His ex-wife was happier and had just recently remarried. His daughter was happy seeing both of her parents happy. Blended families could work. They were a testament to that. And he was so blessed to have this woman in his life. She knew his secrets and she didn’t hold them against him. And he knew her, all of her, her fears and desires, and loved her more and more each day. “I miss the boys,” he admitted, “but having this time with you has meant so much to me, Monica. We’ve got to do this more often, make time for us to be a couple.”
“I agree. I have missed this. I mean, I love the boys, but this week has been so wonderful.” Monica stepped into his path and stopped him, pressing her hands against the open collar of his shirt.
Victor’s arms effortlessly wrapped around his wife. “We always have to remember to give each other this time together. It’s been hectic with the kids and work, but I always want you to know that you come first for me. This marriage means everything and having your love means everything. It’s like I said when we got married, ‘You are my lover and my best friend. You have shown me patience, caring, and understanding. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, to have you come into my life. But you did, and for that I’ll forever be grateful.’”
He saw the tears spring to his wife’s eyes as he recited words he had written for her and spoken in front of their family and friends when they married five years earlier. That he remembered them so well moved her beyond words. Victor stroked her cheek as he wiped one stray tear away.
“Victor, ‘Since you have come into my life, I’ve felt cherished and protected and . . . You make me feel safe and desired, and there’s no one who means more to me than you. I . . . [will] honor you by standing by your side . . . and give you my love all the rest of our days. I’ll love you forever and a day.’” She recited the words she remembered and could see he was deeply moved that she had remembered them.
It was fitting that they recited them there, too, as they had married on the beach near where they lived now. They had come along way.
“I’ll love you always,” he reiterated.
“And, I’ll love you forever,” she repeated another line from their wedding vows.
Victor’s hand pushed up her chin and he tilted her face up to him for a kiss that promised so much more. It was a kiss that promised a lifetime.
Someone clearing their throat could be heard a few feet away, and like kids caught in the candy store, they both jumped back. Monica turned her head to see another couple coming up the beach and was surprised to see it was Fiona and Cookie.
“Hey, fancy meeting you two here,” Cookie called out. He hated interrupting, but he and Fiona liked to walk this stretch of beach some nights, and then walk down to the end of the pier where they could feel the wind and hear the waves crest.
“It sure is,” came Victor’s reply. He had recovered, though he regretted the lost moment with his wife. “We thought we’d have a stroll before we headed back to the hotel.”
“Great minds think alike,” Cookie stated.
“Cookie and I like to walk along the beach and then up onto the pier. The view is amazing from there.” Fiona kicked at the sand with her toe. “Care to join us?”
Victor shrugged leaving the decision up to Monica. “Sure, why not! We haven’t gone all the way to the end yet.”
“Let’s do it then. You can’t leave Riverton without going all the way to the end of the pier.” Cookie passed Monica and began the trek to the famous Riverton pier.
Victor stepped up to walk with Cookie leaving Fiona to walk with Monica.
“It seems like you have a really great marriage, Monica,” Fiona confessed as they followed behind their men more leisurely.
“We have a great marriage, but making time for each other, that’s important.” Victor was always good at making time for her and she knew that’s why their marriage was so strong.
“Cookie is very good about making time for us, too. We like to hang out with the gang and all, but we always make sure to have time for just the two of us. We didn’t mean to intrude tonight,” Fiona added apologetically. They could have gone around them, but there had been a group of rowdy teenagers around a bonfire and they hadn’t wanted to intrude there either.
“Not at all. It’s actually been a lot of fun hanging out with all of you. At home, we spend most of our time with family, so it’s nice to see how you all make it work out here with friends.”
“Friends? I don’t consider them friends. They may not be blood related, but they are my family. That’s how strongly I feel about them.”
“I can understand that, Fiona. My family is pretty small. When I married Victor, I married his whole crazy family. He’s got these four cousins and all of their wives and children, and it’s like overnight I had this wonderful, crazy family. Every Sunday we all have dinner together.”
“That’s nice. That’s why I love all of Cookie’s friends and their wives. They’ve all become my family.”
Monica didn’t want to push but she had to ask. “And Patrick and Julie too?”
“You don’t ask easy questions, Monica, do you?” she teased.
“I’m sorry, Fiona. I guess it’s the teacher in me still. I am always probing for more. I really don’t mean to pry. But I can see your relationship with Julie is a little bit different from everyone else’s. I spent a great deal of time with her this week. She hasn’t told me anything other than the basics because she said it was your story to tell.”
“She would have left me in that jungle if Cookie hadn’t heard me.” Her comment was made nonchalantly, but Monica sensed the pain it took to say those words aloud.
“I know. She told me.”
“I want to forgive her. I mean, I do forgive her. She was a victim too. My mind tells me that. And, I did some crazy stuff afterwards, too.”
“Everyone reacts differently. I retreated into myself and ousted the entire world for nearly a decade. She freaked out. You . . . well, I don’t know how you reacted, but we are all survivors.”
