jerry could tell she had more bottled up inside. She took several deep breaths and finally said it, pain spilling out of her expression. “I keep waiting for you to come to your senses and leave me.”
Jerry stood. “I’ll show you how much I want to come to my senses, as you put it.” He ran into his study, leaving her staring after him. The time had finally come. He would never let her think that again. He rummaged through the bottom drawer on his desk, underneath his papers and high school mementoes, snatched up the tiny, dark box, and ran back to the living room, his heart beating in anticipation.
Jerry dropped to one knee in front of Sara and opened the box so she could see the white gold, diamond-inset, swirling-shank, engagement ring he’d bought for her. “I bought this six months ago but never gave it to you because the time never seemed right. Sometimes you hold me at a distance and I always thought that was your way of saying don’t ask me yet. But I’m asking now. Sara, will you marry me? I love you and I can’t live without you. Please don’t ever think I’m going to leave you. I love everything about you, including your past, and I can’t wait to be a part of our future.”
Sara’s dark eyes flashed and one more time Jerry saw her cry. Tears slipped down her face, running a path to her chin and dripping slowly off. Her face stayed calm, stoic even, until finally she spoke. “I will.” With those two words her composure crumbled and she fell on his neck, sobbing.
Jerry held her until the tears subsided, then he quietly plucked the ring out of its box and slipped it on her finger.
Sara gazed at it, her expression soft and open. “It’s beautiful.”
“So are you,” Jerry told her, taking her hand and bringing it gently to his lips.
“Let’s do it,” Sara said in a breathless whisper.
“Pick a date.”
“No, I mean let’s do it right now.” Sara threw her arms around his neck and he saw new excitement in her eyes that hadn’t been there in a long time. She wiped her tears away and when they were gone, new hope bloomed there. “I want to be married before the baby is born. I want to be married to you right now.”
Jerry studied her, not wanting to discourage this for one second, amazed that he had said all the right things. But it was late. “Sara, it’s evening. No one is going to marry us right now.”
“We could fly to Vegas.”
“Our friends…”
“I know you want your friends to be there. We can do it again, here in Westwood Harbor. Plan a huge party. But I’m serious that I don’t want to go one more hour without being your wife.”
Jerry thought hard. It appealed to him. They could fly down and get the piece of paper, then fly back. If it made Sara happy …
Sara’s eyes sparkled. “It would be perfect. Vegas is where we fell in love.”
Jerry scoffed. “I fell in love with you here in Westwood Harbor, long before we met again in Vegas.”
Sara stared deep into his eyes. “You’re such a sweet man, Jerry. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“You were born,” he said, then kissed her long and hard, his plans set on Vegas, his heart light and happy.
Chapter 27
Emma woke up all at once, blinking at the daylight streaming through her window. She looked at the clock. 3:34. Not in the morning though, so she’d slept all night and most of the day too. She shifted in bed, wondering why no one had woken her. Craig lay next to her, his back to her, a sheet wadded over his body but barely covering him. That’s why. They had both slept all night and all day.
Emma’s eyes traveled over her husband’s form, resting on his splinted arm. He had insisted it barely hurt, and he had good strength and range of motion in that hand, but still she was taking him to get X-rays today, no matter what. Her gaze left his arm and traveled over his back, noting each one of his muscles and she felt arousal build inside her. She would let him sleep for at least a few more moments.
She relaxed on the bed as bits and pieces of the day before came back to her. Troy’s horrible final act. Believing she was dead—beyond saving. Craig breaking in to save her. The subsequent fire that destroyed the entire mansion and left a gaping hole in the ground. The police arriving and asking them questions for hours before they could finally go home. To Emma, the hole in the ground reminded her of the hole from Vivian and Hawk’s house fire. She thought it was fitting that Troy had died that way, although she still didn’t know if he’d been trying to kill himself or if he’d been trying to shoot at her while still being woozy from fainting. She’d never know. He was gone.
Craig stirred just a tiny bit next to her and she hopped lightly out of bed, wanting to start her morning (afternoon) right, but needing to take care of some business first. She ran to the bathroom and freshened up as quickly as possible, then hopped back into bed next to Craig, spooning his back. She tiptoed her fingers around his front and laughed out loud when her hand found thick, hard erection. Had he been dreaming?
She took him in her hand and squeezed. “I always knew you’d find me,” she told him.
Craig turned in the bed and in a moment, he was on top of her, deliciously towering over her, his dimples putting in an appearance as he smiled at her.
“Damn right. I will always find you. But you better not ever do that again,” he growled, dropping onto one elbow to nuzzle her neck. His other arm was still splinted, and he held it next to her body.
“I can’t control the nutcases,” she told him, opening her neck to him, opening her entire self to him, her eyes drifting closed.
“You could listen to me when I tell you things,” he said, trailing his kisses down to her chest, where a tiny, sleep t-shirt covered her breasts.
“I could…” Emma told him, gasping as he mouthed first one nipple through the material, then the other one.
“But you won’t,” he finished. “Emma,” he growled.
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll listen to you here, in the bedroom. I’ll do whatever you tell me, I swear it.”
