Fitting The Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3)

by Janine Infante Bosco

  As if she sensed his thoughts, and maybe she did, Cara, had begun to grow in sync with Luke, she stepped to Nick and held out her hands, offering to take Juliana from him.

  “Come to Aunt Cara, my sweet angel.” She said as she cradled Juliana in her arms. Once the baby was settled in her arms, she lifted her head and winked at Luke.

  “Nick, brother, can you give me a hand?” Luke asked into the microphone, forcing his best friend to turn around and face him. Nick pointed both his thumbs towards his body and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Luke merely nodded in response with a smile on his face.

  Nick walked to the front of the building slapping Luke affectionately on the back and together they reached for the scissors, cutting through the red ribbon, symbolizing that Jake’s dream was now a reality.

  * * * * *

  Ava crept into her father and Cara’s bedroom Christmas morning nervously, with Benny on her heels. The beagle jumped onto the bed and started to sniff through the comforter in search of Cara. Ava walked around to the side of the bed and gently shook Cara awake.

  “Cara! Wake up! It’s Christmas morning! Hurry, come on! I think Santa came.” She said with another nudge to a stirring Cara. Benny began to lap kisses along Cara’s face, his best effort to help Ava in her struggle.

  “Okay! Okay! I’m up…” She said through a yawn, sitting up, she opened her eyes and glanced around the room. She petted Benny on the head before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and leaning over to kiss Ava on the cheek. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas!” Ava cried joyfully, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. “Come on, I can’t wait to see what he left for me!”

  “Where’s Daddy?” Cara asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, letting Ava drag her out of the bedroom.

  “He must be downstairs already.” Ava said giddily as they started down the stairs.

  “Hopefully he started the coffee.” Cara said more to herself than to Ava, since she had already run down the rest of the stairs. As tired as she was, she had to smile, to be a kid on Christmas morning was magical, Cara was just happy to be a part of the magic. She stepped off the last step, turning around to walk into the living room, and froze in her tracks.

  The oversized Christmas tree took up most of the living room, the rest was taken by Santa’s presents, but that wasn’t what caused Cara to freeze. It was the man who was kneeling down on one knee before the Christmas tree, the man with the little girl next to him in the same position. Both, Ava and Luke were smiling sheepishly at Cara, waiting for her to come closer to them.

  For a moment she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Maybe she was still sleeping. Luke crooked his finger, giving her a smoldering come hither look. Somehow, unknown to her, she found her footing and stepped towards him and Ava. Her mouth was dry and when she spoke her voice cracked.

  “What’s going on?” She said in a strangled whisper.

  Luke smiled and reached for her hand. “Merry Christmas…” He said softly, bringing her hand to his lips, feathering kisses along her knuckles.

  She watched him intently for a moment, he was so calm, so completely sure of himself. She shifted her eyes to Ava who was smiling from ear to ear. “Merry Christmas…” She heard herself say.

  “We have something we want to ask you, Spunky.” Luke said squeezing her left hand.

  “Okay.” She said, feeling her palms grow clammy. She ran her free hand through her bed hair, wishing she had taken a moment to tie her hair back, maybe even brush her teeth. She was pretty sure this was one of the biggest moments of her life, and here she was dressed in red and green flannel pajamas, with hair that resembled a nest of some sort.

  Luke turned to his daughter for a moment, sending her a wink. She began to raise her fingers one at a time until she raised three tiny fingers. They both turned to face Cara.

  “Will you marry us?” Father and daughter asked in unison, their eyes shining hopefully at Cara.

  Cara gasped at the sight the two of them made. Ava’s little hands fumbled with the black velvet box, prying it open, she turned it around and displayed the diamond solitaire that had a halo of tiny emerald stones circling it.

  “Of course I’ll marry you.” She said through her tears to Luke, turning to Ava. “I love you both so much.” She dropped to her knees in front of Luke throwing her arms around his neck. She felt the sigh of relief escape him as she hugged him with all her might.

  “I love you, Cara.” He whispered into her ear. She pulled back a moment and grabbed Ava pulling her into their hug.

  “She said yes daddy.” Ava said, smiling into his chest as she embraced the two of them.

  Luke stared into Cara’s eyes, his love for reflected in her eyes. “Yeah baby, she did.”

  Cara’s smile was as wide as her face. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands before she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

  “This is the best Christmas ever.” Cara said against his mouth.

  “Wait! You have to put the ring on. It’s not official until you put the ring on her daddy!!” Ava said, handing the box to her dad. Luke laughed at his anxious daughter, taking the ring out of the box with one hand, and taking Cara’s left hand with the other. He looked into her eyes as he started to slip the finger onto her finger.

  “It’s beautiful.” Cara whispered.

  “The diamond symbolizes you and dad’s love and the emeralds are my birthstone.” Ava added helpfully, watching as her dad finished placing the ring on Cara’s finger, kissing her hand one more time to seal the deal.

