Cory didn’t expect to feel such a rush of relief wash over her entire being like that. Two long years she had been waiting on these answers. From the government, from the police. The truth finally came from someone she least expected to be there that night. From her very own husband. Should she feel grateful that Adrian was there? That she was given a firsthand account of the details from him? It was hard for Adrian to tell her these facts but he did. He sounded remorseful. He only wanted one more thing from her before he left.
“I know I’m asking a lot from you but can you ever find it in your heart to ever forgive me, Cory? For keeping the truth from you? For being involved in your brother’s death?”
Cory was shaking. She knew her answer to this question ultimately decided how her life would go on. One with Adrian in it or one without him in it. A day without him was already like a day without light. A day without laughter. A day without music. A day without the ocean and birds singing, sunshine and rain. A day without air. What would an entire lifetime be like?
Cory clutched the shawl even tighter around her body. Her words came out sounding choked at first and they were already so hard to come by. “Everything happened so suddenly. All at once for me to handle. My brother, then my mom.” She sobbed in between. “I had a nervous breakdown. I had to be treated by a psychiatrist. I went into a depression, Adrian. All this I suffered because of you. I couldn’t go on anymore. This was the darkest part of my life I wished to forget. Everyday I thought it was a dream and then I’d wake up from it and my brother would be here still.”
Cory was sobbing loudly between her sentences, between her words.
“Then I met you, Adrian,” she went on. “I fell so completely in love with you. Then everything changed. I wanted to live my life again. Your love helped me to turn things around. To heal. It offered me solace and peace. I began to see so many things so differently.”
Cory smiled as she wiped away the tears. Now it was her turn to talk and nothing was going to slow her. “I had finally put all that pain behind me. Then I find out the man I love so much was the cause of all my pain in the first place.
“I said, oh no. No way this crap could be happening to me all over again. So I ran away. I had to get away from it all. Maybe things weren’t as they had unfolded I thought. I came here and I prayed. I went this over and over in my mind. But then I got the shocker of my life instead,” Cory laughed despite herself between the tears. “All of this really had to happen for a reason, Adrian.”
Adrian looked away. He was ashamed of himself but he never intended to hurt her. “Cory, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I put you through all this because of my selfish insecurities. I really wish I could erase all your hurts and pains. Especially the ones I caused you. But I’ll understand if you can’t forgive me. I know you’ll never want to see me again or even speak to me directly after today. If you want a divorce and if you want to cut me completely out of your life, I can understand all of that too. I’ll have to accept it. I’m willing to pay for the consequences of my actions.”
“Is that what you think?” Cory asked him. “Look, Adrian in order for me to move on, I have no other choice but to forgive you,” she said softly. “It’s the only way I can come out of this whole mess sanely.”
With relief etched over his face Adrian whispered, “Thank you.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You have no idea how much your forgiveness means to me, Cory.”
Then for the first time since she knew him, Cory saw tears roll from his eyes.
• • •
Adrian quickly got up off the steps. He didn’t know how long they were sitting there talking. The sun was setting and it was growing dark. The huge black rocks jutting out of the water, probably from how the area got its name, looked even bigger and scarier now. They were the only ones left on the beach. He didn’t even realize the boys playing football were all gone. When did they leave?
Adrian stooped on the steps facing Cory directly this time. He needed to let her know one more thing. “And baby, believe me when I say this. I never one day regretted asking you to be my wife. You were the most thrilling, refreshing thing to ever happen in my life. Being with you everyday felt like coming back home after an entire year of fighting a war.” Adrian touched her on her cheek.
“The joy, the pride, the love.” He was willing to take a slap if he had to now. “Of all I’ve seen in this world and been through in my lifetime, Cory, you’re my most unforgettable moment. You made me love again. You made me dream of things I never wanted for myself before. Yet, you gave me more than I could’ve ever wanted or dreamed. I finally found peace within myself. And I thank you for all these things. So you must know I’ll forever love you with all my heart, baby.”
Adrian gently kissed her on her forehead. This time he had to go. Otherwise he would end up crying like a baby on this beach. He had gotten what he wanted. She offered him her forgiveness. For that, he was grateful. But why was he feeling so empty? She wanted to move on, she had said. He needed to walk whilst he still could. Adrian hopped up the steps, two at a time. He never turned around. If he only looked at Cory one more time he would crumble. All six foot plus two hundred pounds of him would just crumble in the sand.
Chapter 34
So that’s it? No way in hell was Cory about to let the father of her unborn child walk out of her life just like that. This relationship was worth fighting for. Their marriage was worth fighting for. She refused to let him go.
“Adrian, wait!” she called. It was more like a frantic scream actually. Kind of like the one that had grabbed his attention at the police station. Cory’s shout stopped Adrian dead in his tracks.
“There’s somebody else … I need to tell you about,” she said.
“There’s somebody else in the picture,” she said louder when he didn’t turn around. “Everything has changed, Adrian. That’s why I can’t let you go yet. I can’t let you off the hook so easily.”
