by Roni Adams
Tipping her chin up, he forced her to look at him. “It’s going to be all right. I promise you, we’ll be fine.”
Tears glazed her eyes. “How do you know? How can you be sure? We’ve only been together a few weeks, and two of those we weren’t speaking.”
He dropped a kiss on her trembling lips. “We’re going to fight. Yes, we’re both stubborn, but I’ll get you to come around to my way of thinking and we’ll be fine.”
He grinned when she swatted at him.
“It’s not always going to be your way, you know. Just because I gave in on this one, doesn’t mean you get your way all the time.”
He dipped his head to nuzzle her neck and nibble her ear. “I think I have ways of making you see things my way.”
After Shane finally left, and she opened the store, it was difficult for Krista to focus. Her heart was heavy as she worked in the store she’d known most of her life. A little niggling voice kept pestering her about her decision. Not that she was having second thoughts, she definitely knew being with Shane was what she wanted, but shouldn’t he want her to be happy? Didn’t it bother him that she was giving up something so incredibly important to her...for him?
Then again, she knew better than any other woman in the world what he was like. He was who he was. The fact that he liked it when things went his way was not a surprise. Her body tingled in remembrance of his kisses and the way he’d thoroughly caressed every inch of her body. Shane loved her. They would build a future together and she’d find something new to focus on, whether it was a family or increasing her web design business. Besides, even if she didn’t have her own children for a while, she’d have Mary’s and Karen’s babies to help with in the meantime. She wouldn’t let herself get depressed, thinking about closing the shop after Christmas for the very last time.
Chapter Fourteen
Shane whistled as he walked out of jewelry store. He felt a bit of a heel for letting Krista believe she had to give up her dreams for the store if she wanted to be with him. But he’d right all that tonight. He was already anticipating making love to her while his diamond sparkled on her finger.
Shane bounded up the steps of his parent’s house where they’d agreed to meet to talk with his mother, together.
The aroma wafting down the hall as he walked in made his mouth water. His stomach grumbled, reminding him the sandwich he’d eaten at noon was a distant memory.
“Wow, what smells so goo—?” He stepped into the kitchen and frowned at his mother who stood near the stove.
“Pot roast.” She lifted the lid of the heavy cast iron pot and peered inside, poking with her wooden spoon.
He moved to the backdoor and glanced out over the yard. “Where’s Dad? And aren’t you supposed to be lying down?”
“Your father just went up to shower and I have been resting most of the day. I can still stir a pot, you know. It’s not an exhausting exercise.”
Moving to the refrigerator, he pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink before looking at his mother once more. How was she going to look in a few months? No matter how many people told him it was exciting, it was still going to be weird to see her round and pregnant. He shuddered and pushed the thought away.
“I was surprised when Krista said you’d both be here for dinner. Apparently, you’ve decided to play nice together again?” His mother set the spoon down and wiped her hands on the dishtowel.
She reached up to the cupboard, and Shane quickly moved to her side to take the plates from her. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get all this. And yeah, Krista and I are definitely playing nice together.” He winked and she shook her head.
“Knowing you two, the peace treaty won’t last too long.” She sank into the kitchen chair and pulled the cutting board toward her.
Shane set the plates on the table and pulled out the silverware drawer. “Oh I think you might be surprised by how long this one lasts.”
“Krista’s bringing a salad, so we need salad bowls out too. You two have been bickering since the day you were old enough to say ‘mine, mine, mine’ when she took your bottle from you.”
An inappropriate, but very enticing image of Krista sharing a bright pink nipple with him popped into his mind. Clearing his throat, he bit back a smile. “Well, maybe she’s learned how to share since then.”
His mother grunted. “I don’t think it’s Krista who ever had the sharing issue.”
“Okay, maybe I’ve learned too. You always told me I just needed to meet the right woman and I’d change my ways.”
His mother’s knife stopped in mid cut through an apple. “Don’t play with her, Shane. I mean it. Krista means too much to me.” She waved her knife in his direction. “She’s like my own daughter, and you know it.”
“Not at all a concern that she might break my heart? Just the other way around?” He set the bowls on the table.
“Whose heart are you breaking now?”
His father walked into the kitchen and the familiar scent of his deodorant soap filled Shane’s nostrils.
“Shane and Krista are sleeping together again.”
Shane tipped his head to his mother and opened his mouth, but then shut it again. What could he say after all? It was the truth.
“Is that so?”
He waited for his father to make another comment, but he merely moved to the refrigerator and took out two beers. Shane took the offered bottle and searched his father’s face. But again, no indication of what he was thinking.
His mother started to stand, but his father pressed his hand to her shoulder, taking the bowl of apples from her. “Stay there; I’ll take these. Where do you want them?”
His mother twisted in her chair. “Just take the lid off the roast and put them in there.”
The front door opened and Shane’s pulse sped up, knowing it had to be Krista. He walked out of the kitchen to greet her.
