With These Four Rings - Book Five: Wedding Bonus (Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls 5) (17 page)

“The morning weather is perfect in Granite Falls, Dr. LaCrosse. Since we are the only aircraft, we’ve already been cleared for landing. We should be touching down in about an hour, sir.”

As he glanced out the window of the jet to the range of mountains and bodies of water below, Erik’s heart skipped a beat at the anticipation of seeing his wife. He’d been gone for two weeks and he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms, kiss her, and make timeless love with her. Even five years after he first laid eyes on her, he still got as nervous as a schoolboy when he thought of seeing Michelle. He ached for her. He missed his family, and couldn’t wait to tell them that he was taking a break from humanitarian trips for a while.

He was absent for too many “first” milestones in his children’s lives. He’d left home one week, and when he’d returned Precious was wearing a training bra. His little girl had become a young woman while his back was turned. He’d missed her first day of Junior High, Little Erik’s first T-ball tournament, Tiffany’s first steps, and now Michelle had told him that Fiona said “Dada” for the first time two days after he left on this trip.

Erik finished his coffee, folded his arms across his chest, stretched his legs out in front of him, and closed his eyes. He loved the work he was doing, helping those less fortunate and making a difference in the lives of countless children around the globe, but in the meantime, he was sacrificing watching his own children grow and develop. When he was home, he made his family his priority, but it wasn’t enough, not for him, and not for them.

He knew Michelle worried sick about him whenever he was gone, but she would never tell him, because she was the most selfless person in the universe. His mission to help the needy mirrored hers. In fact his passion was deepened because of her. True, he was involved in humanitarian work with his free clinic in Manchester long before he met Michelle. But she opened his eyes to the possibilities of global humanitarian services. He wasn’t limited to Manchester, anymore. The Erik LaCrosse Doctors Abroad Foundation was global, and Erik attributed much of its success to his wife’s caring and loving character.

After he’d relinquished all the hurt pertaining to Cassie, Erik had gotten in touch with his old friend Clayton Monroe. Once they’d managed to put their past behind them, Clayton had gotten on board, and was working in some of the most remote places in Africa with the LaCrosse Foundation’s financial support. Michelle had taught Erik so much about forgiving, letting go, and moving on.

She understood his mission and he knew she tried to make up for his absences, but it wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t right. It was time he took a break from saving the world, and concentrated on his family before he lost them in the shuffle. This wedding they were planning couldn’t happen at a better time. He was recommitting himself, his time, and devotion to Michelle and his children. Videos and pictures weren’t enough anymore. He needed to see them grow and develop in real time. He needed to make his own memories.

“Would you like another cup of coffee before we begin making our first approach, Dr. LaCrosse?”

Erik opened his eyes to find the flight attendant standing beside him with a coffeepot in her hand.

“I’m fine, Susanna. Thanks for seeing to all my needs on the trip home.” He handed her his empty mug.

“You slept for most of the eight-hour flight, Dr. LaCrosse, as did I,” she admitted.

“Yes, and now I’m rested, showered, and hungry.” He emitted a hungry bear growl and grinned.

Susanna smiled. “I offered to make you breakfast, but you declined.”

“I’m saving my appetite for my family.”

“It’s always a pleasure, sir.” Susanna returned to the galley to shut down for landing.

Erik wasn’t expected home until tomorrow, so it would be a nice surprise when he walked into the kitchen to find his family having breakfast. They’d been early risers since Little Erik was a toddler. By the time Tiffany came along, they’d given up on sleeping in and had decided it was best to just get the day going—which meant he had to get up even earlier for his daily run or do it at the end of the day.

He wouldn’t be running today. After breakfast, he planned to spend the rest of the day in his bed with his wife beneath him. Warmth spread through his body as the sensational images formed in his mind.

His pleasing thoughts were interrupted by his ringing cell phone. He picked it up from the table beside his chair. It was Bryce. He raised it to his ear. “Hey, Bro.”

“Hey, Erik. Are you home yet?”

“Will be shortly.” He’d texted Bryce yesterday to let him know he was coming home a day early so he could set up a meeting tomorrow with the architect who was working on their honeymoon haven. “What’s up?” he asked detecting concern in Bryce’s voice. They’d known each long enough for one to know when something was bothering the other—even through a telephone line.

“Did you hear about the change in wedding planners?”

Erik took a moment to bring his seat back to an upright position and fasten his seatbelt as his pilot announced the first decent into Granite Falls Regional Airport. “No I haven’t. I’ve been in a South American jungle for two weeks. I guess Michelle didn’t want to waste time talking about such trivia during our few and far between video chat sessions. What happened to Fae?”

