by Nic Saint
“Care to dance, my lady?”
She regarded him with sparkling eyes, and he felt a familiar weakness affecting his knees. God, she was beautiful. Even more so than back then. “Don’t mind if I do.”
He led her to the dance floor, mirror balls throwing around their sparkling glitter in all directions, the music a soft mellow slow dance. Kids looking impossibly young—had he ever been this young?—were glancing in their direction as they took to the floor and started their first turn.
She rested her head on his shoulder, and his heart sang as he pulled her close. He’d never, not even in his wildest dreams, hoped ever to hold her like this ever again, and now he was, and he just wished this moment would last forever.
“Brad?” she murmured.
“Mh?”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that… there’s no one of our year here?”
“Perhaps they’ll show up later on. The night’s only just begun, honey.”
“Mh. Maybe you’re right.”
She gazed out across the room, at the twinkling multi-colored lights giving the ballroom a festive look, and at the ribbons and garlands she thought she had helped create, though now she wasn’t so sure. Plenty of faces were staring back at her, but there was none that she recognized, which struck her as weird to say the least. Where was everybody? Then she decided Brad was right. Perhaps their friends would show up late.
“Just relax and enjoy this moment,” he whispered as he nuzzled her ear.
She nodded against his shoulder, deciding to let herself disappear into the dance and his embrace. Who cared about friends anyway, when she had Brad Fuller to trod the measure with and whisper sweet nothings in her ear?
As she moved across the dance floor, in sync with Brad’s steps, her body pressed up against his, she started experiencing the familiar stirrings of heat in the pit of her stomach.
Later tonight she hoped to lure Brad into her bed, invite him to make love to her for the first time in her own space… Suddenly, though, she wasn’t so sure that was such a good idea after all.
“Brad? Do you want to see more of me in the future?” she asked, a pang of concern flitting through her mind. “I mean, after school is out?”
“Finally out,” he groaned comically. “Couldn’t last another day. You?”
She bit her lip. “But…” She decided to plunge ahead. “What about us? What will happen to you and me?”
He eyed her curiously, and she felt her heart sink. She should never have voiced the question. Not now, at least. She was ruining everything!
He trailed a loving finger down her cheek. “You and I,” he murmured, “are going to be fine, Amy. Just fine.”
Fine didn’t cut it, and his answer disappointed her on more than one level. She couldn’t resist pressing the matter. “Don’t… you want us to stay together?”
A look of concern appeared in his eyes, and she gulped. This was the end she thought as panic shot through her being. He hadn’t wanted to say it, hadn’t wanted to ruin their big night, but she’d provoked him and now he was going to lay it all out. Clean break. The words popped into her mind. He was going to make a clean break and leave her behind. Leave her to rot in Buford while he went out into the world.
“I’ll never leave you again if that’s what you want, Amy.” He spoke with a seriousness she’d never thought he was capable of, and for the first time she thought he looked… different. Older, perhaps. Had he always had those wrinkles around his eyes? They made him look sexy as hell, she decided. “Is that what you want?”
“What… I want?” she echoed, suddenly not feeling too well.
The lights—the stares of the people—it was as if something was throbbing in the back of her head. Her eyes were growing misty, as if she had trouble focusing on things. Brad looked different, yes. Suddenly a horrific thought entered her mind. Who was this man? Who was the man holding her? He wasn’t Brad—he wasn’t the Brad she knew!
She frowned at him and pushed herself away. “Who are you?” she demanded. She searched around the room but everything was a blur now, of lights and sounds and stares—eyes everywhere. “Who are you!” she screeched to Brad, fighting off his arms as they tried to grab hold of her. “What’s going on here? No, leave me alone! Don’t touch me!”
She fought loose from his grip and raced to the exit, only to falter and come crashing down to the floor mere meters further. My head, she thought. What’s happening to my head? It was pounding, and not just with the music and the sounds of the evening. “Daddy,” she wailed, trying to push herself up from the floor. “Daddy, where are you?”
Strong hands enveloped her, then, and as she tried to fight them off, she blacked out, the last thing she saw a pair of dark eyes boring into hers. Brad. It was Brad. But it wasn’t, really.
Who was this man?
Chapter 16
When she came to, the first thought that entered her mind was that she’d died and gone to heaven. Gazing up at a clear blue sky convinced her that she had, the fleecy clouds drifting before her mind’s eye enhancing the illusion. Her daddy was here, she knew. Her daddy was waiting for her up here—had been for a long time, in fact, and when the familiar stocky figure came walking up to her, she wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Dad,” she exclaimed, and when that broad smile split his friendly features, she felt a deep relaxation melt her being. Finally.
“Hey, honey,” he spoke in that deep, sonorous voice of his. “Great to see you again. What took you so long?”
“Oh, just this and that. Minding the store with Jackie…” She frowned at the notion of her opening a shop with her sister. Hadn’t they always been rivals, if not for love then for the best grades or the most lucrative business opportunities? And now they were working together? That was a first.
