by Ancelli
“That’s not fair. I only have on a T-shirt and shorts.”
“You have an advantage over me, baby. You have on bra and panties, and shoes count, too.”
“Okay.” She started dribbling the ball. She made the first five shots in a row and he took off his shoes, socks, and then his shirt, leaving him in shorts and boxers. “I think you’re letting me win.”
Without saying a word, he made the next six shots, and she took off her sneakers, socks, T-shirt, and shorts. She pouted. “I don’t want to play anymore.”
He made another shot, and stared at her. “Take it off.”
She unhooked her bra and threw it at him.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was more than he deserved. Why had he ever let his mistakes from the past interfere with his future?
He grabbed her hand and led her out to the beach. “I need my clothes. Where are we going?”
She stopped dead in her tracks. The path to the beach had bamboo sticks with candles on them, and when she looked down, she covered her mouth with her hands.
He’d made a heart out of footprints, and in the middle he’d written with a stick: Sophia Will You Marry Me?
When she looked back at him, he was down on one knee, taking the ring off his chain. “Will you marry me?”
He took her ring finger and placed the ring on before she answered.
She stared at the ring. “I didn’t say yes.”
“Yes you did, the day you told me you loved me.” He stood up. “I love you, and I’m sorry for being so foolish.”
“What about Amy?”
“Who’s Amy?” He chuckled. “Amy and I have an understanding. I can’t tell you that I didn’t love her, because that would be a lie, but what I can tell you is that I love you with all that I am, and all that I’ll ever be. You have taught me what real love is, when you give and don’t expect anything in return, how to laugh again, and to forgive and move on. I love you, Sophia Ashley Delgado.”
Tears ran down her face.
“You have to say yes. Your dad already gave me your hand in marriage.”
“You asked my dad?”
“Yes. That’s how real men do things.”
She smiled. “Yes, yes, yes!” she yelled. “I’ll marry you.”
He grabbed her and pulled her into a giant hug.
“John, you made me believe in living again, you gave a reason to smile and laugh when I thought there wasn’t one. I love you.” She took his lips, and then his tongue, prisoner.
“I think you better put some clothes on. Your parents just pulled up.”
She punched his arm, and ran back up to the basketball court, got her clothes, and started putting them on. “This was your idea.”
“You didn’t get my clothes?” he asked, standing in his basketball shorts.
“Nope.”
Her parents and the kids wandered over. “Congratulations!”
Chapter Forty-Six
It had been a week since they’d been back from Puerto Rico, and they couldn’t be happier.
Sophia was still asleep when he disappeared early in the morning. He tiptoed back into the room. “Sophia, wake up.”
She fluttered her eyes open. “Where have you been?”
He was a little disappointed; he’d hoped she wouldn’t notice he’d left. “I needed to clear my head.”
She watched him suspiciously.
“Come on, get up.” He pulled the sheets off her body. “Let’s go for a ride.”
She sat up. “Amber can’t go for a ride.”
“Amber will be okay. Come on.” He grabbed her hands and pulled her up. “Get ready.”
“We can’t leave her here alone. Are you crazy?”
John laughed. “I dropped Amber off with Kay. She’s all right.”
She threw a pillow at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?”
John placed a white linen shirt and pants out for her. Her eyes followed his every move.
“White?” She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
“I want us to match,” he said, fixing his white, buttoned-down shirt. “Be ready in ten minutes.”
“Fifteen.” She chuckled.
***
They jumped on his bike and drove down the road.
Sophia held on tight. She was finally happy. She had everything she’d ever dreamed about. Her kids were happy. She glanced at her engagement ring, knowing they probably wouldn’t get married for a long time, but he was hers, regardless.
Then she noticed John was taking them down the same road they’d had that accident on two years earlier. Where is he going? She hadn’t been down this road since that night. About two hours later, John parked on the side of the road, and jumped off the bike, taking her hand in his.
“John, what are we doing here?”
“I want to show you something,” he said, guiding her. “Baby, I know you haven’t been down here in two years, but I have.”
She tilted her head in confusion.
He smiled. “I come down here to clear my mind. I was blessed and saved that day.” He pointed his finger at a skid mark on the road. “You see over there.”
Sophia looked.
“That’s where I lost control of my car.” He kept walking. “And over here, that’s where I noticed your car.”
He grabbed her and settled them back on the bike, drove a little farther down the road, and parked.
“This is where I hit you.”
“John, why are you doing this?” she asked, remembering that night.
“Because of you I’m here now.”
She arched her brow.
“Look over there.” He pointed. “If your car hadn’t appeared, I would have ended up down that cliff. It was dark that night, and I didn’t see it. My car was headed that way until I collided with you. It changed the direction of my car, and I hit those trees.” He cupped her face. “Don’t you get it? God sent you to save my life.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Honey, I was on that road broken, confused, and in pain.” She squeezed his hand. “That night you gave me what I needed.” She smiled. “A friend.”
