Finding Solace: A Small Town Second Chance Romance

by S. L. Scott

  “Ten till eight.”

  “I’m going to head out there.”

  We shake hands, but I bring him in for a chest press. “Are you hugging me, man?” he asks.

  “Maybe. Just go with it.” He remains, and I inwardly laugh. “Thanks for everything you’ve done to take care of Delilah over the years.” We step back, and I grab the helmet. Holding it under my arm, I make sure I have everything else I need. “Thank you for tonight, too.” I want everything just right for her.

  Giving me a middle-finger salute, he replies, “Aye aye, captain.” Some things never change. The smart-ass. When we enter the tunnel that leads to the field, he stops. “Good luck out there.”

  “Thanks, but I never need luck.” I just need her. We walk in opposite directions. By the time I reach the field, the sun is starting to set. I scan the field and then the bleachers.

  Six field exits.

  Three on the far side.

  Three behind me.

  Ten exits up the bleachers.

  Five on each side.

  I make my way to the fifty-yard line, put my helmet on, and wait. This afternoon, the rest of the pieces of my life fell together . . .

  Delilah and the farm are free from Cutler forever. It didn’t take much to get him to sign. I recommended it might be safer for him in jail than roaming free if he didn’t. I simply rubbed my neck and bam, he signed. I’m just here to pick it up.

  I expected the coward to give in, but I didn’t expect to happen so quickly. Sitting across from Cutler, I don’t say anything. I’m not sure what to say anyway, but he does. “You were a good friend to me, Jason.”

  I scrub a hand over my jaw. “I was.”

  “I’m sorry. I loved her.” The fucker knows nothing about love. Never has.

  “No, you didn’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have laid a finger on her. If you truly loved her, you would have wanted to see her happy, which she was with me.”

  “I’ll tell her I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t.” I stand. “Don’t ever contact her again. This paperwork is all she needs from you.”

  The guard releases the door, and I walk out. With glass dividing us, he yells, “I’m sorry.”

  He will be sorry. Where he’s going, there are no friendships, no future, or direction. He’ll understand a little of the hell I went through. Then maybe, he’ll be sorry. But right now, the asshole doesn’t have a clue.

  . . . The bright lights flick on, lighting up the stadium and surrounding area. The scoreboard comes on next. The final score from that night years ago lights up the board. It was a good game for me, one of my best, so it’s fun to relieve that memory before things went to shit.

  I spy Billy looking over the field from the announcer’s booth and give him a thumbs-up.

  When he returns it, I know he’s spotted Delilah. The second she comes through that tunnel, it’s as if the night becomes a lot brighter.

  Shelby was helping me on the inside and got her here as promised. When Delilah sees me, she stops, wearing a wide smile I can see clear across this field. As much as I want to greet her, I don’t. It has to be perfect. For her. So I stay. When she heads to where she used to cheer, I know the plan is coming together. I continue to wait, and she keeps peeking my way.

  The bass drum echoes from the tunnel, the other drums joining in. Our alma mater marching band kicks in, filling the stadium with music. Marching between us to the end of the field and then looping behind me, it’s quite the production, but she’s worth it.

  With her hands over her mouth, she bends over in laughter.

  She shakes her pom-poms like old times, enjoying every minute. With a fifty-piece marching band backing me, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly.

  I’m nervous. I shouldn’t be, but I realize that this isn’t about second chances. We already have that. Tonight is about righting wrongs.

  Dragging my tongue over my bottom lip, I fix my eyes on her and start walking. I glance up to see Shelby next to Billy in that booth. And I know if they weren’t making out right now, they’d totally be cheering us on as well.

  Delilah. The name alone means delicate, but she’s anything but fragile. Her inner strength fortifies how strong she is outward. Smart, she’s running her farm better than most of the neighbors in this county. Adapting as needed and cleverly creating a new financial plan when the other wasn’t working. When she had no one, she survived to create a new life. She’s the sun to my revolving world. And I don’t want to live a day with her light shadowed.

  She shifts her weight from foot to foot, nervous like me. For some reason, that makes me feel better knowing we’re both invested as deeply in each other. Not that I didn’t know that already, but her reaction gives me reassurance. Then I focus on my target—a blond with big blue eyes, wearing her heart on her sleeve and a number patch near the hem of her skirt.

  I take the helmet off and carry it by the face guard at my side. Just ten feet separate us when the world comes back into color—vivid and electric. And there in the center of my universe stands the only girl my heart ever recognized as its own. She’s as gorgeous as she always was, that uniform a fantasy come to life. Again. Damn, she knows how to work her assets to her advantage. Shapely legs and that top all filled out. My mind goes to the gutter instead of the speech I had prepared. Shit. I’m blank. I walk right to her and wrap my arms around her waist, picking her up. Her legs wrap around my middle and her laughter fills the air right before the marching band begins to play again. Bending down, she kisses me.

  This is how that night should have gone.

  “You’re all I ever wanted, Delilah Rae Noelle.”

  As I set her down, her laughter is replaced with glassy eyes as she struggles to hold her tears back. “Me too. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Jason Koster.”

