by Jamey Moody
“Hey, what are y’all doing here,” she said cheerily. “I’m sure I could find something for you to do.”
Keith stopped in front of her and said, “We need to talk to you before you make a horrible mistake.”
Riley narrowed her eyes at him, “A horrible mistake?” She looked to Jenn and Jodie and could see how uncomfortable they were.
“Can we go inside and talk?” Kevin said.
“Sure,” Riley said leading the way. She knew exactly what was about to happen. She could feel it. This was about Alex. She was ready.
Once inside Keith said, “You may want to sit down.”
“I’m fine,” Riley said standing while everyone else found a seat.
“Look Riley, how much do you know about Alex,” Keith began.
“I know more than you do and you can stop right there.”
“Then you know that she’s a sex offender,” said Kevin.
“I do and I’m pretty sure you don’t know why she’s considered a sex offender, do you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Keith.
“It does matter, Keith. What is this, did you plan to wait until Alex left to gang up on me and tell me about my girlfriend’s past?”
“It’s not like that Riley,” said Jodie.
“Do you have any idea what this will do to your life and your reputation?” said Kevin.
“My reputation? When did you give a shit about my reputation and the key word is MY.”
The front door opened and Rachel and Amy walked in. They walked over one on either side of Riley and Amy said, “What do you think you’re doing to Aunt Riley?”
“This is none of your business, Amy,” said Kevin. “You and Rachel go home.”
“I think it is our business, Uncle Kevin,” said Rachel. “We overheard you planning to surprise Aunt Riley with dirt on Alex. Who does that to their own sister?”
“We’re trying to keep her from ruining her life,” said Keith.
“Ruining my life? Do you hear yourselves? I’m a grown woman.”
“Riley, I don’t really want to say anything in front of the girls,” said Kevin quietly.
“Let me take care of that for all of you,” Riley said. She then retold Alex’s story, including the crime, punishment, why she left Texas and stayed in St. John. Riley left nothing out and even told them about the few times she’d been treated poorly in St. John. The silence was deafening when she finished speaking.
Riley looked around the room at her family and said with tears in her eyes, “I will not stand here and let you say anything against Alex or me. We will hear plenty of that in the future and my family will not be those people.”
There was a knock on the door and Kara walked in with Sara and Julie. She went to Riley and put her arm around her shoulder.
“I don’t know which one of you made her cry, but I’m telling you to leave her alone!” Kara said her voice rising. “Riley James is the best person I know. She knows exactly who Alex Adams is. She is the person that was made for Riley and she finally found her. And no one is going to try and stop them from living their love. Do you hear me? No one!”
Riley looked at Kara blinking back tears.
“We stand with Riley,” said Sara. “And I’ll say this. I found out about Alex not long after I left St. John. The Alex I knew and the Alex that made Riley so happy couldn’t be the same person that was on that registry. I knew there was more to the story. And I trusted Alex to tell her story to Riley and she did.”
Riley smiled at Sara and said, “Thanks for giving her that chance.” Sara nodded.
Kara faced Riley and said, “You don’t have to answer any more questions about Alex, not with us. We’re your friends, we love you, we trust you and we love Alex too.”
Amy and Rachel put their arms around Riley from behind and said, “We do too.”
Jenn stood up and looked from Keith to Kevin, “I told you this was a bad idea.” And then to Riley she said, “I tried to tell them to trust you but, your idiotic big brothers don’t listen sometimes.”
“I may be an idiot, but I love my little sister and don’t want people harassing her,” explained Keith.
“Aren’t you doing the exact same thing?” said Jodie.
Keith and Kevin looked at one another and stood up. “I’m not sorry that I care about my sister,” said Kevin walking to the door. “But this isn’t getting us anywhere.” He and Kevin walked out.
“Go tell your dad we’re riding with you,” Jenn said to Rachel.
Riley looked at the women gathered in her living room, took a deep breath and said with a weak smile, “Give me just a sec.” She walked out of the room into her bedroom. Thoughts of Alex ran through her head as she sat down on the bed. She knew there was going to be some kind of confrontation with her brothers, but never dreamed it would be like this. They always trusted her judgement and talked with her, not to her like they did today. After gathering herself she walked back into the living room.
She looked at Kara, “Question, how did you know something was going on?”
“Well, Alex texted me yesterday and said she had a bad feeling around Keith. She didn’t get the opportunity to talk to him before she left so she asked me to watch out for you. I reached out to Rachel and Amy. When they overheard their parents last night they called me.”
Riley nodded.
Jenn spoke up and said, “I’m sorry we blindsided you like that. I should have warned you.”
“Surely you two don’t agree with them,” Riley said looking from Jenn to Jodie.
“I will admit, when Kevin told me about it, I was scared for you. But this was not the way to handle it and Jenn and I tried to make them see that and let us talk to you first.”
Riley didn’t know what to say, this was a lot to take in. On one hand it was nice having her family and friends rally around her but then, there were her brothers that thought she was ruining her life. If they only knew, Alex had given her a life. Sure, they can see how happy she is now, but they didn’t know how lonely she was before. They didn’t know she’d almost given up finding someone to share her life.
