by Rita Herron
His frown slackened slightly. “I used to, but you’ve, uh, grown on me.”
A small smile flickered in her eyes, offering him hope, so he threw himself out on the front line, feeling as exposed as if he were standing and fighting in enemy territory.
“Listen, Olivia, I love you. Tell me you don’t love me, and I’ll walk out of here and never come back.”
Her lower lip quivered. “I…can’t.”
His heart shattered. “You can’t say you love me, or you can’t deny it?”
“What if there are side effects to this virus, long-term ones like Shubert suffered?” she said in an anguished whisper. “I don’t want, no, I won’t, be a burden to any man.”
Realization dawned. The independent Olivia was back. Afraid of losing herself. Of being hurt. He saw the tough exterior now, but knew the sweet tenderness below that hard surface, the sultry passionate woman that belonged to him. “You could never be a burden, Olivia.”
“But we both saw Shubert…”
“That’s not going to happen to you,” he murmured. “You’re cured.”
“But what if later on—”
“Olivia, listen to me.” He cupped her face between his hands. “You and I both know there’s no assurance of tomorrow. I work a dangerous job, and…you do, too. But one thing I’ve learned from this virus, from almost losing you, is that we have to live for today.” He paused, his throat thick. “I don’t want to be alone. Not anymore.”
She clutched the sheets between her fingers. “I want to believe we can work it out, Craig, but our jobs…we might be in conflict again.”
“I thought we made a pretty good team. We both have integrity, respect for each other. We’ll work it out.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes, neither one of us has to live in a vacuum, not when we love each other.” He hesitated, his heart picking up its pace. “You do love me, don’t you?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes… I do. I love you, Craig.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips. “And I love you. I want you as my lover, my friend, my wife.” He brushed her hair back gently. “Marry me, Olivia.”
A sultry smile tilted her mouth as she looped her arms around his neck. “Yes, Craig, I’ll marry you.
He framed her face, then kissed her again, this time with all the passion and pent-up fear that he’d struggled with the past two nights, when he’d thought he might lose her forever.
The buried secrets were no longer buried, but unearthed, unable to hold either of them back. Nothing mattered except that they’d found each other.
“Look, it’s going to be a beautiful day,” he whispered as the sun streaked through the window. “And we’re going to spend the rest of them together, Olivia.”
She pressed a finger to his lip and hugged him to her. “Yes, as husband and wife.”
Epilogue
Craig straightened his tie, his hands shaking slightly. Today was his wedding day.
A day he’d thought would never come.
Since his engagement, his co-workers at the agency had teased him mercilessly—he’d lost his legendary title of being the Iceman.
A loss he could deal with, as long as he had Olivia by his side.
He moved toward the door, ready to take his place in the white gazebo Olivia had rented for their wedding. It would be a small affair overlooking the ocean, where the bright sunshine warmed them with promises of better days, of endless tomorrows and passionate heated nights.
To his surprise, the door squeaked open and his father appeared, dressed in a gray suit, his expression serious. Craig hadn’t spoken to him since the day he’d come to the hospital, and he hadn’t invited him to the wedding.
He hoped to hell there wasn’t trouble or a nationwide emergency to darken his wedding day or drag him away. Then again, maybe his father had come to try to talk him out of marrying Olivia.
“Son.”
“Dad, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“You know your mother would be crushed if she missed your wedding day.”
He stared at his father, unwilling to deny the distance between them.
“And—” his father cleared his throat “—I wanted to be here, too.”
Craig narrowed his eyes. “Dad, if you’re trying to persuade me not to marry Olivia, it won’t work—”
His father held up his hand. “That’s not why I’m here. In fact, I read her story on the virus. It was…” He paused and cleared his throat again. “Very well done.”
Craig couldn’t contain a smile. “She is talented.”
“Yes. And tenacious,” his father said.
He still had no idea where his father was going, but he chuckled. “Yes, that, too.”
“I…I think she might be an asset to this family.”God, no, his father wasn’t still on that bandwagon. “You won’t compromise her values, Dad—”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that.” His father turned sheepish. “I meant I like her spunk, her ability to tell the truth without sensationalizing things. She did an excellent job reminding people of the balance between the press reporting the truth and supposition. And of the hard choices the police and people have to make.”
