Lost in Shadows (Lost)

by Anita DeVito

  “Nobody but you. Nobody but you could have known what I needed. You overwhelm me.” He crushed her to his chest. “It’s like the million pieces that were my soul have been magically drawn back together. God. That was sappy.”

  She pressed her lips to his cheek, the only place she could with his hold. “Sappy is just fine with me.”

  He pulled back enough to let them look at each other. “Stay with me. Marry me.”

  She bounced, her happy feet uncaring about the rest of her body. “Oh, yes. Yes.”

  “I love you.” He took her mouth then. He tasted of coffee and jam and home. She held him tight, afraid he would change his mind. She opened for him, for herself, so she’d never forget this feeling of love.

  Butch cleared his throat. “Clyde, we have company.”

  “Clyde, we just got engaged. You’ll just have to excuse me if I take my time adoring the woman I love.” He turned her until her back was to his chest and locked his arms around her waist. “Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, may I introduce Carolina Walker, soon to be McCormick.”

  Carolina stayed where she was, where she wanted to be, but pressed her hands to her heart. “Oh, I’m so glad you came. You can’t know what this means to me.”

  “To us,” Jeb corrected.

  Tom stretched and looked at his watch. “I feel a party coming on. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, you in?”

  Mrs. Campbell looked at her husband, who wasn’t going to disappoint his wife. “Well, we should go check in at the hotel first.”

  “Stay here,” Jeb burst out. “You’re family now.”

  “We accept, on one condition. You call us Ettie and Henry.”

  “Tom, can they—”

  “Of course they can, but Clyde, we need to get working on your rooms.” Tom offered his arm to Ettie. “Let’s get your bags, and I’ll show you to your room.”

  “He’s so polite.” Ettie whispered to Carolina as she walked past on Tom’s arm.

  “You know I play a pretty mean banjo, if I do say so myself,” Henry said to Katie.

  “It if has strings, my husband has it. Let’s take a look.”

  Butch was the caboose. He paused in the doorway, grinning. “Nice work, Clyde. Welcome home, Carolina.”

  Jeb turned her back into his arms and kissed her until she didn’t know what day it was. His mouth trailed down to her throat. Panting like a thoroughbred, his breath heated her skin. His teeth nipped at her raging pulse. She dropped her head back to give him access. Her leg wrapped around his hip to relieve the rising need.

  “If your ass isn’t upstairs in the next minute,” he growled in her ear, “I’ll take you right here in the family room.”

  She stared into silvery eyes, alive with lust and promising just the kind of trouble she was looking for. “Catch me if you can.” She couldn’t run but walked as fast as she could, which was still twice as fast as Jeb. She laughed at the ridiculousness of shuffling at glacial speed for the promised land of makeup sex. Inside the door to his house, she stripped off her sweater and flung it into his path. Her shirt landed on the stairs. Her bra she hung on his doorknob.

  She hastily stripped out of her jeans and shimmied onto the pool table wearing only blue lace. He came up the stairs slowly. One at a time. The door opened, and he filled the room as surely as he filled her heart.

  “Sweet Jesus, you’re beautiful. Do you know what you do to me?” He stepped out of his shoes, sneering down at the leg that wasn’t cooperating. “I want you…”

  She slid off the pool table and backed him up. If he thought he was going to have his way, well, he had another think coming. He was her man, and she would be the one making sure he got everything he needed. She cupped her breasts, smiling when he lost his train of thought. “I want you…on the couch.”

  He looked into her eyes, and, when she broadened her smile, he stripped off his shirt. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She walked him backward, her hands on his hips. “You let me do the work.” She slid elastic-waisted warm-ups down his long legs. Next went the boxer briefs.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  She heated with the compliment. Heated, not blushed. She would never be self-conscious about the way she loved her man.

