A Hero For Holly

by Kristy K. James

  “You know,” he said quietly, stroking her arm, “I’ve been thinking. Since Lyle told me, I mean.”

  “That’s a lot of thinking.”

  “Sure is. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about all that time you’re going to have on your hands now. I mean, with the boys in school and you being stuck at home all day and all, you're bound to get a little of bored. Since you’re used to being so busy all the time, you know.”

  “There is that risk, I suppose."

  She looked up at him then, head tilted, brows raised and he swallowed so hard the neighbors probably heard it.

  “Well… I was thinking that if you got too bored, there might be a solution.”

  “And that would be?” she prompted.

  Sam closed his eyes, took a fortifying breath—and heard the suggestion roll out of his mouth before he even realized he'd spoken. It was almost as much of a surprise to him as it surely would be to Holly.

  “Planning a wedding is pretty time consuming but if you’re up for the challenge, I’d really like to help you with that.”

  “Sam?” she said his name so quietly he barely heard it as he pulled away from her and knelt on one knee before her. With infinite tenderness, he took her left hand in his.

  “I love you, Holly, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you’ll have me.” There. It was out. Well no, he realized, it wasn’t. “Will you marry me?”

  “Sam- Are you sure?” Not a ‘yes.’ But not a ‘no’ either.

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, Holly. I love you. I love the boys. I’d like to adopt them if it’s all right with all of you.”

  “What about other children? You know I’m thirty-three.”

  “If you want more kids, Holly, nothing would make me happier. But if you don’t, nothing would make me happier.”

  “We do have that in common, don’t we?”

  “What’s that?”

  “That air of mystery you mentioned earlier.” He chuckled softly, nervously. “Yes.”

  “Yes, you’ll marry me?”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Thank you. When?”

  “When do you think it should be?”

  “Christmas?” he asked hopefully.

  “This Christmas?”

  “Is that too soon?

  “It’s perfect, Sam.” She leaned down and kissed him tenderly. “I love you.”

  “I love you.” He stroked her cheek, then whispered, “Holly?”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been down here so long I think I need some help up.” She laughed so hard that tears ran down her cheeks.

  CHAPTER 9

  Holly couldn’t sleep. Fortunately she wasn’t scheduled to work at all this weekend. Or, in fact, anymore weekends until she turned the reins over to Lyle on November fifteenth. She finally gave up and crawled out of bed shortly before five, donned her robe and padded downstairs to make a pot of coffee.

  She doubted that the smile she’d been wearing since Sam dropped her off last night had left her face, even for a moment.

  She was marrying Sam.

  She was marrying Sam!

  In fifty-nine days. Less than two months and she’d be his wife. She wanted to shout it to the world. Instead, she scooped her favorite hazelnut blend into the coffee filter, then leaned against the counter to wait. It took her five full minutes to realize that she hadn’t turned the machine on and she laughed softly. Clearly her mind was elsewhere – about seven miles away, to be exact.

  Was Sam having trouble sleeping, too? Holly figured he was probably as wide-awake as she was, but decided to wait until six to call. Just in case. It wasn’t like she had a lot of experience in what might or might not cause Sam to not sleep. Mike had always zonked out as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Sam wasn’t Mike.

  Thank God.

  Coffee finally ready, she poured herself a cup, grabbed the cordless phone, and went to sit out on her small patio. Off to the east there was a faint light from the rising sun, but her yard was still pretty dark, streetlights being few and far between on her street. That was okay with her. She didn’t feel like advertising the fact that she was still in her night clothes.

  After Sam had proposed, they cuddled in the swing, making quiet plans while the boys were engrossed in the movie. They would announce their engagement at the party Sunday night, which was when Zack and Billy would find out about it, too. Holly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would be too thrilled to keep the information to themselves.

  Sam showed her the engagement ring he’d had for so long, even slipped it on her finger for several minutes before she reluctantly took it off. She could hardly wait until it was back where it belonged. Permanently.

  “Oh the heck with it,” she decided impatiently, dialing Sam’s number. It was his fault she was awake anyway. He answered on the first ring.

  “Couldn’t sleep, huh?” he answered, not bothering with hello.

  “Nope.”

  “Me either.”

  “Did you get any at all?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. But that’s okay. I had plenty of nice thoughts to keep me company.”

  “Me, too,” Holly told him, sighing. She’d done a lot of that during the last twenty-four hours. “December seems like a long ways away.”

  “I know. I’d rather marry you today, but we’re going to be mature, responsible grownups and wait. I know how important it is to you to include your mother in the plans, and the wedding, of course.”

  “Well, it seemed like a good idea last night.” She laughed quietly. “After a sleepless night, though, it doesn’t seem quite so important.” Sam laughed with her.

  “The time will pass so fast you’ll wish we’d waited until spring, sweetheart. Trust me. We’ve got the wedding to plan, your house to put up for sale, everything to pack up and get moved out here.” He paused for a moment. “You wouldn’t want to just fly out to Nevada this afternoon would you?”

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I would.”

  “But we’re adults and we’ll try to wait, right?”