  “It’s perfect.” Cara said, taking Ava’s hand in hers as she wrapped her other arm around Luke’s neck. “Every time I look at my hand, I’ll be reminded how lucky I am. I’ll be reminded that I’ve got the most amazing family.”

  * * * * *

  2 years later

  Cara was going through boxes in the garage in search for another extension cord for Luke. He was driving her crazy. Apparently her Christmas shenanigans were wearing, rubbing off on him, and this year he was determined to pull out all the stops. He was stringing lights from the roof of their house all the way down to the bushes in their garden. She had to laugh a little at his determination to make this Christmas the best Christmas ever, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him that two years ago, he had already achieved that goal, when he asked her to be his wife.

  They had gotten married six months later in the same church they both had received all their sacraments in. Cara wore the dress of her dreams as she walked down the aisle to the man and the little girl that she loved. During the marriage ceremony the three of them lit a unity candle, symbolizing they were now a family. Nick and Sam had returned the favor and stood beside them as they vowed to love one another all the days of their lives.

  The next Christmas, it was Cara’s turn to give Luke and Ava the best unexpected Christmas present, and she did so by telling them she was pregnant. Six months ago the most perfect little boy was born, completing the Lanza family. Hence why Luke was up in arms with making Christmas so special this year, it was their son’s first Christmas.

  She opened up a box, hoping she finally found the cord, but instead she pulled out a leather bound journal. She ran her fingers along the spine of the journal before flipping through the pages. She opened the book, settling on one of the first entries…

  Dear Cara,

  I’ve decided to stop using this journal as an outlet for me during my illness. Today is the first day I will begin to fill the blank pages with letters to you. If I told you everything that was going on in my head, you’d probably beat the crap out of me. I’m too weak and the truth is I’ve seen you fight and you could probably kick my ass even if I was feeling a hundred percent.

  All our plans for the future have once again been put on hold due to cancer. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you’re going through this shit storm. I probably should’ve waited un
til I knew if the chemotherapy had worked for sure, before I asked you to marry me. But I was so sure. I guess that’s what they mean by false hope. All the medical websites I’ve been looking at, there are these testimonials from cancer survivors, and their families. Most of the time, after you’ve received chemotherapy, your life goes back to the way it was before you were diagnosed. They say you feel like you are reclaiming your life, and that’s what I thought too. I wasn’t naïve to think I would be in remission when the PET scan results came back, but I did think that the chemo had worked a little bit. I know you were just as disappointed as I was when the doctor said it had done nothing but damage some of my organs.

  I know that no matter what, even if we had just remained friends, you still would be my side. God allowed me time with the girl of my dreams and even allowed me to call her my fiancé. How could I ever complain?

  I’m probably dying. I can say that on paper, but not out loud. The doctors have already told me that they cannot continue treatment with chemo, my body isn’t reacting well. Instead of it killing the cancer the drugs are killing me. The next step is a bone marrow transplant and we’re on the hunt for the donor. Luke and Sam are probably taking bets on which one of them will be the perfect match. I just hope it works. The thought of dying isn’t as scary as the thought of never seeing you again. To never see my sweet Cara, go through all the milestones of life that we have been talking about.

  It’s funny the things I told myself I had my whole life to do, and procrastinated doing them, are things now I wish I had done. I want you to know I never thought I’d get married to anyone other than you, even when we were just friends. You used to tell me that you could picture your wedding, but never the man you married. It was the opposite for me. I just pictured you. You’ve been asking me to marry you, not even caring what day of the week it is or if you even have your dress. The dream you had of your wedding, you’re willing to give up. You’re so hell bent on marrying my crazy ass that you’ll marry me in a hospital room. I’m flattered baby. So, fucking flattered. I keep telling you I’m going to get better and when the cancer is gone, you’ll get your wedding.

  We’re not going to get married Cara. I want to explain why, so that when I die, you don’t hate me. I can’t leave this earth knowing that when I die, your future would die along with me. You’d be married to my spirit and to our past. You’d never look to fulfill your future. You wouldn’t remarry and have a family. You’d be alone, clinging to the past. You’d sit by my head stone and talk to me as if I was standing in front of you. Time would stand still for you and before you know it you’d be old and gray just waiting to be in the plot beside me. There would be no children and there would be no stories to tell your grandchildren. Don’t shake your head, I can picture you shaking your head and crying right now as you read this. Stop it. You know I’m right. I’m always right. Guess what I’m doing right now as I write this? I’m wiggling my eyebrows, because you know I’m right.

  Seriously babe, I don’t want that for you. I want you to live your life. Go get married, have some kids, name one of them Jake. I’ll watch over them just like I’ll always watch over you. When your husband accidentally electrocutes himself hanging Christmas lights, know I’m even looking out for that son of a bitch too. Know that I’m happy that he’s giving my girl a chance at a good life. You’ll always be my girl, lucky for him; my mom taught me how to share.

  Maybe you’ll never read these letters, but I have to write them anyway. I want to be there for you, when I know you’ll need me the most. Just always know I love you.

