“You messed everything up!” Clark shouted, his words pounding with splintering pain into Nick’s throbbing skull. “You’re a nothing, Nick Henry. You get that? You were born a nobody and you’ll die a nobody. You’ll never be smart. You’ll never be powerful. You’ll never be rich.”
Yeah, maybe not. But with God’s grace he might be loved.
Nick ducked the blow, waited until Clark’s fist hit the ground and then flung the man off him into the dirt. This time Nick wasn’t running away. This time he wasn’t letting go. Nick latched his arms around Clark’s neck from behind and tightened his grip in a choke hold. And Nick wasn’t going to waste his time fighting or trying to prove he was the man. All that mattered right now was ending this quickly and safely, and then throwing his arms around the beautiful woman who was now looking up at him with a gaze he wished he could bottle and keep with him every day of his life. For a moment he thought Clark was going to fight the choke. And then felt Clark’s hand smack his arm as the man tapped out.
“Good choice.” Nick eased his arm from the man’s throat and let him gasp a breath. Then he flipped him over and pressed his face in the dirt. Nick tore two strips from his own jacket with the help of his pocketknife and used them to tie Clark’s hands and legs so he wouldn’t run. Then he tore off another and used it to gag Clark’s mouth. He was sure Clark had plenty to say. But right now he wanted to talk to Erica uninterrupted.
Nick stood slowly and turned to Erica. She walked toward him and he toward her, until they met, toe-to-toe, several feet from where Clark lay bound and fuming. The clouds broke, and the morning sun rose behind her. Her body was soaked and streaked with mud. Her hair flew wild and loose around her. Her limbs were scratched and bloody.
“You literally look like you’ve just been dragged backward through the woods,” he said. She laughed. “And I’ve never seen anyone look more beautiful in my life.”
He spread his arms and she flew into him. She clutched him and he held her against his chest, like she was the missing piece of him and they never wanted to let each other go.
“It was a setup,” Erica gasped. “Clark confessed. The whole time it was a fraud. He hired Mr. Grand and his thugs, who double-crossed him and went rogue—”
“I’m in love with you.” Nick took her face in his hands as he blurted out the words that had crossed his mind countless times but that he’d never had the courage to say. “Erica Knight. I am so very deeply and truly in love with you. I feel like I’ve loved you my entire life and I should’ve told you that a million times before. But I love you. I always have loved you and I always will.”
“I love you, too, Nick.” Tears filled the beautiful depths of her eyes. “You have no idea how much I love you. Why did you fall down the cliff instead of taking the path?”
“I couldn’t find the path.”
She laughed. Then she held him, and she kissed him. And they stood there with their arms around each other for what felt like both an eternity and a moment wrapped in one. She didn’t even look up when they heard the sound of rescue helicopters circling above them or two male voices that could only be Nick’s brothers teasingly calling out to him or Clark being taken away or even Tommy’s voice in the distance. No, she held on to him and kissed his face and he kissed her tears, in front of a crowd of rescue people gathering around them, until the moment they heard one voice cut through them all.
“Mommy! Why are you kissing Soldier Nick?”
She pulled away and he let her go. She wiped her hands over her eyes, then knelt and opened her arms for her son—their son—as his father dropped to the ground beside him.
“Because Nick is your daddy, Little Soldier,” she said, the words choking with tears in her throat and sending love surging through her core. “We lost each other for a while. But you went and found him. Your uncle Tommy was wrong in what he said about your daddy. Your daddy is actually very good and very brave, just like you.”
Zander’s green eyes looked up at Nick, wide and full of hope. “For real? You’re my for-real daddy?”
“For real and forever,” Nick said. He glanced at Erica. “I promise.”
Then she scooped Zander up and Nick wrapped his arms around them both, holding the woman and boy.
* * *
The early-June sun was beginning its descent over the Ontario sky as Erica pulled her pickup down the old, familiar road to the Henry family farm. The warm and welcoming farmhouse with its large wooden porch hadn’t changed all that much since she’d run through the woods over here as a teenager. Neither had the way her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on the tall, broad-shouldered form of the man standing at the edge of the driveway.
Nick Henry. The man she loved. The man who loved her. The father of her child.
“Hey, Daddy!” Zander yelled, leaning out the open window and waving enthusiastically with both hands. “We brought cupcakes! I helped with the sprinkles! They’re blue!”
Nick laughed, “That sounds awesome.”
She barely managed to park and help Zander out of his booster seat before he launched out of the truck and into his father’s arms. She parked the car, grabbed the cooler bag with the cupcakes from the back seat and climbed out as Nick swung Zander around.
Then man and boy stopped spinning and Nick turned to her. His gaze fell on her face and the depths of love in his eyes sent heat rising to her cheeks. A teasing grin crossed his mouth. “How’s my girlfriend?”
“Daddy, that’s silly,” Zander said. He slithered from Nick’s arms and onto the ground. “Mommy is way too old to be a girl friend.”
Light twinkled in Nick’s eyes. “Oh, believe me, I know.”
