“Yeah, you were supposed to disappear the last time. The deal never included involving her.”
“I had to up the ante.”
“Well, too late. You’ve done the damage now. I have no interest in striking any further deals with you.”
“Think how embarrassed your parents will be in front of all their highfalutin friends. You could cancel the wedding, but you and I both know that would cost you more than a mere ten thousand dollars.”
That was a true enough statement.
“She loves you, you know.”
“Yeah, well we both know the kid’s better off without me.”
“I’ll have to see what I can do.”
“Don’t be getting any funny ideas. I won’t talk to you unless I know where Dara is. If you tell her about this, I’ll give her some information.”
“What do you mean you’ll give her information?”
There was no answer. I looked at my phone and realized that he’d hung up.
I exhaled loudly. Would it never end? And what information did he have on me? I couldn’t think of anything that should concern me. He’d only been out of jail a month. Had he had someone else following our relationship? Did he have something on my parents?
I tossed my phone on my bed, and my hands curled into fists. It took every drop of willpower I possessed not to storm over there and drag him out of the house.
Yet another quandary. I replayed the conversation, and the quality of the recording was perfect. I now had enough proof to back my version of events. But at what cost? Was he bluffing, or did he really have something about me or my family that I wouldn’t want Dara to know?
I showered, hoping the steam would help clear my head. Dylan was the only family member manning the office today while the rest of us made sure everything was ready for the wedding. I thought about what I’d said to my parents last night. I wanted nothing more than to marry Dara, but before I did, I wanted to know that she trusted me. We’d been together for a long time, and I intended for our relationship to last a lifetime. But it bothered me deeply that even after I’d explained everything, she still hadn’t believed me.
The hours before the wedding were counting down. I needed to know whether Dara was going to believe in me as her husband, and if that weren’t enough to worry about the day before one’s wedding, I also needed to know what I should do about her father’s request.
I threw on jeans and a tee shirt. I needed answers, and I needed them now.
I called Dara, and she answered on the first ring. “Is your father still there?”
“Of course. Where else would he be?”
“Can you meet me at Quail Mountain Park in ten minutes? Don’t tell him you’re meeting me.”
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later, I watched a car pull into the parking lot. As it approached me, I realized it was Dara driving her father’s vehicle. It was almost noon, and I needed to get things figured out before the bank closed. The only plus was that it was Friday, so closing time was a little later than normal.
She parked and walked toward me where I stood beside my motorcycle. Her glossy, blond hair brushed across her shoulders as it billowed in a gust of wind.
“Hey,” she said, coming to a stop in front of me.
“Why are you driving his car?”
“It had my car blocked in.”
“How’s it going with your dad?” I was curious what her impression of him was now that she’d spent time with him.
“Good. He made me breakfast this morning.”
“So have y’all done a lot of talking?”
“A little. He was asleep on the couch last night by the time I got home, so I just went to my room. But we talked some this morning. He mostly talked about Granny.”
“Did he say anything about why he showed up at dinner last night?” The recording on my phone begged to be played. Part of me wanted to pull it out and play it for her right now, but I thought it might be better to wait and see what her impression of her father was now that she’d spent some one-on-one time with him.
“Why can’t you be happy for me that my Dad wants to walk his only daughter down the aisle?” She didn’t sound angry. She sounded sad. In a perfect world, her doting father would be participating in all of the wedding festivities and giving away his baby girl, but this world, her world, was anything but perfect, at least where her father was concerned.
“How long have we been together, Dara? Surely you know that I would love nothing more than for you to have the ideal father.”
“Is there really such a thing as an ideal father, Stone? I’ve heard you and your dad get into some pretty bad arguments. No one’s perfect.”
“Did you really just lump my father and your father into the same category? Really? You do realize that your father killed my brother, don’t you? If he shows up at the church tomorrow….”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I really needed to do a better job of thinking before I spouted out hurtful words.
“What? If he shows up tomorrow, what?”
I remained silent, wishing I could take back my words.
“What, Stone? If he shows up tomorrow, there won’t be a wedding?”
The hurt on her face squeezed my heart like it had been tightened in a vice. “It would be devastating for my parents if your father was at the wedding.”
Her mouth pursed, and she glared at me. “I’ve done everything your parents wanted as far as the wedding’s concerned. They would deny me having my father at my own wedding?”
“He’s not who you think he is, Dara.” And that was saying something because even the man she thought he was left much to be desired.
“I know he’s far from perfect, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to get to know him. If I do, I may never get this chance again. Look how great it worked out with my mom. Maybe it could be like that with him, too.”
“I know that’s what you want, babe. And I get it. I do. But you do remember that he blackmailed me, right?”
“It doesn’t make sense why my father would do that.”
I clamped my jaw shut. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“How do I know you’re not telling me that, so that I’ll turn my back on him?”
