Flawlessly Executed (Dark Horse Guardians Book 3)

by Armstrong, Ava

  Bettencourt’s voice boomed back, “Really! Hot damn, thank you ma’am.” His voice sounded both relieved and enthused.

  “Oh, and one more thing, Bett.” Lara said. “If you’ll allow me to help, I’d love you to have the wedding at Clearwater Farm in April and your honeymoon will be in a fantastic bungalow in the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John, at no cost to you, of course.”

  There was dead silence on the other end of the line. “Did you hear me, Bett?” Then she heard his voice, “Yes, I can’t believe you’d do all of this for me.”

  Lara laughed, “What are friends for?” After she hung up a sense of satisfaction flooded over her. It was exciting to hear Bettencourt so happy and to see Monique’s eyes light up today saying she loved him. Monique loved him. That’s all that mattered. A little bit of faith in humanity was restored in her at that moment and she relished the feeling.

  ~ Bettencourt ~

  The restaurant was dimly lit and romantic. He forgot to buy flowers but there were fresh flowers on the table, and he wondered if that counted. He hadn’t been in a dinner suit since he could remember. Beer and pizza joints were more his style, but tonight he wanted to treat Monique to a perfect French meal. Lara reserved a private corner table. Good deal. The coat check lady slipped Monique’s long wool coat off and put it away. Bettencourt put the token into his pocket.

  The head waiter gushed over them as if they were someone special. Monique enjoyed the attention. A carafe of iced water was brought to the table and the server brought fresh warm French bread with butter. Monique was bubbly and talkative, but all Bettencourt could think about was how beautiful she looked tonight. Hell, she was beautiful all the time, even with gloves on cleaning the bathroom. Monique spoke French to the waiter and Bettencourt smiled. He loved it when she spoke French, it just added to her delicate feminine charm. What did she see in a big lug like him?

  “I’m so happy tonight,” Monique smiled and sipped her water. She broke the French bread into tiny pieces and swirled it in the melted butter before slipping it between her lovely lips.

  “I’m happy, too.” Bettencourt said awkwardly. Damn, all he could think of was giving her the ring, asking her to marry him. He wanted to hear her answer. He felt like a man at the gallows, waiting for the floor to fall away beneath him.

  Without remembering Lara’s instructions, Bettencourt got out of his chair and down on one knee. Immediately he saw the sign in Monique’s eyes, a positive sign, and he asked the question, “Please, marry me?”

  A cry escaped from her lips, a squeal of delight actually. Bettencourt sighed with relief. She grabbed the ring and put it onto her own finger. “Oh look ~ it fits perfectly! Yes, of course I’ll marry you!” Monique waved her hand in the air with the expensive cushion cut two-carat diamond surrounded by baguettes glimmering in the candlelight. The room erupted with applause and Bettencourt felt strange to be the center of attention.

  Monique stood and he scrambled to his feet to kiss her. It wasn’t just a little kiss, it was a serious kiss, filled with fire and passion. When they sat back down all eyes in the room were upon them. Several people, total strangers, approached their table to view the ring and congratulate them. The sommelier delivered a perfect bottle of the finest French champagne.

  Bettencourt never wanted to eat a meal so quickly. But, he sat back and relaxed his large frame in the upholstered chair. He wanted Monique to enjoy this night and remember it forever. He knew he would.

  ~ Lara ~

  She had one more item on her to-do list and pulled her Mercedes into a large yard in Gorham Maine. She was about ten miles from Portland, and a tall lanky man in his mid-thirties met her in the driveway.

  “Hi Seth, I’m Lara.” She said shaking his hand. He had strong hands like Hawk’s, hardened from years of physical work.

  “Nice to meet you.” Seth’s eyes met hers and she instantly recognized him. He worked at the Henderson Property with Hawk when he installed the garden there, and he had worked at Clearwater Farm on her garden.

  “I’m pleased you want to take this on,” Lara continued.

  “He was a special guy, you know?” Seth spoke haltingly, “I loved him. We did rehab together and he changed my whole way of thinking. He made me realize I could do something with my life. I just had to believe in myself.”