So did she. In the six weeks since their lives had been thrown together during the train hijacking, she’d got the impression more than once that Nick had been on the verge of asking her to marry him, but each time he changed the subject at the last moment, leaving her wondering. Maybe he was waiting for the right place and time. Maybe he was waiting to make it perfect. Maybe he was waiting to find the right words. Or waiting for some indication from her that she was ready and that she thought the timing was right.
Well, she was and she did. Back when she was a teenager she’d spent way too many days and nights waiting for Nick Henry to ask her to be his girlfriend instead of stepping up and asking him. A smile curved her lips as she slid the cooler bag over her shoulder and started toward the house. She was done waiting. A black tungsten ring engraved with three silver maple leaves sat snugly in her front pocket. It was simple, masculine, patriotic, and it suited him perfectly. And when the time was right, she was going to ask the man she loved to marry her.
They walked toward the house, Zander in between, holding each other’s hands. “Grandma and Grandpa Henry are going to be here for dinner, right?”
“Right.” Nick smiled. “Also Uncle Jacob, Uncle Trent, Auntie Chloe, Uncle Max and Auntie Daisy.”
“Is Baby Fitz here, too?” Zander beamed.
“Absolutely, Fitz is here,” Nick said. He chuckled. Out of all his new relatives, Zander seemed to like his new toddler cousin most of all.
Zander pulled away from Nick’s grasp and ran for the door, then stopped, doubled back and stuck his arms out. “Can I carry the bag? I wanna show Fitz the cupcakes.”
“Okay,” Erica said. “Just be very, very careful. Okay?”
He nodded earnestly. She eased the bag off her shoulder and into his hands. Zander grabbed the cooler with both hands and ran for the farmhouse. She watched as he leaped up the stairs, the front door opened and Jacob let him in. He waved at Erica and Nick, then closed the door. She reached for Nick’s hand and their pace slowed as he linked his fingers through hers.
“I can’t believe how wonderful your family is with him,” she said. “I hope the cupcakes are still in one piece when they get to the table. But if they’re not, I know your family will so
mehow make it okay.”
“They will.” Nick’s fingers ran slowly over hers. “They love him so much. How did things go with therapy?”
Erica had taken a three-month leave from work after the hijacking and had been taking Zander to Toronto once a week to meet with a child and family psychologist about what had happened.
“Good,” she said. “Theresa Dean is really great with him. She says we can’t know what the long-term impact of a childhood trauma like that is going to be and that what he experienced will shape him forever. But that children are very resilient and we can surround him with the love and resources he needs to get through.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”
“I know you do.”
Thankfully, it seemed the various members of the heist crew were all turning on each other in a hurry to cut a deal and testify against each other. Tommy had agreed to step up and work with prosecutors to give full testimony at the trial, which should spare both her and Zander the stand.
Thank You, God, that no matter what comes, my son is sharing his life with a father and family that will be there for him.
Not that she was expecting the entire Henry clan to be at the farmhouse when she asked Nick to marry her. But on the other hand, maybe it’s the way Nick would’ve wanted it. “Can we walk for a bit before we head in? I’d like some time to talk to you alone.”
He blinked. “Everything okay?”
She tightened her grip on his hand. “Very much so.”
There was the sound of a car coming up the gravel driveway behind them. She turned. It was a shiny, nondescript black sedan. “Expecting anyone else?”
“No.” Nick’s forehead wrinkled. The car stopped, a man got out wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and sunglasses. He somehow had the look of a man who was incredibly reliable and yet utterly forgettable. Nick blinked. “Oh, wow.”
“What?” Erica asked. The man was vaguely familiar, but she wasn’t sure where she’d seen him before. “Was he on the train?”
“That’s Liam Bearsmith. The man who secured the back half of the train and called for help. I have no idea what he’s doing here. I haven’t seen him since that night.” He tugged her forward. “Come on, you’ve got to meet him.”
Nick dropped her hand and strode across the driveway toward him, arm outstretched. “Well, if it isn’t Liam Bearsmith, the purported real estate agent.”
There was a slight glimmer of a grin on Liam’s face but a full-on smile in his eyes.
“Liam will do.” He shook Nick’s hand firmly. “And you still owe me a motorcycle.” Then he turned to Erica and reached for her hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m very glad to hear that you and your son are well.”
“Thank you.” Erica returned the handshake. “I’m glad to meet you, too. I’ll resist the urge to ask what you really do for a living, but I gather it’s important.”
The man nodded. A distant look crossed his eyes. “I find things of immense value that were lost, sometimes a very long time ago, and do my best to return them to where they belong. I’m sorry to interrupt a family meal, but I needed to talk to Trent, Jacob and Chloe, and I understand they’re all here.”
“By all means.” Nick gestured to the house. “This won’t be the first family meal interrupted by their work. Don’t be surprised if my mom tries to talk you into staying for dinner.”
Liam nodded and as he turned and headed for the house Erica could sense a question burning in Nick’s mind. One she knew Nick shouldn’t and couldn’t ask.