As if her dad had read her mind, he took her hand and said, “I’m glad you and Jackie are finally getting along. As kids you drove your mom and me crazy with all the bickering and fighting.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
He patted her hand. “Family is all you’ve got, honey. You should know that by now.”
“What happened to you, Daddy? Why are you—” She gestured around at the tufts of fluffy white that seemed to surround them here. “—here? Wherever here is?”
“I’m here because you put me here, honey. You wanted to find me so here I am. Just for you, so you could find your way home again. You got lost, see? Got all muddled up inside after the accident.”
The accident. She remembered it now. Driving home from the prom, Brad had been zigzagging, skittering the car across the asphalt, showing off his driving skills and generally goofing about as he used to do. Then he’d taken a wrong turn somewhere, ended up driving against traffic. Dad had been sent to pick her up, several kids having called her and told her Brad was in no way fit to drive. On that fateful night, the two cars had collided, Brad’s pickup hitting Dad’s Toyota Corolla full-on.
The Toyota was no match for the powerful utility truck, and had been catapulted over the side rail and into a ditch several feet below the bridge. Dad had been slung from the car, his seatbelt malfunctioning at the critical moment, and had split his skull on a rock. He hadn’t suffered, the doctors had told them later. Death was instantaneous. Brad had some cuts and bruises, and so had Amy, but the emotional scars had been much more serious. Fatal, even, for the budding romance between the two teenagers.
Dad gazed into her eyes, his soft brown doing much to dispel the blanket of gloom that had started to cover her at the memory of that fateful night.
“It’s all right, honey. I wasn’t meant to drag out my existence on earth. Was never meant to live beyond my years.”
“But why, Daddy?” she suddenly exclaimed, the full horror of the situation once again hitting home. She grabbed his arm, digging in her fingers as if she wanted to hold onto him.
“It just wasn’t meant to be,” he simply said. “I’d reached the age where all I needed to learn had
been taught me, and it was time to move on.”
“But what about us? How could you leave us like that?” she cried, tears flooding her face.
He touched his warm hand to her cheek, wiping at her tears with his calloused thumb. “There’s lessons to be learned here, honey. Lessons only you know about. How is your relationship with your sister?”
She angrily rubbed her sleeve over her face. “Fine, I guess.”
“Got much closer to each other after the accident, right?”
She nodded. That much was true. The shock of their dad’s demise had brought the rest of the family much closer than they’d ever been. It wasn’t too much to say that Jackie had become her dearest friend.
Dad smiled. “You see? Something good may have come from all of this.”
Was he telling her the trouble and strife between her and her sister was the reason for his leaving them? She simply couldn’t wrap her head around it. “What about Brad? We drifted apart and I never saw him again.”
His face darkened. “That boy had lessons of his own to learn, honey. But I do think he’s learned them by now. Finally, I might add. He was a tough nut to crack. A lot of anger in him.”
“He’s mellowed over the years, I think. I saw him. He’s become… more gentle. Lost the wild.”
He gazed at her tenderly. “You’re the one for him, honey. He just didn’t see it before. He does now.”
She raised her eyes to meet his. “He does?”
“Very much so. He loves you like a man loves a woman. No more a boy.” He gave her a weary smile. “Give him another chance?”
She shook her head involuntarily. “How can I? He’s the one responsible for—”
“Like I said. He had his lessons to learn, same as all of us.” He pressed her hand. “He’s ready now.”
“Ready for what?” She raised her chin mutinously. “If I never see his face again, it will be too soon.”
“Don’t say that, honey.” He gave her a wistful smile. “It will all have been for naught if you don’t let Brad Fuller back into your heart.”
The words shook her to the core. She suddenly realized with a shiver that he’d never been out of her thoughts over the years. Never been out of her heart. Not really…
Daddy laughed. “See? Told you.”
“But… what about Mom? She’ll never agree.”
‘Tell your mother I still love her as much as I ever did, but that it’s time to move on. Even for her. And who knows?” He shrugged. “Perhaps she should open her heart to new opportunities as well.”
Amy shook her head, her golden curls dangling wildly about her pale face. “No way, Daddy. Mom will never get involved with another man ever again.”
He gave her a sly smile. “Never say never, honey. It’s one of the lessons I needed to learn. And trust me, I have.”
Amy let herself drift into her Dad’s arms, reveling in the warmth of his embrace, and when the perfume of musk and deodorant filled her nostrils, she knew she was finally home again, and she let go, releasing all the pent-up rage and resentment. “Daddy,” she murmured. “I love you.”
When no answer came, she opened her eyes, only to find herself surrounded by a darkness black as pitch—and she was falling into the abyss, too fast to scream.
She heaved a resigned sigh, and allowed the blackness to swallow her up…
Chapter 17
Where do we go from here? The words echoed in Amy’s mind as the spinning finally stopped and she became aware of her surroundings once again. Opening her eyes gingerly, she blinked against the harsh light that assaulted her retina.
“Looks fine,” a voice spoke, and she stupidly found herself gazing into the bearded face of a man dressed in white, shining a light into her eyes. A doctor. He smiled. “I see you’re back with us, Amy. How are you feeling?”
