Happily Ever Afters Guaranteed

by Lacy Williams

  He reached out to right the wheelchair and Kate followed his movement, putting out a hand to help him.

  “I’ve got it,” Brody said, still not looking at her. Humiliation ate a hole in his gut.

  Heaving himself back into the chair—carefully, so he didn’t take another spill—he ignored Kate’s gentle hand against his lower back.

  “You’ve scraped your knee pretty bad,” she said.

  Sure enough, blood seeped from an abrasion on his right knee.

  “War wound. Can’t even feel it.” He couldn’t keep the wan tone from his voice. “I’ll get some antibiotic ointment on it when I go back in.”

  Kate touched his shoulder, but he still couldn’t bear to look at her. Then she knelt in front of him, placed her hands over his on the armrests and he couldn’t ignore her.

  “It’s okay to need help sometimes, you know.”

  “I know.” He really did. He’d been accepting help since the accident, but this encounter put a bitter taste in his mouth.

  He’d wanted Kate to see him as a man, not as an invalid. Someone who could take her out on a date—take care of her—not someone who needed constant help.

  “Hey—” Kate tapped him on one hand. “I don’t think less of you just because you fell out of your chair.”

  It was like her, with her compassionate heart, to know what he was thinking at this very second. It made the moment intimate, but he couldn’t force the words to ask her for a date. Not now, not with embarrassment seeping through every pore.

  “I can pretend it never happened, if you want. Or, you can prove that this was a one-time deal.”

  He raised one eyebrow skeptically. “How?”

  “Why don’t you come to lunch with me on Sunday—Valentine’s Day? My mom is making a pot roast and my brother will be there as well. You can roll your wheelchair all through my mom’s house and if you don’t fall out, well…”

  She was teasing him. The question was…was Kate asking him for a date? Brody was stunned. But he couldn’t say no.

  “All right.”

  GO TO PART NINE

  PART NINE

  Kate flipped over a pillow on her mom’s couch and patted it into place—two inches over from where it had previously been.

  “This is going to be a disaster,” she muttered to herself. “A bad, bad idea.”

  What had she been thinking to invite Brody over to her mom’s house? She still shared the small house with her mom and younger brother to save money while she was working through school. Would he think less of her because she didn’t have her own place?

  And she still hadn’t told him about her past and being a high school dropout.

  At least lunch promised to be good. Her mom was an excellent cook, and the savory smells of roasted meat and vegetables permeated the entire house. Not that there was much house to it.

  Kate examined the living room with a critical eye. She’d had Thomas move the coffee table into one of the back bedrooms and one of the two sofas had been shoved back in hopes that Brody would be able to maneuver a bit easier.

  But was it enough?

  Her mom’s knickknacks and all the childhood photos were a bit embarrassing compared to Brody’s modern décor.

  “Quit worrying, dear.”

  Kate looked up from her internal musings to see her mom leaning back from the stove in the next room, wooden spoon held carefully above her palm.

  “You’ve moved that same pillow three times now. I don’t think your friend is going to mind where it is.”

  “No, I know.” Kate was just nervous. And her secret wish was that Brody wanted to be more than friends. Impossible.

  “Besides, I think he’s here.”

  Sure enough, Kate heard the sound of a car engine fade away. She rushed outside in time to see Brody descending from a minivan via a ramp extended out the rear sliding door.

  He was really here.

  “Hey.” She forced the greeting out of a suddenly-dry mouth. “You need any help?”

  “Nah, I’m okay.” Pink tinged his cheekbones as he moved away from the vehicle and punched a button on the remote that made the ramp fold back into the car door. “Like my wheels?”

  It took her a second to realize he meant the car and not the wheelchair. She didn’t know whether he was joking or being serious.

  “Oh, yes. Very sporty. I like the red.”

  He winked at her and relief that she’d read him correctly made her giddy.

  “Actually, I’m very impressed that you get around on your own. That’s good for booksignings and things, right?”

  “Mmm, and getting to the grocery store,” he agreed absently. She followed his gaze past where she stood to the four concrete steps leading up to the house. His smile had disappeared.

  “You’d better hold these,” Brody said, indicating the red and pink gift bag and a bouquet of roses in his lap. Kate hadn’t noticed them until now.

  “Oh, you don’t have to…” Kate motioned to the steps and then pointed to a paved path that led around the side of the house. “If we go around, the kitchen just has one small step.”

  The frown creasing his brow eased and his easy smile returned. “Sure. Lead on.”

  “What about my present?” she asked as she turned and led the way around her mom’s cottage.

  “Sorry, you’ll have to wait.”

  “Hmph,” she groused, but his chuckle told her he knew she was teasing.

  “This is a cute house.”

  “Thanks,” Kate murmured, not looking back at him.

  “You live here, too?”

  She sighed. “Yeah, and my brother. It’s cheaper than having my own place, since I’m still at university…”

  They approached the door to the kitchen that stood wide open and Kate’s mom’s voice floated outside. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s been taking care of me and Thomas since she was a teenager.”