Craig nodded.
“And of convincing me to come today.”
Craig’s hand flexed on his tie. “Olivia invited you?”
He nodded. “Yes. We, uh, she thought we should straighten something out.” His dad ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. “You accused me of covering up your sister’s death for my own political gain. I admit that a scandal wouldn’t have helped me in my campaign, but that’s not the real reason I did it.”
“What other reason could there be?”
“I wanted to protect you and your mother. You were so young, I didn’t want you to know. But now…now you’re grown up. You have a right.”
He’d never seen his father stumbling for words before. “Dad, what are you trying to tell me?”
“Son…your sister was a p—” he cleared his throat, then spit out the word “—prostitute.” His face paled as he produced a brown envelope. He opened it with jerky movements, then let the pictures fall from the inside onto the table. The photographs told the story. “At sixteen, she ran with a bad crowd, got involved in doing porn flicks. I had no idea…and neither did your mom.” His voice broke. “I think she did it to get back at us, to hurt us. And by the time I found out, she was hooked on heroin. Too far gone to reach.” He paused, squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Believe me, I tried. I dragged her kicking and screaming to rehab twice….”
Craig winced.
“You were fourteen, an adolescent struggling in high school. I thought…it would be bad for you if the truth got out.”
Craig’s hands felt clammy as he dragged them from the pictures. His father was right. The kids at school—it would have been hard. Awful.
The truth hit him. His father had buried their family secrets to protect him.
“Mom…”
“Still doesn’t know. She honestly believes your sister died in a car accident.”
Craig imagined his mother’s reaction—the hurt, the pain, the guilt she would feel—if she knew the truth.
Wouldn’t he have done the same thing as his father if it meant sparing someone he loved the agony of such a horrible truth?
He stuffed the photos back in the envelope, willing the gruesome images at bay. What a terrible burden for his father to have to bear all alone.
And how he’d misjudged him.
He reached out his hand, shook his father’s, then choked as his daded him into his arms.
“I’m so proud of you, son.” His father’s voice warbled. “I know I haven’t acted like it or told you, but I am.”
“Thank you, Dad.” Craig’s own throat felt thick. “Would you be my best man?”
His father nodded, his eyes moist. Then the door squeaked open, and Craig’s mother poked her head in. “Come on, you guys. ‘The Wedding March’ is abo
ut to begin! Olivia will leave if you don’t get up there soon.”
OLIVIA’S FINGERS TRAILED lovingly over the lace of her mother’s wedding gown. She’d found the scooped-neck silk and taffeta design in the attic, and had it cleaned for the day. A smile filled her heart as she fingered the beautiful strand of pearls around her neck, then her gaze drifted to the pearl earrings that glistened in the light. Somehow, wearing her mother’s things made her feel close to her again, as if she were standing right beside her.
She gripped the bouquet of roses in her hand, smiling at the sight of Craig standing beneath the gazebo in back of his cabin by the seashore, his father by his side. Apparently the two men had made up.
Her smile grew wider.
She’d had her work cut out talking to the senator. But she’d insisted that family was important, and that if she and Craig had children, she wanted them to know their grandparents.
The idea of grandchildren had seemed to turn things around.
“The Wedding March” began, and she slowly walked across the grass, the lacy train trailing her on the soft grass as the ocean waves crashed and broke on the shore. An image of her parents came to her, and she hugged it to herself, knowing that they were with her in spirit.
Then she looked up and saw Craig’s smile, saw the heat and hunger flare in his eyes, and her body erupted into fire.
The ceremony was simple, fast, but their vows were heartfelt. And the secrets that had been buried were no longer there to stand between them.
As Craig slid the simple gold band on her finger, he whispered his love and she whispered hers in return. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her, and she knew that their marriage would last a lifetime.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7858-9
MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
Copyright © 2005 by Rita B. Herron
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the or, and all incidents are pure invention.
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†Nighthawk Island
*The Hartwell Hope Chests
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue