Happily Ever Afters Guaranteed (10 page)

She wasn’t coming.

The sun neared the place where water and
horizon met, and Kate still hadn’t shown up to the beach party.

Brody had been so proud of himself that his
new wheelchair had handled the sand, if not gracefully, then at
least not painfully. Earlier he’d dipped his toes in the Gulf. He
knew he’d have to rub down his chair later and remove all traces of
saltwater, but it had been worth it.

But his joy and anticipation had waned as
time passed and Kate still hadn’t arrived.

Had she decided someone with a handicap like
his wasn’t worth her time?

Some of the guys had started a bonfire and
most of the group had congregated there, taking turns roasting
marshmallows and chatting and generally having a good time.

But Brody sat slightly apart, eyes traveling
over and over again to the parking area, hope dimming with each
minute that ticked by.

Maybe he should leave. He certainly wasn’t
bringing any life to this get-together.

Then suddenly a happy bark announced a
newcomer, and his heart took flight—

And Kate’s bobbing ponytail followed her
golden dog down to the sand.

She’d come. Late, but she was still here and
that’s all that mattered.

Brody wheeled his chair toward her, arms
straining with the effort of moving through the soft sand. Her dog
barked again and ran right up to him. He accepted the doggie lick
of his hand and rubbed along the animal’s back as he waited for
Kate’s approach.

She wasn’t smiling.

“Hey,” he greeted, stomach swooping low.

“Hi.”

The setting sun turned her blond hair russet
and shadowed her eyes. She wore a simple one-piece and a pair of
board shorts.

“The party is right back there,” Brody said,
indicating the bonfire over his shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll introduce
you to everyone.”

“Brody, can we talk?”

Oh no. The dreaded can we talk.

Heart plummeting, he nodded anyway. “If you
want to walk for a bit, it’s easier for me closer to the water.”
His wheels had more traction on the hard-packed, wet sand instead
of the soft, dry sand closer to the parking area.

Kate followed him as he pushed his chair
through the sand and then as he turned parallel to the water she
moved into place next to him, flip-flops dangling from one
hand.

“I almost didn’t come tonight,” she said,
voice soft.

“I’m glad you did.”

The rapidly sinking sun didn’t give him much
visibility, but he thought she frowned.

“This is… really hard to say.”

That didn’t sound good. Brody’s heart sat
like a rock in the pit of his stomach.

“Brody, there’s still a lot about me you
don’t know. And… I just don’t think that this thing between
us…”

She stopped for a moment and that was okay
because his pulse pounded in his ears and he could barely hear
her.

She didn’t want to be with him.

“I don’t think we should see each other
again. Socially.”

Brody searched his memory for something from
their last encounter that had gone wrong. Anything. Anything to
explain what was happening—why Kate felt they shouldn’t be
together. He came up empty.

Maybe he’d… exposed his feelings too early.
He knew he’d told Kate how much he liked her. She hadn’t seemed
uncomfortable at the time, but… She could have been humoring
him.

She probably didn’t want to be with a
disabled man.

Brody swallowed hard, but it did nothing to
dislodge the boulder blocking his throat. “If that’s—if that’s what
you want.”

It wasn’t what he wanted, but how could he
argue with her if her mind was made up?

“I think it’s for the best. I’m… sorry.”

Kate whistled for her dog that had run ahead
of them and Brody realized she meant to leave. Just as well, he’d
rather hide his humiliation in the darkness, alone.

“I’m going to…” he motioned forward, to the
beach extended before him, “…keep going.”

“Okay. I’ll… I’ll see you Wednesday?”

“Sure.”

Unless he cancelled his pool maintenance
plan. It couldn’t be too hard to do on his own, could it? Then he
wouldn’t have to face Kate again.

“Are you going to be okay?” Kate sounded
genuinely concerned. She was a kind person at heart, even though
she didn’t want to date him.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Okay, well… good night.”

“Goodbye.”

She turned away, her dog trotting after her
with lolling tongue, and Brody pushed his chair forward again in
case she looked back. He didn’t want her to see how badly he
hurt.