“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Kara said bringing her back to the group.
“I know it is. And I know from time to time Alex’s past is going to come up. What I didn’t expect was my brothers’ reaction.” Riley looked around the room and let out a deep breath, “But that’s okay. I’ve got a house to pack up and a life to live.”
“You sure do. Put us to work,” said Amy.
“Thank you all for your support. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“Alex is one lucky woman,” said Julie.
“So am I.”
Alex made it back home with no problems. She couldn’t believe how much she missed Riley. Her bad feeling about Keith was warranted when Riley recounted what happened. It hurt Alex that Riley had to go through that because of her. She knew this wouldn’t be the only time something like this happened but, this was Riley’s family. Alex never wanted to come between her and her family but, Riley reassured her everything would be alright.
The house seemed empty. Riley called her every day to give her updates on the packing, storing, and when she’d be back. Alex tried to busy herself with chores around the house as well as at the bar. There was just so much she could clean. The house was spotless; she did maintenance and finished a few things she wanted to do to spruce up Peaches. Liz commented on how much she was working, but Alex explained that the house was too quiet. She might as well be working instead of sitting around missing Riley. Thank goodness she’d be back in two more days. Two more long days, Alex thought.
She tried to remember her life before Riley. It didn’t compare to life after Riley when living had become so much more. She and Liz were sitting on the patio before Peaches opened for the evening when Alex said, “I’m going to ask Riley to marry me.”
“Well, how about that. It’s about time,” Liz said.
“What do you
mean, it’s about time?”
“I’m surprised you waited so long.”
“I thought with all the life-changing decisions she’d been making that it’d be best to let her settle in before making another one,” Alex explained.
“Did you ever think that maybe it would make all those other decisions a lot easier for her?”
“Hmm, I never thought about that,” Alex said.
“So when and how do you plan to do this?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really want to wait any longer, and I’m not sure where. I thought maybe that special place of ours at the park would be good. I’ve got to come up with something to make it spectacular like she is. Any ideas?”
“Have you got a ring? You might want to start with that.”
“I’ve thought about that. Is that something we should choose together, or do I get it and hope she likes it?”
“I’m pretty sure you know her well enough by now that whatever you choose she’ll love.”
“She will say yes, right?”
Liz laughed. “I can’t think of one reason she wouldn’t.”
“This has been the longest week of my life, and these last two days seem to be dragging even more.”
“Do you have any idea how happy I am for you? You are a different person. You’re happy all the time, you’re doing more than merely working or working out. And Riley… now that is one special woman.”
“Don’t I know it! How in the world did I get so lucky?”
“I’m not sure it has anything to do with luck. Yes, she has been good for you and given you a life, but you’ve done a lot for her, too. I think she had resigned herself to being alone just as you had. It was meant to be and at the right time.”
Alex sat there smiling and nodding in agreement.
Liz had a few plans to make herself. Little did Alex know but Riley would be back tomorrow. She had called Liz and asked her to help get Alex to their place at the park the following evening not long before sunset. Riley had a surprise for Alex that she hoped she’d never forget.
Riley and Kara put the last of Riley’s things into storage and were sitting on Kara’s patio having a well-deserved beer. Riley was closing on the house tomorrow. She had gotten rid of everything that the buyers weren’t keeping, so she was spending this last night with Kara.
What a week! They had worked all day every day, so Riley could get back to St. John a day early. She planned to surprise Alex at their special place with Liz’s help.
“So Liz has a way to get Alex to the park for your surprise?” Kara asked.
“She said she would take care of it. Mandy is meeting me at the airport, then taking me there to help set everything up. We’re going to hang lights from the trees over a blanket on the ground. I’m going to get food and have a bottle of champagne ready. I have a speaker that I’m planning to play some of our favorite songs through to set the mood.”
“This sounds really nice, Riley. It’ll knock her socks off, if she was wearing any, which we know she won’t be.”
They laughed. “She’s the one, Kara,” Riley said. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. She is my life! This is what Kim and Kerry talk about. Sure, I’ve been in love before, but this is even more. One night, before you came back, while we were still on ‘vacation,’ we sat down at the end of the beach near our hotel. Alex had brought a few things to snack on, and we talked. There wasn’t anyone around, and the sun had set. There was a comfortable silence between us, and we sat there holding hands. I remember thinking, this must be what heaven is like. We looked into one another’s eyes and we kissed.”
“Well, don’t stop there!”
Riley chuckled. “That kiss! I had never felt anything like it. It’s like our hearts became one. Mine went down into her chest, and hers came into mine. It’s hard to explain, but that’s when I knew.” She sighed and continued. “It scared me. I felt so vulnerable, you don’t know if the other person feels the same way. I wanted to say something but couldn’t.”
“What did Alex do?”
“We kept staring into one another’s eyes. I hoped she was feeling the same thing. Now I know we were both afraid to say anything. I’m nearly fifty years old, and I was afraid of what another person would say! I guess it doesn’t matter how old you are, when you’re putting your heart out there, you want the other person to feel the same but, it takes courage to do it.”