  Now it was Kate’s turn to blush. She stood back and ushered Brody toward the open door, wanting to be prepared in case he needed assistance getting up the low step.

  “That doesn’t surprise me. It smells delicious,” he commented as he easily popped up the front wheels of his chair and then manhandled the larger back wheels to climb the step. All within seconds. Kate’s assistance hadn’t been needed after all.

  She followed him inside and as her eyes adjusted from the outdoor light, saw him offering her mom the bouquet of roses. “These are for you. Thank you for inviting me.”

  Kate jumped in to make introductions. “My mom, Angela. This is Brody.”

  Her mom lowered the roses from where she’d had her nose buried in them and beamed at their guest.

  “I’m glad you could come, young man. Make yourself at home.”

  Brody turned back to Kate, this time his hand outstretched with the gift bag in it. “I suppose you want this now.”

  She snatched the gift from him, eyebrows raising as she registered its heaviness. Warmth flowed through her. She hadn’t thought he would bring a gift, even though it was Valentine’s Day. Their “relationship,” if it could even be termed that, was too new.

  But she really liked that he had.

  “I’ll bring it with me,” she said, motioning toward the doorway toward the living room. “Let’s get out of mom’s way and let her finish up with the meal.”

  “It won’t be long.” Angela ushered them along with a cheerful wave.

  Brody followed Kate into the living area, and Kate was immensely relieved to find he had plenty of room for his chair to get around.

  She was not so excited to find Thomas lounging in the recliner, watching TV. She’d hoped for a little privacy to open her gift, but it was apparently not to be.

  “What’s up?” her brother asked in greeting, nodding to Brody. “You must be Kate’s new flame.”

  Kate’s face started to burn. “He’s not my anything. Brody, this is my annoying younger brother Thomas.”

  Brody shook the younger man’s hand
and then wheeled backward in a half circle so Kate had a view of his face when he said, “We’re not officially together. Yet. I’m hoping to sew that up today.”

  And her face was never going to cool off at this rate. Kate didn’t respond to Brody’s leading comment, but sat on the sofa and began pulling tissue paper from the top of the gift bag, eager to see what was inside.

  “That for me?” Thomas asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Didn’t figure it was. What is it?”

  “It’s… a ream of paper.” She extracted the plain white paper, bound with rubberbands, and placed it on her lap.

  “It’s a manuscript,” Brody said quietly. “Still not quite what my agent wants to see—a travel guide for people with disabilities,” he said aside to Thomas, “but I wanted to share it with you and let you know how much you’ve inspired me. I think it’s great that you’re plugging your way through night school, and I just kept thinking… if you can do something that hard, I should be able to get past my writing demons.”

  Kate blinked back the sudden sting of tears at Brody’s compliment. She touched the front page of the manuscript—filled with only a title and his name below that—and raised her gaze to meet his dark eyes.

  “And I wanted you to know that I trust you with something that no one else has seen yet. I want to pursue this thing between us.” His voice vibrated with intensity.

  It made her insides a little shaky, too.

  “Guys, is it getting a little hot in here?” Thomas’s voice crashed into the intimate moment. “I’m going to check and see if mom needs help setting the table or something.”

  Kate hid half her face with one hand as her brother skedaddled and Brody chuckled. “I think that’s the first time in about three years that he’s voluntarily offered to help with a chore-related activity.”

  “I like your brother.”

  “I do too. Most days.” She focused on the manuscript again, unable to hold Brody’s concentrated gaze for too long. “Thank you for this. I don’t think I’ve ever received something so… ‘special’ isn’t quite enough to describe it.”

  “Good. That’s what I was going for.”

  She had to laugh at Brody’s faux-smug comment—realizing that it was an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “Kids, the food is ready!” came Angela’s call from the other room.

  ###

  “I had a really great time today.”

  Kate knew the line was cheesy even as the words fell from her lips, but there it was. The afternoon had been filled with laughter and learning about the man she’d come to care about… what more could she ask for?

  “Me too.” Luckily, Brody didn’t seem to mind.

  She perched on the front steps, not ready for him to get in his car and drive home, even though she’d ushered him out of the house under that excuse.

  Sometimes a girl just needed a little privacy.

  Kate’s seat put them on the same level, and Brody seemed to realize she wasn’t ready for their time together to end—or he wasn’t either—and wheeled close enough that they were knee-to-knee. He took her hand, sending warmth up the appendage and straight to her heart.

  “Thanks for inviting me. With both my parents gone, sometimes I forget how it feels to be part of a family…”

  She squeezed his hand, wanting to offer comfort.

  “I’m glad you didn’t lose your mom. She’s an incredible lady.”

  Angela’s cancer and remission had come up during the meal, but Brody still didn’t know that Kate hadn’t finished high school.

  She knew it wasn’t fair to keep something like this from him, but a small part of her still worried that he wouldn’t like her—wouldn’t want to date her—if he knew.

  She closed her eyes.

  She had to be fair to him. Fair to both of them.