“Is that what you think?” I thundered, taking a step toward her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know you love me, Stone, and I don’t believe that you would do that to me. I shouldn’t have said that. I just don’t know what to believe. I mean if my dad had twenty-five thousand dollars, why is he driving that old, ugly car? Why did he tell me that he had nowhere to go?”
My instinct was to tell her that her dad was a con artist, but I wasn’t ready to spring that on her just yet.
“I can’t deal with this right now. Maybe we need to postpone the wedding until I can sort through all this.”
“That’s what you want? You want to postpone the wedding?”
“I don’t want to, Stone,” she yelled, waving her hands, “but we’re obviously at an impasse. Your family can’t stand the thought of him at the wedding, and I can’t stand the thought of refusing to let him walk me down the aisle if that’s what he really wants. I’ve wanted him to love me my entire life, Stone. My entire life.”
My own anger diffused when I heard the sadness in her voice. I knew how much she’d missed having her parents when she was growing up.
“I can’t do this right now.” She turned and strode toward her father’s car.
“Where’re you going?” I called, hoping that she would come back.
“Home to spend time with my dad.”
So much for answers. I had no idea how we were going to work all this shit out before our wedding tomorrow.
She screamed in frustration. At first, I thought she was just frustrated with the situation like I was, but when I saw her stoop beside the front tire, I realized that she had a flat.
I walked toward her. “Pop the trunk, and I’ll put the spare on.”
/>
She moved to the rear of the car while I stopped to examine the tire. As I was searching for a nail or other debris from the road, I heard her exclaim, “No! No, no, no.”
Concerned from the tone of her voice, I quickly strode toward her. “What’s wrong?”
She had opened the compartment that held the spare and found a small, black bag with the Hamilton Enterprises logo embroidered on it—the same bag that I had used to deliver the twenty-five thousand dollars.
Her hands shook as she picked the bag up and unzipped it. Stacks of money were immediately visible, and although it was clear from a small pile of loose bills that he’d spent some of the money, most of it was still intact, fastened securely with the bands from the bank.
Tears streamed down her face. “All he wanted was money, wasn’t it? It was never about me.”
I would have expected to feel vindicated, but I didn’t. The hellish torment on her face shredded my heart with its unrelenting pain and agony. I wished a million times over that she’d never overheard the conversation about the wedding that led up to this moment, and I wished that her father had taken the money and left. This was what I had tried so hard to avoid. This was the reason that I had lied to her in the first place. This was the horrible reality from which I wanted to save her.
But I didn’t. And now the love of my life would suffer the consequences of my failure. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it would remove her blinders where her father was concerned, and she could spend the rest of her life focusing on the people who loved her, not on someone who wasn’t capable of giving her the relationship that she deserved.
I had no words to soothe her. She dropped the bag like it had been filled with evil spirits. I just opened my arms and motioned for her to come to me, and she did. She clung to me, whispering over and over again how sorry she was that she didn’t see it sooner. I kissed her temple and stroked her back, wishing that if I held her closely enough, I could soak in her pain and free her from her misery. I would gladly suffer it for her a thousand times over if I could keep her from feeling it even once. I loved her so damn much, and as if I didn’t already hate her father enough for what he had done to Luke, I hated him even more for what he was doing to Dara.
She pulled back and looked at me, her mascara smudged under her eyes. “Please, Stone, tell me that you still love me. Please,” she begged, her heartrending sobs racking her body.
I lifted the silver heart from its resting place just below the hollow of her neck. It was the pendant from the necklace that she always wore, the one I had given her to celebrate our one year engagement anniversary. I had to admit that I loved the fact that she felt it was special enough to keep on her person at all times. “What does this say?” I whispered.
“Stone and Dara.”
“Because it’s you and me for as long as I live.”
I lifted her fingers to the pendant. “What did I tell you about the shape of the heart?”
“That when I feel it, I know how much you love me.”
“That’s right. Because I do love you, Dara. I will always love you. And I want to make you my wife tomorrow.”
She nodded and lifted her lips to mine. I kissed her slowly, tenderly, as my hands slid to her waist and gently squeezed her reassuringly. She was my world.
Pulling back, I brushed my thumbs across her cheeks, drying the wet streaks that glistened on her face.
“It’s you and me,” I whispered.
“Stone, I love you, like really, really love you.”
Her sadness was killing me. “I know, baby.”
“So now what do we do? He’s at my house.”
“I know, and I don’t really like you staying there while he’s there.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I can’t just kick him out.”
I agonized over whether to play the recording to her. If there was an appropriate time to do it, this was it. Would it be better to tell her even if it caused her more pain? Shit. I felt like I had to do it. I didn’t want to, but we were in deep already.
“Dara, I need to tell you something, and it’s not going to be easy to hear.”