When a glance behind him verified she’d
disappeared from the beach, he stopped his chair and simply sat in
the twilight darkness, listening to the waves pound against the
sand.

After a while, his heard slowed to match the
waves’ rhythm.

He felt… empty inside. A lot like he’d felt
when he realized he wouldn’t walk again after the accident. He’d
believed that Kate would be able to accept him as he was…
disability and all. He’d seen compassion in her, but maybe she’d
realized exactly how hard it would be to be in a relationship with
someone like him.

He didn’t know.

After crying out to God for a long time—long
enough that it had grown fully dark around him—he gained a measure
of peace, though he still felt an empty place inside his heart.

Kate’s place.

He turned his chair around, noting that the
tide had started to come in and began the trek back to his
handicap-accessible minivan.

He made it to the asphalt parking lot and was
approaching his vehicle when a figure stepped out of the shadows
near his van.

Kate.

“Where have you been? Do you know how long
it’s been since we parted? Do you need help?” The shrill tone in
her rapid-fire questions wasn’t one he’d heard before.

His face flamed. He hoped she couldn’t see it
in the dim illumination from the parking lot lamps.

“I’m fine. You didn’t need to stay. I can
take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but your friends all left!
What if you’d been hurt or something?”

He was embarrassed that she felt the need to
watch out for him. If he’d been a normal guy, she never would have
stayed.

“I have a cell phone,” he said curtly.

Her face pinched and her expression made him
realize that she’d been asking questions as if she cared what
happened to him.

“Wait a minute. Just… wait a minute.” Brody
extended one hand, palm outward as his mind raced, his hope was
resurrected.

“You care about me,” he stated.

Kate’s cheeked pinked. He could see it even
in the dusky half-light.

“Of course I do.”

“Just not enough to date me.”

Her eyes shifted away, a telltale sign that
she wasn’t being completely honest with him. Brody took a shaky
breath and took a wild guess that his disability wasn’t as big a
problem that he had thought.

“You do want to date me.”

“Brody, please…”

Please, what? Please don’t make this more
difficult? Or please make me confront the truth?

He waited for a long moment, and when she
didn’t deny that she wanted a relationship he took action. Brody
set the brake on his wheelchair and reached out for her hand. She
gave it to him, but must not have been expecting his next move,
because when he gave a sharp tug on her arm, she tumbled right into
his lap. Just like he’d planned.

Thank goodness the chair hadn’t toppled.

Before she could get up, before she could
protest, Brody took her mouth in a passionate kiss. He tried to
show her everything in his heart—that he wanted her in his life,
that he didn’t want to take “no” for an answer, that he was falling
in love with her.

And Kate kissed him back.

Brody pulled away, still holding her,
breathing hard. He pressed his cheek to her ear, felt her
trembling.

How could she deny that this thing between
them was strong? Too strong to just walk away…

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered, and the fine
hairs at her temple tickled his lips. “I think God brought you into
my life for more than just cleaning my pool.”

“I don’t want to get my heart broken,” she
returned, voice low and breath warming his neck, “when you come to
your senses and realize that I’m not good enough for you. We’re
too… we’re too different.”

His heart—the same one he’d thought crushed
into a thousand pieces just minutes ago—pulsed with life. If she
was worried about her heart getting broken it meant her heart was
involved… right?

He took a chance the old Brody never would
have, made himself vulnerable.

“I’m falling in love with you.”

Kate froze. Holding her close like he was,
Brody could feel that she even stopped breathing for a moment.

“You, Kate,” he went on. “Pool cleaning girl.
Night school attendee. Silly dog owner. Woman who has captured my
heart.”

She groaned softly. “Brody… how can I say no
when you say things like that?”

He chuckled, heart light. Maybe she was
finished arguing with him.

“But—”

Or maybe not. Brody stopped her words with
another tender kiss. He pulled away, breathless.

“Why don’t we let God worry about all those
‘what ifs’ and concentrate on building a relationship?” he asked
when he could finally speak again.

She raised luminous eyes to him and Brody let
her look into his heart, hoping his feelings for her, his
commitment were shining right through.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to be with
you.”

“You’re not going to change your mind again?”
he teased, hugging her waist.

“Nope. You’ve convinced me. No more
doubts.”

“Good. Wanna get a cup of coffee?”

“Now?”

“Sure, why not? Tonight… and tomorrow… and
the day after…”

THE END

THE
BLUESTOCKING AND THE BLUEBLOOD

By LACY WILLIAMS

Chapter 1

This certainly wasn’t the trip I’d planned
on.

Engine problems delayed my flight into
Manchester. On top of that, the rental company gave away my luxury
car and I was left with something that looked like a toy. Worst of
all, this honeymoon had turned into a trip for one.

At least the cottage was everything I’d
imagined.

I stood for a moment in the waning light,
admiring what I could see of it. White stucco walls seemed to
almost glimmer in the fading light. Roses climbed the trellis and
onto the slanted, thatched roof. Their sweet fragrance reached me,
for a moment overpowering the scents of exhaust and travel grime
that clung to me.

Sighing, I hefted my bookbag full of romance
novels and hooked it over my shoulder. I’d been planning this trip
for six months. I should be happy. I was happy. So why did this
ugly feeling of disappointment rising in my throat make me want to
cry?

Because I had dreamed it differently?

Who needed a man to carry the luggage,
anyway?

It took some effort, but I wrested my
suitcase from the miniature trunk –wasn’t it called something else
here in the U.K.? – and trudged up the walk. As I juggled my
luggage and tried to find the key that had disappeared into the
abyss of my backpack, my cell phone began playing the Oklahoma
State University fight song.

“Not now,” I mumbled. For a nanosecond I
considered who it could be. I’d called Aunt Donna from the airport
earlier and promised to call again tomorrow. Considering that my
best friend had run off with my now ex-fiancé a week before the
wedding, hearing from either of them was out of the question. That
left only one person.

Erik.

I ignored the ringing phone and kept digging.
I knew what Erik wanted, and it wasn’t something I could give, not
right now. I could still feel his hug as he had dropped me off at
the airport in Oklahoma City. “Find a way to forgive them,” he’d
whispered against my temple. “Don’t let your hurt turn into
bitterness.” I shook my head to dispel the memory and the pinprick
of guilt that it brought with it. I didn’t want to think about the
people or the God who’d betrayed me.

Finally, my fingers closed around the key.
“Aha”ing with triumph, I stuffed it into the lock.

The inside of my dream cottage was as
beautiful as the outside. Warm wood floors showed off a recent buff
job. An oversized sofa and chair created a perfect reading corner
in front of the fireplace, while the other half of the room made up
a kitchenette and small dining area. Everything about it spelled
warmth and promised relaxation. It was everything I’d dreamed
of.

Before Jared shattered my heart.

Too keyed up to sleep yet, I dumped my stuff
on the king-sized bed just around the corner from the fireplace and
patted myself on the back when I didn’t tear up thinking about
being in it alone tonight.

A quick apple-snack in the stocked
kitchenette was all I needed before I headed out the back door. A
bark, almost a yelp, was the only sound in the twilight stillness
and made me pause on the step. It had sounded close.

“Here, boy.”

I don’t know what made me hesitate, but I
felt a peculiar reluctance to step out into the gathering darkness.
The familiar, heady scent of roses swirled around me. Decaying
leaves rustled in a random dance, provoked by the light breeze that
tickled my bare arms. I could barely see the outline of the gate
that led to the garden.

When the yelp came again, I imagined the poor
dog caught in a fence or lying in the street, hurt. That wouldn’t
do. Not when I could do something about it.

Ignoring the peculiar quivering in my stomach
that warned me to go back inside, I stepped from the stoop and
pushed through the garden gate.

As soon as I moved through it, dizziness
engulfed me. A swarm of bees thrummed inside my head and my limbs
felt as if an anvil weighted each appendage down. My heart
fluttered erratically against my ribcage. Blackness took over the
edge of my vision and then I was falling, falling…