Secrets & Surrender 3 (9 page)

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but what is that?” Cassie pointed at my three-foot friend.

“This is Leonardo.” I grinned, placing the turtle on the ground.

“Uh, okay?” She gave me a blank look.

“Oh my God, Cassie,” Mandi said. “How can you not know? It’s Leonardo from the mutant turtle cartoon characters.”

I glanced over at Juan as Mandi and Cassie chatted. He sat on one of the picnic tables with a scowl on his face. When his eyes met mine, he smiled. I gave him a quick nod. I never thought there’d be a time when Juan would ever accept me into his life. I guess taking a bullet for him had its benefits. The day after I’d woken up in the hospital, Mandi had dragged him into my room. She’d wanted to stay to make sure that he apologized, but I managed her to get her to leave by telling her I was craving pizza, which had been true. Hospital food just didn’t cut it.

When we were alone, Juan had apologized profusely. I told him, I understood. If it had been my family, I probably would’ve done something desperate to get my mother back too. I felt bad enough that Tony had been let go and even worse when I heard that Juan had been grounded for the rest of his life and a part of his afterlife. I didn’t want Juan to think I had any ill will toward him. He needed a friend now, especially since Mandi had told me Julian was never going to step foot inside their home again.

“Nic, hon, turn on some music before you hang the piñata,” Mandi said. “Dad, will you help Nic? Where’s the rope?”

“Sure.” I dug into the box of supplies sitting on the picnic table and grinned when I found an old cassette tape. I thought I’d lost that old tape. I stuck it in the jambox and turned it on.

“Nic, what the hell is that?” Mandi whirled around at the familiar sound of Barry Manilow singing “Mandy.”

“Ah, the memories.” I winked.

The moment our eyes locked, we were alone. The music filtered out of the speakers as I remembered the night I sang outside her window and those dark, beautiful eyes filled with wonder as they watched me speak to her parents in Spanish. And then there was that exquisite moment when she threw herself into my arms, kissing me.

I winced slightly as the wound on my chest throbbed. Furrowing her brow, her eyes drifted down, watching as I rubbed the spot. When she looked up, I gave her a wide smile, letting her know I was okay.

Cassie caught us and kept looking at Mandi and me with a questioning look in her eyes. We had agreed to keep this incident to ourselves for now. She wasn’t ready to tell Cassie what had happened.

J.D. started to cry, and Mandi’s mother bounced him on her leg, trying to soothe him.

“Where’s the love?” I tapped his cute button nose. He looked just like Cody. I wondered what our kids would look like. “Alright, alright. I’ll change the station.”

“Holy crap! I can’t believe my eyes. Look who’s driving up.” Mandi’s eyes widened as two sheriff’s patrol cars slowly rolled up the driveway.

Seeing Cody, now Deputy Wilde, was a trip. The dude must’ve been working out or something because his biceps were massive. He sure didn’t look like the same kid who had dove into the river to save my sorry ass our senior year in high school. He was, as Mandi would say, totally buff in his deputy uniform.

Sheriff Baker losing his re-election to Cody’s uncle was big news in Koppe. Father was devastated by the loss, probably because he had to kiss the thousands of dollars he’d invested in Baker’s campaign goodbye. Marcellis never lose and Father had lost big time with that one. Cody being offered a deputy position was also another shocker to Father. It hadn’t surprised me. Cody had gained the respect of the people in Koppe once they’d seen Sheriff Baker’s true colors. The community would never forgive what Baker’s sons had done to Cassie and how he had tried to cover it up.

“Hey, Nic, Mandi,” Cody said as he approached us.

“Well, hello, Deputy Wilde, you can give me a full body search anytime,” Mandi drawled. I laughed as she batted her lashes with exaggeration. She was just too funny.

“Mandi!” Cassie’s eyes darted from one side to the other to see if anyone else had heard.

“What? It’s his job, isn’t it?” She winked.

“Hey, Cody. You have to let me borrow the uniform sometime,” I said.

“And the handcuffs. Don’t forget the handcuffs,” Mandi added.

I laughed as I threw the rope over a tree branch. On second thought, Cody just might let me use those things if I told him about my plans for tonight.