He took the loaded bags from her arms as he stole a quick kiss. “Hey,” he said, leaning in for one more.
She smiled. “Hey.”
Slipping off her coat, she glanced down the hall. “I’m so nervous.”
He would have loved to have a second to hold her in his arms, but the bags were between them. He settled for simply winking at her. “It will be fine. I promise.”
She closed her eyes for a second, then gave a brief nod as if she was going in for major surgery. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Krista walked past him and he heard her greet his folks. His father said something he didn’t quite catch, and Krista laughed as Mary scolded her husband. His heart swelled. How did he go so many years without realizing this was exactly how it was supposed to be? What did they say, sometimes you find love where you least expect it?
Back in the kitchen, he caught Krista’s eye from across the room. She looked nervous, and he could tell she didn’t want to wait until after dinner to talk to his parents about the shop.
Clearing his throat, he crossed to her side as she pulled out a chair near his mother.
“Mary, I need to talk to you about something.”
His mother raised her eyebrow. “Shane already told me that the two of you are together, at least for now.”
A red flush creep up into her face as Krista glanced at Shane and then back to his mother. “This has nothing to do with Shane. It has to do with me and you, specifically The Apple Basket.”
Mary frowned. “Is everything okay? I feel so guilty sitting here while you work our busiest time and...”
Krista put her hand on Mary’s where it rested on the table. “That’s not it, or rather it is, but not in the way you think. Melissa’s been great, she’s doing a terrific job, but no, it’s not the same without you.”
She drew a deep breath and Shane moved closer laying his hand on her shoulder.
Shane’s mother smiled. “I know, and I’d feel the same if I was there without you, but next year...”
“There won’t be a next year,” Krista blurted out.
Mary grabbed her h
ands. “Oh honey, I know it seems like that now, but I promise you, next year I’ll be right by your side. You’re just feeling a little abandoned.”
“I think I want to sell. I mean, I don’t know what you want to do, but I’d like to sell my half of the business.”
Shane’s heart squeezed at the catch in Krista’s voice, but he kept quiet, waiting for the right moment. He looked over their heads to where his father leaned against the counter. He read exactly what he was thinking; his father was relieved at Krista’s announcement.
“But honey, this is what you always said you loved to do,” his mother said. “You were even thinking about keeping it open longer.”
“You knew that?”
“Of course I did.” Mary smiled and tipped her head. “But, well, to be honest with you, I was hoping in time you’d either change your mind about that or I’d find a way to embrace it.”
“But you didn’t want to do it.”
The older woman reached out and cupped Krista’s cheek in her hand. “No, but I would have for you. I love you, and I’ll always do whatever needs to be done to make you happy.”
“But now you should be focusing on the baby.”
She dropped her hand. “But what will you do? I know you have the web design business, but I also know it’s not your passion. Is there something else you want to do?”
Shane watched as Krista swallowed hard.
“I don’t know yet, but something will come along.”
His heart tightened even as it beat rapidly while he watched the exchange between the two most important women in his life.
Taking a slight step back and dropping his hand from her shoulder, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d picked up at the jewelry store hours before.
When Krista turned to him, he dropped to one knee on his parents’ kitchen floor and held the diamond out. “I think I have a great idea of what you can do for the rest of your life.”
Krista frowned, her gaze bouncing from his face to the ring and back again, then she gasped.
His parents were strangely quiet, but he never pulled his attention from Krista’s face as he drew a deep breath. “Krista Marie Saunders, you’ve been a part of my life literally since the day we were born. I love you, and I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip quivered. She drew it into her mouth, and he thought he’d go insane as the silent seconds ticked off.
“We drive each other crazy.”
He grinned. “And I promise to drive you crazy for the rest of our lives if you’ll have me.”
She searched his face as if trying to figure out what he was thinking. Finally, her lips twitched and a slow smile spread across her face. “Well, I guess I don’t really have anything else to do for the next fifty years or so.”
He tipped his head. “Is that your romantic way of saying yes?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll marry you, Shane. But only to save the rest of womankind from dealing with you.”
She held out her hand and Shane slipped the diamond on her finger, then hauled her into his arms as he stood.
Next to them, his mother was crying, as he dipped his head to kiss his fiancée before hugging her hard.
After a round of hugs, tears and congratulations, his father insisted on opening a bottle of sparkling wine he found in the cupboard for a toast.
Shane cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I have something else I’d like to ask.”
She looked up from her ring and frowned. “There’s a catch?”
He laughed. “No, there’s no catch. But I did have an idea.” He turned to his mother. “How about, instead of you and Krista selling the shop, you sell your half to me, and let Krista and I run The Apple Basket together.”
“Oh Shane, that’s a wonderful idea,” his mother exclaimed. “That’s the perfect solution! But honey, how will you do that with your job and the reserves?”
“I already help out on the weekends during busy season. We’ll hire Melissa to help out when I can’t.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll make it work. And this way, Krista can keep the shop and her dreams, and have me as well. A win-win for her all the way around.”
