“Now, can I ask you a question? Why were you watching my house?”
She looked at Blake and then back at me and said, “I was watching Blake.”
“Why?”
“I’m an ATF agent.” She said that as if it explained why she was following Blake. It only confused me further. I was going to ask another question when she said, “The car that hit your son was aiming for him; it was no accident.”
“Do you know who was driving and where we can find them?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I was hoping one of you could tell me.”
“I didn’t get a good look at the car,” I said.
“There were so many witnesses that we got the plate numbers of the car but they were stolen so that was a dead end. Do you have any enemies, Mr. Petit?”
I shrugged. “Who knows after everything I’ve done in my life? You think they were trying to hurt me?” God please don’t let me be the reason my son got hurt.
“Or me,” Blake said, “Which is more likely. I’m sorry that Conner got caught in the cross fire.”
“So am I,” I told him. “But it’s not your fault.” I looked back at Dana and said, “I am confused about why the ATF is watching us. Should I be concerned about the business?”
“No,” she said again. Damned government agents with their one-word answers. “Not about us anyways. I have to run. If you do think of anything you may have witnessed but forgot that night, Mr. Donovan has my card.”
We watched her go, and I looked at Blake and said, “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“It’s a long story,” he said. “For now, trust me when I say this has nothing to do with the business. We’re okay and you’re not investing your money in gun-running or moonshine.”
I laughed. “Good to know. Okay, I’ll let it go for now. But if I find the guy that hit my son and left him there to die before she does…I can’t promise that I’ll turn him over easily.” I was trying to be PC about it. I wasn’t sure if Blake knew me well enough yet to come right out and tell him I intend to do some serious damage to whoever it was if I caught them first.
He just nodded and said, “Go spend time with your family.” My family…I loved the sound of that.
********
ARIANA
From where Tyler and I sat in the swing on the front porch a week later, we had a perfect view of the sun as it dipped behind the crests of the mountains off in the distance. The sky was awash with the colors that can be found at the heart of a fire. I watched them and thought about how well they meshed with the colors of the fire that burned in my core with love for Tyler. I took a sip of my beer and looked over at Tyler. Taking ahold of his hand I said, “I love you.”
He squeezed my hand and smiled. “I love you, too.”
“I’m so happy. This is the way that things were supposed to be all along. Your parents would be so proud of you.”
He looked back at the sunset and took a drink of his beer. “I hope so,” he said.
“They would be. Look at me.” He looked at me, and I said, “You served your country for over a decade. You stepped up to your responsibility to your son as soon as you knew about him. You forgave me for lying to him. You’re strong and loving and smart and you’ve overcome so much. They would be so proud. I know that I am.”
He slipped his arm around me and said, “I’m glad that you are. All I live for is you and Conner now. Your opinions of me are all that matter.”
“Conner is crazy about you, you know.”
“It’s easy to tell with him. He’s like his mother, and he doesn’t hold his feelings back. I’m so happy he’s accepted me. I can’t even describe how happy that makes me. I’m overwhelmed by it.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me. I feel the same.”
“You did an amazing job with him. I’m proud of you, and you should be of yourself.”
I giggled and said, “I am.”
He pulled me in for a hug and then leaned down to kiss me. Conner walked out just in time to see our lips touch. “Ew! Get a room, will you?” We looked up at him and laughed. He came over and hip chucked his dad and sat down in between us. “I was thinking about joining the army.” I felt my chest tighten up. I could hardly stand the idea of him so far from home—and with people shooting at him and trying to blow him up. I didn’t say that though. It was his life, and I’d have to get used to the idea of him being an adult and making his own decisions.
“Awesome,” Tyler said. “You’ll make an awesome soldier.”
“Thanks,” Conner said. “Maybe you and I could start working out together after the doctor signs off on my therapy.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” Tyler told him.
EPILOGUE
ARIANA
My dress was fitted white silk and strapless with a long train made out of lace. It was what I wanted to wear at my wedding—in my head—since I was a kid. I’d managed to describe it to a designer and she’d done an amazing job. I wore a wreath made of white flowers and a long white lace veil. My long hair was up in a twist, and I’d spent over an hour on my makeup. I knew it was silly since I was marrying a man that I knew most of my life, but I wanted to look perfect for him.
My dad was waiting to walk me down the aisle that we’d made from a lace runner that stretched out underneath a canopy of leafy green trees and in between the dark green grass on either side of the park. The flowers were in full bloom and the smell of them filled my senses even now inside the bridal tent. Chairs had been set up on either side of the aisle facing the gazebo and the lake. Another building not far from the park had already been decorated and set up for the reception. That was going to be the fun part, but this part was the one I’d waited for my entire life.