This time Adrian turned around. “What did you just say?”
“I said I’m not letting you off so easily. I didn’t go through two years of misery for naught.” Cory was standing at the bottom of the steps now. “And I don’t believe in divorces, by the way.”
Cory removed the shawl draped about her shoulders. “I’m having your baby, Adrian,” she blurted out. There, she said it. Now, she didn’t know what to expect. Cory hoped this wasn’t going to be another episode like when she had foolishly blurted out her love for him the very first time. Or the long silence that followed thereafter. They had never discussed having children in their short time together. But why shouldn’t they have children? That was the norm after marriage. And this was a normal marriage founded on love, right?
“You don’t want a divorce? Wait a minute … what did you say after that? I thought I heard you say … .”
“I’m having your baby,” Cory finished for him. “Look at me, Adrian.”
• • •
Then Adrian really looked at her. The shawl was gone. He noticed the round protrusion of her belly which used to be her flat stomach. A place he would normally shower with kisses. He just figured it was the weight gain she was complaining about these past two weeks. So that was why she had that shawl draped around her like that. That was why she had looked so different. Cory was pregnant all the while?
Adrian thought it was probably because he hadn’t seen her over the last couple of days and that his mind was playing tricks on him. But Cory did look different. She was glowing. Her cheeks were rosy. Her skin was more sun-tanned and radiant than ever. Her breasts amazingly fuller under the black and white tankini she was wearing. Adrian had figured the island of Tobago most likely did this to her, the sun-tanned and rosy features. Her grandmother’s cooking would have helped with the rest. He was still dumbfounded to say the least.
“What’re you saying? How did this happen? When
did it happen, Cory? You were on the pill, weren’t you?” Adrian asked.
“Yes, but I sort of forgot to take them. Okay, I really skipped three days but then I took them afterwards … I guess that didn’t work out,” she laughed nervously.
Adrian shook his head. Only Cory would do something so completely nuts like that. But how wonderful that she did. Adrian bolted down the steps now.
“Why are you so crazy, Cory?” Crazy. Beautiful. Sexy. What else could he possibly ask for? He placed his hand on her rounded tummy, thinking of his child growing inside her for the first time. He had waited a really long time to hear these words. “You’re really pregnant?”
“Yes. I took a test.”
Adrian just stared.
“Well, say something, Adrian. Do you want this baby or not?”
“Cory, I’m sorry. I’m still in shock, baby,” he grinned. Adrian had come here in hopes of her forgiveness with little expectations for anything more. He didn’t have much hope that she would still want him back. But Cory didn’t want a divorce. And to top it all, she was pregnant with his child. His head was spinning. He was so deliriously happy.
“Of course I want this baby, are you crazy? Cory, there’s nothing more I’d like than for you to have my child. But are you sure about this?”
“Adrian, look how fat I am.”
“You look so beautiful, baby. But what about us, Cory?”
“Well, I’m surely not going to raise my child as a single parent,” she smiled. “Adrian, I’m so sorry for all those mean things I said to you. I love you so much.”
“Baby, I’m so crazy about you,” Adrian shouted as he gathered her into his arms. “Have been since I first saw you. You completely made my New Year. Then after I saw you screaming your head off at that police station again, it just sealed it for me. I love you, Cory. And I’m not going to let you go ever again.”
Adrian kissed her madly. Passionately. He had his wife back and a baby on the way. His baby, finally. With the woman he loved more than anything. An enormous feeling of joy washed over him. Cory felt so good in his arms again. He thought of Collin. Somehow, it was he that had brought Cory and him together and Adrian owed everything he now had to his brave soul. He held her. She held him. They held each other for what seemed like an eternity on the beach.
“You actually came after me,” Cory finally whispered against his chest, breaking the beautiful silence between them.
“Hey, I wasn’t going to give up on us without one last fight.” Adrian kissed her on her forehead. “I would have pursued you to the ends of this earth if I had to, Cory.”
“Really?”
“You better believe it, baby.”
Cory smiled up at him. “Could I ask you something, baby?” she asked.
“Sure, anything.”
“How many kids do you want?”
“What?” Adrian exclaimed. “What kind of question is that?”
“Could you just answer it please?”
“Alright. Well, after I met you I decided that five was good enough for me.”
“Five?” Cory questioned in wide-eyed amazement.
“Yep. Do you have a problem with that number?” Adrian joked.
Cory burst into laughter. “I don’t actually. That’ll make my grandmother really happy, though.”
“Great. Just as long as she doesn’t get any crazy ideas of coloring their hair purple or anything like that.”
Cory cracked up again. “So what now, baby?” she asked.
“Well, let’s see. I told you everything. You forgave me. You’re having my baby. I missed you like crazy. So I suggest we go home now.”
“Mmmm, home. That sounds real good to me.” But neither of them could move from the beach. “Adrian, promise me one thing first.”
“What’s that, baby?”
“No more secrets between us.”
“Look at me, Cory,” Adrian pulled away to look her in the eyes. “Do I look like I’m crazy to you? That’s it. No more secrets between us, baby. No way am I putting you through this again.”