  “Sometimes I really hate being a grownup.” This time they both laughed. “I wish my mom could be at the party Sunday. I’d love to have her there.”

  “Call and invite her,” Sam suggested.

  “I thought we decided to not tell anyone until the party.”

  “Given that your mother is out of state, and can’t just drop in, I think we can make an exception, don’t you?”

  “You wouldn’t mind?” she asked, excited at the thought.

  “Holly-” He paused to gather his thoughts. “You are the most important person in the world to me. I want to do everything I can to make you happy. Let’s give her a call and see if she can come celebrate with us.”

  “Thank you, Sam.” She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to how very sweet this man was. “Do you think we should tell your folks, too? I don‘t want to offend them.”

  “They’ll understand. Don’t worry, okay?”

  ~~~~~

  Sam was more nervous on his way to Holly’s for breakfast that morning than he’d been the night before when he’d proposed. They would each be holding a telephone extension when she made the call, so it would be more like they were announcing it in person. He just wished he knew how Eileen was going to take the news. He worried that she might not be open to losing her daughter to another man so soon after making up with her. But she’d seemed to like him during her visit earlier in the summer.

  “She’s going to be happy for us,” he said with all the confidence he could muster, as he walked up the porch stairs. Holly met him at the door looking happier than he’d ever seen her.

  “Good morning,” she whispered, opening the screen and walking into his arms.

  “Good morning,” he whispered back, kissing her thoroughly, doubts still plaguing his thoughts.

  What if Eileen wasn
‘t happy for them? Holly had assured him that it wouldn’t matter…but it might. And if she was wrong and it did matter, he didn’t know what he would do. He couldn’t lose her now.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, pushing him gently back to the porch. They peeked in the window where he could see the boys mesmerized by a cartoon.

  “Nothing.”

  “Something’s wrong, Sam. What is it?” she pressed.

  “I don’t know.” He looked down into her eyes and wished he could just run away with her.

  “Are you worried about calling my mother?” Holly guessed.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t be. She’s going to be thrilled.”

  “What if she’s not?”

  “Do you remember me saying that I never break a promise?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “I promised to marry you, didn’t I?”

  “Well- Technically all you said was ‘yes.’” He watched her smile tenderly and pulled her against his chest.

  “True enough. I can remedy that right now. Sam, I promise to marry you and live with you forever. Is that better?”

  “Much. Thank you.”

  “Now are you going to promise me the same thing?”

  “Absolutely. Holly, I promise to marry you and live with you forever. So now if your mother thinks this is a lousy idea, you‘re stuck with me, right?”

  “That’s right. And you’re stuck with me if your parents aren’t thrilled. Now that we’re clear on that, shall we go out back and call Mom?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. And for your information, my folks will be over the moon about it.”

  Zack and Billy barely managed a hello, not even glancing away from the television, as they hurried through the house to collect the telephones. Sam had to grin. Those boys sure had their priorities on Saturday mornings.

  “Okay. Turn it on now,” Holly said, after dialing the number. Sam heard two rings and a male voice answered gruffly.

  “Hello?” Apparently, Holly hadn’t been expecting her father, and hesitated for a moment. “Hello?”

  “Dad- Daddy, it’s me, Holly.” Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulders when he heard Mr. Barry snap,

  “It’s your daughter.” He thought he heard Eileen mutter something about eating dirt, and bit his lip to keep from grinning.

  “Holly? Honey, I’m so glad you called. I was just thinking about you, and looking at the pictures you sent a few days ago. The boys look like they’ve grown half a foot since I left.”

  “I think they have, Mom,” Holly said, not quite as happy as she’d been moments ago. Never a particularly judgmental man, Sam was tempted to make a visit to Mr. Barry and explain the intricacies of proper telephone etiquette when one’s daughter called.

  “I miss all of you so much.”

  “Well, Mom- Um- The reason I’m calling is- Actually, I’ve got Sam on the line, too.”

  “Sam? Sam’s there?”

  “Right beside her, Eileen. Good morning.”

  “Good morning to you, too. I’m going to assume you have some good news for me,” she said, obvious excitement in her voice.

  “We do, Ma’am. I’ve asked Holly to marry me, and she’s agreed.”

  “No, I didn’t, Mom. I promised.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  “Yes. Now he’s stuck with me forever.”

  “There’s no one else I’d rather be I’d rather be stuck with,” Sam assured her with a smile.

  “I am so happy for the two of you,” Eileen gushed. “I knew things were headed this way while I was visiting. I’m just surprised it took so long. When is the big day? Are the boys as thrilled as I know they have to be? They adore you, Sam.”

  “Hold on, Mom,” Holly said, chuckling, her good humor returned. “First of all, we’re getting married December sixteenth, and we’re hoping you’ll want to help plan everything.”

  “Of course I will,” she assured them, without so much as a moment’s hesitation.

  “Second, we haven’t told the boys yet. We’re having a party at the restaurant next Sunday, and we decided we’d announce our engagement there.”

  “We’d like to send you a train ticket so you can attend,” Sam added quickly, earning a grateful smile from his newly acquired fiancé. He kissed her forehead.

  “I’d love to come,” Eileen exclaimed enthusiastically. “Is it all right if I stay with you and the boys again? I sure I can get Friday and Monday off. Oh I hope I don’t give anything away. One thing I learned in a hurry is that Billy couldn’t keep a secret if you slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth.” Sam and Holly started to laugh.

  “Yes, Mom, we wouldn’t have you stay anywhere else,” Holly managed to say, wiping tears from her eyes. “And you’re spot on about Billy. But Zack isn’t much better, so we’ll all have to be careful.”

  “This is so wonderful! Do you have a ring yet? I can’t wait to see it.”

  “I do, Mom. But we’re waiting until the party before I start wearing it.”

  “That makes sense. Of course it does. A ring would be a dead giveaway, wouldn’t it?”

  “Uh-huh,” was all Holly managed to get out before her mother was off again.

  “Do you have any bridal magazines yet? Any ideas about where you want to have the wedding and reception? I wonder if your friend Cal would like to cater it? Maybe we could talk with him before I go home. Do you think I should take the whole next week off? Because, if you don’t mind, honey, I’d really love to make your wedding dress. You are wearing a wedding dress, aren’t you?”

  “Yes she is, Eileen,” Sam had to answer. Holly was laughing too hard to get a single word out, and he knew he’d never loved her more. “We’re doing the works, Ma’am. Tuxedos, bridesmaids, groomsmen. All of it.”

  “Oh I can’t wait!”

