Safe in His Embrace

by Candice Poarch

  She thought she’d feel—something, but all she wanted was her father’s book. It was the only thing she valued in the house.

  “My things are still here,” she said. Upstairs in the bedroom closet, her lavish designer gowns, suits, shoes, purses and designer luggage still occupied the space as if waiting for her to return.

  “My God,” Alex said. “Women would kill to have a go at your closet.”

  “They can knock themselves out,” Senetra said, closing the door and going to Timothy’s closet where drawers were situated in the center of the room. Their dressing rooms were the size of bedrooms. It was a wonder his family hadn’t raided them, but they thought they’d have plenty of time after the reading of the will. Little had they known they wouldn’t be allowed in the house again.

  “I have to find something. I hope it’s here,” she said, and began pulling out drawers.

  “What are you looking for?” Alex asked.

  “My father’s book. He made it for me before he died.”

  Senetra started on one end and Alex on the other. But it wasn’t in any of the drawers. In the corner she spotted Timothy’s safe. He thought he was so smart in devising a number that no one could determine, but it was their wedding date. She opened it and there was a stack of money and papers, her jewelry—and her father’s book.

  Senetra glanced through it, page by page, exhaled a long breath and held it against her chest. It was still intact, not one page torn or blemished.

  “I have to call his family,” Senetra said. “So they can come get some of their son’s things if they want them.”

  “Okay.”

  Senetra grabbed a breath. Timothy was their proud son. They had thought badly of her when she took out a restraining order and filed for a divorce. They’d probably blame this on her, too, but Senetra knew the truth and so did they, even though they pretended not to. They’d seen her bruises.

  But all of this, Timothy and his family, were all in the past now. However, there was one last thing left to do.

  Before she left Milwaukee, she would talk with Lidia Smith’s lawyer. They wanted to use her as a witness for the defense and she agreed to return for the trial.

  She’d have to return, probably more than once, but she could handle it.

  Alex and she had made sweet love that night in the hotel, and Senetra was comforted in his arms and by his presence. She glanced at him after he fell asleep, wondering where their relationship would go from here.

  And as the plane left for Virginia, Senetra felt freedom she hadn’t felt in a long time. Timothy could never hurt her again.

  They spent the rest of the week in Virginia and left for Anchorage early Sunday morning.

  Alex thought a lot about his relationship with Senetra that week. He’d also thought about the mistakes he’d made with Jessica. Perhaps he should have talked things over with her instead of just ending the relationship. Senetra would spend most of her summer in Virginia. He wouldn’t be able to see her as often as he did while she was in Homer.

  This time he wanted to do things right. Maybe if he and Senetra discussed their futures together, she’d agree to wait for him, to marry him. He didn’t intend to make the same mistake twice.

  In Homer they were tucked away in their isolated world. Now the world was hers. She could go anywhere. Would she be satisfied with him? Was their love strong enough?

  “Will you spend the day with me in Anchorage and take a later flight out?” Alex asked an hour before their plane landed. They had gotten their seats upgraded to first-class and were enjoying the relative comfort of the larger space. “I’ve missed you,” Alex said.

  Senetra smiled, knowingly. “And now you don’t have George to intervene.”

  “It’s more than that,” he said. “I won’t see you for a while. I won’t be able to get away next weekend.”

  “Could I stop here for a few hours on my way to Virginia? Can you get away for a little while?”

  He nodded and kissed her hand. At least she planned to continue the relationship—for now.

  When they disembarked from the plane, they went to a hotel to store their luggage, and then he took her to one of his favorite restaurants.

  “We need to talk about some things,” Alex started. So much had happened recently. Maybe now wasn’t a good time. But he’d learned to live in the here and now.

  The place had a cozy, welcoming atmosphere, and the food was exquisite. They gave their order to the waiter.

  “You look serious,” Senetra said, placing her napkin on her lap. “I expected you to drag me to bed the second we hit the hotel and not get up for hours.”

  He didn’t respond. Merely took her hand in his.

  “I love you, Senetra. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  Alex blinked. He’d practiced a speech, anticipated her rebuttals and his responses. And she said yes.

  “Just like that?” He couldn’t believe it.

  “I love you. Should I have said no?”

  “We have a few things to work out. I don’t think we should announce it until after your mother’s wedding.”

  Senetra nodded. “I agree.”

  “And I’d still like to work two more years here to fulfill my obligations. After that I should be able to find a job in the D.C. area if you want to live near your family.”

  “My teaching contract is for two years. I have to be in Homer for that long.”

  “But I’d don’t want to wait two years to marry you,” he said. “I’d like to marry next summer.”

  “Okay.”

  Alex shook his head. “You’re making this too easy for me.”

  “I know what I want. And I want you. We’re living in a time when couples have to deal with long-distance relationships. And that’s okay. It’s two years out of the rest of our lives.”

  Epilogue

  It was Senetra’s wedding day and everyone was running around in a million directions, although it was a very well-organized event. The wedding was being held at River Oaks and it was huge. George had insisted on giving her this day. And it was a grand event from the orchestra to the sit-down dinner that included salmon ordered directly from Alaska and beef directly from Colorado. He’d even brought in a renowned D.C. chef. She chafed at his generosity, but he insisted an Avery wedding had to be done properly.

  Although her mother’s wedding was perfectly beautiful and grand, George had been more intent on getting married as quickly as possible and didn’t have the time to plan anything on this scale. Her mother wouldn’t have allowed it anyway.

  He and her mother seemed pleased to throw the affair, though. Senetra wasn’t as concerned with the pomp and circumstance. Being married to a wonderful man was her main focus. And she had that with Alex. They’d had the year to grow closer and to get to know each other better.