Shane couldn’t help noticed Krista hadn’t said anything. He glanced to her and squeezed her hand. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
He frowned at the tone in her voice. Sweeping her face with his gaze, a chill ran through him at the anger in her eyes. She was mad? He’d proposed, and now offered to allow her to keep the shop and her dreams, and she was mad? Freakin’ women! He’d never understand them.
Shane pushed back his chair and stood up, pulling her with him. “We’ll be right back.”
He half dragged her through the hall to the front porch. He didn’t grab his coat, but she snatched hers off the hook as they walked by.
When the door closed firmly behind them, he faced her. “Why don’t you think that’s a good idea?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t a good idea,” she replied, shoving her arms in her coat sleeves. “I think it’s a great idea. What I don’t think is great, however, is why didn’t you say anything about this twelve hours ago? You know, when you made me think it was you or the shop, not both.”
Even with her coat on, she shivered and hugged her arms around her waist. Her head whirled with the conversation of the last few minutes.
Shane leaned against the porch rail and crossed his arms over his chest.
Her heart squeezed. Engaged exactly five minutes, and already they were having their first fight. This was probably not the best idea either one of them ever had.
Krista twisted the diamond on her finger, but lifted her chin. “You don’t have any response, do you? You didn’t just come up with this idea in the past ten minutes; I know you too well. You knew all along this was the solution, but you let me believe that it was all or nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, you’re right, so what?”
She furrowed her brow. “Did you just say I’m right?” She unfolded her arms and pointed at his chest. “You, Shane David Donovan, said that I, Krista Saunders, was right again. Meaning you were wrong, twice?”
His lips twitched, and he uncrossed his arms. “Come here.”
She shook her head. “No, we need to talk about this. I’m pretty mad.”
“I’m cold, come here and we’ll talk while you warm me up.”
She took a step back. “No, we’re going to resolve this before we go any further with anything, this engagement, or us, or anything.”
“I don’t know.” He glanced down at the porch. “Maybe my ego wanted to know you were willing to do that. Look at all the women I’ve dated.”
“I’d rather block them out, thank you.” She re-crossed her arms against her chest.
He pushed off the porch rail and closed the distance between them. Tugging at her arms, he struggled to get her hand. “I never knew if they wanted to be with me or the uniforms.”
She kept her body rigid. “Definitely the uniforms.”
Shane opened his mouth, but she reached up and touched his cheek.
“I’m not other women. You know me better than anyone. Hell, I didn’t even want to be with you any more than you wanted to be with me at first. So why would you even question my motives?”
“I’m an idiot. I don’t know what else to say, except if you give me the chance, I’ll make it all up to you. I’ll help you reach your dreams with The Apple Basket, and I’ll work hard to make any and all other dreams you have come true. I promise you that.”
She chewed her bottom lip, and Shane grabbed her hand and squeezed it between his own. “If anyone had told me a year ago that we’d be here like we are now, I’d have laughed my head off, but it makes sense. We make sense. That first night during the rainstorm with you threw me so completely off balance it was insane. Then when we fought and you walked away, I thought that was it; it had all been some weird c
hemistry thing and it was behind us.”
He leaned down and kissed her, but just as she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck, he drew back. “But I was miserable without you, and yet I was still struggling with the fact that it was Krista Saunders, the thorn in my side my whole life—how could I want to be with her? But I did and I do. I love you.”
He lifted her left hand to his mouth and kissed her ring finger. “I couldn’t wait to get this on your hand today. I couldn’t wait to see your face when I asked Mom to sell me her half so we could be business partners as well. I’m sorry I did it wrong.” Shane hauled her against him tight and hugged her, burying his face in her neck.
Krista wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her chest against him.
“I love you, and once we have dinner, I’m going to take you back to one of our houses and show you all night how much.” He raised his head and framed her face in his hands. “Say something.”
“Will you do one thing for me?”
He nodded. “Say the word and it’s done.”
“I know I said I didn’t need one but...” She grinned. “Will you put on your marine uniform and be my hero tonight?”
His hands swept under her open coat and framed her waist, pulling her hard against him. “If you’ll take it off me, I’ll be your hero every night.”
A word about the author...
Roni Adams’ writing career began as a young girl writing stories about her family pets. When a friend of her family typed these stories up for her and put them in a three-ring binder, her life course was set.
She has worked as a newspaper journalist, an administrative assistant, and in other positions, but she has always known in her heart she was a writer.
Roni resides in a tiny hamlet in Upstate New York nestled along the Erie Canal. She's been married for 27 years to Scott. They have three sons. Escaping into the lives of her characters takes Roni's mind off the fact that her family is growing up way too fast.
While she is no longer active with RWA, she considers the San Antonio Romance Authors RWA chapter to be the chapter of her heart. She is also one of the founding members of:
www.rosescoloredglasses.com