“Liam?” she called. The man stopped. “I know you can’t answer the question, but I need to ask it anyway. Have you found the man who killed Faith?”
Sadness washed over Liam’s features and for a moment she wondered who he’d once lost. “Not yet,” he said. “But I firmly believe everything lost is found eventually. No matter how long it takes. I have to.”
He walked toward the house. Nick and Erica watched him go. She brushed her hand along Nick’s arm. Yes, she had to believe that nothing and no one was ever lost forever. She and Nick had lost each other for far too long but had finally found each other again. She would never lose him again.
Nick pulled his arm away and ran his hand across the back of his neck. “I had something planned for later, but maybe tonight’s not the night.”
She turned to face him. “Well, I had something planned, too, and even though the timing is terrible, I love you, Nick Henry, and I don’t want to wait a second longer.”
She reached into her pocket and felt the smoothness of the tungsten ring against her fingers. Help me, Lord. This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done but also the most right. She pulled out the ring, debated getting down on one knee and decided to stay standing.
“Nick, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. You’re an amazing father to our son and the best friend I’ve ever had—”
“Stop!” Nick’s hand shot out and clamped over her lips. His eyes darted, panicked, to the ring in her outstretched fingers. “Don’t do what I think you’re about to do!”
Was he really stopping her from proposing? She pushed his hand off and stepped back. “No, Nick, let me say this. I know you’ve never been good at romantic stuff, or saying the right words, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe I can be the one to say the words this time.”
His eyes looked to the house, up to the sky and then back to her face. “Wait, don’t—”
“No, Nick, I need to say this. Please listen. For me, even if you don’t say yes—”
“You’re impossible and I love you.” An exasperated laugh left his handsome mouth. Then to her surprise he reached down, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into his arms. He took off running across the field, toward the barn, holding her to his chest. “Just give me two seconds, okay, and then you can say whatever you want to say?”
“What are you doing?” Was he really going to carry her across the farm without telling her why? “You’re going to make me drop the ring!”
“Just hold on to it! One second! We’re almost there!”
He crossed the field, rounded the barn and stopped. There lay the woods stretching between her farm and his, and the same path they’d each run to many times to see each other. He put her down on a bench.
She looked around. “This is new. When did you put a bench here?”
Nick laughed and panted, “Yesterday!”
Then the full sight of what she was seeing hit her eyes. Fairy lights had been wrapped around the trees. Lights hung from the branches.
He followed her gaze. “There’s no point turning them on until the sun sets. But it’s really pretty. I bought every string of white Christmas lights the guy at the hardware store could dig out.”
Her hand rose to her lips. “You were...”
“Going to propose tonight?” he finished. “Yeah, after dinner with my family. Everybody’s in on it. After dinner we were going to go for a walk and then I was going to bring you here, while my family set up for a surprise engagement party. I invited your brother, Tommy, and some of our friends from high school. I wanted everybody to know that I was yours and you were mine.”
A smile crossed her lips. “You sound really confident I was going to say yes.”
A grin turned up one corner of his mouth. He looked down at the ring in her hands. “Maybe I was. Or maybe I was just really hopeful.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sheet of ruled paper. Words spilled down both sides. “I also wrote a really great proposal. Got my brothers and parents to help me practice it and everything. But maybe we don’t need it.”
The man she loved knelt down on one knee. Then he hesitated.
“Do you want to go first?” Nick asked. “Because I really don’t want to steal your moment.”
She laughed. Her hand rose to her lips. “No, no, go ahead.”
S
omething in her heart needed to hear him say the words.
“Okay.” He fished a ring box out of his pocket and opened it. A beautiful platinum ring sat inside, a large diamond in the middle and a small green emerald on either side.
“Erica Knight, I’m in love with you,” Nick said. “You’re beautiful, gutsy and strong. You challenge me. You’re an amazing mother to our son. You love me better than I deserve. You’re a perfect fit for me. Babe, will you marry me?”
“Of course! Will you marry me?”
“Absolutely.” He chuckled. “Indefinitely and forever.”
Then she leaned forward and kissed his lips, deeply and lovingly, while he slid his ring onto her finger and she slid her ring onto his.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, look for the other books in the True North Heroes series:
Undercover Holiday Fiancée
The Littlest Target
Keep reading for an excerpt from Identity: Classified by Liz Shoaf.
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Dear Reader,
As I write this I am down to my last few days of finishing this book. I took a break from writing today to go visit the small rural train station where I first got the idea for this story. It was fun to walk around the train and to picture how my hero would look clinging to the outside.
Last summer I volunteered to be a train attendant for a mystery event set on a train as it rolled through the Ontario countryside. The conductor was a real character and had a lot of interesting conspiracy theories he thought would make good books. Instead, I asked for his suggestions on how to hijack the train. And while a lot of this book is very much fiction, including the liberties I took with train layout, operations and route, I definitely have to thank him for giving me the idea.
Rescuing His Secret Child Page 17