  “I’m glad you like looking at me as you’re going to be doing it for a long time.” She sat on the couch, her face at hip level, his cock begging for attention. Her tongue came out, licking, toying, loving. Her little sounds showed how she savored the feel and taste of him. She pulled away, sliding out from in front of him. “Lie down. Let me have my way.” She straddled him, putting the head of his cock at her entrance. She slid down him, both crying out. “Let me show you how much I love you.” She withdrew to his tip and brought them together again.

  …

  Six Months Later…

  Carolina paced the princess room in Tom’s wing that doubled as the bridal room. She looked at the clock. Eleven thirty a.m.

  Katie waddled into the room, a beach ball under her dress and red hair like flames trailing behind her.

  “Is he here?”

  “No,” Katie said. “Not yet. Come on, let’s get your veil in place.”

  She sat dutifully on the little stool while Katie lifted the long lace into place. Her eyes slanted to the clock. 11:32.

  Katie stepped back and looked over her like she was one of her projects. After a long moment, those discerning eyes smiled. “You look amazing. Jeb is going to choke on his tongue when he sees you.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t do it. I can’t go through with it. Not like this.”

  Katie wrapped a protective hand around her mounded belly and gaped at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “This will kill Jeb.”

  She pried the veil from her ornately twisted hair. “I’ll explain it to him. He’ll have to understand. Do you know where he is?”

  “In the family room with the guys.”

  She lifted the miles of lace and ran out the door with Katie on her tail, fighting with the train. Racing through the hallways that were now her home, she went unerringly to the place where Jeb waited.

  “Jeb? Jeb! We need to call off the wedding.” She invaded the manly space with disappointment and loneliness in her wake.

  “I knew it,” Butch said, glaring at his brother. “What the hell did you do, Clyde?”

  “Nothing.” Jeb shoved his drink into his brother’s hand and went to Carolina. “What’s the matter, honey?”

  “Nate isn’t here. I can’t get married without him. I can’t, Jeb. He’s all I have left.” She sobbed, forgetting her uncle stood in the room as her family. “Where is he, Jeb? He was supposed to be here three days ago.”

  He took her in his arms. “He called, remember? He said something came up.”

  “He said he would be here!” She pushed at his chest, her face feeling hot from the tears.

  “He will.”

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

  “How do you know that? I think we should just postpone things for a while.”

  He sighed hard. “He called this morning.”

  Her fingernails dug into his arms. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “He wanted to surprise you. He should be here any time. Let’s go out to the barn and we’ll wait for him.”

  Distracted, she forgot about crying. “The barn? Why would he come in that way?”

  “I told you enough. You’ll just have to wait for the rest.” He held out his elbow and bowed. “My lady.”

  He held her dress as they stood behind the barn and watched the sky. A small, faraway sound brought her attention to a small plane. A figure launched himself from the plane, flying through the open sky toward the farm. The parachute opened, jerking the figure up, and she began to jump in place.

  “Nate!” She shouted his name again and again, unable to contain her joy. She turned, leaped into Jeb’s arms and kissed him solidly on the mouth. “He’s all I have left of my family. I needed him here today.”
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  His smile was kind. “You don’t need to explain to me about family. Shoot, we’re going to be living with mine.”

  She jumped up and kissed him again and then took off across the field to greet her brother. He fumbled after her, laughing as he tried to catch all that flying lace to keep it white until she said her “I do’s.”

  Nate landed on a grassy strip and released the parachute in time to catch his little sister in his arms. “Look at you. Pretty as a princess on your wedding day.”

  She held him tight. “You should have told me. I’ve been doing nothing but worrying about you.” Nate was everything she remembered and more.

  Jeb offered Nate his hand. “She wasn’t going to marry me until you showed up.”

  “If I knew that was all it took to keep you away from my sister, I would have re-upped for another tour.”

  Jeb pulled her under his shoulder and looked down at the joy on her face. “Too late. You’re here, she’s mine. Right?”

  “Absolutely. We’re getting married. Right now.” Music rose from the courtyard and wafted over the trio. She gasped “Oh my God. We’re getting married. Right now! You can’t see me.” She covered Jeb’s eyes with her hands. “Stop looking at me. Where’s Katie? Keep your eyes closed. I mean it. Katie,” Carolina called as she took off running.

