by Jo McNally
“She’s strong, Blake. So strong. I could see it the minute I met her.”
Andy gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“Thanks, guys.” His voice sounded foreign to his own ears, raspy from exhaustion and tears.
“Julie’s got the resort under control,” Andy said quietly. “The business is fine.” The video conference had ended abruptly when Zach ran screaming into the conference room. That was two days ago. Two days that felt like a lifetime.
“What do you need, Blake?” Caroline’s voice was soft.
That was easy to answer. There was only one thing.
“I need her to wake up. She lost so much blood...” He reached up and touched his fingers to Amanda’s still face.
“Give her body time to heal,” Andy said. “She’ll come back. Don’t give up.” He sat in a nearby chair and pulled Caroline down onto his knee. “The bastard who did this is in jail?”
“Right now he’s in the hospital, but he’s headed to jail after that.”
“Why is he in the hospital?”
“He fell down the stairs. Cracked his skull and broke his leg.” Blake looked at Amanda. “He keeps insisting someone pushed him, but Amanda was nowhere near the stairs when I got there.”
Blake lifted her hand and kissed it. None of it mattered right now. He just wanted her to wake up for him. He wanted her back.
Andy continued softly. “Dan Adams told me they found a meth lab Russ and his cousins were running. It was quite an operation. He’ll be in jail a long time, Blake.”
“I don’t give a damn about him right now. I just want her back. I want her back...”
He dropped his head to her hand again and sighed. He was vaguely aware that Andy and Caroline were still sitting there, silent sentinels and loyal friends. He was so dog-tired his whole body ached from it. It wasn’t just lack of sleep. It was anger and grief and worry that were draining him.
He wanted his girl back.
* * *
Amanda’s thoughts were dark and murky. Fragments of awareness fought to come together, but they couldn’t quite get there. She wanted to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to beg for something to drink, but her dry lips were just as uncooperative and would not move. Once in a while she heard sounds, but nothing that made sense. Words came through in bits and pieces, and if more than one person spoke, the voices blended together into an annoying, foreign-sounding mess. She heard Blake’s voice once, and it sounded like he was...what? Begging? Praying? She thought she felt tears on her hand, but she couldn’t move it, couldn’t open her eyes, didn’t know whose tears they were. She had no sense of time, and didn’t know if she’d been trapped in this darkness for hours or days. There was a distant, pounding ache in her side that presented a constant backbeat to her thoughts. Sometimes she wanted to cry from the pain, but even her tears refused to follow orders.
And then, as if on command from some other power, her eyes swept open. She blinked quickly and tried to assess where she was. A machine was beeping quietly next to her. The room was dark, with only one soft light over the bed. She slowly turned her head. She was in a hospital room. The pain in her side was no longer in the background. It was sharp and insistent.
Everything came back to her in a rush. She’d been shot. She took a deep breath and reveled in the feeling of air moving in and out of her lungs. She was alive. She was alive.
“Blake, she’s awake...” A woman’s whispered words caught her attention. There was a sudden movement at her side, and Blake’s beautiful, wonderful, handsome face appeared directly over hers. He looked so tired. His eyes were tense, and there were deep, dark bags under them. His hair was a mess, and his skin was pale. But love shone from him like a warm blanket, and she grinned up at him.
“Wow.” Her voice cracked. “Do I look as bad as you do?”
He took a sharp breath, clearly unprepared for humor. Then he slowly returned her smile.
“You look perfect, baby.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead and stayed there for a moment, trembling lips pressed to her skin, as if he was trying to compose himself. “You look absolutely perfect. You came back to me.”
“Zach’s okay?”
He smiled against her skin. “Zach’s fine.”
His lips brushed against hers reverently, their noses touching. Caroline and Andy stood, and Caroline winked at Amanda. “We’ll give you some time alone, and let the others know you’re awake.”
And they were gone. Blake gave her a much-needed sip of water, then sat back in his chair and held her hand. He ran kisses across her palm and down to her wrist, pressing his lips on her pulse point.
“For two days, I’ve been kissing this spot over and over, just to feel your heartbeat. I thought I’d lost you...” His voice cracked, and she lifted her fingers to touch his face.
“Tell me what happened. How did Zach escape? What happened to...that man?”
“You should rest...”
“I need to know.” Her voice was stronger now. She had to put the pieces together in her head.
He sat back and looked over his shoulder. “Andy will try to give us privacy, but your cousins will only wait so long...”
Her cousins were here? She narrowed her eyes. He was trying to distract her.
“Then you’d better start talking. I need to put my memories in order, Blake. There are too many holes, and nothing makes sense.”
“Okay, okay.” He started talking quickly, as if the memories were no fun for him. “Zach ran to his room after he saw you downstairs. When he ran into the bedroom, he saw a small panel open next to the fireplace that he’d never noticed before. Talk about perfect timing. It was a secret passageway that had been built into the house, with a hidden stairway.
“He started down the stairs, then he heard you and Garrity fighting.” He noticed her look of confusion and explained, “Russ Garrity. The son of a bitch who tried to kill you.”
She remembered now. “It was all about drugs, Blake. Not the casino. Drugs...”