“What is it?” She raked her hand through her hair as if she were preparing herself for what I was about to say.
“Your father called me this morning.”
“What did he say?”
I watched her as I took a deep breath. “He wants more money.”
“More?” she asked in disbelief.
I played the recording.
She wrung her hands and looked away. “He really doesn’t care about me.”
“I doubt if he’s capable of caring about anyone. I don’t know what information he claims to have on me or my family, but I know I have nothing to hide. Maybe it’s just a bluff to get me to pay him off. I’m sure the last thing he expected was for me to tell you about it.”
“What are we gonna do?” she asked.
“What do you want to do?”
“Part of me wants to ask him why he’s doing this. The other part of me doesn’t want to ever see him again. Now that we have the money, we can send him away with nothing.”
Mulling over our options in my mind, I considered suggesting that we prosecute him. I would love nothing more than to see him back behind bars. He hadn’t done nearly enough time for killing my brother. But I knew that would be difficult for Dara, and it would put both of our families in an embarrassing, public situation. What I wanted more than anything was to have this ordeal behind us, so that we could start our life as husband and wife.
“Why don’t we confront him?” I asked. “Why don’t we tell him that we have the money? If he makes an appearance at our wedding tomorrow, then he’ll get nothing. If he stays away as promised, we’ll let him keep ten thousand dollars out of this money.” I motioned toward the bag. “If he’s smart, he’ll take the money and run.
“Maybe we should hire some security, but I’m not sure how we’d arrange that this late in the game, and even if he doesn’t get inside the chapel, there’s nothing to keep him from causing a scene outside.
“I think offering him the money is the cleanest, easiest way to get him to go away.”
“Okay, then,” Dara agreed, “I’m trusting your judgment.”
It felt good to hear her say that. “Are you ready to talk to him?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Then let me change this flat.”
Dara
Forty-five minutes later in the early afternoon, I pulled into the driveway and parked my dad’s car behind mine. Stone parked his motorcycle in the yard.
I approached him as he pulled off his helmet, the dark hair at his temples damp with sweat. “Has he been drinking yet?” Stone asked, setting his helmet on the mirror.
“He wasn’t when I left.”
“Good.”
We walked into the living room, where he was lying on the couch, watching television.
“Dad, we have to talk.”
My father looked up at us as he rose into a seated position. “What’s he doing here?”
“He’s my fiancé.”
My father pointed at Stone. “He’s trying to keep me from getting to know my only daughter.” His voice rose. “He offered me money to walk away from my own child.”
“Dad, you never wanted anything to do with me. And you still don’t. I know it was you. You were the one who wanted money.” To hear the words out loud crushed something deep in my soul. It made me realize that all the hopes and dreams I had as a little girl had dissipated like a thin tendril of smoke. The relationship I had so desperately wanted with my father would never come to fruition—not because of me—but because of him.
“That’s not true, Dara.”
“Stop playing games with me. Don’t you realize that it was real for me? I wanted to have a relationship with you, and all you wanted was a few bucks, so that you could disappear.”
My father’s face turned deep red. “I don’t know what he’s told you, b
ut….”
“Stone recorded you this morning, and despite your nasty threats, he told me about it. Would you like him to replay it?”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Dara….”
“Dad, please don’t deny it. It already hurts.” I held the bag up that I’d found stashed in his car, so that he could see it. “I found the money.”
He stared at the bag. “I just wanted enough to get me on my feet. Now give it to me.” He reached for the money, but I made no move to hand it over to him.
“If you needed help, all you had to do was ask me.” I looked at him with sympathy and pity. He would never understand what it was to be loved, not because there weren’t people who had loved him, but because he didn’t care. Granny had loved him, and he had caused her endless pain.
And I would never know what it was to have a father’s love, to be the joy in his life. Nothing had changed. My father never wanted me, and he certainly wasn’t going to start now.
Stone stood quietly by my side, and I worried how he would be affected, standing in front of his brother’s killer.
After the things I’d learned today, I looked at my father with clearer vision. I couldn’t totally purge the melancholy feeling that had settled in my chest, but knowing that Stone and I would be married tomorrow made it more bearable. If I had no one else in the world, I had him.
“Despite everything you’ve done, Stone and I are still gonna help you. We’ll hold on to the money until after the wedding. If you show up at our wedding, then you won’t get anything. If you don’t, then we’ll give you ten thousand dollars to leave town and leave us alone.”
“Our deal was twenty-five thousand,” my father spat at Stone.
“That was a deal you refused to keep,” Stone snapped, his jaw muscle ticking. “You have a new deal now. Take it or leave it.”
My father frowned, his cold eyes glaring at Stone. “Looks like I have no choice at the moment.”
“You need to go now, Dad. We’ll call you tomorrow after the wedding, and we’ll meet up with you somewhere, assuming that you don’t break this deal, too.”
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