The Highest Bidder

by Chanta Rand

  “They shot Lou?” she gasped.

  Her compassion moved him. She barely knew Lou, yet she seemed to care for his welfare. He hoped she would feel the same about him by the time he finished. “Yeah, they shot Lou and his cousin. Lou’s fine now,” he assured her. “But his cousin didn’t make it. They took our car keys and our wallets. They stole my cell phone and my money. Then…”

  He stopped talking when he heard his voice crack. For months, he’d been sharing his story with others. He’d never choked up like this. But telling Alexa was different. He had so much to lose. What would she think of him? He continued, “One of the guys realized who I was. I didn’t know him, but for reasons that don’t matter, he had a personal grudge against me. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled out a switchblade and cut me across the face.”

  “Oh no!” she covered her mouth with one hand.

  “When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My face hurt so badly, I could hardly speak for days. The police told me the man who cut me was dead. Apparently he was a career criminal. I was just another one of his many victims.”

  “God was looking out for you,” she said. “You could have been killed.”

  “Yeah, that’s the same thing the cops said. But I didn’t feel so lucky at the time. I felt bitter. I was mad at the world. That’s why I didn’t call you.” He took her hands in his. Such close contact after months without her was like being struck by lightning. He held on tight. “I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

  “Do you think I’m so superficial I would have let a scar turn me away?”

  “No, exactly the opposite. I thought you would stay with me out of pity. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to be with me, and I didn’t want you to end up feeling bitter toward me.”

  Her look conveyed her annoyance. “I’m not like that.”

  “At the time I didn’t realize that. My injury clouded my judgment. I was ashamed of what had happened to me. It took me a long time to recover and even longer to heal inside.”

  “But you finally did it. I’m happy for you.”

  “I owe it all to my family,” he confessed. “If they hadn’t forced me to go to therapy, I don’t know where I’d be now. Those counseling sessions changed my life. Talking about my ordeal helped me understand more about myself. My bitterness began to fade. Through sharing my story, I came into contact with other people who were the victims of violent crimes.

  “I met so many people who’d been scarred physically and psychologically. I knew therapy was a critical part of recovery in a situation like that. But there were people who didn’t have access to funds for counseling or appropriate medical care. That’s when I came up with the idea for Second Chances. I wanted to call it the Tristan Rexford Foundation for Economically Disadvantaged Victims of Violent Crime, but my brother Nick vetoed the name.”

  “Thank goodness for Nick,” she smiled. His heart danced inside his chest at her reaction. He thought he would never see her smile again. “That’s a good name,” she said, giving it her stamp of approval. “I remember you once asked me if I believed in giving second chances.”

  “Yeah, and you said, ‘to someone who’s worthy.’” He looked her in the eyes. “I know I haven’t acted like someone worthy of you, but I believe I had good reason for my actions at the time. I never meant to hurt you, Alexa. I’d rather have cut off my own arm than cause you pain. I’ve been searching for you for months, trying to explain what happened that night. I didn’t stand you up. But I do take the blame for not calling you afterward. My life was in shambles back then. I had to make myself whole before I could offer you any type of relationship with me. Besides,” he shook his head sadly, “I thought you deserved better. But I never stopped missing you. It was only after I started therapy that I realized I couldn’t be without you anymore.”

  He saw pools of water gather in her eyes. Is she crying because she’s still angry with me or because she believes me? He cupped her face in his hands. “Please don’t cry, Alexa. I promised I’d never make you cry again. I tried contacting you, but I couldn’t find you. The hospital refused to give me any information other than the fact that you were on extended leave. I finally had to have my sister approach Viola to find out where you’d gone. I knew Viola probably wouldn’t have talked to me.”

  She gave him a look of surprise. “You were that desperate to find me?”

  “Hell yeah. I was a man on a mission. When Viola learned what had happened to me, she finally told me you were in Brazil. I decided to wait for your return. I brought you here today to ask for your forgiveness.”

  “Wait a minute,” Alexa stopped him. “Did Viola know about your involvement with Second Chances?”

  “Yes.”

  “So she knew you’d be here today?”

  “Correct again.”

  She pursed her lips. “Viola is playing the role of matchmaker again. She must really like you, Tristan.”

  He grinned. “Maybe. Either that or she has complete confidence in her uncle.”

  She gave him a puzzled look. “Her uncle? As far as I know, she has lots of aunts but no living uncles.”

  “Well, she told me if I ever screwed you over, she was going to have her uncle put his foot so far up my ass, I would taste his toes for a week.”

  Alexa laughed out loud. “Oh, that uncle.”

  “Yeah. I don’t care to meet him any time soon.”

  “That’s a wise course of action.”

  “But seriously, Alexa, Viola helped me because she knows how I feel about you. She knows I love you, and I want to do right by you.” He clasped her hands in his. “I know I don’t look the same. My face is not what you expected, but my heart is the same, and it’s yours, if you’ll have me.”