“Yes, survivors. And I guess, like you I retreated into myself while it was happening. I blocked it all out. It was like an out of body experience for me. But then, afterwards, when I came back, I had these episodes of PTSD. I mean I really freaked out. So, I think I had both of your reactions. And I think for her it was the same thing. It just happened quicker.”
“Yeah, I think so. I think that is exactly what happened to Julie. She went right into survival mode. For us it took a little while longer to get there.”
“Yes. That sounds right. I just . . . just don’t know where to start with her.”
“Just let her know you understand.”
“I need to do that. It took me a while to see her reaction was more out of fear than anything else. At the time it came off as so selfish. But I didn’t know any better as I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. But she’s not the person I thought she was. She’s not selfish or self-serving. She is one of the most kind-hearted, generous people I know.”
“Well, tell her then. She is living with so much guilt, I am surprised she hasn’t broken under the weight of it. It takes a strong person to face up to her own faults and improve herself. We are all a product of our past, but change is possible. I’ve seen that with me and my husband. I think you have seen that with her.”
“I have, and I’ve seen it in myself, too. I was always very independent, but now I crave friendship and family. I know I don’t have to do it alone, and I like it that way.”
“Is that why you’re going to give Congressman Reynolds a chance?”
Fiona nodded. “Yes. And again thank you for agreeing to go to lunch with me and my dad and Julie tomorrow.”
“Same time? Same place?” Monica asked.
“Yes, 11:30 at the Riverton Golf Club. Do you need a ride?”
“Julie already offered to pick me up,” Monica informed her. “She was so glad you asked her along.”
“Caroline’s been pushing me to figure out a
way to mend fences with Julie. I thought you picked up on that at the barbecue earlier. I know just avoiding the situation isn’t getting either one of us anywhere.”
“You really have a smart friend.”
Fiona smiled. Caroline was amazing. Everyone thought so. “She likes you. They all do. And I’ll tell her you said that.”
Monica laughed and noticed the guys were way ahead of them. They were already at the end of the dock.
“Hey Mon, hurry up you got to see this view.”
“Let’s go check it out,” Monica stated exuberantly as she took Fiona’s hand and pulled her along towards the end of the pier where their men were waiting.
* * *
Tomorrow at the Golf Club. This time nothing would go wrong. He’d followed them from their hotel to the barbecue wondering what to do and how he’d be able to get Monica. He failed in his last attempt because one of the girls had walked out abruptly and he hadn’t been ready. That, and everybody had come out with her. Strong arming three women was going to be difficult enough without having to worry about the two men who had accompanied them.
When they left the barbecue, he followed Monica and her husband to the beach and pier, and had watched from afar hoping to overhear something. And when they had run into that other couple, he had almost given up hope of getting a chance at nabbing her here in California. He had spent a couple of days on the Internet finding out where she now lived. He had even thought he might have to go to Florida and track her down there.
But this was perfect. He would still be able to get all three of these beauties. He’d have Fiona and Julie, and make Monica watch. He’d show her what her rejection of him had turned him into. And then he would finally have her.
He had the van and a place to stash the women where no one would ever find them. The plan was perfect. Now all he had to do was continue to watch and wait. His time was coming.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Once more, Julie and Monica arrived at the Golf club first, but this time waited for Fiona outside. When they saw her car pull into the lot they waved her over. “I don’t want her to walk in there alone.”
“You’re a good friend,” Monica stated, giving Julie’s hand a quick squeeze.
Julie gave Monica a quick, tremulous smile accepting the compliment, but Monica could tell she wasn’t believing it. It didn’t reach her eyes.
Fiona parked her little Ford Avalon next to Julie’s sky blue convertible. “I’m so nervous,” Fiona stated the moment she slid out of her car. She walked towards the two women waiting a short distance from her on the sidewalk.
The three beauties began to walk together towards the entrance. It was a busy day at the club and they had to follow the signs to the additional parking on the left side of the facility. They didn’t even notice the large white catering van pull up and park in front of Julie’s convertible as they made their way to the entrance.
“Don’t be nervous. Congressman Reynolds is probably more nervous than you are.”
“I doubt that very much,” scoffed Fiona. Her father was a politician after all. And he was her father. Tex had confirmed that. After Congressman Reynolds revealed his big secret two days ago, Patrick had confessed to Cookie that he had their friend, Tex, on the East Coast dig into the man. He told Cookie that he had noticed him looking at Fiona in an unusual way and it had set off his alarm bells, so when he’d asked to meet the girls for lunch, he’d immediately called Tex to find out if the man was who he claimed to be.
Cookie asked Tex to expedite his research. And everything Congressman Reynolds had told the girls had been true. He’d spent a summer in Vegas where he had met Fiona’s mother. The timing of Fiona’s birth made the probability that he was her father highly likely. All that was needed to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt was a DNA test.
But Fiona didn’t really need the DNA test. She’d been looking at pictures of the congressman’s family that Tex had sent over and the resemblance between her and several of his cousins and even him had convinced her of the truth. Tex sent her a DNA kit though if she wanted to be 100% certain.
