by Sarah Gay
“I can’t even imagine.” Dan nodded in agreement. “All your dreams, shattered, in one horrible moment. He coaches Grant’s little league team now.” He tipped his chin up, motioning with his face to Jack on the field. “The little league coaches in the area get together every spring and play against each other, but with that nasty virus that circulated this past spring, they had to reschedule the game when all the coaches would be in town.”
“Great way to start the year,” said Becca with longing. She watched Jack as he took the plate. Her chest pressed down with regret. She was too late. Jack belonged to someone else now.
Becca jumped out of her seat as the ball cracked against Jack’s bat and screamed through the air, clearing the park. He threw his fist up, then began jogging around the bases. Becca and Grant exchanged a double high-five and screamed.
When Jack rounded third base, he looked up into the stands and pointed at Grant, then did a double take. His eyes locked with Becca’s. He smiled at her like she ruled his world, which made her feel even more horrible.
“I need to go,” she said. She didn’t have the emotional strength to talk to Jack today. Maybe when her feelings for him weren’t so strong, but not now.
“Bye, Becca,” said Grant and his dad in unison.
She hurried down the bleachers and out into the parking lot, not catching her breath until she’d reached the edge of the lot. Out of the corner of her eye, the blue Tesla came into view. She took a minute to weigh her options. She didn’t have any. This was her one and only opportunity to thank her benefactor. She sucked in a breath, collecting her courage to thank the man who’d made it possible for her to realize her dreams.
As she walked to the car, huge dollops of rain hit her shoulders and the top of her head, bringing her emotional relief she hadn’t expected. When she reached the Tesla, she angled her face to the heavens and held her arms out at her sides, welcoming the cold water as it cascaded down her body. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of fresh rain.
“Well, this looks familiar,” said Jack.
Becca’s eyes shot open. “Jack!”
“You sound surprised, but you’re waiting here for me,” he said, wrapping her in a bear hug. She wiggled out of his arms, causing him to laugh and smell himself. “What? Do I stink after my game?”
“No, no. It’s just,” she stammered, blinking away the rain droplets caught in her eyelashes.
He stared at her, his big brown eyes grabbing hold of her heart. “You look like you did the first day we met, remember?” he said, pushing her wet hair behind her ear and staring down at her lips. “I wanted to kiss you so bad that day.”
Why are you touching me and looking at me like that! she wanted to scream. “You should have called,” she said, taking a step back.
“You’re right,” he said, closing the gap she’d just created. “I didn’t want to have to tell you like this. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“A surprise?” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, unable to understand why he wouldn’t have simply told her about his engagement.
“Let’s at least get you out of this rain,” he said, clicking the car fob in his hand.
The blue Tesla’s lights blinked, causing Becca to blink. It took her mind a few seconds to compute what was happening. Her mind flashed back to city hall. The cowboy strutted past her, tipping his chin down as he slowly raised his hat to his head. She saw his face. Perfect lips and chiseled chin.
“It was you?” she said slowly, her breath catching in her chest.
He scratched at the side of his face. “I was hoping you’d say it is me, but I’ll go with that.”
Without thinking, she grabbed Jack by the back of his neck and pulled him down, kissing him deep. He returned her kiss with fervor. Somewhere between the clouds and heaven, she remembered why she couldn’t kiss him. She released his neck and jumped back, causing him to stumble and fall forward.
He caught himself and stared at her in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she repeated as hot tears clouded her eyes. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. You paid for my business license three years ago, not letting me see your face. I’ve been looking for my mystery cowboy benefactor ever since,” she said swinging her arms wildly.
His forehead scrunched. “That was you?”
She pointed an accusative finger at his chest. “Then you made me fall in love with you just to break my heart by getting engaged to your ex-girlfriend.” She ended her rantings by slumping against his car.
“You fell in love with me?” he asked, lifting her chin with his fingertips, his brown eyes melting into the small places of her heart.
She wiped the rain from her forehead. “Don’t rub it in,” she said, turning away from him and burying her face in her hands. Her sorrow had hit an all-time low. He was messing with her, toying with her emotions. She slowly lifted herself off his car and walked away with no intension of looking back at him. “Bye, Jack.”
“No,” he said, jumping in front of her, his feet spread in a wide stance. “I’ve never said goodbye to you before, and I don’t plan on it now, or ever.
She shook her head. “But you’re—”
“Please. Let me just get you home,” he begged, taking her hand and opening her passenger door. “Then I’ll explain everything.”
She forced herself to pull her hand away, severing their connection. She’d have to release him the same way, fast and sure—a clean break.
“Please,” he asked again, grabbing his hat from off her seat.
Becca’s eyes followed the leather cowboy hat as Jack gently placed it in the back seat. “Okay,” she said, slipping into her seat, curious to hear his explanation.
During their three-minute drive to her house, neither of them spoke. Becca simply chewed on her fingernails and stared out the window. They pulled into her driveway to clear skies.
Jack sighed as he turned off his car. “Before we get out, you’ve got to understand that I had planned this to be much smoother.”
“Smoother?” she said with a gasp.
He waved his hands in front of his chest. “Becca, I’m not engaged.”