As I attached the piñata to the rope, the music on the radio shifted to some country song. Mandi groaned, wondering aloud if Koppe was ever going to have any decent radio stations. I was about to change the station when I caught sight of Cody dancing with Cassie. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They looked so much in love as they swayed together with his hand on her tiny waist and her doe-like eyes shining as they looked into his. It was hard to imagine everything that they had gone through. And now they had their life together with their son and even the house with the white picket fence. I couldn’t think of two nicer people who deserved the happily ever after that they had gotten.

And tonight, Mandi and I would have our happily ever after too.

“I
can’t believe Cody actually let you borrow his handcuffs.” Sitting in the backseat of Nic’s beamer, I squirmed in an attempt to get comfortable, which was hard to do with cold steel limiting my movements. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m into trying something new and kinky, but don’t you think the blindfold is a bit much? I can’t see anything.” I titled my head back, trying to get a peek. I had no clue where he was taking me.

“That’s the point.” He chuckled.

I should’ve known he was up to no good when, throughout the entire party, Cassie kept giggling and whispering in Cody’s ear and Cody eyeballed Nic and me with a shy smile. I could tell they were keeping something from me. Cassie, that rat, wouldn’t tell me anything no matter how much I nagged her. My suspicions were confirmed when she asked me to help her with the dishes. Home fry knew I hated doing the dishes.

Then, in the middle of washing one of J.D.’s bottles, there was a squeal of high-pitched giggles and a low snicker. I was attacked by Nic’s kisses on the back of my neck as he tied a blindfold over my eyes, followed by Cody’s voice mumbling in that country twang of his, “Nic made me do it. Don’t kill me,” when he slapped the cuffs on my wrists.

I slid across the back seat as I felt the car make a turn. The car started to bounce, and I could hear tires crunching gravel and what sounded like tree branches hitting against the window.

“Are we there yet?”

“Yep.” The car rolled to a stop, and I immediately searched for the door handle. “Wait a sec. I’ll get you.”

I heard a scuffling and the trunk of the car opening. Then my car door opened, and a warm hand touched mine. “Come on.”

“Can I at least take the blindfold off?” There was a sound of rushing water, and I smiled, suspecting where we might be.

“One more minute.” He left my side for a moment. Then he was behind me. I could feel his excitement as his hand caressed my shoulders.

“Are you ready?” His hot breath lapped at my neck, making me shiver in anticipation.

“Yes,” I breathed.

He whipped off the blindfold, and I gasped. Sitting smack dab on the Koppe riverbank was an elaborate table setting for two. Everything was beautiful, from the candles and sterling silver dish covers to the white linen tablecloth. A bottle of chilled champagne sat off to one side of the table in a silver ice bucket. In the middle of the table was a vase filled with Texas wildflowers.

Tears pricked my eyes as I took it all in and realized this was the exact same spot where I’d first kissed him. More accurately, it was the same spot where he made me think he had drowned and I’d tried to save him. Memories flooded my mind: his sexy grin in Mr. Bonehead’s class, the argument during our first date at the drive-in, prom night...every single memory of being with him was seared into my very soul, and I vowed never to forget them or this night.

“This is so beautiful. How did you do all this?”

“Oh, I had a little help from some really good friends.”

“Hmm, I wonder who.” I nodded to the bluebonnets. “You know, it’s illegal to pick those in Texas. Cody’s gonna have to arrest you.”

“Well, that might be a problem, seeing that you have his handcuffs.” He tugged the cuffs, pulling me to him.

“Maybe I should give them back,” I whispered as he lowered his head. Smoldering eyes locked with mine, taking me in before ravishing my lips. Immediately, my legs felt like they’d gone up in flames.

“Okay, maybe not,” I said breathlessly after he pulled back.

“So what do you think?” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I stood on my tiptoes and placed my linked arms around his neck, resting them on his shoulders. “I think we should skip dinner and head straight for dessert.”

He chuckled, placing a kiss on the tip of my nose before ducking out of my grasp. “Not about that, you sex crazed woman. I meant the surprise.”

“I love it.” I gazed out, watching as the orange sun touched the river. The bridge loomed in the distance behind it. The sky was painted in hues of pink and violet. “I’ve never been here during the day. It’s so pretty.” I inhaled and smelled something delicious. “Oh my God! Is that...?” The handcuffs clinked as I lifted one of the silver domes. “Pizza!”