  I drop down to my knee and take her hand. “Three thousand fans crowded into this stadium every Friday night to watch our team play and hopefully win. We usually did.”

  She reaches out to touch my chin before taking her pom-poms in both hands again. “You were named MVP all four years in school.”

  “But it’s not the trophies or the accolades I remember. When I look back on my life, my highlights reel plays our love story.”

  “Oh, Jason,” she sighs with a gentle smile, her body leaning toward me as if keeping the distance is torture for her.

  “I remember everything about you—from the purple shirt and denim skirt you were wearing the first time I saw you to the kiss you blew me from atop of the parade float junior year. No victory was ever won without looking for you in the crowd. Your approval. Your support. Your love. That’s all I needed, so although life may have taken us in different directions and knocked us off course along the way, it still carried me right back to your door. This is our chance to put us back the way we were always supposed to be. Delilah Rae Noelle, marry me. Travel the world with me. Have babies with me. Hold my hand even when you’re mad at me. And I promise I’ll kiss you even after we fight. I’ll take the middle-of-the-night feedings, so you can sleep. I’ll protect you. Always. But . . .”

  I get choked up. It was bound to happen when you feel this deeply about something or someone. “I’ll love you in this life and the next. I’ll give you the world and the universe, the stars above, and will make love to your body and your heart. Will you marry me?”

  Throwing her arms around my neck, her pom-poms are dropped behind me as she sits on my bended knee with her head tucked into the nook of my neck. Her cries are soft but shake her shoulders, but when she lifts up, she says, “Yes. A thousand yeses, Jason. I want to be your wife, partner, the mother of your children, and your forever.”

  Jumping up, I bring her with me and spin around. We kiss again, and when our lips part this time, Billy comes over the loudspeaker, and asks, “What’d she say?”

  I give him a thumbs-up.

  Shelby and he cheer just as the band starts playing our school’s touchdown song. Marching across the field, th
ey form a circle around us to Delilah’s utter delight. I set her down, still holding her hand but spinning her out like we’re on the dance floor. When she stays away too long, I say, “C’mere.” Caressing her face in my hands, I kiss her good and improper, the way she likes to be kissed.

  “You sure did go to a lot of trouble for a girl who already said yes.”

  “You once asked for a redo. I want to make all your dreams come true.”

  She tilts her head to the side, eyeing me with a sweet smile on her face. “You succeeded, stud.” Plucking the eight on the front of my jersey, she adds, “You always did look good in a uniform.”

  “You look so incredible I’m already planning a quick escape route to get you home and in bed so I can make love to you all night.”

  Spinning away from me again, she shows me the back. “It’s all rigged with safety pins. This skirt is way too tight.” She’s linked the sides together. There’s at least two inches keeping the sides from meeting.

  “You’re sexy as hell anyway.”

  “I’ve put on a little weight since you’ve returned, a few love pounds. I’m not worried, but it will be more.”

  “More?”

  She bends down and picks up one of her pom-poms, flashing me her fine ass while doing it. These pants are feeling tighter already. When she turns back, she grabs something dangling from the center of the black and gold. “Yes. More.”

  I’m so confused until I see the stick, a white stick with two pink lines that she’s holding out for me. I take it, the poofy ball coming with it. My thoughts fumble to register what this is, even though I know exactly what it is. She calls my name. “Jason?”

  “Yeah,” I reply, glancing at her and then down at the stick again.

  “We’re having a baby.”

  It wasn’t just one time we didn’t use condoms. We stopped using them altogether because we wanted this. We want this. I drop my head but keep my eyes on her. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes.” Her smile is even prettier than seconds before.

  My heart starts beating for a new reason. A baby. “I’m going to be a dad?”

  Cozying up to my side, she laughs. “Yes, you’re going to be a dad.”

  I wrap an arm around her and kiss the top of her head. “What about the wedding? Do you want to get married sooner?”

  “It doesn’t matter when. It only matters that we’re together.”

  The band had stopped playing and have almost disappeared from the field altogether, but who could notice when I’m having a baby with Delilah Rae, my honeysuckle. She wraps her arms around my neck and tilts back, letting me bear the weight as she smiles toward the moonlight. Technically, it’s under the stadium lights, but for her, I get all the light to shine for her. “I was in town earlier, and I overheard Janice spreading gossip at the pharmacy.”

  “And what gossip was she spreading?”

  “Well,” she starts, raising one eyebrow, “rumor has it that you’re bad for me.”

  “Shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes a little bad can be good for a girl.”

  “I’d say.” She kisses me, and I kiss her with all the love she deserves.

  “You know they’re going to gossip about me knocking you up before marriage?”

  “Let ’em. They don’t matter. Only we do. And this baby. We’re going to give this baby the best life ever.”

  Bending down, I kiss her bare midriff. “Hey baby, it’s your daddy.” Delilah’s fingers run through my hair, holding me there. “Do you know how much I love your mama?”

  I take her hand while I still hold that stick in the other, ready to confess the last of my secrets. “I have more money than what’s in Solace Pointe Bank. Your name is on all four accounts. I was going to give it to you as a gift when the paperwork came in, but I guess we should figure out how to manage it together to make sure our family is always taken care of, and we can re-file all the paperwork.”

