Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3 (30 page)

              Her mind began to wander, and it was all she could do to keep from turning around. She decided to request visuals from Christian, who was in the back of the room, so she could try to keep an eye on Amanda in case she tried to bolt. Once she got them, she felt better; at least now she could appear to be giving her full attention to her boyfriend, who was becoming emotional as he began to wrap up his remarks. He concluded by saying that Elliott would have gladly given up his own chance at happiness if he thought someone he cared about would benefit from his sacrifice--and though not everyone knew precisely what he was referring to, Cadence certainly did--and she couldn't help but feel another wave of sadness at the thought.

              As Aaron made his way back to sit beside her, she gave him a reassuring smile, and began to focus on the reverend again. Once it became apparent that the ceremony was just about over, however, Cadence realized that the red-headed woman was gathering up her purse. She was certain Aaron had no idea what was going on--even though he always seemed to know everything; this situation had to be off of his radar. Cadence had to make a decision. As the reverend asked everyone to bow their heads one last time as he went to the Lord, the woman Cadence believed to be Amanda Keen stood and made her way to the nearest exit. With only a second's hesitation, Cadence bolted as well, hoping that if anyone noticed, they would think she was just overcome with emotion.

              She lost track of her as soon as she was out of Christian's view, and since the red-head was closer to the back of the chapel, and therefore, the parking lot, she almost lost her completely. It wasn't until she heard the car start that Cadence realized where she was. She sprinted to the edge of the parking lot, grabbing the door of the Toyota Camry as the lady threw it into reverse. Cadence was strong enough to make the car jolt a bit, and even though she was glancing over her shoulder in preparation to back out, she noticed the lurch and turned back, shocked to see the brunette physically retaining her car.

Cadence banged on the window with her free hand, the one that wasn't tugging on the frame of the car near the top of the driver’s side door. There was certainly some hesitation before the woman rolled the window down just a crack. Cadence took advantage. "I'm so sorry to bother you, ma’am," she said over the sound of the engine, "but can I speak to you for just a moment?"

              Again, there was some trepidation, but the driver slid the shifter into park, and rolled down the window just a fraction of an inch more. "I need to go," she said, clearly uncomfortable.

"I am so sorry to keep you," Cadence replied. "But, you're Amanda, aren't you?" she asked.

The expression on the woman's face confirmed Cadence's suspicion, though at first Cadence thought she might deny it. Eventually she said, "Look, I haven't seen or spoken to Elliott since 1997. I just came.... I don't know why I came."

              "But you did," Cadence reminded her. "You did come. And," she took a deep breath, "it would have meant so much to him."

              Amanda Keen nodded. "I've got to go," she repeated herself.

"Of course. I'm so sorry," Cadence said, letting go of the car. "Thank you," she said. Then, as Amanda started to roll up her window, she added, "He loved you, you know." If he hadn't had a chance to say it himself, she would say it for him.

              Amanda looked skeptical. But she didn't address the statement. Instead, she reversed the window just a bit and said, "I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend," before rolling the window up and pulling out of the parking spot.

Cadence let her go. She wasn't sure if Elliott would be proud of her, or if he would want to throw something at her, but either way, she had done everything she could. Amanda would have some things to think about, perhaps, but at least she knew the truth. And hopefully, eventually, she would be able to handle it.

              The sounds of other cars leaving the parking lot and footsteps on concrete made her realize the service was over. She turned to see Aaron a few steps away from her, his hands deep in the pockets of his black suit pants. She couldn't tell by his expression if he had any idea what was going on or not, but she was sure her sister must be worried sick.

              "I'm sorry," she started. "I had to catch her."

              "Amanda?" he asked as she stepped over, stopping in front of him.

              "Yes. She came. Can you believe it?"

While he hadn't looked particularly confused before, he did now, and Cadence realized he had no idea why this was so important to her. He simply said, "I'm glad you were able to speak to her."

              She opened her palms, indicating that she wanted his hands, which he gave to her, and looking him in the eyes, their piercing blueness finally back in all their splendor, she said, "He loved her. And he wouldn't tell her--for whatever reason. I think he didn't know how to balance his job with a relationship with a human, so he just let her go. It's horribly romantic and sad at the same time. But now she knows."

He stared at her for a moment, his expression flickering between skepticism, perplexity, and infatuation, before wrapping his arms around her, still standing in the parking lot, and saying, "Cadence, you see people much differently than I see them. Elliott was my best friend for decades, but I think you knew him more intimately than I ever did. You never cease to amaze me."

              "Thank you," she smiled as he leaned in to kiss her, despite the passersby. Once he released her, she said, "I need to find Cass. She's probably wondering where I went."

"She's fine," he assured her, turning and taking her hand. "Walk with me."

              Now it was Cadence's turn to be confused. "Where are we going?" she asked, letting him lead her.

              "This way," he replied, not elucidating any information.

              The compound had a series of connecting pathways that wound around the buildings and through much of the open spaces, sort of like a jogging path. He began to lead her in the general direction of one of the park-like areas, where there was a fountain and plenty of trees. It was rather hot outside but since neither of them reacted to the weather the same way that humans did, it made little difference, despite their black clothing, and she continued to walk along with him in silence, all the while wondering where they could possibly be going.

              After a few minutes, they reached the largest of the fountains that decorated a vast green area near the back of the property. It was a simple design, an immense bowl with the statue of a little girl protruding from the middle, a sweet grin on her face, standing on a pillar topped with clouds, pouring out the contents of a watering can into the basin below. Cadence had never really paid any attention to it before, but now that she was standing next to it, she wondered what, if anything, it was supposed to represent.