  Alexa stared into the dark eyes of the man who’d haunted her dreams for so many months. With him, she’d felt her greatest joys and her saddest moments of despair. All this time, she’d assumed that he’d rejected her. And that betrayal had torn through her heart like a Texas-sized twister. The pain was worse than her nightmarish experience with Marcus. She’d had to flee to Brazil to escape it. Now, to finally learn that Tristan had not used her and discarded her feelings like a dirty newspaper made her feel good. She had hope now – and the intensity of that emotion was stronger than love or hate. So much time had been wasted because he didn’t trust her enough to believe that she would want to be with him, no matter what he looked like.

  “You should have known I am not a superficial person,” she told him. “I was never impressed by looks. I liked you for what was inside, not for your million-dollar smile or your endorsements. Your face wasn’t the only thing that attracted me. I appreciated your caring spirit, your humor, and the way you made me feel like I was the only woman in the room.”

  “I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time, Alexa. All I could focus on was the attack. When that man cut me, he took away part of my manhood. I felt different inside, helpless. Like less of a man. I knew you would sense the change in me, and I couldn’t stand the fact that you might judge me for it.” He looked away. “You knew me as a strong Predator. I wasn’t ready for you to see any other side of me.”

  “Look at me,” she said, forcing him to turn back toward her. “I would never have judged you,” she told him. “And you’re wrong. I did know another side of you. I knew the tender, gentle man who held me sweetly in his embrace. I knew the man off the field. I fell in love with Tristan Rexford, not T-Rex.”

  He looked hopeful. “Did you say you fell in love with me?”

  It’s no use, girl. You’ve gone and spilled the beans! She’d tried to deny her feelings for him for so long, but telling herself she didn’t love him was like trying to convince a grown man that Santa Claus really did exist. It was a lie. “Yes,” she told him. “You still take my breath away. When I turned around and saw you standing there today, I nearly fainted. The night you went AWOL, I was crushed. I really thought you’d stood me up. After what we shared, that was a slap in the
face to me. Then, when I never heard from you, I figured you’d moved on to someone else. I’ve been trying to put you out of mind ever since. But likewise, I never stopped missing you. And I never stopped loving you, no matter how hard I tried.” She squeezed his hands. “I’m so happy you’re okay. I do forgive you. And all I care about is moving forward with my life.”

  “I feel the same way,” he told her. “And this time, I’m not going to let you get away.”

  Alexa watched in shock as he dropped to one knee in front of her. He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and extracted a small black box.

  “Alexa, I know I’ve made mistakes. I’m not perfect.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “My face is living proof of that. But if you could look past my scar and accept me for the man I am, you’d make me the happiest man in the world.” He flicked open the velvet box. There was a dazzling yellow canary diamond ring inside. “Alexa, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Talk about dropping a bombshell!

  “Oh my God.” She was breathless. “You sure know how to surprise a sistah. I was just getting used to the fact that you’re back in my life and now you spring this on me.”

  “So, is that a yes or a no?”

  She took a deep breath. “Tristan, your scar only makes me appreciate you more. A wise woman once told me that scars are God’s way of letting us know we’re alive. I never feel more alive than when I’m with you.”

  “Are you stalling?”

  “No, I’m overwhelmed. This is so sudden. And so unexpected.”

  He stood up. “You’re right. It is unexpected – for you. Everyone else has known about it for quite some time.”

  “Everyone else?

  He walked to the table and pressed a buzzer on the intercom. “Cynthia, please send everyone in.”

  Before Alexa could blink, a long line of people poured into the room. There was Viola, Yvette, Jade, Lou, Paul, and a host of other folks she’d never met before.

  “Alexa, since you have no family, I’m offering you mine,” Tristan said. There was pride in his voice as he introduced each member. “I’d like you to meet my mom, my dad, my brother, and my sister, Deborah.” When Alexa realized that Debbie was Tristan’s sister, she fully comprehended the extent that he’d gone to in order to get her here. He’d used Debbie to appeal to her sense of human decency and community involvement. She smiled to herself. He knew her better than she knew herself.

  Tristan continued. “This is my best friend and fellow Predator, Tyrek. And this is my buddy Coco,” he pointed to a slender man wearing a silver scarf. Tristan smiled. “I believe you know everyone else.”

  Alexa was on an emotional rollercoaster. In the span of twenty minutes, her feelings had accelerated, slowed, plunged forward, fallen backwards, and lunged from side to side. Nothing in her life could have prepared her for this. She’d arrived here as a job applicant, but now she might be leaving as a wife-to-be. She tried to shake hands with everyone, but they insisted on hugging and kissing her.

  “Welcome to the family, Alexa.” Tristan’s parents embraced her. “Tristan has told us so much about you.”

  “I’m Tristan’s brother, Nick,” a younger, taller, huskier version of Tristan hugged her. “We’ve all been waiting for you to come back and get him in line.”

  “Yes,” Debbie agreed. “He’s been a total mess without you. As his sister, I can tell you that this man is madly in love with you. If I didn’t believe him, I would have never agreed to this plan.” She hugged her. “I’m sorry I had to pretend to be someone else, but he can be very persuasive when he wants to.”

  “I know,” Alexa said, empathizing with her. “I’ve seen him in action.”

  She felt Paul tugging on her sleeve. “Dr. Kennedy, I’m helping T-Rex now,” he said.

