Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (58 page)

“We’re going to look at rings.” He waited for her response.

“Sure that’s what you want?” she asked, nibbling gently on one of his nipples.

“I think the question is, is that what you want?”

“More than anything in the world,” she assured him, kissing him.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. “I don’t care when or where, who’s there or what we’re wearing, but I want to marry you, and I want to do it soon.”

She was so gorgeous, sitting there on the deck in her lace gown, sipping a glass of water with all kinds of berries and fruit floating in it. When she set the glass down, it rested in a late evening sunbeam, the water and glass refracting the light until a rainbow fell onto the tabletop. Tony watched her as she scanned the mountainside behind the house, her eyes searching far away, the light mountain breeze ruffling her hair.

“I’d say we’re going to have to wait,” Tony had told Nikki as they left the fourth jewelry store earlier in the day. “Tourist areas apparently aren’t very good shopping for quality stuff.” Tony had promised they’d go during the week to some of the nicer places in Louisville. They’d find something there.

As they sat there on the deck, an idea struck him: “Hey, babe, what would you say to me taking your old rings and incorporating them into a new ring? We could use the diamonds you have and add more, use the gold to make the ring. Would you like that?” She’d told him once that the small diamond on her old engagement ring was the same one Randy had given her when he proposed all those years ago. It seemed to Tony that it might be a nice way to honor their new commitment and the one she and Randy had shared.

Nikki surprised him when she quietly replied, “Oh, no. I don’t think so.” The far-away look returned to her face, and she turned to gaze into the falling sun. The fading light of the day on her face made her look child-like, and he couldn’t help but stare at her, his heart aching with all the love he held there for her.

“Really? I thought you’d like that idea, you know, your old life and your new life merging?”

Without looking at him, she replied in a strong voice, “My old life is gone. My new life is here and now with you, you and my new family. I loved my old family and life, still do, but that’s over. I have to move forward. And I choose to do that with you.” There was no trace of sadness or grief on her face, just peace and joy.

Tony felt it again – his heart overwhelmed with emotion, something he’d never experienced before her but was learning to embrace daily. He asked quietly, “Angel, what did I ever do to deserve you?”

She turned to him, her eyes bright with promise, her heart full and running over. “You dared to love me. And I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to show you how grateful I am for that second chance.”

T
ony and Nikki had to park several blocks from the parade route, the downtown street being packed with spectators. They made their way to the grandstand; he might not have gotten to be the grand marshal, but Tony still commanded a spot in the grandstand simply by virtue of who he was in Louisville. The brunch at Brisbane had been delicious, and Nikki was glad they had to walk a distance to get in. She needed the exercise.

It was the first time Tony and Nikki had been in a large public venue since they’d been together. She noticed people were turning and looking at them, some speaking to Tony as they passed. He stopped several times and shook hands with people along the way. “Everybody’s looking at us,” she whispered to Tony.

“Everybody’s looking at
you
!” Tony whispered back. “They’re curious about you. Everybody knew I was seeing somebody, but no one’s really seen us out except in the occasional restaurant. They want to see you, see what you look like. I’m sure the gossip mill is going crazy.” He chuckled. “I don’t think you’re what they were expecting at all.”

No, I’m sure I’m not,
Nikki thought. They were expecting her to look more like, oh, Molly; someone really pretty and “fixy” and plastic. She was none of those things. But Tony seemed to like how she looked, so it was none of their business.

The parade started a few minutes after they reached the grandstand. Fire trucks from every fire district in the city passed by, then a police cruiser from every precinct. Several labor unions had floats, and they were attractive and well done. Float riders threw candy to the crowd, and several dozen kids scrambled every time candy went flying. “Do we have candy?” Nikki asked Tony.

“Well, of course! What kind of two-bit outfit would we be if we didn’t have candy?” Tony laughed and ruffled her hair. “Hey, let’s go down on the curb. I want to be down there when the guys go by.” He took her hand and they made their way down the grandstand and through the crowd. They stood at the curb, looking up the parade route, waiting for theirs to come around the corner.

“I see it!” Nikki cried out, pointing. “Oh, Tony, look! It’s great!” Tony stood on his tiptoes, looking over the crowd.

Clayton spotted them on the curb and waved, then started honking the truck’s horn. Cal and Jeremy spotted them too and waved at them. Nikki heard Tony speaking to someone behind them, and turned to see a man talking to him, shaking his hand. The man said something about “good job” and “worked hard,” and Tony was smiling and nodding as he spoke. Nikki didn’t know anyone, but it seemed Tony knew everyone. She began to turn back to the street, but something caught her eye – a streak of orange, whizzing over the top of the crowd. She opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t quick enough.

The float burst into flames.

She screamed and Tony turned, his smile dissolving into sheer terror. People were shrieking and pushing backward, but Nikki was already on the move, Tony right behind her, pushing against the crowd and heading straight for the inferno.

Nikki ran right up to the trailer, and the heat was unbearable. Where were Cal and Jeremy? She skirted the back and found them on the other side of the float on the ground. Cal was coughing but seemed fine, but Jeremy’s shirt was burning. Cal was trying to put it out and couldn’t, so Nikki ran up and fell right on top of him, smothering the flames. Poor Jeremy was screaming and writhing on the ground, and Nikki yelled at Cal, “Help me drag him farther back!” His arms were so badly burned that they each grabbed a leg and pulled until they had him on the lawn of a business, well on the other side of the sidewalk from the burning hulk. She felt a presence on her right side, and Peyton grabbed her arm, looked her up and down, and knelt with her beside Jeremy.