  She glanced out the window. The yard was filling up with cars.

  “You look beautiful,” Jasmine said. “That frilly stuff suits you well.” Jasmine preferred plain over ornate.

  “I agree,” Kathryn said. Kathryn was her maid of honor and her sisters were her bridesmaids.

  “Ah, pearls and lace. Just perfect,” Noelle said. She was four months pregnant and beginning to show. George was over-the-moon happy about his first great-great-grandchild, not to mention Colin’s pleasure. What they didn’t know was that Senetra was six weeks pregnant. It wasn’t intentional. She’d taken antibiotics after she’d stepped on a nail, and the birth control pill hadn’t worked. She’d taken the test a week ago and it was confirmed. Not even Alex knew yet. But he would tonight. She was beginning to feel queasy.

  They’d debated buying a house in Homer. But they’d decided it would be easier to live in the apartment until they moved to the D.C. area. She wouldn’t have to worry about snow removal or maintenance of a house while he was away. It was a buyer’s market and they’d already purchased a house in Virginia and rented it out.

  Senetra smiled. Their long-distance marria
ge would work as well as their long-distance courtship had.

  Her mother came into the room looking beautiful after almost a year of marriage. She wore a gorgeous peach gown with an orchid pinned to it.

  “It’s time, honey. Your grandfather is waiting for you.”

  Five minutes later she and George stood waiting for the bride’s party to proceed up the aisle.

  George patted her hand. “You look absolutely stunning,” he said.

  “You’re biased, Granddad.”

  “Of course. It’s still true.”

  Senetra sighed with nostalgia and pleasure. “This has been quite a year.”

  “I’ll say. I’d like to tell you that I’m very proud of you. And I think you’ve chosen well in a husband. But also, this is your home. If trouble comes, these doors are always open to you.”

  She struggled to keep from crying and ruining her makeup. Every time she visited, he spent lots of time with her doing things she’d missed with the absence of a father. He even took her shopping, of all things, when she could afford to buy her own things. She’d balked at that, but taking her shopping gave him pleasure. She remembered that he had no daughters to spoil and Noelle and Jasmine had fathers. So she’d let him buy a few things.

  He often took her to lunch, just the two of them. Yesterday, to her mother’s annoyance, he’d taken her out of the thick of last-minute wedding preparations and whisked her off to Salamander’s with the announcement to her mother that if it wasn’t all decided by now, it wasn’t going to be.

  Senetra smiled. They always went riding together. They’d taken long walks just to talk. And he called at least once a week when she was away.

  She kissed his cheek and wiped the lipstick away. “Thank you, Grandpa. For giving me all this. For being there and for making my mother so happy,” she said. “And I have a present for you. Alex doesn’t know yet. I want to wait until we have a private moment to tell him.”

  “What is it, dear?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  George nearly stumbled, but then pulled himself together.

  And then the wedding march began. When the door opened George wished he’d had more time to pull himself together. A dignified man couldn’t afford to go traipsing down the aisle grinning like a child chewing on a piece of chocolate. Especially with a crowd on both sides of him. The pleasure of escorting his late son’s daughter to her new life was reward enough, but now he was going to be a grandfather twice in the space of twelve months.

  He contained a sigh of pure joy. Two years ago, he’d been consumed with sorrow. His wife had died; then his son passed, and he knew no greater despair.

  He felt like Job, but life had a way of turning. He now had a truly magnificent wife and not one, but three wonderful granddaughters.

  The wedding was being held in the garden, and it was bursting with colorful flowers. There were so many guests seated for the wedding that the distance between Senetra and Alex seemed halfway around a racetrack. Alex was standing beside his brother and the groomsmen. He looked fabulous standing beneath the rose arbor in the tux.

  The guests stood. Even Iris, Mark and Danya were there. Many of her friends from Homer came. But Senetra’s focus was on Alex and the softness in his eyes as he watched her march toward him.

  Senetra took his breath away, Alex thought as the noise of the crowd diminished and he could only see her. How had he ended up with a woman so perfect for him? He could not get emotional now. But when her grandfather released her to him, he felt as if he’d been given the greatest gift in the world.

  Senetra didn’t have to wait very long for Alex’s reaction to her pregnancy. They had flown to Paris and were staying in a beautiful and ornate room overlooking the Champs-Elysées and the Eiffel Tower. As he carried her across the threshold, Senetra noticed the balcony and the magnificent view. They walked out there.

  It was nighttime and they looked out at the lights.

  Later that night, she threw up for the first time.

  “Are you sick?” he asked. “Do you think it’s something you ate?”

  Senetra washed out her mouth. He was standing in the doorway.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  He stood stunned and unable to move. “Pregnant? But you’re on the pill.”

  “Remember when I stepped on the nail and took the antibiotics? It diluted the effectiveness of the pill. Are you disappointed?”

  “Disappointed? How can I be? But I’m thinking I need to find a job close to you.”

  “I’ll be fine seeing you on the weekends. We have a plan and we’re sticking to it. Besides,” she said, rubbing his cheek, “it’s just a year.”

  Alex frowned, clearly uneasy about leaving her alone.

  “It’ll work out. You’ll see.”

  “We’ll discuss that later. I’ve got other things on my mind right now,” he said, rubbing her stomach and gazing at her in awe. He picked her up and carried her back to bed, placing her gently on top.

  And there he worked his magic until intense pleasure consumed both of them.

  “A wife and a baby,” Alex said with great pleasure as he lay back and gathered her into his arms spoon fashion. “All in one day.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4646-5

  SAFE IN HIS EMBRACE

  Copyright © 2010 by Candice Poarch Baines

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