by Lane Martin
Shit, I had done the one thing to Penny I never wanted to do. I left her. I was a complete and total jackass. I don’t know how long I sat there thinking about everything. The guys had all been texting me since the accident. Even Kara had reached out to me. I finally read the messages.
Kara: I’m here for you. Always and forever, no matter what.
Kara: I like Penny. She’s good for you. Be Happy.
She was good for me, and I’d pushed her away. I was scared she was going to leave, but I hadn’t given her a reason to stay. I’d fucked it all up. I was glad that Kara and I had finally sat down and talked. It was something we both needed. I only regretted that I hadn’t told Penny about Kara before she showed up at our door. As odd as it sounded, I hoped Kara and I could remain friends. It was how we started.
Bowie: They’re honoring you in a ceremony next week. Will you be able to attend?
Me: I was doing what anyone else on the crew would have done.
Bowie: True, but you were the one to do it. Tell the truth, you just wanted the cover of the calendar.
I tossed my head back in laughter. It felt fantastic to have a smile on my face finally.
Me: Yeah, I’ll make it but I’m going to need some help.
Bowie: That’s what we are here for, Saint. Just tell me what you need, and we’ll make it happen.
“Dad,” I called out to my father as I used my crutches to get to my feet.
“Yeah, son?” My father appeared at my side. Concern was etched on his face until he saw my smile. “That’s more like it,” he said, pointing at my grin.
“Do you think you could get some of the guys over here so they can start clearing this out?” I motioned at the remnants of the house.
“About frickin’ time.” He clamped his hand down on the back of my neck and squeezed it. Yeah, it was way past time I pulled my head out of my ass. My only hope was that I wasn’t too late, and that Bowie could deliver on what I needed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
PENNY
“Why are you so nervous?” Shelby asked as I fidgeted with my hair in the ladies’ room of City Hall. We were about to walk out to the courtyard where the ceremony to honor Carson, Hitch, and Bowie was taking place. I hadn’t seen him since he’d walked out the door to talk to his ex-fiancée over two long weeks ago. “You perform in front of thousands of people in the biggest concert halls in the world.”
“I do,” I confirmed. “But today I only care about one person who will be in attendance. I want him to hear me, but I’m not sure this is a great idea. He didn’t want me at the hospital. What if he doesn’t want me here?” I talked to Nancy the whole time Carson was gone, but it was always about his recovery. It was all I could stand to know about. I needed to know he was okay. She assured me he was almost fully recovered from his injury. He was lucky the sprain he had sustained while saving two people in an apartment fire wouldn’t require surgery or cause permanent damage.
“Stop doubting yourself, Penny. He’ll hear you. Bowie wouldn’t have insisted you play today if he didn’t think Carson would want you here.”
“You think?” I looked at her in the reflection of the mirror. My hair was down and I was wearing a short sleeve, teal blue dress that hit me right above the knee and heels that would put me even with Carson’s height. The neckline was lower than I typically wore to perform in, but both Cathy and Shelby had been adamant that I needed the girls' support to get my man back. They assured me it was still respectable enough for a ceremony to honor the Sunnyville Fire Department's brave men.
“I know. Stop stalling; you look fantastic. It’s time.” Our heels clicked on the marble as we crossed the lobby to the courtyard entrance, and I took my place on the stage next to the mayor and several city council members. It seemed like half the town had showed up to celebrate its heroes. Except for the empty row in the front, every seat was filled. As I looked out amongst the smiling faces, I found Nancy and Rick. They beamed at me. The pride they had for their son was written all over their faces.
The mayor stepped up to the podium to begin the ceremony. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. Please rise while we welcome the brave men we will be honoring today.” I stood on shaky legs as I watched the man who had come to mean so much to me enter the space in his dress blue uniform. I was relieved to see he no longer needed crutches. Carson’s eyes were locked on mine the entire time. God, he looked good. I had missed him. While he didn’t look away from me, his gaze gave me no hint of what he was thinking. The men who were also being honored joined him on stage, while the rest of the men who had been on duty that day filled the front row.
“The Sunnyville High School ROTC will now present the colors. Please remain standing.” Flags were brought forward and we all joined in repeating the Pledge of Allegiance before we were told we could take our seats. Carson’s Captain gave a chilling account of what had happened that early morning. It was no wonder those men were given honors for their courage and bravery. They deserved it. I was grateful I had already been told about it because I didn't think I could have handled hearing the story for the first time in front of all those people. I knew what had happened and I was still near tears.
“We would now like to present firefighter, Carson St. James, with the key to the city.” Carson stood and accepted his award. He was followed by Hitch and Bowie. He had never looked more handsome.