“Sweet heart, I love you…” he said, taking a silk tie out of his pocket. “Now close your eyes.”
She chuckled. “Oh no, not again.”
He wrapped the tie around her eyes. Taking her hands in his, he walked over to the bike and got on. “Jump up behind me and hold on tight,” he said, helping her get situated.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
John drove his bike through the path the construction workers had built. He’d memorized it. He pulled up in front of the cabin. “We’re here,” he said, getting off and helping Sophia to dismount as well.
“Where?” she asked, nervous.
“Where it all started.”
He turned her, and took off her tie.
She looked around, but didn’t recognize the area.
“I don’t recognize this—” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Is this the broken cabin?”
“Yes, the one that gave us shelter and the one we first made love in.”
Her eyes shined in awe.
Sophia just stared. The cabin was apparently being remodeled. It wasn’t finished and she already knew it was going to be beautiful. “When?”
“When you weren’t looking. This cabin means a lot to me, so I bought it.”
“You bought it?”
He smiled. “Yes, we bought it. I want it to be our safe haven, a place where we can get away from it all.” He took her hand. “Come on.” They walked inside.
She looked at every detail. “John, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say a thing.” He showed her around. “It only has one bedroom. There’s the fireplace.” He continued until he took her to the spot they made love.
Tears ran down her face.
There were roses everywhere in what
she guessed was the living room, and more surprising, a man dressed in white, with a bible in his hands.
“John, what’s going on?” she asked.
“Babe, will you marry me?”
“I already said yes.” She wiggled her ring finger.
“I mean now,” he said. “That’s Pastor Thomas. He’s agreed to marry us, right now.”
She couldn’t breathe right. “Yes, yes!” she cried.
“You guys can come out,” John called, and Amber, Johnny, Kay and Jason and their kids, and Vickie, Tuy, and his older sister Olivia and her family appeared.
Sophia cried harder. He wiped her tears with his thumb. “I can’t live without you. You are and always will be everything to me.”
She was still in shock. They’d done all this for her.
“Mom, congratulations,” Cara said, coming from the door with her grandparents behind her.
She hugged her daughter tight and gazed at John. “Thank you for loving me.”
***
They said their vows in front of the most important people in their lives.
The pastor finally said “you may now kiss the bride.” John cupped her face and kissed his new wife with all the love he felt.
Chapter Forty-Seven
John and Sophia lay in bed after an intense session of making love. She was on top of him with her head on his chest, trying to get her breathing back to normal.
She looked at her ring, and smiled. “I can’t believe it’s been a month since we got married.”
“Believe it, baby, and the cabin’s finally done.” He caressed her back, down to the arch.
She leaned up on her elbows and looked into his eyes. “Maybe we can go this weekend.”
“If that’s what you want.” He moved a strand of hair from her face. “Vickie called while you were in the shower, with very happy news.”
“What news?” she asked eagerly.
“After all the years of trying, she is finally pregnant.”
She smiled from ear to ear. “I’m so happy for her.”
“She’ll make a great mom,” he said, touching her nose. “Do you want more kids?”
“I thought you were done after Johnny,” she joked. “Amber was an oops.”
“A man has the right to change his mind. Don’t you think?”
She moved up and kissed his full lips. “God might grant us with another one, one day.”
He touched her stomach. “I hope so.”
Amber’s voice came through the baby monitor, but someone else’s voice came through, too. “Shh….”
Sophia pushed up. “Did you hear that?” she asked, looking at the monitor.
He leaned up as well. “Did I hear what?”
She jumped out of bed. “Someone is in her room.”
John got out of the bed, and started getting dressed. He pulled on his shorts and a T-shirt. “I’ll go check.”
She pulled on the first thing she saw, a pair of jeans, and a T-shirt. She walked over to her safe and for the first time in a year she grabbed her gun and tucked it in the back of her jeans.
John walked into Amber’s room, and was startled when he saw Marcus holding her.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house, holding my daughter?” John asked, hurriedly moving forward, until Marcus showed his gun, making him stop.
“Don’t you dare take another step.” He pointed the gun at John’s chest.
“Marcus, is it? Put down my daughter,” John said, trying to control his nerves. “What do you want?” He looked at his little girl. She was staring at him, smiling and showing her new teeth, and wiggling her hands.
The baby placed her hands over her eyes, and played. “Peek a boo… Da…Da…”
She was so innocent she didn’t know what was going on. She kept playing, waiting for him to say, “I see you.”
“Please let me have my baby,” John pleaded.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he said. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your baby.”
“Then put her down.”
Marcus smirked. “She’s my leverage.”
“For what?” John raised his voice.
“Where’s Sophia?”