I sucked in a deep shaky breath and looked at Alicia and Lucy just as the music began to play. “Are you ready, honey?” Lucy asked. She and I had become good friends since Tyler started working at the agency. I loved how she was just herself all the time with no pretenses. I’d grown up surrounded by people with a lot of money and everyone wanted to keep up with everyone else. In a world like that, a real person like Lucy was refreshing.
“I am so ready,” I told her. “Just a little nervous.”
Alicia smiled and put her hand on one of mine and squeezed. She’d just done this less than half a year ago, so she understood what I was feeling. Lucy kissed my cheek and said, “There’s nothing to be nervous about. That man out there loves his family more than anything on this earth.”
I nodded. “I know. This has just been so long in coming, I just don’t want anything to mess it up.”
“Nothing would dare,” she said. “I happen to know that at least five of the toughest S.O.B.s I’ve ever met personally are sitting out there in the audience. How could anything go wrong?” She winked and blew me a kiss as she ducked out of the tent to start her walk down the lace runner toward the gazebo. I smiled at her reference to the guys out there. It was definitely a new feeling for me to suddenly be surrounded by men that wanted to protect me and take care of me. My father was the only man I’d had in my life like that for so many years. Since Tyler came back into our lives, there was a lot to get used to. The gazebo was set up at the edge of the lake, and it was covered with white flowers.
As soon as Lucy made it up front, it was Alicia’s turn. She kissed my cheek and said, “Ryder complains all the time that Tyler doesn’t talk about anything but his family. He’s joking most of the time. Family’s important to Ryder, so it’s part of why he likes Tyler so much. It’s so obvious that he loves you. Everything will be fine with a love like that.”
I smiled at her. “I know it will. Thank you for standing up for me, Alicia.”
She said what everyone in our group had come to say at times like this, “Where else would I be?” She winked at me and ducked out. I waited nervously again until I heard Here Comes the Bride float softly from the speakers. My dad stepped into the tent then and offered me his arm. He look
ed so handsome in his suit, and my only one regret was that Mom didn’t get to live to see this day. I was so grateful to still have my dad. I should tell him more often how much I love and appreciate him. If he hadn’t stood by me when I was raising Conner all alone, I had no idea where my son and I would be today. Dad kissed me and asked, “You ready to do this, beautiful girl?”
I nodded and swallowed hard. He kissed me on the cheek and then pulled down my veil. As we walked down the aisle, my eyes found my handsome son. He was standing up for his dad as his best man. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a wine-colored vest and tie. He looked nervous; he never liked being the center of attention. I wanted to tell him he didn’t have to stand up there in front of all of these people, but then my eyes locked in with his father and my groom. He winked and smiled and suddenly I didn’t care who stood where. All I wanted was to finally marry the love of my life.
He looked so handsome up there on the little hand-made stage…I loved him with everything inside of me. He was wearing a black and white tuxedo and just looking at him made my heart swell. I was already anticipating our wedding night.
Daddy handed me off to my groom, and Tyler took my hand as we turned to the minister. Suddenly he said, “May I say something before we begin?”
“Of course,” the minister said.
Tyler took my hands and turned to face me. He took a deep breath and he said, “I will never know what I did in my life to be so blessed, but I promise you from this day forward that I will never forget just how blessed that I am. I know that I nearly lost you, and when I first realized I may never see you again, I couldn’t breathe. It was physical pain that I never want to experience again. Ariana, my love…On this day and for every day for the rest of my life, I pledge to support you in your hopes and dreams, as if they were my own. I give you my promise that, from this day forward, you will never have to walk alone. I will always walk by your side, and our lives will be rich…with love and laughter and friendship. We will grow together as partners and as companions and parents. Times of joy and times of sorrow will always be times of togetherness for this family. I promise you this for all of the days I have left to walk this earth, and when I slip the ring on your finger today, I will be giving you my heart the same as if I tore it out of my chest and handed it to you.”
Tears were running down my face as he turned to our son and said, “Today, I’m not just making these promises to your mother, I’m making them to you as well. I got in on this parent thing late and I’m going to make a lot of mistakes as I try and learn how to do this. I hope you’ll be patient with me and I hope you’ll understand better than I do that a parent is simply a flawed human being that is doing the best they can with the tools life has given them.”
Conner had tears in his eyes when his father finished too. I stood on my toes with my mouth close to his ear and whispered, “I’m not that eloquent with words; you’re showing me up.”
He smiled and wiped the tears from my face with his thumbs and said, “It will never happen again.” We were still staring at each other when the minister cleared his throat. We both laughed and returned our attention to the man who would join us together for the rest of our lives, at least in the legal sense. As far as Tyler and I were both concerned, our souls had met and mingled long ago—and once two souls merged together…there was no way to pull them apart.
~~~
TYLER (Blake Security Book 2) Page 14