“Damn right you will,” Craig rasped, his splinted arm traveling lower, that hand pushing her panties aside, and thrusting two fingers into her—hard.
Emma gasped and threw her head back.
“God, Emma, if I’d lost you, I would have died,” he told her, bringing her back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her, the intensity of his gaze setting her on fire.
“You didn’t lose me,” she told him softly, her eyes locked on his.
Craig continued staring deeply into her eyes, while his knees nudged her legs far apart. With a grunt, he tore her panties down the center, ripped them off of her, and threw them on the ground. Without taking his eyes off hers, he grasped himself in his hand and guided his cock to her entrance, entering her with one forceful thrust. Emma gasped and cried out lightly, but never looked away. The connection with her husband was enormous, exorbitant, deeper than she’d ever felt it. She was mesmerized by him, by his strength of will and the desire of ages written on his soul.
Craig began to thrust into her, finding that rhythm they knew so well, wringing every bit of pleasure out of her. Emma met his tempo eagerly with her hips. She felt his love wash over her, covering her, consuming her. He’d saved her with pure will and strength, and a little help from his friends. He’d been her hero again and again and she would never forget it.
Emma felt her release building and she was almost sad. She wanted this to go on forever. Wanted to never let him out of their bed. But he took her there relentlessly, knowing exactly how to move and ply her to make her go off like a rocket.
Their eyes still locked on each other, Emma allowed her body to go where it wanted to go. Her peaks built upon each other until she was panting with the sheer bliss of it, her hands running along her husband’s chest and abs, her soul co-mingling with Craig’s.
The connection became too much, and still she stared into his
eyes, letting his love fill her and overflow. Thick tendrils of pleasure pulsed out of her core and she cried out as her orgasm slammed into her, taking her to that place that only Craig could bring her back from.
Craig’s thrusts grew harder, deeper, and he made a low growling sound deep in his throat. She felt him spill inside her as their two selves became one for a heavy, hot moment.
Then it was over. For now. Never breaking eye contact, Craig moved to the side of her and laid his head on the pillow. Emma turned her head, not wanting to break the connection.
“I love you,” he finally said, his breathing quieting.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
They laid that way for a long time, sharing everything that was theirs to give.
***
A knock sounded at the door, causing Emma to finally break the lingering connection. She pulled the blanket over both of them. “Come in,” she called, sitting up in the bed.
Vivian poked her head in, then entered with a tray in her hands, beaming at Emma. “Lunch in bed for both of you!” she cried. “I would have made you breakfast but you slept through it.”
Craig sat up and rubbed his hands together. “Perfect! What are we having?”
“Monte Cristo sandwiches with fries.”
Vivian put the tray down and gave her sister a hug, then backed away. “Sorry if it’s a little cold, I wanted to bring it twenty minutes ago but you were, uh, still sleeping.”
Hawk’s words drifted in from the living room. “Don’t lie, Viv! You said they were having sex.”
Vivian colored and left the room quickly. “Hawk!” she yelled.
Emma laughed and picked up her sandwich. Vivian poked her head back into the room, her cheeks still red. “Come out soon, OK, I miss you.”
“I will, Viv.”
Emma took a bite. Heavenly. Craig had already finished his sandwich and was working on his fries. Emma watched him eat, then thought of something. “Why were you late that day, anyway?”
Craig stopped with a fry halfway to his mouth. “Aww, babe, I’m sorry. I forgot all about that. You’re not going to want to hear this.”
Emma’s appetite vanished.
Craig turned to her, regret in his eyes. Emma listened hard as he explained every awful detail. Emma cried a little for her friend, West, unable to believe what she had just heard.
When he was finally done, she stared at him. When he didn’t speak again, Emma challenged him. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“Emma, what can I do? This goes beyond anything I’ve ever dealt with. It goes so high up I’d be fired for even poking my nose in there.”
Emma stared at her husband hard for a long time. He looked away and poked at his french fries. “Craig Masterson, I’m surprised at you. You’re the hero, you’ve always been the hero, and I’ve never known a situation that needed a hero more than this one. If you don’t help those people, who will?”
“Yeah, well, I was a little busy saving someone else,” he muttered, his eyes still on his fries.
He looked back up at Emma finally, a decision brewing behind his gaze. “It could take years Emma, and put us in a lot of danger.”
“Yeah, well, what else is new?”
“What about our baby plan?”
Sorrow peaked in Emma’s heart like a flower opening upside down. She did want to have babies. But she wanted to have them in a country that was safe to live in. In a country that she could be proud of.
“It can’t take forever, can it?” she murmured. “I’ll still be here.”
Craig watched her for a long moment, then stood up. “I’ll look into it,” he said gruffly, pulling on some clothes. He gathered his dishes and took them out to the kitchen. Emma watched him go, chewing her food thoughtfully. Why couldn’t life ever be simple?
Voices sounded in a chorus in the living room. Someone was here. Emma pushed her tray back and ran into the bathroom to clean up, then put clothes on quickly. When she reached the living room, Jerry and Sara were still hugging everyone. Emma waited her turn, then hugged them both.
“So what’s been going on?” Jerry asked, a bright smile on his face. “Did you guys ever figure out who was after you?”