She blinked a couple of times, wondering the same thing herself. How was she feeling? Confused. Relieved. Sad. Glad. And dozens of emotions jostling beneath the surface, fighting for prevalence.
“I don’t know,” she finally admitted, and was surprised at the weakness of her own voice.
“Just take it easy,” the medical man advised. “You’ve been through an awful lot. What you need now more than anything is rest.” He eyed her sternly. “No more parties, all right? And we’re keeping you overnight for observation. Just to make sure you don’t wander off into the dark again.”
She nodded sheepishly. She’d suffered a good hit to the head, she now remembered. That car… She searched around for a familiar face and when she encountered none, she asked with shaky voice, “Where’s Brad? Wasn’t he with me when I was brought in?”
“He was,” said the doctor with raised eyebrows, “and I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.” He looked up as someone entered the room. “And there he is. Right on time. Young man,” he addressed the new arrival, “you’re not to engage the patient. She’s been through a serious episode and needs to rest.”
Brad held up his hands. “I’ll let her rest, doc. In fact I just want to sit by her side and watch her sleep if that’s all right with you.”
The physician murmured his assent and left the room. Amy’s heart made a little leap as Brad crossed to her bed and stood gazing down at her, worry lacing his voice when he spoke. “You passed out on me, Amy. Second time in two days.”
“I promise I won’t do it again,” she muttered, caught in his gaze. “When did you come back?”
“Day before yesterday. Don’t you remember? We spoke in church?”
She nodded, careful not to lift her head. “I do remember.”
A relieved sigh escaped his lips. “You do, huh? That’s great. For a moment there we all thought you were going to be eighteen for the rest of your life.”
“I’m not eighteen anymore, Brad.” She spoke seriously, willing him to pay attention to what she had to say. “And neither are you.” She reached out a hand and laid it atop his. Without hesitation, he laced his fingers through hers, the gesture stirring a memory she’d buried deep inside. “You told me you loved me. At the prom? Did you mean what you said?”
He inclined his head and moved closer to her, taking her hand up to his lips and pressing a tender kiss on the tips of her fingers. “I did. With all my heart.”
“What happened to us, Brad? Why did we lose all this time—ten years?”
“Life happened, I guess. And my stupidity,” he added with a wry smile.
She searched his face for any sign of the old Brad. She thought the wild boy was still in there, but had matured into the man she knew she loved—had never stopped loving, even while he was that idiot her mother liked to remind her of. “You have something of mine,” she murmured.
His eyebrows rose questioningly. “Oh? What’s that?”
She grinned up at him. “My heart.”
He regarded her seriously, an emotion she’d never associated with him before but which became him well, she thought. “I’d like to keep it, if that’s all right with you?”
“Only if I can have something of yours in return.”
He smiled, and something welled up in her chest, something tender and sweet. “I think you already have, honey. In fact you always did.”
He leaned in for a kiss, and she opened her lips to bid him entry, as she had opened her heart and her life for him before. “What happened yesterday?” she whispered.
He had the good decency to blush. “Sorry about that. I guess I got carried away.”
She slung her arms around his neck and pulled him in. “Could we… do it again?”
A slow smile crept up his lips as he tenderly brushed against her lips. “Sure,” he whispered. “Only I think we better wait until you’re home this time. Unless you want to visit your future husband in jail.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Future husband?”
“You don’t think that now I found you again I would ever let you go, did you?”
“I…” Her eyes widened when he suddenly went down on one kne
e beside the bed and offered her a small black box that had engagement ring written all over it. “Brad, you didn’t…”
Before she could complete the sentence, he’d opened the ring box and she found herself gazing at a sparkling band, her mind a blank. Then she transferred her astonished gaze to the deep brown eyes suspended over all that glitter, and when he spoke the eternal words, “Do you want to marry me?” she found herself saying yes before he’d even finished.
They’d lost ten years, she wasn’t about to lose a second more when that second could be spent with Brad by her side.
He kissed her deeply, then, and she opened her arms and her lips for the man she’d always loved. Daddy, she thought, you were right after all, and when she pulled her fiancé into the bed with her, she felt her father’s benevolence suffusing her. And his blessing.
All was well, she knew.
Finally, all was well.
Chapter 18
“Come here, big boy,” she whispered. She’d finally been released from hospital with the promise she wouldn’t endanger her recovery as recklessly as she had before, and she’d signed the release papers with a happy heart.
Bill Tucker had been there, and her mother and Jackie, all of them happy to finally see her on her feet again, though Bill had insisted she keep to the wheelchair for now. She’d decided to humor the grumpy old sheriff, and hadn’t been deceived by her mother’s cries that she leave everything to her.
Bill had suddenly become a much bigger part of their lives, coming round more often, expressing his concern about Annie. Amy was reminded of her father’s words and had conveyed the message to her mother, who’d accepted it with a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Just you try and stop me, you little minx,” Brad growled as he stalked toward the bed, only dressed in his boxers and little more.
They’d finally made it to her bedroom, and her promise to him, expressed a decade earlier, was finally about to come true.