In just a few minutes, Quincy noticed Nathan Clarkson, the man from the embassy in Bali, walking toward her and Finn. He walked with purpose. His stride was long. She started shaking all over and whispered, “Oh my God, oh my God, Finn, this can’t be your surprise. It can’t be.” She looked up at Finn and clutched his side. Her fingernails dug in to him, and her whole body shook.
Before he could say anything to ease her mind, she shook her head. “I can’t go back. I can’t go back. Please, don’t let him take me back.” Tears streamed down her face.
Finn held her tight and looked down at her. “Oh, Q, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think how this would look. I’m so sorry. He’s not taking you back. I never even imagined you’d see him and panic. I’m so sorry, baby. No one’s ever taking you away from my side again. You’re safe. I promise. Nathan is here for a good thing.”
“What?” She was still shaking. “What kind of good thing? What can he want?”
Finn was angry at himself for causing her so much angst. Good God, you’re an imbecile. You should have known seeing Clarkson would cause her to fall apart. You dumb ass. You don’t deserve this woman. You’re an idiot.
Nathan Clarkson had reached them, and he held out his hand to Quincy. “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Holt. And under much more pleasant circumstances.” He shook Quincy’s hand and then Finn’s. “It’s nice to see you, too, Special Agent.”
“And what exactly are those circumstances?” Quincy asked, her voice cold as she looked from man to man.
Clarkson looked at Finn. “You didn’t tell her?”
“I wanted to surprise her.” Finn shrugged, embarrassed over his faux pas.
Clarkson looked at Quincy with pity. “You really like this man? He’s a dolt. I’m sure seeing me wasn’t something you would call a nice surprise. He should have told you I was coming.” He looked at Finn and added, “Just for future reference, don’t ever try to surprise a woman. They don’t like it.”
Quincy laughed a little. “I confess, I usually like surprises, but seeing you wasn’t a nice one. Sorry. I’m sure you’re a nice man, but I really have bad memories of the last time we were together.”
He laughed. “I completely understand.” He took her by the arm. “Come sit with me a minute. I have something to give you.” He led her to a set of chairs and she sat. He sat beside her. Finn followed and stood in front of them.
Nathan Clarkson handed her some papers.
“What’s this, then?”
“It’s a full pardon. We’ve gotten all charges against you dropped.”
She smiled, her first real smile since seeing him coming toward her down the hallway. “Now, this is a nice surprise, but you could have mailed these. And it would have caused me much less trauma.”
Nathan pointed down the hallway from where he’d come. “But I couldn’t mail that.”
She looked where he pointed and saw Setiawan with a flight attendant. When he saw her, he broke into a run and yelled down the corridor, “Surfer lady, surfer lady!”
She jumped up and ran to him. As soon as she reached him, she scooped him up and spun him around in the air. “Little dude, little dude.”
She sat him down and knelt in front of him. “What’re you doing here, Setiawan?”
“I tried to stop you from getting on that plane, lady. Why did you do it? I tried to warn you. Bad things happened. I heard. Why didn’t you listen to me?”
She was so happy to see the little fellow was safe, she cried, “I don’t know. I don’t know.” She held on to his upper arms and smiled into his eyes. “How’d you get here?”
“In a big airplane.” He held his hands apart to show her how big. “I had to take three big planes. It was a long way.”
Finn and Nathan had reached them, and she looked up at the men. “What’s going on? Why’s he here? Is he in danger?”
“Not anymore. He’s not in danger now,” Nathan Clarkson said.
Quincy stood up. She held Setiawan’s hand. “Finn, what’s the deal?”
Finn took her other hand. “Q, he testified against the men in Bali that were the buyers for Hicks’s weapons. The authorities there said he was in danger because of it. When Avery was over there setting up your charity for street children, she went to the consulate on my behalf. She found out he’s an orphan. The story he told you about his mother was the line he was taught to use to catch tourists off guard. When I learned he was an orphan, I offered to have him brought here to America where I could protect him.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I want us to adopt the boy. Raise him as our own.”
Her eyes shone. “Really? You’ve never even met him. Why would you do that? Why bring him here, sight unseen?”
“Remember the conversation in the hospital in London?”
She blushed. “I remember everything about that night in the hospital, Finn. What about it?”
“When you told me about Setiawan, I could hear it in your voice and see it in your face, that you thought this child was special. You glowed when you talked about him. You were so concerned about his welfare.” He paused and took her chin in his thumb and forefinger. He looked in her eyes. “And you said all you’d ever wanted was a family. You said you were prepared to marry Hicks just for that reason, and I knew that I wanted to be the one to have that family with you. I wanted that for both of us. We can have babies, too, but I felt like this boy was meant to be part of our lives. I hope I was right.”
She kissed Finn lightly on the lips and knelt back down to be at eye level with Setiawan. “You want to be my son? Live with me forever?”
The boy nodded and laughed. “Can I be a surfer, too?”
She hugged him. “Absolutely, little dude, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Finn looked at Nathan. “Looks like I’m outnumbered. I may have to get on a piece of shaped foam and be shark bait myself to ever get to spend any time with my family.”
Quincy stood up and took both of her men by the hand. She looked from Finn to Setiawan. “Family. I like the sound of that.”
Finn picked up his soon to be son and put him on his shoulders. He took his soon to be wife by the hand, and she reached up to hold her new son’s hand. “Clarkson, you’re invited to a wedding tomorrow if you’re sticking around but right now, I’ve got to take my family to the beach. I have a duffle bag with some swim suits in the Jeep. We’ve got some serious waves to catch. And I need to get some sand in my shorts, according to my bride. To make me more her type. Aloha.”
Quincy smiled. “So that’s what’s in the duffle?”
Finn looked at her. “You bet, babe, no skinny dipping with the boy around.”
Setiawan asked, “What’s skinny dipping?”
Finn and Quincy laughed and Finn said, “You’ll find out in about twelve years, my man.”
Setiawan leaned down from his perch on his new dad’s shoulders and said, “Surf’s up?”
Quincy nodded. “Surf’s up, dude.” She turned to Clarkson. “Thanks for bringing me this treasure.” She let go of Setiawan’s hand long enough to shake Clarkson’s.
Finn shook Clarkson’s hand as well. “Hope to see you tomorrow on the beach for our wedding. Four o’clock at the gazebo.”
They turned away from Clarkson. The three of them, hand in hand, walked off toward the exit to start their new lives, secure in the love they felt for each other.
THE END
http://www.JillianChantal.wordpress.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian Chantal is the pen name of an attorney practicing law in Pensacola, Florida. She escapes from her high stress job by writing romantic fiction. She lives in a suburb of Pensacola with her husband, and two sons. She has lots of sand in her shorts having lived near the beaches of Northwest Florida for many years. This is her second book with BookStrand Publishers. She is also the author of Solo Honeymoon. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at [email protected]
Also by Jillian Chantal
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
www.BookStrand.com
Chantal, Jillian - Surfer Bride (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 25