Craig snorted and shook his head. JT held up his hands. Emma smiled. Did they really not know anything that had happened in the last two days?
“Don’t you watch the news?” JT asked in disbelief.
Sara shook her head. “We try to never watch the news. Too much drama and they only focus on the bad stuff.”
Dani glared at them and Sara blinked at her. When she realized what she said she laughed. “Sorry Dani, except your segments. They’re great.”
Hawk looked at JT, then Craig, then Vivian, then Dani. “Didn’t anyone ever call them when Emma was …” Everyone shook their head no, Vivian looking ashamed.
“When Emma was what?” Jerry asked, his eyes bouncing between them.
“Trust me dude, you don’t want to know,” Hawk said, disappearing behind his computer.
Emma saw something sparkle on Sara’s left hand and she looked down. She shrieked at the sight of the ring she had helped Jerry pick out so many months before. JT jumped and Craig reached for the place his gun normally sat, his eyes checking all the windows.
“Oh my God, Jerry, you finally asked her!” Emma yelled, picking up Sara’s hand, and showing it to the room.
“I did. And actually … we’re, well we just got back from Vegas. We got married last night. We just couldn’t wait, but we’ll do it all again and have a big party,” he finished quickly.
Emma felt her eyes fill with tears. Sara was a mystery, and Emma had never been positive she would say yes, but she had. “Congratulations,” she whispered.
“We have one more surprise, too,” Sara said, her hand going to her belly.
Jerry beamed, a smile wide enough and genuine enough to melt hearts, then fished something out of his back pocket. He held out a handful of cigars. “She’s pregnant, too.”
Dani stood up and shrieked this time, clapping her hands together. Everyone crowded around the couple, congratulating them, kissing and hugging them again.
Emma stood off a little ways, watching them and being happy with all her heart for her friends, but a little sad too.
It wasn’t her still. Life always got in the way.
Chapter 28
Three years later
The crowd filling the church ooohed and aahhed and gushed as two-year-old Archer Mansko, perfectly dashing in his toddler tuxedo, walked down the aisle holding one twin’s hand with each of his own. Anna and Abigail Kincaid, cute pixies in their pink, floor-length dresses, with their curly brown hair cascading down their backs, scattered flower petals from the baskets slung over their arms onto the aisle.
Jerry and Sara followed, then a parade of male and female marines in their dress blues followed, taking up their places on either side of the altar.
Emma, standing behind them, watched her sister and Hawk step slowly onto the trail of flowers as the airy harp music filled the church. Vivian managed to look elegant and amazing as usual, even though her very pregnant belly should have made it impossible for her to walk at all, especially in heels. Emma knew she was leaning heavily on Hawk though. She was having twins again, but they had chosen not to find out the sex. Her due date was in a month, but the doctor had told her to expect the babies earlier. She had carried Anna and Abigail only to thirty-five weeks and the doctor didn’t expect her to go past that this time either.
Emma looked down at her own monstrous belly poking her dress out as far as it would stretch. She was not in heels. There was no way. She was having twins too, but for some reason her belly seemed three times as big as Vivian’s had ever gotten. Her babies were measuring huge for twins, her doctor had said, trying to convince her to schedule an early induction. Emma had said no way, knowing induction frequently led to c-sections. She wanted to have these babies the natural way, if at all possible. But their size
was scaring her. She had made it to thirty-seven weeks already, and just wanted to get past this wedding, then the babies could come at any time. The church and reception hall had all been booked long before Emma and Vivian had gotten pregnant, and Dani had offered to change the dates, but they all knew that would mean postponing the wedding for at least another six months, so they had convinced her to go through with it. They would make it work, no matter what.
Senator Oberlin’s money had been dealt with. The three of them had taken their share, for all of ten minutes, before each one of them signed it over to their favorite charity. Emma had never felt relief like she did when that was done.
Craig had finally finished cleaning up the government, with Sara’s help, and Hawk’s help too as a private contractor, since he had retired from the FBI when the twins were born. About a year after that, when life had finally slowed down for them, Hawk and Vivian had started a Private Investigators business. DashKin Investigations. They were an impressive team who people hired when they needed a seemingly unsolvable puzzle unraveled.
Craig had become famous too, famous enough that publishing companies were hounding him to write a book on the experience of cleaning out the government, not once, but twice. One of them had offered him a $750,000 advance. Craig hadn’t decided to take it yet, but Emma was trying to convince him he should. They needed baby clothes and college funds, and who knew what else.
The moment he had held his first press release regarding the arrests they were making, he had also announced his impending retirement from the FBI. That had happened six months ago. Emma knew it would and had thrown away her birth control pills early. She’d seen how ready he was to be done. She knew she could count on him to go through with it.
She watched the next set of marines walk down the aisle, then looked up at Craig, who was strong and solid as ever in his dark suit. She squeezed his hand. They had a few more minutes before it was their turn to walk down the aisle and she wanted a kiss. She turned her face to him but instead of kissing her he leaned over and spoke into her belly button like it was a microphone. “Girls, it’s daddy. D-a-d-d-y. You guys sleeping?”