              "This is Aarolyn," he explained, gesturing at the cherub faced child. "Elliott designed this fountain for me several years ago as a birthday present. He commissioned the sculpture and everything."

              Cadence looked up in wonder, putting the pieces together. "She's your little girl?" she asked, noticing that, despite the fact that her face was made of concrete, she looked a lot like Aaron.

              "Yes," he said quietly. "He said she would serve as a reminder that, even though sometimes rain may fall, there was always someone looking down on me, watching over."

"But I didn't think Elliott knew..." she began, confused.

"He didn't. I mean, he didn't know everything. He didn't know I killed my wife and my unborn child. In forty some years, I never found a reason or a way to share that story with him. But he knew I had lost a little girl. When he asked me what her name was, I told him the name her mother had picked out for her," he explained.

"She wanted to name her after you," Cadence replied, nodding.

              "Yes, and Elliott wanted me to have a way to remember her," he confirmed, releasing her hand but only so he could slip his arm around her waist as they continued to glance up at the small child gleefully making it rain.

              After a few moments, Cadence said, "Well, you certainly can't say he wasn't thoughtful." She turned to Aaron and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for bringing me here," she said quietly.

              "Cadence," he said, turning to face her and pulling her around so that he had both of her hands again, "I've given enough speeches for one day, and I don't even begin to know how to express to you how much you mean to me."

              She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but his expression made her realize he wasn't done, so she closed it and continued to listen.

              "I've been alive for a long time, and thanks to you, I'll be alive a lot longer. In all of that time, I've never met anyone I cared about half as much as I care about you. I can honestly say that--with no exceptions. I've tried being without you, and it doesn't work. You and I are meant to be together; I am certain of that now. I guess, what I'm trying to say is..."

              Cadence's eyes widened as he let go of her right hand, and dropping on one knee, produced a small black box out of his pocket. "Will you marry me?"

              "Oh, my God! Oh, my God. OH, MY GOD!" She wasn't exactly sure how many times she repeated the statement before she realized she hadn't said yes. Frantically nodding, she finally managed to say, "Yes, of course!"

              He slipped the ring on her finger, as she pulled him up and threw herself at him, kissing him in the process. "I love you," he managed to get out before she kissed him again.

              "I love you, too," she said, finally looking at the ring while simultaneously jumping up and down. "I can't believe you... I had no idea..."

              He said nothing, just grinned at her, as she continued to stare at the ring on her hand.

              After a few moments, Cadence began to regain her composure, and a few thoughts occurred to her. "That's why my dad was crying!" she said, hitting him in the shoulder a littler harder than she intended to.

              "Careful there," he warned her. "You can do whatever you want to, to me, but take it easy on the ring."

"It's huge," she mumbled before remembering her other revelation. "And is that where you went this morning?"

              "Yes," he admitted. "That's a fine jewelry store across from the donut shop on Shenandoah's main drag."

              "Apparently," she agreed, looking at the size of the ring again. It had to be at least four carats. She wouldn't have cared if he had given her a cubic zirconium, though. However, the more she thought about it, the more unsure of herself she became before she actually asked him, "Are you sure about this? You didn't have a lot of time to think about it."

"I didn't?" he asked shocked at her question. "Like, I don't know, five years or something?"

              "I mean, since we got back together," she explained, stepping forward and grabbing ahold of his bicep, admiring how nice her ring looked in the process.

              "Believe me, I had plenty of time to think about it," he assured her, wrapping her in his arms again. "Did you?"

              "Oh, yes," she replied without hesitation. "The whole time you were dead it was all I could think about." The sarcasm was there, but the ring of truth was certainly present as well.

He snickered at her before leaning in, pausing a few millimeters from her lips. With the utmost sincerity, he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she responded before accepting his passionate kiss, the truth of her words evident in her response.

              By the time they returned to the chapel, many of the attendees had cleared out, leaving just the core members of the LIGHTS team, Cadence's family, and Meaghan's parents who had also come to be with their daughter during this traumatic time. "Where did everyone go?" Cadence asked, wondering if they had really been gone that long.

              "We are having a light luncheon at the main building in a few minutes," Hannah explained as she approached. "Everything all right?"

              "Yes, fine. Why?" Cadence asked as Aaron patted her gently on the back and then went over to talk to Jamie, Shane, and Christian.

              Hannah shrugged. "You took off out of her so quickly I just wondered if... Oh, my goodness, Cadence! What's that on your hand?"

              By the time Hannah noticed, Cadence's family had already approached, her mom and dad with gushing smiles on their faces, Cassidy a bit bewildered. "Oh," Cadence beamed, "this?" and held her hand up for both Hannah and her mother to see.

"Oh, my! It's beautiful!" Liz Findley exclaimed. "Princess cut in a cathedral setting? Very nice."

              "It's huge!" Cassidy cried, peering over her mother's shoulder.

"Well, congratulations!" Hannah said, stepping forward and hugging her.

              "Thank you," Cadence replied, humbly. Her mother and sister hugged her as well. She glanced at her father who was smiling proudly, his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on forth. She also looked over at Aaron who appeared as if he would just as soon avoid all of the attention, but the rest of the team looked at him and then at Cadence, perplexed, before stepping over to see what all of the fuss was about.