  “Oh really?” Was there no end to the surprises this day would bring?

  “Yeah, I have a job here. I answer the phones every day after school.”

  “That’s terrific! Which, speaking of, why aren’t you in school now, young man?”

  “And miss this? No way,” he laughed. “I’m excused from school this morning. But my mom will be here to pick me up soon.”

  “Okay,” Alexa relented. “I’ll let you off the hook this time.” She turned to Viola, Jade and Yvette. “I’m going to get you guys back for this,” she whispered.

  “For what?” Yvette asked. “All we did was hook you up with the most amazing man in the world. Talk about being ungrateful.”

  “We are going to have a celebration,” Viola told her. “All of us are going out tonight to pop a bottle of champagne.”

  “Oh no,” Alexa protested. “I’m not hanging out with you hags anymore. I can’t trust you. The next time you invite me to lunch, it’ll probably be a wedding shower in disguise.”

  “Ooh, that reminds me, which one of us is going to be your Maid of Honor?”

  Alexa’s jaw dropped. “I never said yes to his proposal.”

  “Well, what you waiting for, girl?”

  “You better get that man before I do,” Jade threatened.

  Before she could answer, Tristan called for everybody to be quiet. He pulled Alexa to his side and everyone else circled around her. “Now,” he said pulling out the ring again. “I believe we were interrupted. Alexa, I was in the middle of asking you a question. Will you –”

  “Yes,” she cut him off. The backs of her eyes pricked with tears. She was so embarrassed. “You’re about to make me cry in front of all these people,” she told him.

  “Don’t worry,” Tristan’s father reassured her. “We’re all family here.”

  “Yeah,” Nick said. “This ain’t nothin’ we haven’t seen before.”

  “But this is,” Tristan said as he pulled Alexa into his arms and gave her a soul-stirring kiss. Just like always, the force of it melted her insides. Bathed in the heat of his kiss, she was oblivious to everyone else in the room.

  “Ok folks,” she heard Viola imitating the instructions a cop would give, “Let’s move along. Nothing more to see here.”

  “Yeah,” Nick agreed. “Let’s give the lovers some privacy.”

  After they’d gone, Tristan finally released her from his passionate embrace. “I promise I’m gonna be the best husband to you,” he vowed. “You’ll never be cold, you’ll never be hungry, and you’ll never be lonely. I’ll treat you like a queen, be faithful to you, and be your best friend.”

  “You’d better – or I’ll leave you and go to Russia or someplace where you’ll never find me again,” she joked.

  He kissed her tenderly on the lips. “Woman, I’d go to the ends of the earth to find you and bring you back.”

  “So what about the foundation?” she asked. “Can I still work here?”

  “Of course. I’ll need you more than ever now.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I know you’ll work for free.” He chuckled. “Here at Second Chances, we might be noble, but we’re damn sure broke too!”

  She laughed. “Hey, for richer or poorer, that’s the vow.”

  He lovingly caressed her cheek. “I’d rather be dirt poor with you than rich and unhappy without you.”

  “Oh, that’s so sweet,” she purred. “Unrealistic, but sweet, nonetheless. We’ve got to think of a way to make some money. Wait a minute,” she snapped her fingers. “I have an idea. We can have our own celebrity bachelor auction, and all proceeds will go to Second Chances.”

  He pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her tenderly. “No way,” he protested. “The last time that happened, I fell in love.

  “Besides,” he reminded her, “I’m already promised to the highest bidder.”

  THE END

  ______________________________________________________________________

  If you enjoyed The Highest Bidder, please don’t forget to post your online review at Amazon.com. Fellow readers often rely on reviews from readers like you to help them make their buying decisions. />
  Other books available by Chanta Rand

  DIRTY LAUNDRY on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Laundry-ebook/dp/B00506483E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1308527843&sr=8-3

  DIRTY LAUNDRY on Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=dirty+laundry

  PHARAOH’S DESIRE on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pharaohs-Desire-ebook/dp/B005110IXM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308527843&sr=8-4

  PHAROAH’S DESIRE on Smashwords:

  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=pharaoh%27s+desire

  If you enjoy historical romances, take a sneak peek at PHARAOH’S DESIRE below.

  .

  NOW AVAILABLE

  on Amazon.com

  PHARAOH’S DESIRE

  By

  Chanta Jefferson Rand

  For a sneak peek, keep reading.

  He was the most powerful man in Egypt...

  For hundreds of years, Egypt and Nubia have been fighting for control of each other’s borders. Pharaoh Amonmose, known for his ruthlessness in battle and his cunning wit in politics, takes what he wants and he is denied nothing – until he lays eyes on the ebony beauty named Kama. He regards her as one of the spoils of war, burning her village and taking her as his captive. Mesmerized by her fiery spirit, he’s determined to conquer her – no matter what the cost.

  She was determined to resist him...

  With her exotic looks and full curves, Kama is a prize worthy of a mighty pharaoh. But she vows never to be dominated by any male, mortal or divine. The two embark on their own power struggle as Kama fights to keep him from possessing not only her body, but her heart as well.