by Rhea Wilde
“I have to go back now,” she said.
“Right.”
I stood up straight and released her from my grip.
“I’ll come visit you,” I said. “The first chance I get.”
She smiled then walked back to the police car. Officer Dion opened the door for her then looked at me.
“Miss Cooper,” he said with a nod.
I bowed my head back to him and he got into the passenger seat of the car. The other officer driving slowly moved the vehicle away. Kimmy waved to me from the backseat and I waved back the entire time as it drove away into the distance. When they were gone, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
I turned around to head back into the shelter. Just then, I heard the familiar sound of an engine revving coming from up the street. I looked and saw Noah riding up. Standing near the curb with my hands in my pockets, I waited for him to park his bike right next to me. He didn’t look any different from the way he usually did. A few hours of work were evidenced on his shirt along with a tinge of sweat on his brow. I never got tired of seeing it.
“Hey,” he said as he got off his bike. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. Your eyes are a little red. You weren’t crying, were you?”
“Oh… Right… You know Kimmy?”
“Kimmy… The little girl in the hospital.”
“She just paid me a visit. It looks like she’s going to be okay.”
“That’s great news!”
“Yeah…”
I put my hands in my pockets, thinking about everything that just happened. My head drooped down and I stared at the ground.
“You don’t seem too happy about it?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong. It’s just… It’s just such a relief. I’m still in disbelief. I don’t know how to react.”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“It’s strange. I had a massive weight on my shoulders and it finally feels like it’s gone. Everything is going well. Kimmy is going to be okay. Castle is behind bars.”
“And it looks like the Barnett donation came through.”
“Yeah.”
We both looked up at the renovated sign.
New Gardens Village Shelter
It looked completely out of place. The brand new sign glistened underneath the summer sun.
“And that’s just the beginning,” I said. “There’s more going on inside. Alice gave us enough money to renovate completely.”
“Speaking of which, I just spoke to my father.”
“Lee? How is he?”
“He’s the same as he’s always been. He talked about you. He mentioned the shelter.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. Just that he knew you were the right person for the job.”
Noah moved closer to me and put his arm around my shoulders as we both continued to look at the sign above us.
“It sounds like things between you and him are better,” I said.
“Better, yes. We still have a lot to discuss.”
“I’ll bet you do. He missed a whole lifetime.”
“Yeah…”
“Has he talked to you about working for him? Maybe running the business?”
“I don’t want it.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
“I don’t need his money. He understands I need to be my own man.”
Noah turned to me and kissed me softly on the lips. I closed my eyes for just a moment and when I opened them, I saw him staring back at me with a tender smile on his face.
“Wait,” I said. “Shouldn’t you be at work right now?”
“Oh, right. That’s why I’m here. I came to tell you Lou decided to get me some help.”
“Did he? He finally managed to find another mechanic?”
“I spoke to my father about possibly expanding my garage, too. I didn’t want it at first. I don’t need my father’s money. But it would mean a lot to Lou. Maybe he’ll be a little less cranky.”
“Maybe. More people to work for him, a bigger space to work…”
“And more profit for him. And me, too.”
“Since when did you care about profit?”
“Well… I’ve started saving recently.”
“Saving? For what?”
“Oh… I was thinking about getting you something nice. Some jewelry. Personalized just for you.”
“Jewelry? You know I don’t—“
A mischievous twinkle in his eye interrupted me. He took my hand in his. I watched his hand trail along my ring finger. My mouth hung half-open at what he was suggesting.
“It might take awhile,” he said. “I’ll be saving for a little bit.”
“That’s all right. We have the rest of our lives.”
“Well, it won’t take that long to save up for a ring…”
He chuckled softly and I smiled back. I sighed a deep breath of contentment and hugged Noah. My head pressed against his chest. The relief of everything finally being over was cathartic. It washed over me and cleansed me to my core.
“Of course, that means bad news for you, too,” Noah interrupted.
“What?” I said, looking up at him.
“With more people at Lou’s, I have more free time. And I have nothing to do at the moment.”
“Oh, is that right?”
He grinned at me. The glint in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“What do you have planned for me?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I was thinking you could hop on this bike with me and we could ride off into the sunset. Find some place where we can be alone. Just you and me.”
“Yeah, that sounds nice…”
I looked away from him, thinking about everything I’d been through. There was nothing more I wanted than to be with him. He’d made me feel safe and secure ever since I met him. Nothing would have made me happier.
“I still have a lot of work to do though,” I said. “This city needs me. These people need me. They’re a part of me.”
“They’re a part of us. Neither one of us would be who we are without this city.”
“It’s funny. Alice told me what this city meant to her. Now I understand.”
“Right. Then I should probably let you get back to work.”
Noah released me from his embrace and took a step back.
“We do need some help in the garden,” I said. “There’s a lot of work to be done. A lot of things to grow.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good time.”
“I think it will be. Especially if you’re here with me.”
“Always. We’ll always be together.”
Noah put his hand in mine. I led him into the shelter toward the back where everybody else was working on the garden. Max was waiting for us. Noah and I got to work along with everyone else.
The sun continued to shine in the sky. A warm breeze blew through the air. Traffic flowed through the streets. Children played in the parks. The people marching on the sidewalks went about their day.
New Gardens was alive and well.
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading True Desires!
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