She sat up in her seat and narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. “You’re not engaged?”
“No,” he said, smacking his steering wheel. “That was just a stupid Shelly stunt, in a useless effort to get me back. I’m so sorry you thought that.”
Becca ran her hand through her wet hair, still unable to believe what he was saying with the image of him kissing Shelly seared in her mind. “But you kissed her.”
His eyes held hers. “Let me ask you this. Did you kiss Rob, or did he kiss you?”
She bit her lower lip, staring up into his wet face. “I see your point, but why didn’t you call or text me back?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” he said, opening his car door with one hand as he thrust his other hand out in front of her. “Hold on. Don’t get out yet.”
Sunlight split through the dissipating clouds, shining inside the car and warming her arms. “Surprise me?” she said to herself as Jack ran around the car and opened her door.
“Again, this is not how I’d planned to do this,” he said, taking her hand and helping her out. “For one, I would have liked to have taken a shower first. But at least I have my courting hat,” he said, reaching into the back seat. He pulled out his leather cowboy hat, tilted his chin down, and slowly placed it on his head, the same way he had in the city building when he’d walked past her.
“Your courting hat…” she said with a laugh and a slow blink, “is working.”
“You have no idea how sweet that sounds,” he said, reaching down and kissing her forehead. “This is the exact spot in your driveway where I threw Grant’s baseball so it would land in your back yard on Halloween.”
“No!” she exclaimed, pressing her palm into his chest to push him back. His heartbeat thumped against her hand. Her mouth went dry, causing her to lic
k her lips. She kept her hand firm to his chest over his heart, loving how his pulse traveled up her arm. “That was a trick?”
“Trick or treat. Can you blame me?” he asked, staring down at her lips. “I had to see you that night. Had to kiss you.” He brushed her lips with his fingertips, causing her to suck in a quick breath.
She caught a hint of his scent. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, praying to never be away from him again. She slowly exhaled and opened her eyes, renewed. “What’s this big surprise?”
“Close your eyes,” he said.
She complied, waiting to hear him pull a gift of some sort out of his car. Instead, he pulled on her arm, petitioning for her to walk with him.
“Come on,” he said cheerfully, as if he were smiling as he led her.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, taking big steps so she wouldn’t trip over anything.
“I wish I were videotaping you right now,” he said with a laugh.
The ground under her feet changed in texture. It went from cushiony grass to gravel. She turned her head to her right to the sound of tumbling water. A thrill of excitement shot through her. She was dying to know. “You’re not going to at least give me a hint?”
She felt him playing with her hair. “I’m guessing you didn’t have time to look out your kitchen window this morning.”
“What!” she screamed, hopping up and down. “My garden?” Her eyes flew open, but they were immediately covered by his hands, causing her to giggle. “You finished my garden?”
“Our garden will never be finished,” he said, slowly removing his hands.
Her eyes met an explosion of color. The first and most prominent colors were green, purple and yellow. “It’s amazing,” she said, raising his hand to her lips and kissing it.
“Wait until spring,” he said, leading her through the winding, pebbled path. He took her under a wooden pergola, crawling with a flowering vine, then to a tumbling stream that wound through her yard.
Her eyes rested on a rustic wooden bridge that crossed the trickling brook. “Will that hold someone?”
“No,” he said with a laugh, “it will hold many someones.” He reached down and picked her up.
“What are you doing?” she asked as if in protest but snuggled her face into his neck as he carried her like a husband would carry his bride over the threshold. She pressed her lips to his warm skin, sticky and salty from his baseball game.
He set her onto her feet, holding fast to her waist. “Maybe we’ll have other little someones on this bridge with us someday.”
“Promise?” she asked, running her hand up his neck, until she cupped the side of his face.
His eyes penetrated deep into her heart. “Promise,” he said with a blink, slowly narrowing the space between their faces.
Becca smiled as Jack’s lips gently swept over hers. Holly was right. This feels amazing!
Epilogue
Four Months Later
Rob’s botanical gardens had proven to be the perfect venue for Harlan and Lily’s spring wedding ceremony.
The late morning sunlight filtered in through the white wedding tent, casting a soft glow on Jack’s face. Becca smiled at him as they linked arms to start their walk back up the aisle. The guests’ cheers faded as Lily and Harlan disappeared behind a row of flowering bushes when their path curved out of sight.
“I object to this union!” came an elderly woman’s voice from behind.
Becca glanced back over her shoulder. A tiny elderly woman threw her head back and laughed as she popped out of her chair and grabbed hold of Kara’s arm.
Kara, Lily’s wedding photographer, caught Becca’s eye and smiled, letting her know the elderly woman had been teasing. Becca didn’t know Kara well, only that she’d taken the infamous photo of Jack and Shelly kissing with the sign that said they were tying the knot. Jack had explained to her that Kara felt terrible about the mistake.
Becca held firmer to Jack’s arm as they transitioned from the carpet runner to the grass. “The ceremony was so beautiful,” Becca said, squeezing his arm.
A young man came to their side. “Hey, Jack. Y’all are coming to lunch, right?”