  …

  “You’re peeking,” Nate said, jabbing Jeb in the ribs.

  “Hell yeah I am. That sister of yours is built.”

  Nate sneered. “Don’t talk about my sister that way.”

  “You mean my wife.”

  “Not yet. And I still owe you one for deflowering her in the first place.”

  Jeb laughed a deep belly laugh. “Deflowering? Good lord. Where have you been stationed? A freaking cave?” He began walking slowly back to the courtyard.

  Nate gave a noncommittal shrug. “Did you hear the news? Governor Edgerton was killed in an incident in Afghanistan.”

  Jeb whistled.

  “You know these political types—think they always know something more than the experts. He was told very specifically to stay with the envoy, but did he listen?”

  They walked in companionable silence for a while.

  “So you’re getting out?” Jeb asked.

  Nate nodded. “It’s time. I’ll be home permanently in September.”

  “Have any plans?”

  “Find a job. You got any lying around?”

  He nodded. “I just might. ’Course, now that you’re family, we’re going to have to take a hard look at your salary.”

  “I’m not family yet.” The tune changed to that very familiar one and the two men broke into a sprint. “Where do I go?” Nate yelled. Jeb shoved him toward the long building, opened the door, and pushed him in.

  “Jeb! Get out in the courtyard.” Katie shouted and chased her brother-in-law out. “Butch! Fetch your brother!”

  Jeb greeted friends and family as he went to his appointed spot where Butch and Tom waited. The music changed, and the door to Tom’s wing opened. Emmaline stepped out, a cougar on the prowl in sunshine yellow. Katie appeared next, a vision in a soft blue that hugged her round belly. Then an angel stepped into the courtyard. A picture of feminine grace in white, bejeweled with the colors of spring in miniature flowers. Jeb had no doubt that heaven smiled down on their slice of Tennessee on that second Saturday in April.

  Carolina walked through the courtyard on Nate’s arm, her face wet with happy tears. She waved to Mitchell Walker, who beamed with a father’s pride. Ramos and Hagerman gave her the thumbs-up. Ettie and Henry Campbell were back, having visited several times since that first, working with Carolina on the charity in Adam’s name.

  “Hey, you.” She radiated happiness though her hands trembled.

  He took them in his own, holding her tight, showing her she would never be alone again. “Hey, you.”

  The sun shined warmly on the happy couple as they stood before Millstone, Carolina’s minister of choice. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined his life would be this perfect. They both still carried their baggage, but the burden was lighter with more hands to help.

  At Carolina’s side, Katie swayed on her feet and sniffled quietly. As Millstone spoke, the sniffling grew to great sobs. Butch shoved the ring into Jeb’s hand and left his brother to go to his wife.

  “I’m s-sorry,” Katie stammered at the couple. “I’m not usually such a crybaby.”

  “Half the courtyard is crying,” Carolina said, stroking Katie’s arm. “And they don’t have hormones to blame.”

  “I love you guys.”

  Jeb squeezed Carolina’s waist and smiled at his sister-in-law. “How many times do we have to tell you, Katie? It’s ‘y’all’ in Tennessee.”

  Filled with laughter and love, they turned their attention back to Millstone. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may—”

  “Nobody has to tell me to kiss my bride.” He swung her off her feet, into his arms, and made a very thorough job of his first duty as her husband.

  He left the courtyard to coordinate the horse-pulled wagon that would carry the bridal party around the farm. In the shadow of the barn, Tom stood hunched over his phone, looking like a man with secrets.

  “Clyde, you on a deadline or something?” Jeb crossed his arms, ex-sheriff busting a suspect.

  “I just got a call.” Tom’s face was drawn tight with an expression Jeb didn’t often see on the man. Worry. “A guy I knew back in Michigan is in trouble. There’s been an accident on his construction site and hard questions are being asked. He wants me to come.”