* * *
By the time they went into the restaurant of the golf club, they met a very nervous and tired looking Percy Reynolds. “I’m so glad you came.” His welcome included them all, but Monica didn’t doubt for a second that he was overjoyed Fiona was giving him a chance.
“Thank you, um, father,” Fiona murmured as he pulled out a chair for her first. The shock on his face and then the smile that spread across his features warmed Monica’s heart. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to make amends for the past. He wanted to be this girl’s father in every way.
“I guess from that remark, you believe I am your father,” and at her nod of acceptance, he added, “Thank you.” To have her use those words so soon meant the world to him.
“I still have questions and I do want to have a DNA test run just to be sure. Although I know in my heart you are who you say you are.”
“My husband had a friend check out your story,” Julie put in as he helped her to sit. “Everything checked out.”
“I don’t blame you for doing your research or for the DNA test. The most important thing to me right now is that my daughter believes, had I known she existed, I would have made sure she was in my life.”
The congressman helped Monica be seated and as soon as he rounded the table and sat down a waiter appeared and took their orders.
“So,” the congressman paused for dramatic effect, “let the interrogation begin.”
The girls all laughed and it eased the tension somewhat. “I know this might sound strange, but I’d actually like to know more about my mother. I didn’t know her very well and from all the information Tex dug up on you, I feel like I know you already. Sadly, all I can remember about my mother is her not being home a lot when I was a kid and when she was, well, let’s just say the memories aren’t pleasant.”
All saw a painful expression cross Percy’s face. It must be hard for him to hear from his daughter’s lips what had become of the woman he had loved so fiercely. “I did my research to know what happened to your mother, to my sweet and full of life Corrine, and frankly, it is something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. But what you are describing is not the girl I knew. I want you to know that. And I know my leaving probably had a big part to play in what she became. I was young and naïve and my parents had my life planned out for me the moment I was born. I was caught between pleasing them and disappointing her. I made the wrong choice. I see that now.”
“We all make wrong choices. Don’t keep second guessing yourself,” Julie advised. Her glance at Fiona clearly showed her own emotions.
“But we can make amends,” Monica stated.
“And we can forgive.” Fiona’s look when she made that statement took in both Julie and her father. Monica was grateful she had included Julie in that remark.
The congressman nodded silently and Julie wiped away a stray tear before it trickled down her cheek.
Percy Reynold’s cleared his throat before speaking again. “You want to know about your mother, well, let me tell you what I remember.” It was clear he was lost in thought as he didn’t speak for a few moments. “She told me she was 17 the summer I met her, but she seemed older. Though I know now she had lied about her age. But she was incredibly smart. Wise beyond her years. I had just turned 18, but the moment I saw her I was smitten. She was the most beautiful young woman I’d ever seen. My friends and I had just come out of the casino. We didn’t know it, but Siegfried and Roy were performing there and they had this act with lions. It was one of the most popular shows at The Mirage Hotel and Casino. But we were there to drink and gamble. She was outside when we came out. We were on the way to Caesar’s Palace. She was with some friends protesting against animal cruelty.” He had to laugh at the memory. They had accosted him and his friends.
“She was into all kinds of things back then. She told me she had just graduated high sc
hool a few months earlier and told me she wanted to be an activist. When she and her three friends began to yell at us, some police officers began to drag them away from the entrance, but we asked them to stop. One thing led to another and we ended up having drinks and talking all night with them. We seemed like such opposites. She was so incredibly opinionated. About everything. But she was a real breath of fresh air from the people I normally associated with.
“Lets’ see, she was anti-apartheid, for women rights, anti-drug, and against animal testing. She was a member of PETA and she wanted to do it all. Save the world from itself she said.
“Then I told her that’s what I wanted to do, too, but I was just going to go about it in a different way. She thought I was stuffy and funny. She called me naïve.” His look was wistful before he continued. “I asked her out that night. I picked her up the following day and took her to the Hoover Dam. We had a picnic. Her hair was so beautiful. I wanted to touch it so badly. She had golden brown hair with strands of copper in it. In the right sunlight, it looked like it was on fire.”
“She did have beautiful hair,” Fiona recalled. “I remember growing up that I wished I had her hair. But mine was dark. Sometimes she would ask me to brush it for her. That’s one of the happiest memories I have of her. Brushing her hair for her.”
“You’ve got my coloring, well, before my hair turned gray. But you’ve also got my eyes.”
And lunch continued that way for over two hours. Fiona asking questions and occasionally Julie and Monica adding a question of their own. The congressman reminisced but asked questions of Fiona as well. He asked about her schooling, her friends, some of her foster parents before the conversation turned back to Fiona’s mother.
“We never really committed to each other. I regret that. Instead of saying words, we just kind of went with the flow. Neither of us said, I love you, but we both felt it. When I left at the end of the summer, I saw tears in her eyes. I told her I’d come to Vegas for Christmas. And I’d look her up. She just nodded and hugged me and kissed me. She wished me luck in law school. We exchanged phone numbers and I gave her my address at school. But she never wrote to me, or called, and I just felt so foolish about calling.” The regret was apparent on his face.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Secrets (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Secrets & Seduction Book 4) Page 6