  Love Always & Forever Yours,

  Jake

  “Mom?” Ava said, poking her head into the garage. “Did you find the cord?”

  Cara lifted her head, closing the book, carefully placing it back inside the box. “No.” She shook her head and placed her hands on her hips looking around the garage. “I have no idea where else it can be.”

  “Well, I’ll just let you break the news to dad. I’m going to go see if Grandpa Jimmy has loosened his hold on the baby yet.”

  Cara laughed slightly watching Ava disappear back into the house. She sighed and zipped her coat up before braving the cold. She walked around to the front of the house, finding her husband standing high on a ladder, two stories up hanging icicle lights from the gutters.

  Luke noticed one of the twinkling lights was out, reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a replacement bulb. With one hand holding the ladder and the other holding the new bulb, he leaned forward and tried to pull the bad bulb out with his teeth, probably not the smartest idea, considering the tingling sensation that vibrated through his teeth. He dropped the replacement bulb and gripped the ladder with both hands, spitting out the bad bulb.

  “Son of a bitch!” He hollered.

  “Stud Muffin?” Cara called up to her husband. “Everything okay up there?”

  “Everything’s fine.” He called down before mumbling. “I’m pretty sure I just electrocuted myself.”

  “Why don’t you call it a night? I can’t find the other cord anyway. We’ll go to the hardware store tomorrow and get another one. Tomorrow is another day.” She pleaded.

  Luke sighed, glancing down at his wife who looked small standing beside the ladder. “Alright, I’m coming down.” He resigned. Cara was right, he could finish tomorrow, and he would. Come hell or high water his son was going to have the best first Christmas a baby could have. It didn’t matter, he’d never remember it, that’s why he bought Ava a professional camera. She had taken an interest in pictures and he planned on documenting the entire month of December through her eyes.

  He climbed down the ladder, turning around to face his wife. “Where are the kids?”

  “Inside with my dad and Nancy,” She said wrapping her arms around his neck. She stood on her tip toes to reach his lips with her own. “You’re doing a great job.” She said, pulling back from the kiss. She nodded towards the house. “It’s already the best decorated house on our block.”

  “Babe, it’s the only decorated house on our block.” Luke said with a frown.

  “See? I told you it was the best.” She said with a laugh, taking his hand in hers and dragging him towards the front door of their half-lit house. “Come on, I’ll give you a massage.” She said seductively.

  Luke’s eyes lit up as he watched his wife’s hips sashay as she walked into the house. That ass of hers did him in, every time. She looked over her shoulder, catching him in the act, she laughed.

  “See something you like?” She teased.

  He lifted his heated gaze to hers. “What do you think?” He said gruffly as he kicked the door closed with his foot and wrapped his arms around her waist. He bent his head and nuzzled her neck.

  A little cry sounded and Ava came into the foyer holding her baby brother. “I think he’s hungry.” She said.

  “I changed his diaper.” Jimmy said from the entry way of the living room.

  “You changed his diaper?” Nancy asked incredulously.

  “Ava helped me.” Jim said smugly.

  Cara laughed and reached out for her baby boy. Luke dropped his hands from Cara’s waist and stepped around her.

  “Let me…” he said, taking his son from his daughter’s arms. “Come here, Jake… you want your daddy don’t you?” He said soothingly as he lifted his son to rest against his chest. Baby Jake’s cries tapered off as he nestled against his father’s chest. His eyes found Cara’s and he watched a smile spread across her face.

  “When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” ~William Shakespeare

  Acknowledgements:

  I want to thank my family and friends who have supported me on this journey. Your unconditional support was the motivation I needed to complete this series. I love each and every one of you for the role you play in my life.

  I want to thank the book community and by this I mean the bloggers and readers I have met over the past nine months. I truly appreciate all the help and expo
sure you have given me and The Riverdale Series. I look forward to maintaining the relationships I have developed with some incredible people who share a love for reading.

  It is with a very humble heart that I say farewell to the Lanza family. The Riverdale Series will always hold a special place in my heart.

  Coming Soon

  From author Janine Infante Bosco

  A stand-alone novel

  “Illicit Temptations”

  My name is Michael Valente. The people in my father’s world call me “Val”. It was the same nick name they had given him before he died when I was sixteen. I was never supposed to know the life he was a part of. I was never supposed to know he died in place of his best friend, the boss of the largest crime family on the East Coast, Victor Pastore.

  My mother has tried everything in her power to keep me away from them. She tried to shield me from the truth. But it’s in my blood, the temptation running through my veins. I’m out to avenge my father’s death at all costs. I have a plan and heaven help anyone who stands in my way.

  The only thing I didn’t plan on was Victor’s daughter, Nicole, and her drug pushing boyfriend getting in my way. Now it’s my job to protect her too.

  Copyright

  Fitting the Pieces

  (Riverdale Series, Book Three)

  By Janine Infante Bosco

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form of by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes, if done so constitutes a copyright violation.