Things were finally looking up. It felt good to finally get everything out and tell Cory the truth. And to think he came so close to losing her.
“Okay, good. Now, let’s go home, then,” Cory cheerfully announced.
“Wait. First put this on,” Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out her wedding ring.
“My ring,” Cory smiled.
“And baby, please don’t ever take this off again,” he chided.
“Sir, yes, sir,” Cory saluted. Adrian slipped it on her wedding finger once more.
“Now we can go home, baby.”
Cory and Adrian walked back to the house hand in hand. They could finally leave behind the turbulence and darkness that once threatened their love right there on that empty beach.
About the Author
Heather Rodney-Diaz lives on the captivating twin-islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the southern Caribbean, indeed her motivation for writing romantic and super-sexy multi-cultural island escapes. Here, on these fascinating islands of sun, sand, and sea, there's no better place for dreaming up scorching hot heroes or falling in love. Island Pursuits is her debut novel. She’d love to hear from you. Drop her an email: [email protected], like her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HeatherRodneyDiazAuthor and follow her on Twitter:www.twitter.com/HeatherRodneyDi and Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/heatherrodneydi.
Meet the Whitmans
There’s a wonderful world of family intrigue in store for you in Emerald Springs! Check out their stories as they angle for control of the family legacy:
Adam’s Ambition by Monica Tillery
Colleen’s Choice by Holley Trent
Chad’s Chance by Elley Arden
Daniel’s Decision by Nicole Flockton
Ashley’s Allegiance by Robyn Neeley
SNEAK PEEK EXCERPT FROM
Southern Comfort by Amie Louellen
“But what about the ghost?” Newland Tran balanced the tiny saucer of cookies in his too-big hands and nodded politely to his hostess.
Bitty Duncan gave him the sweetest smile, her wrinkled cheeks dimpling. If he had to guess, the woman was close to eighty-five, yet she had a spring in her step and a sparkle in her eyes that belied her age.
She was the quintessential grandmotherly type. Well, if a typical grandmother had lavender-colored hair to go with her crocheted shawl and flowered housedress.
“Would you like another glass of tea, Mr. Tran?”
She said his name with the short “a” sound, but Newland didn’t bother to correct her. It seemed most everyone in the South wanted his name to rhyme with ran, and there was nothing he could do to squelch that desire.
“No, thank you. I would like to hear more about your ghost though.” For someone who wanted a tabloid reporter to write an article about the ghost she had in her house, Bitty seemed reluctant to talk about it. Or maybe she just wanted someone to keep her company.
Great. That was just what he needed. To come all the way out here from Chicago to keep an old woman from being lonely.
Turtle Creek, Mississippi. And he had thought that Jefferson County, Tennessee, was bad. That was where he’d lost the only woman he’d ever loved. The woman he’d proposed to, albeit somewhat out of the blue, and who’d turned him down. He wasn’t even supposed to be in Tennessee at the time—he was supposed to be in Arkansas, working on a story—but he found out that Roxanne was in Tennessee, accused of murder and digging up the story to end all stories. One she wouldn’t allow anyone to print after she got it.
Well, he understood that part. But what he didn’t understand was how in three days she fell in love with Malcolm B. Daniels IV, state senator from District 27. He was a stuffed shirt if Newland had ever seen one, always wearing a tie and a coat and little wire-rimmed gla
sses. What was up with small-town Southerners that made them put on airs like none other?
Turtle Creek was twice as bad as tiny Jefferson County. He’d only been here two hours and he was already itching to get back north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
“Oh, the ghost. Of course.” Bitty nodded. “Well, he only shows himself on the last Thursday of the month.”
Well, it would have been nice if she had explained that in her original letter to the paper. Newland resisted the urge to check the date on his watch. Today was Tuesday. He had a week and two days before the last Thursday of the month.
“Are you sure?” he asked as he wrote the tidbit in his notebook. No full moon stories or anniversary dates. Just the last Thursday of the month. “Why do you suppose that is?” he played along. What choice did he have really?
He’d lost his job at I Spy after he had gone off the deep end. But only just a little bit. So he had tipped Roxanne’s desk over at the magazine. He’d been angry when he returned last year from Tennessee. But the editor-in-chief had gotten upset, and the next thing Newland knew, he was out on his can.
He had taken a of couple months and nursed his broken heart, but by then news of his “volatile nature” was all over Chicago. Any job he did get, he was watched like a hawk, and every photographer who was sent out with him trembled as if he were going to smash their face in. Newland couldn’t take it anymore so he went freelance. Didn’t that sound better than “I quit”?
It had at the time. But now things were getting tight. He needed this story. He needed it badly. And that meant sticking around to see this alleged ghost in person.
Though at this rate, he supposed he could leave and come back closer to the day the ghost would turn up, but that would cost gas and time. And it wasn’t like he had any place else to go.
“I couldn’t possibly know why.” Bitty shook her head in a sad sort of way. “Who knows why Confederate ghosts do anything they do?”
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