  “And you need to go. Let me make a call or two. We’ll get you where you need to be.” Jeb’s gaze found his smiling wife. “After the pictures. Carolina wants lots of them.”

  He held Carolina’s hand as the small wedding party drove around Elderberry Farm taking more pictures than he imagined were possible. Butch and Kate. Tom and Nate. Emmaline. They weren’t traditional, but they were family. Never had his life taken a more unexpected turn than the one that led him to this point. How much longer would he have survived keeping it all inside? Another year? Two? He had had little reason to live beyond his parents and his brother.

  Now he had everything. He squeezed Carolina’s hand, and she instantly squeezed back. He leaned in to her. “Thank you for marrying me, for being my wife.” There were tears in his eyes, and he didn’t care if she saw them.

  She dropped his hand and cupped his face. “Thank you for asking me. I love you.” She slid her hands around his neck and pressed her mouth to his.

  He nibbled on her painted lip until she opened for him. It added to his joy that he could so distract his shy wife that she forgot she was the center of attention.

  “That’s going to take a while to get used to,” Nate said.

  He kissed her once more.

  “It doesn’t get any better,” Tom said. “Sisters don’t kiss. It just doesn’t happen.”

  “And how do you explain this?” Butch asked, stroking Katie’s rounded belly.

  Tom waved him off. “Immaculate conception. By my calculations, it happened when you were on tour.”

  “Like hell it did. I knocked my wife up proper on that Saturday—”

  Tom put his fingers in his ears. “La la la la la. Good, we’re back. I think my face would break if I had to smile for another picture.” Tom jumped down and reached to help Katie from below while Butch helped from above.

  “At least you didn’t look like you swallowed a bowling ball.”

  “Think basketball or soccer. I’m not one for bowling,” Butch said.

  Carolina looked into Jeb’s eyes. “You know they think we are the crazy ones.”

  He knew they worried about him, a former soldier and his introverted wife. And with that kind of worry, he and Carolina had a real chance at making it. He kissed her temple. “You can’t dissuade someone of a delusion. I read somewhere that they have to come to it on their own. I guess we have no real choice e
xcept to play along and make sure they don’t hurt themselves.”

  She laughed, leaning in close. “How did they get so lucky to have the two of us looking out for them?”

  “Aren’t you going help me down, Tom?” Butch asked as Katie’s feet were set safely on the ground.

  “We wouldn’t want the big star to get dirt on his boots. Hop on.” Tom backed to the wagon inviting Butch to jump on. If he thought Butch wouldn’t take him up on it, he was mistaken. Butch let his weight fall on his brother-in-law’s shoulders, and they both tumbled to the ground, laughter erupting with the cloud of dust.

  Jeb kissed her lips and answered her question. “God looks out for fools.”

  …

  Carolina danced in a quiet corner on feet that never touched the ground. She looked at the goofy smile on her partner’s face. “Are you going to make us call you ‘doctor’?”

  Tom lifted an eyebrow. “I hadn’t thought of that. I just might.”

  “I know we have a little time before it’s all said and done, but it’s nice having you working back here.”

  “The work is hard but worth it, and it’s easier here. At home.” Tom lifted her gloved hand and kissed the back. “We’re all so proud of you with your latest exposé. You’ll probably be famous with what happened.”

  Carolina cocked her head. “What happened?”

  “You didn’t hear? Edgerton was killed. He got caught in a fire fight.”

  She stopped dancing. “When?”

  “Sometime yesterday. With the time change, it could have been the day before.”

  She strained to see her husband huddled with Nate and Finch near the head table.

  “I’m going to take off soon,” Tom said, bringing her attention back.

  “What? You’re leaving? But it’s my wedding.”

  Tom hung his head and explained. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  She worried her bottom lip, reading his reluctance to leave but need to go. “ What are you going to do?”

  “Use my fancy education in structural engineering to figure out the whys of it. I won’t be gone too long. A few days for field recon, and I’ll bring any testing back here.”