“And aren’t you glad you found that courage?”
“Am I ever! And I’ve got to find that courage again tomorrow evening when we’re both at the park and I propose. You can’t believe how nervous I am.”
“I’m sure you are, but you know she’s going to say yes.”
“I don’t know it, but I sure hope so.”
“She will. Alex is as crazy about you as you are about her.”
Riley chuckled. “I am crazy about her, you’ve got that right.”
“I expect a full recap tomorrow night. I want all the details,” said Kara.
“Well if it goes like I’m hoping, you’ll have to wait until the next day.”
“Understood. Wishing you luck, that you don’t need,” Kara said reaching her bottle out to Riley’s. They clinked bottles and smiled.
Everything was coming together. Riley’s plane was late, but Mandy got her to the park, and they had the lights up, music ready to play, and champagne chilling. Riley looked around and surveyed the scene. “Okay. Everything looks ready.”
“Have you heard from Liz?” Mandy asked.
“She texted just now and said Alex is on the way. She’s hiding at the park entrance and will text when Alex passes through. From there it should be less than five minutes before she sees the sign and starts down the trail. You’re sure she’ll be able to hear the music?”
“I’m sure. I could hear it when you had me walk down the trail. Calm down.”
“Calm down? That’s easy for you to say, Mandy. This is the most important moment of my life!”
Mandy smiled and walked over to Riley. She took her by the shoulders and said, “Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Just listen to me for a minute. Close your eyes.” Riley did as Mandy told her.
“Now take a deep breath, slowly in and slowly out.”
Riley took a deep breath as Mandy instructed.
“Good, do it again.”
Riley continued until she’d taken five deep breaths.
“Now, open your eyes. Better?” Mandy asked.
“Yes, my heart isn’t about to explode. It’s just pounding,” Riley said, chuckling.
Riley’s phone pinged. She looked down at it and took a deep breath. “That’s Liz,” she said, reading the text. “She made it through the gate.”
“Okay. That’s my cue to leave.” Mandy hugged Riley. “You’ve got this.” Then she ran down to the water and left along the beach until she disappeared into some nearby trees.
Riley looked around the clearing one more time. She was nervous, but somehow knowing Alex was near calmed her. All she wanted to do was run to Alex and hug her, but she would control herself because she wanted to tell Alex just how much she meant to her. She had thought about what she wanted to say but instead of memorizing a speech she’d likely forget, she decided she’d wait for the right words at that moment. She started the music and waited.
Alex couldn’t figure out what was going on. Liz had called and said her Jeep was stuck in the park and asked if Alex would come help her. When she came through the park and went to where Liz was supposed to be, she couldn’t see the Jeep anywhere. Then something caught her eye. She kept going, and in the distance, she could see a sign right at the trail to her and Riley’s place. As she got closer, she pulled over. The sign was simply an arrow pointing down the trail. That was strange.
She got out of her SUV and started walking down the trail. After a few steps she heard something. She stopped and listened; it was music. After a few more steps she realized that it was one of
her and Riley’s favorite songs. Alex started walking faster. Surely it couldn’t be, Riley wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.
When she broke through the trees, there was Riley across the clearing, standing near a blanket with twinkling lights in the trees above her. She had on the dress that she wore the night of Kim and Kerry’s wedding, the one that took Alex’s breath away, the one she couldn’t wait to take off her. Alex hesitated for a moment to take it all in. This was like a dream. Riley was so beautiful, waiting on her, and then she smiled. Alex thought her heart would explode with love. She started walking forward as if Riley was pulling her over with just her eyes.
When she got close, Riley held out her hands. Alex took them both in hers, the biggest smile lighting up her entire face. “What is all this?” Alex asked.
“I had something important I needed to ask you, and this is the best place to do that.”
“Okay,” Alex said a question in her voice.
Riley reached up and kissed Alex on the cheek and then lowered herself to one knee. Alex’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger! Riley’s heart was thumping, but she felt a certain calm looking up into them.
“When I was a kid, I would imagine that someday a beautiful woman was going to sweep me away to live happily ever after,” Riley began. “As time went along, I still believed that beautiful woman would find me eventually. And Alex, you finally did. You found me and swept me into your world, and it’s better than any I could’ve ever imagined. You have given me and shown me love that can only be felt and lived in. There are no words to describe what you do to my heart, mind, and body, my life. I love you so very much. Alex Adams, will you marry me?”
Alex lowered to her knees in front of Riley and took her face in her hands. With tears in her eyes she said, “Yes.” She placed her lips on Riley’s in such a tender kiss. She pulled away, still holding Riley’s face, and said, “Riley, you saved me. I had a glimmer of hope that someday I would find that special someone meant for me, but I thought I was being foolish. When I first saw you and our eyes met, something shifted inside me and I knew I’d never be the same. I was afraid to believe it was real, but my heart wouldn’t let me ignore it. Thank goodness we found one another.” With that their lips met, and the kiss went on and on.