  Lara handed him a bill-of-lading with all of Hawk’s landscaping equipment listed on it.

  “This is yours now. I see you’ve got a good sized barn there to store it.” She said.

  “Yes, and I have another building out back. Plenty of room.” Seth whispered. “I don’t know how to thank you for this, Lara. I couldn’t get this equipment on my own. It would’ve taken me a lot of years.”

  “Well, now you have it. And, I know Hawk would be happy about this. So, get Secret Gardens back into business. I have some projects I’ll send your way. But, it’s up to you now. Go for it, Seth!”

  She climbed back into the Mercedes and rolled down the window, “Everything will be delivered to you on Monday, will you be here to sign for it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Seth smiled and waved.

  She touched the watch in her pocket and a feeling of warmth spread over her. “I know you would have wanted this,” she whispered, and pulled out of the driveway to go home.

  ~ Ben ~

  “Hey Will, what’s up?” Ben spoke into the phone. “Mom said you could come for Christmas. Did she tell you yet?”

  “Yes,” William said breathless with excitement. “She just told me last night. I can’t wait to come there, Dad and see the place, and Lara and Einstein. And, to be with you again, Dad.”

  Ben listened to his eager voice and felt a pang of sadness mixed with exhilaration in his heart. His son was so happy to hear from him, so enthusiastic, he hoped the visit would meet his expectations. “So, tell me…what do you like? Egg nog? Apple pie? What are your favorite Christmas movies?”

  “Lara has e-mailed me and we’ve texted a lot. She knows I hate egg nog and she knows everything I like to eat. Some of my favorite Christmas movies are her favorites, too!” William laughed.

  Ben should have known that Lara would have this knowledge. She often read e-mails aloud to him from William and he wondered why he hadn’t paid more attention. Too self-absorbed, he berated himself. I should know everything about my own kid and I know very little. “Yes, Lara often reads your e-mails to me and I remember now, she told me you liked the movie Elf.”

  William was smiling, Ben could tell by his voice, “Yes. Elf sort of reminds me of you and me, Dad. Buddy the Elf wants to be with his real father in the movie, but the father is not very nice to him. But in the end the father realizes what a great son he has. It’s super funny and I like it because it has a happy ending.”

  Ben almost dropped the phone. My child is more perceptive than I am. But he regained composure and said, “Yeah, I like that movie, too. Sometimes fathers are just too wrapped up in their own problems to recognize they have a great kid. I like happy endings, too.”

  “Hey, Dad, I’ll be out of school for Christmas break on December 19th and I don’t have to be back here until January 6th for classes,” William announced.

  “Mom approved a week, and I don’t want to piss her off. So, I’ve set up your flights for December 20th with a return date of December 27th. That’s exactly seven days. I think she wants to spend New Year’s Eve with you.” Ben said, wishing he could’ve won the argument for a longer visit.

  “Dad, I’ve got to go. My friend just showed up and we’re going to play a video game. It’s called “A Sense of Duty”, William said, “I’m a soldier and can do all kinds of neat things like kill bad guys. I’m getting pretty good at it.”

  Ben almost choked on his ginger ale when he heard William talk about the video game. He’d have to check that out. He needed to know so much more about William and he had a lot of catching up to do. For the first time in years he found himself genuinely looking forward to Christmas, getting a tree, listeni
ng to music, having a real Christmas dinner, and best of all, being with Lara.

  ~ Lara ~

  The first few weeks of December brought a few minor dustings of snow, but Lara looked forward to going to the bungalow every day. She found great solace in working on designs for the clientele of Stone and Associates, seeing Monique every day, and getting back into the swing with the contractors.

  When alone at her workplace she often found herself pouring through Hawk’s book collection or wrapping herself in the denim jacket hanging in the entryway. She carried the pocket watch with her everywhere and sometimes used the timing mechanism to see how quickly she could perform a task or drive from point A to point B. Every time she touched it, she thought of Hawk. Not just the man, but the loyalty, attentiveness and support he always gave her, expecting nothing in return. She recognized that her grief was turning into a fond remembrance.