“I know, babe. The sheriff knows, too. Russ and his cousins are looking at serious time.”
“What happened with Zach?”
“He turned back. He was going to try to save you.” Amanda closed her eyes in horror at the thought. “He insists that’s when he heard his mother’s voice, as if she were standing right next to him, telling him to find me fast. He ran down to the resort, screaming bloody murder about a man with a gun.” Blake’s face paled even more.
“I barely remember racing up to Halcyon. Jamal and I unlocked the front door as gunfire rang out. A piece of me died right then. We came in to the sound of more shots, and I heard you screaming. It was a beautiful sound, because at least I knew you were alive. We ran up the stairs, and found Garrity halfway down the staircase. Jamal grabbed the gun while I ran up and found you in the hall...” His voice trailed off. She could only imagine what he saw. He took a breath and continued. “There was so much blood. The blood loss is what nearly killed you.” He clutched her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “The bullet grazed your liver. But it also nicked an artery, and when you forced yourself to move, the bleeding...”
“We heard a door slam. Maybe it was you and Jamal coming in.” She smiled. “Or maybe it was a ghost.”
“Yeah, right. Would have been nice if our so-called ghost showed up before you got shot.”
“I thought it was Zach. I tried to save him, but I collapsed before I could do anything.” Amanda’s eyes closed for a moment, overwhelmed at the thought of how close they came to disaster.
“Amanda, please don’t close your eyes. Look at me. I’ve waited two days to see those beautiful blue eyes of yours.”
She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She knew he hadn’t left her side. She reached out to him with her left hand and winced at the jolt of pain she felt.
“That’s just a flesh wound on your arm. It’ll heal in no time.”
But something else caught her attention and she didn’t register what he was saying. There was a ring sparkling on her left hand. It was a glittering canary diamond in a pillow setting, surrounded with small white diamonds, all supported in a lacy platinum setting that fit her small hand perfectly. Blake lifted a shoulder when she met his loving eyes.
“It’s a golden diamond for my golden girl. I was going to propose this weekend at Halcyon. I figured we could have a Christmas wedding. When I wasn’t sure...” His face darkened, and he looked as if he were in physical pain. He swallowed hard. “I wanted you to be wearing it, you know? In case something happened.” He took a deep breath and said the next part quickly. “If you died, I wanted to be sure you were mine. I wanted you to be my fiancée before you left me...” Her heart pounded so loudly she thought he’d hear it. She couldn’t imagine what he’d gone through while she was unconscious. He seemed lost in somber thought, then he looked up and gave her a boyish grin.
“I think I knew we’d be together from that first day when I caught you breaking into my house. You were so beautiful and so full of...life. When I watched you sleeping in my bed that day, I thought I’d stepped into a fairy tale.”
She laughed, and grimaced at the pain it caused. “I didn’t break in. The door was wide-open.”
“Whatever.” He chuckled. “Even when you drove me crazy and challenged me and flat out defied me...even then, I just couldn’t stay away from you. I know this sounds sappy, but I was the moth to your flame.” She rolled her eyes, but he kept going. “I’m serious. You didn’t hesitate to call me out when I was being an idiot, or when I was being a coward, or when I was in denial. I told you I didn’t believe in love, and you made me see what a lie that was. You rebuilt me, Amanda, from the ground up. I thought I hated surprises, but you’ve surprised me at every turn. I want to spend the rest of my life looking forward to the next surprise you have in store, whether it’s orange chandeliers...”
“Paprika,” she protested softly. She felt a tear escape the corner of her eye and roll down her cheek.
“...or little boys on my doorstep that you won’t let me discard. You told me once that I saw you whole. Well, you made me whole, my love. The ghosts from our pasts can’t hurt us anymore.” He got up from the chair and gave her a soft kiss. “And the ghosts from Halcyon’s past are on our side. Marry me, Amanda. Marry me.”
A rising hum of voices was building outside the door to her room. He dropped to one knee at the side of her bed, still holding her hand.
“Say ‘yes’ before we’re invaded by all the other people who love you.”
“Blake, from the first moment you touched me, you’ve made me feel safe. I know I fought you and panicked and occasionally tried to chase you away—” he smiled at that “—but you kept insisting what we had was right and true. And it was. It is. I’m done with being afraid. Life is waiting for us both, Blake, and I can’t imagine facing it without you. I love you, and—”
His mouth was on hers before she could finish. Insistent, tender, passionate and protective. Everything that he was, that’s what his kiss was. There was love there. There was security there. And as she parted her lips with a sigh of surrender, she knew without a doubt there would be arguments and laughter and passion and challenges and common enemies and many, many friends in their future. There would be babies for sure, and there would be Halcyon. But most important was the love they shared. Her right hand rose and twisted in his curling black hair. He growled as she tugged him closer. He was hers. She was his. No more secrets. No more fear. Only love.
They were barely aware of the door to the room pushing open. Nora stepped in, then raised her hand to silence the group behind her. Julie held Zach’s shoulders tightly to keep him from dashing forward. With her were Mel, Bree, Andy, Caroline and, yes, even Dario, weeping loudly into his handkerchief. They stopped en masse and waited for the kiss to finally end before flooding into the room to welcome Amanda back to the world of the living.