  “Brody, there’s something you should know before we go any further with… this. Our relationship.”

  Just calling what they shared a relationship made her want to clam up and not say anything. How could she ruin this opportunity to be with a man she admired more than any other guy she’d met?

  “Tell me.”

  “I never finished high school. I have my GED, but I never actually graduated.”

  She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t bear to see the censure in his eyes.

  His reply came slow and measured. “Because of your mom, right?”

  She nodded, a lump in her throat blocking more words.

  “I’m glad you told me, but… it doesn’t make me think any less of you as a person.”

  He tipped her chin up and one of her threatening tears slipped free. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and caught it.

  “I can tell this is important to you. Do you want to tell me why?”

  “You’re intelligent… and well-rounded and… and… famous! And I’m a high school dropout. I’m afraid that the only reason you want to be with me is because I’m… available. You see me every week for your pool cleaning, and—”

  Brody’s thumb brushed forward over her cheek and pressed against her lips, stopping the flow of her words.

  “Three years ago, I might’ve agreed with you.” His eyes showed how serious he was taking this. “But I’m not the same person I used to be. Now I know you’re selling yourself short, Kate.”

  She sniffled.

  “You haven’t mentioned your compassionate heart. A lot of kids wouldn’t have done what you did to support your mom and keep your family together. That’s a lot more important than a high school diploma in my book.”

  She shook her head, dislodging his thumb from her lips. “But—”

  This time he leaned forward and captured her lips with his, his hand sliding behind her jaw so that his fingers tangled in her hair.

  Involuntarily, Kate’s eyes closed against the tender onslaught of his kiss. She was lost in the sensations he evoked, rooted only by the anchor of his palm against her jaw.

  When he eased back and her eyes fluttered open, it took Kate a moment to focus on his face, his tender smile. Her stomach swooped at the light she saw in his eyes.

  “Kate, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Her heart stuttered. She’d been falling for Brody for a long time, but never hoped that her feelings would be reciprocated. Was God answering her unasked prayer?

  “I care about your past because it’s made you who you are, but I don’t think you’re ruled by it, Kate. You’re changing your future by going to night school, and you’ve changed your mom’s future—your whole family’s future—by your selfless actions.”

  Brody clasped both her hands between his. “What I want to know is if you can see a place for me—for us together—in that future. Because I can.”

  He paused. “Unless… unless my disability is too much…”

  Kate wiggled her fingers in Brody’s hands, not surprised that she was shaking. He started to release her, but she laced their fingers together instead. A line that had formed between his eyebrows eased.

  “You said my past doesn’t define me. Your legs, or lack thereof, don’t define you either. I’ve been fighting my feelings for you for months, thinking there was no way you’d want someone like me…”

  This time Kate leaned forward and kissed Brody, just a delicate brush of her lips against his.

  “I definitely want to go out with you again. When?”

  “Is tomorrow too early?”

  THE END

  PART TEN

  She wasn’t coming.

  The sun neared the place where water and horizon met, and Kate still hadn’t shown up to the beach party.

  Brody had been so proud of himself that his new wheelchair had handled the sand, if not gracefully, then at least not painfully. Earlier he’d dipped his toes in the Gulf. He knew he’d have to rub down his chair later and remove all traces of saltwater, but it had been worth it.

  But his joy and anticipation had waned as time passed and Kate still hadn’t
arrived.

  Had she decided someone with a handicap like his wasn’t worth her time?

  Some of the guys had started a bonfire and most of the group had congregated there, taking turns roasting marshmallows and chatting and generally having a good time.

  But Brody sat slightly apart, eyes traveling over and over again to the parking area, hope dimming with each minute that ticked by.

  Maybe he should leave. He certainly wasn’t bringing any life to this get-together.

  Then suddenly a happy bark announced a newcomer, and his heart took flight—

  And Kate’s bobbing ponytail followed her golden dog down to the sand.

  She’d come. Late, but she was still here and that’s all that mattered.

  Brody wheeled his chair toward her, arms straining with the effort of moving through the soft sand. Her dog barked again and ran right up to him. He accepted the doggie lick of his hand and rubbed along the animal’s back as he waited for Kate’s approach.

  She wasn’t smiling.

  “Hey,” he greeted, stomach swooping low.

  “Hi.”

  The setting sun turned her blond hair russet and shadowed her eyes. She wore a simple one-piece and a pair of board shorts.

  “The party is right back there,” Brody said, indicating the bonfire over his shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

  “Brody, can we talk?”

  Oh no. The dreaded can we talk.

  Heart plummeting, he nodded anyway. “If you want to walk for a bit, it’s easier for me closer to the water.” His wheels had more traction on the hard-packed, wet sand instead of the soft, dry sand closer to the parking area.

  Kate followed him as he pushed his chair through the sand and then as he turned parallel to the water she moved into place next to him, flip-flops dangling from one hand.

  “I almost didn’t come tonight,” she said, voice soft.

  “I’m glad you did.”

  The rapidly sinking sun didn’t give him much visibility, but he thought she frowned.