  She sensed her husband was going through the same process but in a different way. He couldn’t bring himself to talk about Jake Wilson or the funeral. Although she noticed he had several articles of Jake’s clothing tucked away in his closet. When she looked in there once while vacuuming, she noticed Ben had Jake’s journal. She knew she was prying but couldn’t help reading the passages he had written the last few days before going on the mission. His words were those of a desperate man, deep in the clutches of depression, and she cried when she read them. She didn’t let Ben know. He seemed to have the memory of Jake tucked away in his heart, on a shelf, and when he felt strong enough she was certain he would touch the items and feel the same things she felt.

  William would be arriving at Clearwater Farm soon and Lara looked forward to seeing him. She e-mailed or sent a text to him daily; he was always in her thoughts. And, she instinctively knew that William loved her. He didn’t have to say it. She knew he did. Her thoughts wandered back to Ben. She hoped it would be a good Christmas for him. It was important to have time together to be grateful and joyous. She invited her mother and Rusty over for Christmas dinner and imagined it would be wonderful.

  She was busy sending out invitations for a pre-Christmas dinner party. She had thought about cooking but realized how that could be a disaster. Instead, she decided to employ a fantastic caterer and enjoy her guests. It was important to get to know the Dark Horse Guardians better, and to have Don and Olivia come over, and, of course, Uncle Harris, Bettencourt and Monique. She started to feel a little bit happy and feared the happiness for a moment, hoping it wouldn’t be jinxed with another unexpected tragedy.

  ~ Ben ~

  He hadn’t selected a Christmas tree since he could remember…the last time was during his childhood, if you didn’t count the joke ones while he was deployed. Waiting at the airport for William to get off the plane, he wondered how to even set up a Christmas tree. William would help him. He wanted to surprise Lara with a fully decorated tree by the time she got home today. Standing in the crowd waiting for passengers to walk down the long ramp, for a moment he wondered if William had grown.

  “Hey, Dad!” Ben heard him before he saw him, but it was William’s voice. The blonde ten-year old emerged from the crowd brushing past him and he felt his son’s arms firmly around his waist.

  “Hey, Will, damn it’s good to see you.” Ben hugged him tightly and ran his hand through William’s thick blonde hair. “We have a secret mission to go on before Lara gets home. Can you help me find a Christmas tree?”

  “Sure, Dad!” William was filled with energy and excitement. His eyes lit up as he walked with Ben toward the baggage carousel.

  “How was the flight?” Ben asked, not knowing how to start a conversation.

  “It was okay. I like first class. Hey, there’s my bag!” William exclaimed.

  Ben tossed William’s baggage into the pick-up truck and before driving out of the parking lot he turned to William.

  “I have a confession to make.” Ben started, “I don’t know where to buy the tree, or how to decorate one, because it’s been a long time…” his voice trailed off.

  “I’ll help you, Dad.” William said solemnly. He watched his son tap his iPhone and within minutes he had several options to buy a fresh tree. “Let’s try this place, it’s a farm about five miles from where you live.” Ben laughed but thought: Why didn’t I think of that? It’s so simple.

  “First things first,” Ben glanced at William as he drove to Clearwater Farm, “Have you had anything to eat? Are you thirsty?”

  William was animated, “I’m starving and will pretty much eat anything.”

  Ben was driving by the ancient hamburger joint with the neon sign that bore the simple word, Lunch. “This guy makes a great cheeseburger and they serve hand cut French fries ~ wanna stop?”

  “Yes,” William’s voice squeaked.

  Ben pulled over and the two of them placed an order at the counter and took a number. They sat at the table in the corner by the window. Examining William’s features, Ben realized how much he’d matured in a year’s time. William was growing and changing taking on the appearance of a young man rather than a small boy. He had his mother’s features and Ben imagined what he’d look like as an adult. Probably handsome.

  William’s blue eyes gazed at Ben, “What are you thinking, Dad?”