Epilogue
December 29
Blake fidgeted with the collar of his gray morning suit. Damn Amanda for insisting on the formality. And damn him for not being able to say no to her. Zachary shifted at his side, and dug his fingers under the collar of his own matching suit. Blake winked at him, but Zach just rolled his eyes.
“How much longer, Dad?”
He was Blake’s best man, clutching two wedding rings tightly in his hand. Blake and Amanda began the adoption process last month, with Zach’s blessing. He’d never had a father, and he got such a kick out of calling Blake “Dad.” That was nothing compared to what Blake felt every time he heard it. The boy needed security and stability, and he’d have that as their son. Amanda had no intention of replacing Tiffany, and she’d insisted he call her “Aunt Amanda.” But Zach argued that once she married his dad, then she’d be his mom. His second mom.
Andy hovered nearby, laughing with Caroline about something. He was probably gloating over the fact he didn’t have to wear a silly tux. A small crowd was gathered in Halcyon’s main hall, which had been transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The tree stretched to the high ceiling at one end of the room, covered with hundreds of twinkling lights. The ornaments were all colors and shapes. Amanda wanted a giant, old-fashioned tree, and she got it. Their gifts had all been opened on Christmas morning, then whisked out of sight in preparation for the wedding.
Pine boughs were wrapped through the chandeliers and draped across every surface downstairs. Amanda chose an ivory and pink color theme for the wedding, and Halcyon was glowing like a candy confection. The marble fireplace had been transformed into an altar, complete with a large brass cross Amanda found in the attic. Ivory and pink roses fell in a beribboned blanket from the mantel to the floor. A string quartet was set up in front of the tree, playing a soft medley of Christmas music and love songs.
Blake caught a movement on the stairs and turned as Amanda’s cousins came down the steps in one giggling mass of pink silk and ivory velvet. Amanda wanted to keep things small and refused to choose only one cousin to be an attendant, so the three of them were dubbed “the women in charge.” Bree coordinated the decor and logistics, Mel helped create the gown, and Nora worked with Dario on the menu. The three women had been upstairs helping the bride with last-minute preparations.
Bree nodded to the quartet, and they stopped playing. People moved to take their seats near the makeshift altar. A man in a black tuxedo sat at the new grand piano that had been Blake’s Christmas gift to Amanda. With a gesture from Bree, the guests stood and turned to face the staircase. The pianist paused, then played the Vangelis hymn Amanda had chosen. Blake rested his hand on Zach’s shoulder. The moment had arrived, and not a moment too soon. No one else in this room had any idea how fortuitous their short engagement had proven to be.
Julie stepped into view on the stairs. Her hair was pinned demurely behind each ear with jeweled clips. The pale pink gown showed off her freckled skin. She beamed at Zach before turning her smile to Blake as she moved to stand across from them.
The entire room sighed when Amanda rounded the corner of the staircase. Her hair was piled high on her head, with a few tendrils curling down her back. She held a small spray of pink and ivory roses. When they’d found Madeleine’s old wedding gown in the attic, Amanda immediately sent it to Mel to be used as part of her own gown, and Mel’s designer friend had worked wonders. The century-old hand-beaded Irish lace was draped and gathered over a cream satin sheath that hugged Amanda’s curves perfectly. She looked like a vision from a very grown-up fairy tale as she walked toward Blake. The neckline draped low, highlighting breasts that threatened to overflow the satin bodice. Was it possible they were already getting bigger?
There was amusement in her eyes when he looked back to her face. She knew he’d been checking her out, and she
certainly knew why. They grinned at each other like a couple of lovestruck teenagers, shy and adoring. She rested her hand in his and they turned to the pastor. Blake had a hard time focusing on the words being said, because he couldn’t take his eyes off his beautiful bride.
He was in love. Forever love. The kind of love that songs were written about. The kind of love he’d never believed in until Amanda Lowery walked into his house and his life. He was one lucky bastard.
* * *
Amanda went to their suite to freshen up after the wedding meal. She was tired, and she’d had a rough morning before she started to get ready for the ceremony. But she was also blissfully happy. She headed back down the stairs. Blissful. There was a word she rarely thought of, much less used. But it was perfect for what she was feeling today. Sure, she still felt a little green around the gills, and throwing up every morning was no fun with her wound still healing. But the doctor had assured them there was nothing to worry about.
She was Mrs. Blake Randall. It was hard to remember what her life had been like before she met him. They were new people now, and they were building a new family here in Halcyon. She rounded the final turn of the staircase and stopped to gaze fondly at the people gathered for the wedding celebration. A DJ was playing music, and people were dancing in the living room, which had been cleared of most of its furniture for the occasion. The cake had been cut, the flowers had been tossed, the garter had been thrown. Now she could relax and enjoy the festivities.
Blake stood talking to Julie and Bobby near the Christmas tree. This was an intimate gathering of friends and associates. Other than Amanda’s cousins, there were no family members here. Her mom was terrified of flying, and they’d promised to visit her in Kansas soon. Blake’s family wasn’t even an option. Despite that, or maybe because of it, the hall was bursting with love.