  “More money? I don’t understand, What paperwork?”

  “I don’t really have a lot of faith in small-town banks. I was protecting our financial interests by spreading it out across the US and one account in Switzerland.”

  “Wait, what are you saying?”

  “We’re really fucking rich.”

  Her brows knit together in disbelief. “Since my name is now on it, how much are we talking about?”

  “Fifteen or so.”

  As much as I love surprising her, I don’t like shocking her. “You’re not talking thousands, are you?”

  “Nope, sweet face, I’m not.”

  After looking up at the stars for a few seconds, she finally looks at me. “It’s not stolen?”

  “No. All earned with my blood, literally, sweat, and hard work.” I run my hands over her waist, not able to resist her soft skin. “You have full access. And that’s it, no more secrets. You know everything now.”

  Her hands slide under my jersey, her warmth penetrating my skin. “I guess I should confess my final secret to you, too.”

  She’s never been one for secrets, or so I thought. “What secret?”

  A devilish grin is followed by her dipping the top of her skirt down. “You know my tattoo?”

  “Yes.” I stop her hand and look around. It’s way too low to expose in the middle of this stadium. What can I say? I’m a jealous bastard. “My number eight that’s nowhere close to twenty-two?”

  She giggles. “That would be the one.”

  “What about it?”

  With both hands, she tugs me close, and whispers, “I wasn’t drunk.”

  A grin grows across my face. “Have I ever told you how sexy that tattoo is?”

  “Nope.” A little hip wiggle punctuates her reply.

  “How about I show you?”

  Boy, do I.

  I show her three times, in fact, before the rooster crows the next morning.

  33

  Jason

  I shift for like the tenth or twentieth time in the five minutes I’ve been sitting here. Maybe there’s still time to bolt. The door opens. Guess not. I stand, unsure what I’m supposed to do or what I should say.

  “Jason, good to see you.” We greet each other with a handshake.

  “You too, sir.” I sit back down as he sits in his chair on the other side of the desk.

  “Stephen is fine.”

  “Yes, sir.” Habit.

  “Look, son, I’m glad you finally came by. It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to talk.”

  “Yeah, I think maybe the last time was when I was fifteen. It was a warning about masturbation and the dangers of it.”

  He starts laughing. “Yeah, for the parents’ sake, we give all the boys around that age the same warning. If not, imagine the mess on their hands.”

  I think the minister just made a joke. Am I allowed to laugh or was that a slip up? “So we don’t go to hell for it?” Checking, just in case.

  Leaning forward, he lowers his voice. “Look, masturbation is natural, but you don’t want it to control your life. Do you have a masturbation problem you’d like to discuss?”

  Shaking my head, I’m horrified and squeak, “No. I’m all good in that department.” Having lots of sex out of wedlock, though, currently. I’m pretty sure he’s well aware. Clearing my throat, I finish by saying, “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “Why are you here?” He leans back in his chair, giving me a full view of the cross on display above his head.

  “You might have heard the rumors.”

  “I was happy to hear that the angels played a hand in bringing you and Delilah together again.”

  I’m not sure how to say what I want versus what I should with him. “Is everything between us confidential?”

  “Yes. Unless it’s illegal. I can help you repent to the Lord, but not keep you out of jail. What is it, son?”

  Resting my forearms on my legs, I whisper, “I’m seeking forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness from God?”

&n
bsp; I glance toward the stained-glass window. “I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but I don’t regret them either.” Turning back to him, I add, “But I also want to spend eternity with Delilah, so I’m coming to you for help.”

  Steepling his fingers, he studies me. “Hmm. Interesting quandary. Can you elaborate?”

  “Not really. I can tell you that I didn’t carry God with me while I was gone. I’d lost faith and left Solace Pointe to find if there was still good in the world.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  Sitting back, I cross my ankle over my knee and think about his question. “I found some good but needed faith to find the rest.”

  Mimicking me, he pushes back in chair. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  “I had nowhere to go, but my motorcycle led me back home.”

  “Back to town or to the Noelle farm?”

  I smile. I can’t help it. “To Delilah.”

  “And what did you find once you were there?”

  “Myself.”

  He nods with an all-knowing smile. “You don’t need to seek forgiveness, Jason. You needed to follow your heart, and you did. That’s where good lives and will always lead you exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

  I blame the sun for shining in my eyes and causing them to water. Not the gorgeous woman walking on the arm of her sister down a pink rose-petal aisle. I’ll never admit otherwise.

  Yup, the sun. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

  Billy nudges me. “Are you crying?”

  “Are you?” I snap back.

  “Maybe.” He shrugs it off. “A little.”

  “My soon-to-be wife is beautiful.”

  With our eyes ahead on the ladies, he says, “I like Shelby.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, it’s obvious. Apparently to everyone but you.” I elbow him. “Now can we get back to my wedding?”

  He nods. “Yeah, sure. Sorry.”

  The music wafts through the air from the trio playing by the barn. My eyes stay fixed on my flower, my honeysuckle, my Delilah, her shoulders exposed as the lace hangs down on the sides. The dress flows around her, and the flowers circling her head make her look like a goddess. My goddess.