“As a tribute to these heroic men, we’ve asked our special guest, Penelope Anderson, to play ‘For the Glory.’” I stood from my seat. My heart was racing.
“Actually, ladies and gentlemen”—I cleared my throat—“today I’ll be playing a piece called ‘You Make Me Brave’ for the man I love.” I lifted my bow and poured everything I had into the song. As I played the last note the crowd stood and began to clap, but it only lasted for a second before more music started playing.
I looked up and saw Brody walking down the aisle, playing the beginning strands of “You’ll Be in My Heart.” A multitude of other students followed him. They were playing everything from cluster bells to xylophones and they sounded incredible. Someone took my violin from me as I listened to the children play with smiles on their faces. In all my years as a professional musician, I had never in my life felt so accomplished. When the song ended, everyone in the crowd stood and applauded the surprise performance. Someone handed me a giant bouquet.
“What’s going on? Did you do this?” I asked Carson who now stood at my side in shock as it dawned on me that everyone’s attention was once again focused on me.
“I did. Because you’re the real hero, Penny,” Carson answered as he took my hand. “What you’ve done for these kids is incredible.” That wasn’t exactly true. The kids had given me so much more than I had given them. How could he, of all people, consider me a hero? He ran into burning buildings when other people were running out. Carson lifted our joined hands to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of my hand. How did I ever get so lucky?
Carson did something totally unexpected. He dropped down on one knee. Ohmygod. Was he hurt?
“What are you doing? Are you okay?” Did he hurt his knee again? I searched his face for answers. All I saw looking back was the man I loved more than anything.
“I’m trying to face my fears and tell you how much I love you.” My mouth gaped open, but he wasn’t done. “I should have told you about my past and I shouldn’t have pushed you away. You said you played ‘You Make Me Brave’ for the man you love— not loved. Do you still?” Did he have to ask?
“Yes, Carson St. James, I love you more than I ever thought possible,” I told him as my vision became clouded by tears of pure joy.
“You make me a better version of myself, Penny. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give you the world as long as it means I get to spend a lifetime with you.” For all I knew, the once crowded courtyard was empty because as far as I was concerned, we were the only two people in the world.
“I want to build a house on your pro
perty with you. I want a dog who’s in love with a pig to be mine. I want a front door where I don’t know where the keys are because our home is always open to anyone in need. I want to call your parents Mom and Dad, and I want you to be my reason for everything.”
“Wow, that’s a lot. Let me think about it.” He feigned thought. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, I want you to get up here and kiss me.”
“As you wish.” Carson stood to his full height and pressed his lips to mine softly before pulling away. “I love you, Penny. When we were clearing the debris at the house, we found something we thought had been lost in the fire.” He plucked a ring out of his pocket. “This belonged to my grandmother; she wore it for sixty-five years. And if you’ll have me, I want you to wear it too.” I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I also needed to know something before he slipped that ring on my finger. “Only you and my grandma have ever worn it.” My mind reader answered the question I had yet to ask.
I nodded my head before adding a breathless, “As you wish, my love.”
Epilogue
CARSON
“T hey’re up next,” Grady told me like I didn’t already know. I learned a long time ago never to doubt my beautiful wife.
After she agreed to marry me, we celebrated with everyone who had witnessed our engagement at the ceremony where I was awarded the key to the city. Then she drove me home. Blindfolded. As it turned out, while I was off being a dumbass, she was home being a badass. She said it all started with a sledgehammer.
Penelope guided me out of her SUV. “I didn’t know my future bride was so kinky,” I teased as she guided me to the spot where she wanted me to stand.
“Cute.” She stood behind me and lowered the blindfold. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light.
“Holy shit! How did you do all this?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Penny wrapped her arms around me from behind. Thanks to her heels, we were the same height. She rested her chin on my shoulder and sighed. “With a lot of hard work and some help from our friends.”
The exterior of the house had been transformed since the day I’d left. The rock that looked like it had been part of the 1970s era remodel was all gone. It had been replaced on the bottom portion of the house with a sleek stone veneer. The brown stucco at the top had been covered with gray wood siding.
“It looks incredible. What else did you do?” I had a feeling I hadn’t seen anything yet.
“Just a little bit more.” I held her hand in mine as we walked together up the front path.
“New door?” It wasn’t the color she’d originally had on her detailed list. In the center it had a large frosted glass insert.
“It was in the budget, I promise.” She held up three fingers, which was laughable because she was certainly never a scout. She punched a code into the keyless lock. “Your birthday and mine.” A green light flashed and we heard the lock release. I lifted her into my arms.
“I thought it was going to be gray like the trim.” The door was a surprising reddish orange color. “What made you pick that color?” I wasn’t asking because I didn’t like it. I did. I was only curious.