“I’m right here, Marcus. Please put her down,” she said, coming in behind John.
“Don’t take another move.” He pointed his gun at both of them.
“What happened to you?” She stared at Amber. “Is this about us? If it’s me you want, then take me and let her go.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“Then who?”
“Carolyn.” He held their baby tighter. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know where Carolyn is.”
“Don’t lie to me, Ashley.”
“I’m not lying.”
“I took care of that fool Terrell,” he said.
“You killed Terrell?” John asked.
“Yes, I did. I knew that was the only thing holding you back from getting Carolyn.”
Sophia took a deep breath. “Oh God. You were his silent partner.”
Marcus gave them an evil chuckle. “I was always one step ahead of you, but you were getting too close.”
“What does this have to do with Cara?”
“Her name is Carolyn, and it has everything to do with her.”
John sensed Marcus was losing it. He needed to get to his daughter.
“What are you talking about?” Sophia asked.
Amber started crying, because Marcus’ grip on her was getting tighter. John took a few steps forward. “Let me calm her down.”
“If you take one more move, I’ll fucking kill you.” Marcus put his finger on the trigger.
“No!” Sophia held John back. “Please John…don’t.”
“I’ll give you your daughter when you give me Carolyn.”
John couldn’t figure Marcus’ interest in the girl.
“Ashley, I didn’t know Sarah was your sister.”
Sophia’s hand went to her mouth. “No…”
“She lied to me about her age.” He looked at the baby. “The first time I saw her she was with Terrell. He was busted and asked me to keep an eye on her. She came on to me and one thing led to another, and I fucked her.”
Sophia’s breathing got heavy, and all John could see was anger in her eyes.
Marcus continued. “We had an affair behind Terrell’s back.”
“I introduced you to her!” she yelled.
He stared at her. “I already knew her. Terrell found out we were sleeping together, and the baby she was carrying wasn’t his.”
“That’s why he threatened her and the baby?”
“Yes, but he threatened to turn me in and I couldn’t let that happen, so I set him up to take the fall for everything. Ashley, you were getting too close to the truth.”
“You set my house on fire?”
“No. I would never hurt my child.”
“You were going let him kill me.”
He smirked. “You dumped me, and Terrell told me you knew everything.”
“He lied. Sarah told me he had a partner, but she never told me who.” She raised her voice, crying. “How could you have sex with a teenager?”
“She told me she was eighteen!” he yelled. “We could’ve raised Carolyn together. I begged you to ask your sister to adopt her.”
“Sarah would never give up her baby.”
“You ran with her instead.”
“She asked me to protect her.”
Sophia began to shake, and John rushed to her side. “Baby, he is going to pay for everything he did to you and your sister,” he whispered.
“Get away from her,” Marcus yelled, making Amber cry louder. “Where is my daughter?”
Sophia pulled out her gun.
“One of us is not leaving here alive,” she said. “Put down my baby.”
“Not until you tell me where my daughter is.” Marcus pointed his gun back at her.
“She’s with…”
&n
bsp; “John, no.” Her eyes begged him not to.
“Sophia, my child comes before his.” He looked at her trying to convey what he was doing. “Carolyn is with my sister in Chicago.” None of his sisters lived there.
“Where in Chicago?”
“Don’t hurt my baby,” John said, staring at Amber, who was drying her tears with her tiny hands.
“I said, I would never hurt a child.” Marcus placed her over the crib but did not release her.
John gave him a bogus address. He suspected Marcus wouldn’t let them go that easily, but he had to make sure Amber was safe.
Marcus placed the baby down, never lowering his gun.
He smirked. “You really think I was going to let you live, after everything I’ve told you? I have to cover my tracks.”
Sophia just stared at him.
“Ashley, we can still have a life together with Carolyn, you and me. He’s the only person standing in our way.” He pointed the gun at John’s chest and pulled the trigger.
“No!” Sophia screamed, and fired her own gun.
Chapter Forty-Eight
It happened in slow motion. Marcus pulled the trigger, and Sophia sprinted in front of him taking the shot in the chest, but not before shooting Marcus in the shoulder. She placed her left hand over the wound, and slowly fell to the floor.
John’s world stopped. He couldn’t breathe. Sophia had just saved his life. But he’d just seen the woman he loved get shot, and there wasn’t a thing he could do. He rushed over and picked up her gun and shot Marcus twice in the back as he tried to flee, and then he ran to kneel down next to his wife. “Baby, look at me,” he said, digging for his phone. He managed to dial 911; his voice rattled as he told the operator their location and what had occurred.
“She’s losing a lot of blood.” He dropped the phone and took off his T-shirt and pressed it against her wound to try and stop the bleeding.
Her eyes looked scared, and her lids started to get heavy. “John…” she said between breaths.
“Yes, baby…” he said, caressing her cheek with his other hand.