He dared to breathe again, a slow smile on his lips and in his heart as he opened his arms to her. She was there in his embrace before he had time to think, and he was complete once more.
“Alex, what the hell was all this about?” Dorothy asked.
“I suspect the flowers all have meanings,” he said.
“It’s a language,” Aunty Em said. Her voice had a quaver in it and she wiped at her eyes. “Don’t remember all of it but daisies are for farewell, and myrtle and rose are for love.”
“A language,” Dorothy cried.
But Brad just shook his head, his arms holding Penny but his heart heavy once more. “But it only makes two. I’m still eight short.”
Penny pulled back from him with a grin. “Are you kidding? You just don’t know how to count. What was the business about the biscuit run with Gran?”
“It means a useless trip. It’s from some detective novel.”
“Private investigator language,” Penny said.
“And there was the square dancing,” Dorothy said. “He talked about do-si-doing.”
“Square dance language,” Heather counted.
Penny’s hold on him tightened. “And last night, you talked about the Quadlings and Winkies.”
“Oz language,” someone shouted.
“Hey, he talked to me about the weather once,” someone from the crowd called out. “Storm squalls off the lake, tornado alley and lake effect snow. Hoosier weather language.”
“Computer networking has its own language,” Alex added.
“So does poetry when it comes right down to it,” Heather said.
“So we’re up to eight, Penny told him. ”Do we keep counting?”
Brad just shook his head, his heart so happy he thought it would burst. “It doesn’t matter. Will you have me?”
“Only for forever.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Sorry to be dropping out at the last minute like this,” Brad told Dorothy. “We could still drive you to the airport if you want.”
Dorothy just laughed and heard it echo across the nowdeserted parking lot. “No, you guys stay here and be happy. I can drive there on my own.” Thank goodness, it was getting dark out and no one could really see her. She had a feeling the disappointment in her heart had to be on her face. But it had nothing to do with Penny and Brad. “I’m just so glad that you two decided to reconcile in public so we could all share it.”
Penny grinned. “Anything to keep the town entertained.” Her smile faded. “I just wish you weren’t still going to Paris.”
“Hey, we all have our dreams,” Dorothy said. Toto hadn’t even showed up to say goodbye. Showed how far off from reality her dreams were.
“Toto’s a fool,” Heather said.
But Dorothy just laughed. Who was to say who the fool was? At least Penny’s crowd had gone back into the bar and they were able to say their goodbyes in private. “Remember our club, The Bridal Circle? I was going to find a prince and live in a palace. These are just my first steps along that road.”
She stopped and looked at Brad and Penny, and sighed. “Well, you guys stay in touch, will you? And if you’re ever in the neighborhood...” She blinked back a sudden rush of tears.
“Be happy, you hear?” Brad said. He hugged her, and then gave her the keys to his rental car.
Suddenly a huge, hairy monster flew across the parking lot and practically jumped into Dorothy’s arms. Junior.
Dorothy bent down, putting her arms around the dog. “Oh, Junior, you take care of Toto now, you hear?” she whispered into his fur, then straightened up. The only Toto here to say goodbye was the furry one. This was just the fitting end to a lousy week. A lousy year. A lousy thirteen years. She was wise to leave.
“Well, this is it,” she said.
Junior woofed as with a bright smile, she got into the car and rolled down the window.
“Junior’s telling you not to go,” Brad said.
Dorothy just laughed and started the motor. “You understand him? Dog language.” She smiled at Penny. “Add that to his list.”
Penny nodded, slipping her arm through Brad’s. “We’ll reach ten before the night’s over.”
Dorothy waved and put the car in gear. If she didn’t go now, she’d be crying too hard to ever leave. With a spurt of determination, she pulled out of the lot and onto the road. In her rearview mirror, she saw Penny, Brad and Junior watching her leave.
Then she turned her eyes ahead. That’s where they’d stay, too, focused on her future, not her past.
The parking lot was silent. Brad supposed they ought to go back inside for the rest of the poetry reading, but he was just as happy standing here, his arm around Penny and no one but Junior around. Brad couldn’t believe how things had turned out tonight.
He turned, pulling Penny into his arms. “What do you say we—”
He stopped as a police car careered into the lot, lights flashing. Toto screeched to a stop next to them.
“Where is she?” he cried. “I got tied up on a call.”
Penny let go of Brad and leaned down to talk to Toto. “She just left, but she’s driving Brad’s rental car—a red Taurus. If you hurry, you can catch up with her.”
With a wave, Toto was off, speeding down the road after Dorothy. Junior trotted to the edge of the parking lot, watching the car race away. Penny sighed and took Brad’s hand in hers.
He could feel her worries. “He should catch up with her in a few minutes,” Brad told her.
“I guess,” she said, still staring down the road. “But why did he wait until the last minute?”
“Maybe he didn’t really think she would go. Or maybe he didn’t think he could ask her to stay.”
. She turned to face him. “Speaking of asking to stay, are you sure you don’t need to go to that conference in Paris?”
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” he said. “If you want to come with me, we can go.”
“Me, in Paris?” Her voice sounded awed at the idea. “I’ve got to think about that.”
“Well, while you’re thinking, I’ve got something for you,” he said, and led her over to her truck. Opening the back, he reached into his suitcase and pulled out the yellow brick road hat she’d given him.
“You were taking that with you?” she asked. “That’s so sweet.”
He took her scarecrow hat off her head and replaced it with the yellow brick road cap. She frowned at him, and took it back off.
“I gave it to you.”
“Because home is where I hang my hat. I know.” He put it back on her head. “And this is where I want to hang my hat. Because wherever you are, that’s home for me.”
“Oh, Brad,” she said with a sigh and reached up to meet his lips with hers. But she pulled away before he could slip his arms around her. “You know what that is?”
He wanted to hold her. He wanted to feel her body next to his and around his and forever his. “Frustration?” he asked.
She just laughed. “It’s your tenth language,” she said. “The language of love.”
Epilogue
Dear Ms. Donnelly:
Thank you for your letter. The committee read your explanation of the events leading up to the withdrawal of our invitation with interest. Of greater interest to us all, though, was your eloquent description of the Oz festival in your town. You painted a vivid picture of the blending of tradition and today’s culture and made it clear that the century-old story does have pertinence in today’s world.
If you are still willing, we would very much like to have you present a talk on the relevance of the Oz story in today’s society to our conference. It would be both a pleasure and an honor to have you. We were fortunate to catch your appearance on the Olivia Collins show and know you are indeed an articulate speaker.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Professor Michael Bennett
Dear Professor Bennett:
I’d be glad to speak at your confer
ence. How many tickets can I get? I think half the town wants to come.
Penny Donnelly
Don’t miss Andrea Edwards’s
next emotional love story,
SECRET AGENT GROOM, in
THE BRIDAL CIRCLE miniseries,
available August 1999, only from
Silhouette Special Edition.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6011-5
IF I ONLY HAD A...HUSBAND
Copyright © 1999 by EAN Associates
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If I Only Had A...Husband (The Bridal Circle #1) Page 25