“It reminded me of the flowers you got me for Valentine’s Day. I’m tired of living the life everyone expects of me. I want to live out loud and in color.” Her answer put an even bigger smile on my face than I’d already had.
“What are you doing, Carson? Your knee.” At that moment, I couldn’t have cared less about my knee, which was fully healed. “I’m carrying you across the threshold.” It wasn’t an argument she was going to win.
“We aren’t married yet.” She giggled and the sound of it made me hard. I still couldn’t believe this astounding woman had agreed to be my wife.
I tugged at the bow tie around my neck as Dylan and Penny were announced to the stage. “With the nomination for best original song, please welcome Dylan Malone and Penelope St. James to the stage to perform “Wildflowers Lullaby,” written and performed by Dylan Malone and Penelope St. James from the soundtrack for Petunia’s Paradise. This is the second nomination for Dylan Malone and the first nomination for Penelope St. James. This is the third nomination tonight for Petunia’s Paradise.” As soon as the girls had heard the name of the project, they knew they had to work on it.
They took their places on the stage. As incredible as it was to watch my wife performing a song she had co-written—a song that was nominated for an industry award—I was never prouder of her than when I had carried her into our finished home that first time. Everything was exactly like we’d planned it. She had finished it all, down to the placement of her million kitchen gadgets, while I had been gone. I didn’t think I could love her any more than I did that day, but I was wrong again on the day she promised to be my wife forever, and I slid a wedding ring on her finger.
Her parents and sister had opted not to join us that day. I worried them not showing up for her would ruin the wedding, but we had been surrounded by nothing but love. Her best friend, Henry, married us. He was completely over the top, and it was perfect because otherwise we both would have blubbered our way through the ceremony. I’m not too proud to confess I shed a tear or two. Who wouldn’t at the prospect of marrying the most incredible woman in the world? Our wedding was at the house, in the backyard. We couldn’t think of a better place to become man and wife. It was a hell of a party. Good thing I knew the fire marshal because we pushed the limits of capacity.
I took a permanent job with Sunnyville Fire and the school district agreed to allow Penny to continue teaching music as an unpaid position. She had plenty in the bank and her choice of projects to work on.
When Penny reached the final note, Grady and I stood and clapped for our wives as they took their bows. It was hard not to be star-struck as we sat in our seats, looking sharp in our tuxedos, as we waited for them to return. We knew it would be a few minutes.
Dylan and Grady were enjoying being new parents. The song the girls had written was a lullaby for Dylan and Grady’s beautiful baby girl. I couldn't wait to hear Penny sing it to our kids one day. We wanted a family and were having a lot of fun practicing.
During a television break, Penny and Dylan were escorted back to their seats. “That was incredible,” I said into her ear after kissing her chastely.
“I have something for you.” Penny produced an envelope from the pocket of her dress. It closely resembled the ones being opened on stage.
“What’s this? I thought tonight was all about you.” I flipped the blank envelope over in my hand.
“Just open it,” she whispered in an effort not to interrupt the live show that was going on.
“Do I get one of the baskets given to the award winners?” I joked as I tore the seal of the envelope.
“Better,” she answered giddily. What could be better than the reported $225,000 gift bag? I raised a brow at her as I pulled the card out of the envelope. The front was a copy of the gold statue being handed out tonight. I looked at my wife one more time before I looked at the card.
And the winner of Best Father of the Year goes to Carson St. James.
The MC announced her name at the same time I read mine on the card. Holy shit. I flew out of my seat and pulled her into my arms. Penny was pregnant, and I was the luckiest man in the world. Who needed a cruise to the Antarctic from an overpriced gift basket when they already had everything?
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Acknowledgments
First, I need to thank you, my readers; these would only be words on a page without you. Secondly, I need to thank Kristy Bromberg for this opportunity. I have been a fan since I first read Driven. Working with you on this project has been something I will always remember. You are a class act. Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of your world. I hope I represented you and your characters well.
Next, I need to thank Danielle and Wendy. I couldn’t do this without you. You encourage me more than you will ever know. I am truly blessed to have you both in my life. Next, I need to thank Gerald for your unwavering support. I’m lucky to have a husband as encouraging as you when it comes to weekends spent on my computer and vacations spent going to book-related events.
Writing books may seem solitary, but so many people are involved in getting it to this point. Thank you to my editors, Laura and Katrina. Rebecca, thank you for another perfect cover. Anna, thank you for making it look pretty. Sandy thank you for being my friend and for your counsel on being a part of this from the beginning. Marjorie thank you for your eagle eyes.
Lastly, thank you to all the other authors involved in the KB World project. It has been great to be a part of this with all of you! You are truly a fantastic group of very supportive people with so much talent. Good luck with your contributions!
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