Tony ran directly to the truck, where Clayton had peeled from the cab and was trying to get the trailer unhitched. He was too close: “Clayton! Clayton, get back!” Tony screamed at him. Then he remembered the tools in the bed of the truck, and he climbed up on the bumper and dug around, finally finding a sledgehammer. He jumped out of the truck bed and ordered Clayton, “Get back in the truck and wait for my signal! Be ready!” Tony took the sledgehammer to the trailer hitch, knocked off the latch, and slammed down on the tongue. It broke free, and he threw his arm up in the air, traced a circle, and whistled loudly. The truck lurched as Clayton stepped down on the gas and pulled away from the trailer.

Tony glanced around in panic, and realized José was standing right beside him. Both men scanned the area. Where was Nikki? In the middle of the street, the once-beautiful float sat blazing, destroyed. Parade spectators had stopped running and were coming back toward the scene, staring in disbelief. Tony could hear emergency vehicles, probably the very ones that were in the parade, heading toward the scene. “Nikki!” he screamed, looking around frantically. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been running straight to the flaming disaster. “NIKKI! Where are you?”

He heard a horn blaring and turned to see Clayton standing on the running board of the truck, pointing to the other side of the street behind the float. Tony and José ran around the back of the blaze and were stunned and horrified by what they saw.

Cal, Nikki, and Peyton were squatted down beside Jeremy; the younger man’s arms were badly burned and he was twitching and shaking. Nikki and Cal were sooty; Nikki’s dress had what looked like burn marks across it. Tony sprinted to them. “Baby! Oh my god, are you okay?” he cried, looking her up and down.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. We need a blanket – he’s going into shock. Find something, please!”

Tony ran to the front of the trailer and caught Clayton’s eye. “Get a tarp!” he yelled, and he saw Clayton start to rummage around in the bed of the truck. Within a few seconds, Clayton stood by the six of them, unfolding a canvas tarp, a standard issue for all Walters Construction vehicles. Nikki tucked it around Jeremy, whose head was resting in her lap. While they stood waiting for help, Vic ran up, asking what he could do to help, his face anxious and drawn.

It seemed to take forever for EMTs to reach them. One of the ambulances in the parade made it to them first, and they loaded Jeremy in and took off. Two fire trucks fought their way through the crowd and traffic but, by the time they reached the scene, the float was almost completely destroyed, the tires melted and the decking collapsing, so they secured the area and just let it burn. Police officers swarmed in, keeping spectators back and trying to talk to everyone involved.

Detective Ford found the little group standing on the sidewalk. “Oh, for the love of god, not you guys again,” he moaned, shaking his head sympathetically. “Is everybody okay?”

“No!” Tony shouted, his face a mask of fury. “One of my employees is on the way to the hospital with serious burns. I think it’s time you guys took this seriously and got us some help. It’s a miracle no one was killed.” Vic reached over and put a hand on Tony’s shoulder again to try to calm him down and was surprised to find his cousin shaking.

Detective Ford glared at him defensively. “Mr. Walters, we’ve
been
taking this seriously, but we haven’t been able to get any leads. I understand your own hired gun hasn’t been any more successful than we have. So know we’re doing our absolute best, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Sorry. I’m just so damn frustrated.” Tony shook his head, his hands on his hips.

Detective Ford pressed on. “So, can anybody tell me anything?”

Before anyone else could speak, Nikki blurted out, “It was a flare gun.” The entire group turned to stare at her. “Well, it was,” she repeated sternly. “I saw the flash.”

Tony couldn’t believe it. “Are you kidding? From where?”

“From up there.” She pointed at a three-story parking garage in the same block as the grandstand. “It was up high, so it must’ve come from at least the second floor. You were talking to some guy behind us,” she said to Tony. “I turned to see who it was – I didn’t know him – and I saw something streak across the sky above the crowd. And then – BOOM! – the fire started.”

“Okay, ma’am, take me to where you were standing when you saw this and explain to me what you saw,” Detective Ford told her. They both turned to go back to where she had been when the fire started.

“I’m not leaving her,” Vic announced, looking toward Nikki, and Tony nodded. Vic took off, following Nikki and the detective.

Tony watched them walk away, then turned to Clayton. “Get a wrecker on its way here. As soon as the fire marshal is done with the investigation, we need to get this trailer out of here and out of the way. Take it to the shop and drop it. And take Cal to his truck.” Clayton nodded. “I’ve got to get to the hospital and check on Jeremy.”

“You okay, Tony?” José asked. Peyton walked up on Tony’s other side and looked him up and down just as he had Nikki.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This is insane, just insane. If we don’t find these people pretty soon, somebody’s going to be killed. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

José put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll eventually find them.”

“I know. I appreciate you guys – Laura too. You’re doing a good job of keeping us safe. Clayton’s detail too.” He clapped José on the back. “I’m grateful, really. Now I’ve got to go and talk to Nikki; I’ve got to tell her I’m going to the hospital to check on Jeremy. I want one of you to stay with her until she’s done and bring her to me, or have Vic bring her.” Tony crossed the street, heading toward the detective and Nikki, as José and Peyton stood watching him go.

José turned to Peyton. “You realize they’re in a lot more danger than we thought, right?”

“Yeah. It’s gonna take everything we have to keep them both alive.” Peyton took a deep breath and sighed. This was going to be one tough assignment, and he hoped they were up to the challenge.