“I think,” Jack said to the boy, then unlinked his arm with Becca. He slid his hand around her back and held her waist. He leaned down and whispered in her ear as he pulled her onto a solitary path. “Want to disappear into the bushes like Lily and Harlan?”
“Stop,” Becca laughed out. “I’m already sweating from this May midday sun.” She wanted nothing more than to escape with Jack into a secluded spot and kiss for hours, but this was Lily’s day and they were scheduled to take family photos somewhere in the gardens before too long.
“I want to show you something,” he said with a devious smile.
Excitement lit her eyes. “Who can say no to that? I think we have a few minutes to get lost,” she said with a wink.
“Who can say no to that?” he echoed her. He led her down a small hill, something she didn’t often see in their flat area. The path crossed over two other paths. One path was lined with white and red rose bushes in full bloom. The other path looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland, where trees curved up and above the path, threading together at the top.
“Careful. It’s a little muddy over here,” he said, holding her tighter.
“Remind me to walk in the mud with you more often,” she said with a wiggle of her brow. “I could get used to this.”
They neared a crystal blue pond surrounded by tall cattails that whistled in the light breeze.
“Thanks for showing me this,” Becca said with a sigh. “I know you don’t like it when I say this, but I could die here.”
“Actually,” he said, taking her hand and gazing into her eyes with a gentle intensity. “I was hoping we could start our lives here.”
She bit at her lower lip, her heart racing as her respirations quickened.
“Becca,” he said, squeezing her hands and bringing them to his heart. “I’ve loved you since the day you showed up on my doorstep, sopping wet.”
He released her hands, allowing her to place them over her mouth as her eyes filled with happy tears.
Jack went down onto one knee, causing a lump to rise in her throat and her chest to burn. “My grandfather proposed to my grandmother in this very spot sixty-five years ago, before these gardens even existed. He cultivated them for her; he maintained them the same way he maintained their marriage—with hard work and dedication. Becca, I promise to cultivate and maintain our relationship just as my grandfather did.” He took a ring out of his pocket and held it out to her. “Becca Foley, will you be my wife for the next sixty-five years?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, allowing her tears to freely spill down her cheeks. “I’ll be your wife forever.” She took the princess cut diamond ring and slipped it onto her finger.
Jack sprung up, lifted her by her waist, and swung her around in fast circles, causing her head to spin even faster than it had already been spinning from his proposal. Jack’s swinging stopped but her head didn’t, being overcome with every happy emotion possible. Jack pulled her into a sweltering embrace, claiming her lips. She kissed him back in a way that said she was his forever.
“Yes!” a woman screamed, not far from them, followed by a man’s deep, heavy laughter.
“That’s Wyatt’s laugh,” said Jack.
“Your kid brother?” asked Becca, following his eyes to Kara as the photographer wiggled around in the mud, struggling to get up. Wyatt, his huge NFL football brother, stood over her and laughed.
Jack said, “Oh, he’s gonna get it. I gotta film this.”
“I will too,” said Becca, pulling her phone from her tiny purse. She started taking pictures the moment her camera app was ready. Wyatt held out his hand to help Kara up, but she kicked the back of his knees, causing him to fall into the mud with her. He then wiped his muddy fingers across her cheeks.
Harlan and Lily ran up t
o them.
Lily tilted her head to the side and gasped, her facial expression a mixture of horror and amusement. “Ah, Kara?”
Wyatt and Kara’s heads turned to them.
Kara’s eyes grew wide. “I fell,” she croaked out.
Harlan pulled Lily back, either because of the mud, or because she might deck Wyatt. “And how about you, Wyatt? You fell in the mud too? At my wedding, wearing a tux?”
“Don’t worry,” said Jack with a mischievous smile. “I got it all on video.”
Becca chimed in. “And I have the still shots,” she said, holding up her phone.
“Jack,” said Wyatt, standing and helping Kara up. “Where were you hiding?”
“Jack?” asked Kara. “Your brother?”
Jack nodded. “I’d shake your hand, but…”
Kara smiled at Jack and Becca. “I have the most amazing engagement photos of you two.”
Becca’s heart soared, instantly forgiving Kara for the Shelly photo.
“Engaged?” yelled Wyatt and Harlan in unison.
Becca held up her hand, wiggling her ring finger and smiled.
“Congratulations, man!” said Wyatt, wrapping his brother in a muddy hug and patting his back.
Lily gasped. “Our photos! And what are you two going to wear to the reception tonight?”
“I’m so sorry, Lily,” said Kara. “We can push the group photos out until this evening.”
“Why are you apologizing, Kara?” asked Jack. “Wyatt is the one who fell in the mud, then hugged me.”
“I sort of fell in the mud first,” she said with an apologetic wrinkle of her face. “I took Wyatt down for laughing at me.”
Lily looked as if she were about to cry ugly alligator tears.
“Don’t worry, Lily,” said Wyatt. “Jack and I will be presentable in three hours. Promise. I know a dry cleaner who can have these shipshape by then.”
Harlan placed his arm around Lily’s shoulder. “Let’s get some lunch,” he said as they turned and walked away.
“I feel horrible,” said Kara with a sigh. “I’ve never acted this unprofessional on an assignment before.”