Sam sat in the overstuffed recliner across from her, cuddling Tillie in his arms. She was asleep now, clutching his hand like she would never let it go. “I arrested Lucas Dodge several years ago for putting his wife in the hospital. He got out last week, and he decided to have his revenge. He watched me for a couple of days, then vandalized my house when he knew he wouldn’t be seen. He’d gotten his hands on a stolen car, and that worked for a couple of days until we picked it up on the traffic cam and told the Texas police where to find it. He just grabbed another one and headed for the school. At this point, I guess he figured he had nothing to lose.”
Carly took a sip of her cocoa, then slid her feet down so her toes were touching her daughter. She needed the reassurance that both girls were safe.
“He came into the playground at recess, grabbed Tillie, and waited until I got there—he wanted me to see him take her. Just taking her wasn’t enough. And then you saw what happened from there on out.”
“I saw it, but I can’t believe it. Where did Mick come from, and how on earth did he get himself caught up in all that? Why?”
“As I was driving him down to the station, he told me that he’d come back to town because he wanted to talk to you and to Sophie. His original plan had been to talk to Sophie first and see if she’d butter you up for him, but when he got to the school and saw what was going on, he realized he could do something to help, and he did it.”
Carly snorted. “Mick wanted to do something helpful? He’s never been helpful in his entire life.”
“I’m just repeating what he said. Who knows why he really did it, but I’m glad he did, even though it was extremely stupid and he could have gotten killed.” He gave Tillie a tender look, then glanced back up at Carly. “We’re holding him for a little while yet while we get some things straightened out.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Carly stared into her cocoa. “Do you think I could talk to him? Just for a minute?”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to?”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
He nodded. “That should be all right, but Meg’s also getting your new restraining order in place this afternoon. You don’t have to see him ever again if you don’t want to.”
It would be so easy to drop the idea, but she knew she wouldn’t have peace unless she looked him in the eye one more time. “I’ll head down to the station in the morning.”
“Okay.”
A car door closed outside, and Sam looked over his shoulder. “Looks like your surprise is here.”
“My surprise? I can’t take any more surprises, Sam. What’s going on?”
“Oh, I think you’ll like this one.” He carefully stood up without disturbing Tillie and crossed the floor to open the door. Helen Black, Carly’s mother, stepped through, Julia right behind her.
“Mom?” Carly scrambled out of her afghan and set her cocoa down before throwing her arms around her mother’s shoulders. “Oh, Mom! You’re here!”
“Of course I’m here. When this nice young man called me and told me I was needed, I was on my way to the airport in five minutes. And then this nice young lady picked me up on this end.”
Carly stood in the entryway of her house and sobbed, holding her mother like the life preserver she was.
***
Hours later, Carly and her mother sat at the kitchen table, talking. The two little girls had been tucked up together in Carly’s bed, Sam was asleep on the couch, and everything was still. Carly had told her mother everything that had happened from the moment she and Sophie left Denver until that afternoon, and Helen had cried right along with her.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Helen said at last. “I’m so sorry you’ve carried all this alone. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t drag you into my mess again, Mom. Mick already threatened you before—I wasn’t about to let him anywhere near you this time.”
“None of that matters. What matters is you and my precious granddaughter.” Helen nodded toward the living room. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you found him, honey. He’s one in a million.”
“He really is, Mom.” Carly hugged herself, chills running down her arms as she thought about everything that had happened. “If it wasn’t for him . . .”
Helen smiled. “You don’t even need to think about that. He’s here, he’s taking care of you, and he loves you. I can see that from a dozen yards away.” She reached out and touched Carly’s arm. “I’m planning to stay until your wedding, so you’d better take care of it fast before my plants die. I forgot to arrange for someone to come in and water them while I’m gone.”
***
Carly entered the police station and took a deep breath, wondering what she was doing there. Her mother was back at the house with Sophie and Tillie, making cookies. A social worker would be coming by later that afternoon to meet with the girls and set up a schedule for trauma counseling. Little by little, they were going to put the pieces back together.
Rose smiled when Carly approached the desk. “Hello there, Ms. Wayne. Chief said you’d be coming in. I understand you’d like to pay a visit.”
“Yes, I would, please.”
“Well, you go right in to the visiting room, and I’ll have one of the officers bring Mr. Clark in.”
Carly entered the room and took a seat at the table, one of the only pieces of furniture in there. She wondered if the visiting room doubled as the interrogation room because it was so sparse.
After a few minutes, Mick was led in, and he took the other chair. “Hello, Karen,” he said. “Or I guess I should call you Carly now.”
She inclined her head. “I came here to thank you for what you did for Tillie. And also to ask you why you did it.”
Mick looked down at the table, then back up at her. “I just kept thinking, what if that was Sophie? I couldn’t stand by and do nothing, not when I had the chance to help. So I took it.”