“Only the best for you. Now, I know better than to put anything between you and your junk food fetish.” He took my hands and unlocked the cuffs. “So we’ll just have to save these for later.” He winked.

“Oh my God, this is so good.” I sank my teeth into the hot, delicious, greasy cheese. Licking my fingers, I eyed the other silver cloche. “What’s under there?”

“A surprise for later.” He flicked a match and lit one of the candles.

“It’s later!” I lifted the dome to find a stack of pink confections. “Pink party cake! I haven’t had one of these in years.” I snatched the piece of square shaped cake sitting at the top of the heap.

“No! Wait, Mandi! Don’t eat it yet!” He said frantically as I bit into the cake, wondering what the big deal was. Then my teeth hit against a piece of metal.

“Ow! What the hell was that?”

“Spit!”

“What?”

“Don’t swallow. Spit!” He placed a hand under my mouth.

“Eww, are you insane?”

“Just do it.”

“Fine.” I spat a pink glob on his hand. “There. Happy?”

I reached for a napkin and wiped my mouth. “Why are you being so pushy? And what did you do to my cake. It tasted like—Holy macaroni!” I balked at the huge diamond ring in the middle of the puddle of pink goo, sitting on the palm of his hand.  

“That’s not the...is it?”

“Well, that went off well.” He laughed as he looked down at the ring. I followed closely behind him as he went down to the edge of the riverbank dunking the ring in the water. “I returned the one I’d planned to give you because this is the one I’d
wanted
to give you all along.”

He stood up, holding up the ring. The last rays of the sun hit against the diamond, displaying a rainbow of colors.

“I can’t take this. It’s so big. It must’ve cost you a fortune. I don’t need something this fancy.”

“And that’s why I love you.” He slipped the ring onto the third finger of my left hand and gazed at it for a moment before kissing my hand. His eyes drifted up to mine, and the love in them took my breath away. “You’d be happy if I’d given you a Ring Pop.”

“Because I could lick it and admire it at the same time.” I laughed and then placed my hand on his cheek, caressing it. He was so good to me. “Seriously, Nic, I don’t need something like this when I already have your heart.

“That’s why I’m giving this to you. This ring has been passed down for generations. Mother gave this to me when I got out of the hospital. She knows it belongs to the woman who has my heart, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”

Tears pricked my eyes as I thought of the significance of Nic’s mother giving him the ring.

“I was trying to create this big romantic evening and have you find the ring. I wanted this to be a moment that we’d never forget. I didn’t think you were going to eat it.”

“Oh, I’ll never forget this moment. That’s for sure.” I smiled, rubbing my jaw.

He pulled me into his arms. “You know, this was the spot that I knew I was falling in love with you.”

“It was the same for me too.”

“The moment when you said you watched
The Love Boat
and your lips touched mine, I knew you were the one for me.”

I splayed my fingers across his muscular chest, admiring the ring. “Yeah, but what you did was really stupid.”

“Mandi, I’d do stupid for you any day.”

“That’s sooo romantic. Really, Nic, my heart can’t take it anymore. Stop all the wooing.” I threw back my head, laughing. My Nic was back. Somehow, after all this time and all the struggles and hardships we’d gone through, he was still here, loving me.

Then he pulled out a ruby rhinestone bobby pin from his pocket.

“You still have it?” I asked as he reached for a wildflower. He swept my hair up and secured the flower into my hair with the pin.

“It’s never left my pocket. You’re always with me.”

“Oh, Nic.”

“Shhh.” He kissed my lips gently. “I always knew that somehow, someway, you were going to be in my life. You saved me that night when I jumped off the bridge. I was drowning in a life that wasn’t real. I even hid from my real self. You demanded the real me. You love the real me.”

He ducked under the table and took out a guitar. Pulling me back to the edge of the river, he sat me down. He strummed the guitar, testing and tuning it as he spoke.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I learned two things from Julian.”

“Ugh! Are you serious?”

“Yes. He taught me that our love could survive anything.”

I leaned over the guitar and kissed Nic. “Okay, that’s one. What’s the other?”

“This.”

My hand flew to my mouth as he played the first notes to our song. The same Phil Collins song we’d danced to at our prom. Hazel eyes held mine. His face and voice were raw with emotion as he sang.