  ~~~~~

  “See,” Holly said, once Eileen had run out of steam and hung up to go shopping for fabric swatches. “You didn’t have to worry. I knew Mom loved you.”

  “I’m glad I got that promise out of you anyway,” he said, turning the bacon in the pan while Holly added another waffle to the stack already warming in the oven. “This is nice.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Holly agreed, thinking that it wouldn’t be long before they would be doing this every weekend. Although with the restaurant out of the picture, and Sam working from a home office, they could actually do this sort of thing every morning, if they wanted to. “I think I’m going to be like Mom for a minute,” she said, then exclaimed, with every ounce of enthusiasm she could muster, “I can’t wait!”

  “We could still fly to Nevada,” Sam said, laughing.

  “I wish. But if we want her to stay happy…”

  “No need to say more. We’ll wait.”

  “So, how do you feel about a full blown wedding?” They hadn’t really discussed that part of the plans much the night before. Other than setting the date, they’d left everything open.

  “I’m good with it. It’ll give me a chance to show everyone that I got the best end of this deal.”

  “Oh, Sam.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Hey. Don’t cry,” he told her softly, and then grinned. “I’m so not into soggy waffles.” And just as quickly, her tears dried up as she started to giggle.

  “You’re awful, you know that?”

  “I think I might have heard that a time or two.”

  ~~~~~

  Ed pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Another threat. Whoever this was, he was certainly persistent. And unimaginative. This note read pretty much the same as the others. But then, there was only so much room on a single sheet of paper, and gluing on various sized letters did tend to prevent one from being overly wordy.

  As he’d told the boys, there hadn’t been much the department could do. Forensics hadn’t been able to lift so much as a partial print, and self-adhesive stamps and envelopes eliminated any possi
bility of DNA from saliva, so they knew as much as Ed. And that was exactly nothing, beyond the fact that someone was extremely ticked off at him.

  The only concession he’d made was to install a top-of-the-line deadbolt, as well as an alarm system. He had also taken to sleeping with his gun under his pillow. Contrary to the brave front he’d put on for everyone, he wasn’t in any hurry to meet his maker. Unlike the line in some movie he’d heard once, there was never a good day to die.

  Shoving the note in a drawer with the few that had come since Sam had discovered the one on the counter, Ed grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge, the phone from its charger on the wall, and flopped down on the sofa. He and Jenna had been on three very nice dates, and spent more time than he’d own up to chatting on the telephone.

  Yeah. Talking with Jenna would be a good way to put this mess out of his mind for a little while.

  ~~~~~

  “What else can I do?” Sam asked, having set the salad bar up while Holly and Lyle finished up the roast pork and baked potatoes. Eileen and Marie were waiting impatiently for another batch of homemade rolls to finish baking, and Zack and Billy were playing in the back room, unaware that anything out of the ordinary was going on, other than the fact that they usually weren’t at the restaurant on a Sunday night.

  “You ought to shake me and demand to know why I thought baked potatoes for a hundred people would be a good idea,” Holly muttered, sighing deeply. Sam laughed. Like he’d ever shake her for any reason.

  “You’re doing good, sweetheart. Everything looks and smells wonderful. Stop worrying and tell me what I can help you with.”

  “Did you get the warming trays going on the buffet? We’ll need the heat lamps on, too.”

  “Done. I’ve got all the coffee going, too.”

  “I can’t think of anything else,” Holly mussed, looking at him helplessly. He pulled her into his arms.

  “Relax. Everything is perfect.”

  “But we’re cooking for a caterer,” she exclaimed. “I’ve tasted Cal’s creations, and I can’t imagine what he’s going to think of all this. Probably that he should have gone to a burger joint instead.”