“But why? You’re not getting anything out of it. In fact, you’re sitting in prison right now while they try to decide what to do with you.”
“Maybe I’m not as terrible as you think I am, Carly.”
She met his gaze. “I know exactly who you are and what you are, so don’t even try to make me feel sorry for you. I haven’t underestimated you or misunderstood you or misjudged you—you are a wife beater. You are a narcissist. You might even be a sociopath—wouldn’t surprise me. I’m grateful for what you did for Tillie, and that’s it. Nothing more.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I got the new restraining order about an hour ago. You aren’t pulling any punches with me.”
“You never did with me.”
He didn’t respond for a moment. “I’ll honor the terms of the order, I promise. I would like to hear from Sophie from time to time, though. To know how she’s doing.”
“You don’t have the right to ask for any such thing. You lost every right you had the first time you hit me.”
“Not even after I saved her little friend?”
Carly shook her head. “Now I get it. You saved Tillie because you thought it would score points with me. Well, it didn’t work.” She stood up. “Get out of Tennessee, Mick. Go crawl back under whatever rock you came from. You and I are finished, and you and Sophie are finished. Goodbye.”
She ignored him when he called after her. Walking away had never felt so good.
Chapter Sixteen
The string orchestra played a selection of classical music in the corner of Quinn Dawson’s backyard, and waiters in black tuxedos moved through the crowd, carrying trays of various hors d'oeuvres. Meg looked stunning in her simple white sheath dress, and Quinn hadn’t stopped smiling for a single minute.
“Giving you any thoughts?” Sam said as he came up beside Carly, a plate of sliced meats and cheeses in his hand.
“Oh, I’ve been having all kinds of thoughts all day,” she replied.
“What kinds are those?”
She turned to face him, grinning. “The k
inds where you and I are free to concentrate on our relationship without the distraction of vandals or gunmen or crazy ex-husbands. The kinds where we can figure out what’s going on between us.”
Sam put his plate down and took both her hands in his. “I know exactly what’s going on here,” he replied. “You and I have found each other, we’ve fallen in love with each other, we’ve overcome some pretty incredible and unbelievable odds together, and now we can spend the rest of our lives together.”
“That’s what’s going on?” she asked, her breath catching in her throat.
“That’s exactly what’s going on. Carly, I know you’re obligated to go on tour, and the timing might be a little off. But will you marry me when you get back? Will you let me love you forever, and create a home where our daughters can grow up safe and protected?”
“Oh, absolutely,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck. “In fact, I’ll spend every minute I’m not on stage planning the wedding.”
“I like that idea.” Sam kissed her soundly, then took a step back. “I think we have a visitor.”
Carly turned to see her mother bustling toward them. “I just met Gil Murray—what a nice man! He says he’s going to be part of your tour, Carly. Oh, and I also met . . .” She paused. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Only a proposal,” Carly said, watching her mother’s eyes light up.
“Oh, sweetheart!” Helen gathered Carly into a hug, and then she turned and hugged Sam too. “I honestly couldn’t be any happier. You were made for each other by the angels in heaven, I’m sure of it.”
“Carly’s definitely an angel,” Sam replied.
“There’s just one thing, Mom,” Carly said. “You were going to stay until after our wedding . . . but we’re not getting married until after my tour. I don’t think you meant to be gone quite so long.”
“I didn’t originally, but I had a very interesting talk with Julia just now. She had an idea that has me all kinds of excited.”
Carly grinned to hear her mother talk like that. “Oh? What’s this idea?”
“Well, you need someone to help with Sophie on the tour, and she suggested that I be that someone.”
“What?” Carly blinked. “Mom, you’d be perfect! And you’d do that for us?”
“Of course I would. I’d love to come. Julia says I should fly home, get my house squared away, and then be ready to leave on the first. The label will pay for my travel, and they’re even going to pay for someone to mow my lawn while I’m gone.”
“That’s incredible, Mom. And you can help me plan the wedding, too—I promised Sam I’d work on that between concerts.”
Helen beamed. “I can’t wait to get started.”
At last, there seemed to be a break in the steady stream of people lined up to talk to Quinn and Meg, and Carly led Sam over there. “Meg, thank you so much for that restraining order, and Quinn, thank you for . . . well, everything,” Carly said. “The two of you have really gone out of your way for us.”
“It’s the least we could do,” Quinn said. “We’re all put on this earth to help each other, Carly, and I feel I’ve been blessed with what I have. If I don’t share it, I don’t deserve it.”
“But you’re not sharing your wife,” Meg said, snaking her arm through his. “That’s one blessing you’re keeping all to yourself.”
“Absolutely,” Quinn replied, giving her a look of complete adoration. It made Carly’s heart warm to see how much the two loved each other. “And you must be Chief Bolton,” he continued, reaching out to shake Sam’s hand. “Can’t tell you how many good things I’ve heard about you.”