  “Just that it’s good to see you…” Ben said. Their number was called and Ben went to the counter, got the tray filled with food and brought it back to the table. There was a moment of silence as the two of them ate in record time.

  “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” Ben laughed wiping melted cheese from his lips.

  “Jeez, Dad, these are awesome!” William managed to say between mouthfuls.

  “Wanna stop at that Christmas tree farm?” Ben offered as he put the trash into the container.

  “Yes,” William said, and he scrambled into the front seat of Ben’s pick-up eager to go.

  At Windy Knolls, the Christmas tree farm, that Ben never knew existed five miles from his house, William picked out a beautiful tree and Ben bought it and loaded it into the bed of the pick-up taking care not to damage it. William also found a unique tree stand, something Ben would have forgotten.

  “We have to put it up and let it acclimate to the house before we decorate it.” William informed him. How did this kid know so much about trees? Ben had no idea.

  “Mom is always sick at Christmas, so I am the one that gets the Christmas tree for her. I know a lot about this stuff. You probably noticed.” William uttered matter-of-factly. For a moment, Ben’s heart sank.

  He knew William had to make his own Christmas due to Sienna’s failing health and deep depression. It suddenly struck him that William knew a lot about being alone for Christmas, but it was a different type of loneliness. One where you were surrounded by people but they weren’t really participating. William created his own holiday spirit, much like Ben did when deployed. If it wasn’t for the camaraderie of his men and the joking around they did, Christmas would’ve been bleak indeed.

  The moment the truck pulled into Clearwater Farm’s long driveway, William squealed, “Oh, Dad, it’s more beautiful than the pictures Lara sent to me!”

  “It’s cold and windy now, but you should see it in the summer.” Ben said with a hint of happiness. He loved the place, more than he could have imagined.

  After getting the tree into the house and greeting Einstein, the two set the tree into the stand, filled it with water and found the perfect place in the living room.

  “While the tree acclimates,” Ben said, “Let’s you and I go to a store to get some decorations. I have no idea where to get this stuff…” Ben watched as his son tapped his iPhone and located a nearby store.

  “You want to go here, Dad. It’s expensive, but they have the best stuff. Mom always goes to Nordstrom.” William said with finality.

  Ben laughed. “Well, I’m glad I have you to help me with this. It would be a disaster, otherwise.”

  As William climbed into the truck he said something that melted Ben’s
heart, “I understand, Dad. You’re a Navy SEAL. I wouldn’t expect you to know about these things. You are doing more important things, and that’s okay…”

  The trip to Nordstrom was eye-opening for Ben. William navigated him through the store and expertly picked everything out, even the star for the top and a special electrical strip to plug the lights into. Ben glanced at the time realizing Lara could be home within the hour. He wanted nothing more than to have the tree decorated and William standing there ready to embrace her when she arrived.

  His phone buzzed, and he recognized Lara, “Keegan,” he automatically said, then heard her giggle on the other end.

  “Where are you? Has William arrived?” Lara asked.

  “I’m just arriving home. And, yes I have him with me.” Ben replied. “When do you expect to be here?”

  “I have a quick stop to make on the way home. Say hi to Will for me. I won’t be more than an hour.” Lara said and the phone call ended.

  “Good!” Ben looked into William’s eyes with enthusiasm, “We have a whole hour to do this!”

  William flashed a perfect smile.

  ~ Lara ~

  She was eager to get home to see Will and spend a quiet evening with her always too busy husband. But there was one little Christmas detail she wanted to attend to before heading home. Chip Alston at the yacht club said he’d be around late afternoon and when she pulled into the boat storage area she saw his truck. A light dusting of snow covered the ground which was not yet frozen. She inhaled the temperate sea air as she walked toward the 40-foot Hinckley sloop wrapped for its winter sleep. Alston, the manager of the boatyard met her just beneath the stern of the vessel.

  “God, it looks huge out of the water on boat stands!” Lara said.

  “Yup. She’s got a big keel. This is one of my favorite sloops. Quality.” Chip muttered. He barely looked at her.