“Likewise,” Sam replied.
Carly took advantage of the men’s conversation to lean forward and whisper to Meg, “Sam just proposed.”
Meg grinned. “Well, of course he did. There’s something about weddings that brings out the romantics in all of us. Congratulations, Carly—he’s a great guy, and I know you two will be happy together.”
“Us four,” Carly replied, looking across the lawn to where Tilly and Sophie were eating cake with Casey, who had promised to take them to see the pony after they changed out of their pretty dresses. “All four of us are going to be happier than we ever imagined.”
“I have no doubt about it,” Meg replied, giving Carly’s shoulders a squeeze.
Epilogue
Being away from Sam for two months was one of the hardest things Carly had ever endured, but hearing his voice on the phone every night helped. He kept her updated on Tillie’s progress with the trauma counselor and reported that his little warrior was doing great. Carly kept him updated on the wedding plans, and then the two girls talked for a few minutes. It was a nightly routine they all loved.
Her album had been released, and Julia reported that the sales were going through the roof. That made Carly almost as happy as hearing that Julia and Tommy had finally set a date and would be getting married that fall.
The tour was crazier and more chaotic and more exciting than Carly had imagined it would be. She couldn’t get over what it felt like to step out onto that stage and hear thousands of people cheering for her. The first couple of times, she wanted to turn and run back into the wings, but now it fed her and kept her going, and she could understand why some people said they were addicted to it. There really was no other feeling like it in the world.
Except maybe one. The bus would be pulling into the parking lot at Lotus Leaf Records in a matter of minutes, and Sam had promised to meet her there. She had everything planned down to the last second, and she needed this to work. Helen sat beside her, holding her hand as the bus rounded the last turn and hissed to a stop, and Carly stood up, smoothing down the front of her dress.
“Are you ready?” Helen asked.
“Oh, I’ve been ready my whole life,” Carly replied.
She peered out the window and saw Sam and Tillie waiting. Her heart almost climbed out of her throat. “They’re here,” she said.
“Well, go say hello,” Helen urged.
Carly descended from the bus, holding her dress clear of the stairs, and walked toward Sam, who had a look of incredulity on his face. Instead of speaking to him, she handed him a white envelope.
He took it from her and opened it, reading the contents. Then he smiled. “So, this wedding invitation says we’re getting married in half an hour at the church across town,” he said. “Is that why you showed up here in your wedding dress? To save time?”
She gave a little curtsy. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.” He caught her up in his arms and kissed her like she’d been dreaming about for two months. “But I’m not ready, and neither is Tillie.”
“Your clothes are waiting for you at the church. Julia and I have spent hours on the phone together making this happen, and she pulled everything together. Come on, Chief Bolton—we have a wedding to get to.”
Sam laughed, opened the door of his patrol car, and helped her in. Then he turned and caught Sophie up in his arms. “What do you say? Want to ride in my car, and we’ll go get married?”
“Is this the day when you get to be my daddy, and Tillie gets to be my sister?” Sophie asked, and Sam nodded.
“Today’s the day.”
“Then let’s drive really fast! Can we use your siren?”
“It’s tempting, but we’d probably better not.” Sam grinned as the two girls climbed in the back and buckled up. Carly reached out and took his hand when he climbed into the car.
“Do you mind that I sprang a wedding on you like this?” she asked. “I just knew that the minute I got home, I’d want to be your wife, and this seemed like the best way to go about it. And plus, I really wanted to surprise you.”
“Oh, you definitely surprised me, but in the best possible way.” Sam leaned over and kissed her. “Let’s go be a family.”
“Okay. Let’s go be a family.” As Sam started the car and turned it toward the church, Carly felt her heart expand a million times in
her chest. She wasn’t a princess and this wasn’t a fairy tale, but she was going to have a happily ever after with her Prince Charming after all.
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About Amelia C. Adams
Amelia C. Adams is a wife, a mother, an eater of tacos, and a taker of naps. She spends her days thinking up stories and her nights writing them down. Her biggest hero is her husband, and you just might see bits and pieces of him as you read her novels.
You can reach her at [email protected].
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The Kansas Crossroads Series:
A New Beginning (free!)
A Free Heart
The Dark and the Dawn
A Clean Slate
A Clear Hope
The Whisper of Morning
A Careless Wind
A Narrow Road
The Bitter and the Sweet
The Calm of Night
A Begrudging Bride
A Broken Wing (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
A Twisted Fate
An Unspoken Dream
A Joyful Noise
The Echo of Music (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
The Risk and the Reward (A Kansas Crossroads novella)
A Passing Glance
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Sea of Strangers (free!)
Cause of Conflict
Touch of Tenderness
Heart of Hearts
Test of Time
Sidearms and Songbirds (Hearts of Nashville Book 3) Page 11