“She had an accident. Fell down her stairs, broke a leg and both arms. She’s in slings and a cast.”

“My God.”

“She’ll be fine. She just can’t finish planning the wedding.”

“Who’s the new planner?”

“Desire Summers.”

Erik closed his eyes briefly. He opened them as the jet made a turn and began cruising along one side of the Aiken River. On the other side, and far on a distant hill, the wind turbines on the Fonandt Energy Wind Farm lined the horizon, casting iridescent beams of the mesmerizing sunrise in every direction. It was good to be home. “How do you feel about that?” he finally asked Bryce in a cautious tone.

“How do you think I feel, Erik? I can’t have that woman planning my wedding.”

“Have you told that to your wife?”

“Not yet. I wanted to talk with you—you know since you had a similar situation with Cassie as I had with Pilar.”

Erik raked his fingers through his hair. There was no point tiptoeing around the subject. “You can’t punish Desire for Victoria’s crimes, Bryce. Don’t make the same mistake I made by punishing Michelle for something her father did.”

“It’s not the same thing. I’m not marrying Desire.”

“It’s the same concept. By not allowing Desire to plan our wedding, you’re punishing Kaya. Kaya had nothing to do with Pilar’s death, no more than Michelle had to do with Cassie’s. But in order to build a life with Michelle, I had to forgive her father.”

“That man was not Michelle’s biological father, Erik. You didn’t need to forgive him.”

“The devil is in the details, my friend. Timmy Gleason raised Michelle. For twenty-four years of her life, she thought he was her father. The hardship she endured at his hands helped mold her into the strong, sweet, forgiving woman she is—a woman who identifies with and advocates for children who’re suffering the same neglect and abuse she did. A woman who forgave me the greatest error of my life and showed me that even an imperfect ass like me can be loved. As horrible as it may sound, that awful man was responsible for bringing Michelle and me together. He was part of her life—the only father she ever knew. There comes a time when we just have to let go, and move on.”

“That’s easy for you to say. Timmy Gleason is dead and you don’t have to worry about running into him around the next corner. But every time I see a member of the Summers family, I remember the sound of the gunshot, the sound of Pilar’s body hitting the floor, and her dying in my arms, and I get angry all over again.”

“I understand, buddy. I used to hyperventilate each time I heard a car tire screech. But you’re going to have to decide if your anger is more important than your happiness. Michelle told me that the true test of forgiveness and moving on is when we have no feelings of resentment toward those who’ve wronged us.” Erik paused to send up a silent “thank you” as the jet touched down and began taxiing down the runway. “I never met Gleason, but I had to forgive him, not for his sake, but for mine, and my family. Desire didn’t kill Pilar, Bryce. Her sister did. Your anger is misdirected, just as mine was.”

“You sound like my wife.”

“Maybe you should listen to her.” Erik unfastened his seatbelt as the jet came to a stop and the pilot announced that it was safe to disembark. “I’m sure if our wives didn’t have their hearts set on Desire planning this wedding, they wouldn’t have begun this discourse. We are blessed to have these remarkable women with whom to share our lives and create beautiful families.”

“Yeah, I know. Our lives would be pathetic without them, especially where you and I are concerned. Neither one of us thought we’d ever be this happy again.”

“Exactly. So if we want to maintain the level of bliss we’ve had so far, we need to keep our wives happy. They say a mother is only as happy as her saddest child. I say a husband is only a fraction as happy as his wife. I don’t know about you, brother, but I like the fraction of happiness I have. My advice, Bryce, is that you find it in your heart to forgive, and let Desire plan our wedding, because if your wife isn’t happy, none of ours will be. I like my wife happy.”

“I guess I should have a talk with the Summerses, then.”

“You should. Not just because of the wedding, but for your emotional, mental, and physical health, as well. You’ll never experience ultimate joy in life until you eliminate your demons. Take it from someone who existed in a fool’s happy paradise for years until I found the real thing with Michelle.”

Bryce’s sigh of resolve echoed in Erik’s ear. “Look,” Erik said, vacating his seat and pointing out some bags to the skycaps who’d come aboard, “my jet has landed. We can chat some more about it when we get together with Adam and Mass tomorrow. I’ll be reuniting with my wife until then.”

Bryce laughed. “I hear you. I had my reunion last night, and this morning. Have fun.”

“I plan to. See you around.” Erik slipped his cell phone into his pocket, descended the steps of his jet, and hopped into a waiting limo.

Thirty-three minutes later, Erik stepped into the foyer of his home and instructed his surprised staff to keep his presence a secret. He was floating on a cloud as he strolled through the east wing hallway and headed for the kitchen where the delicious smell of blueberry pancakes hot maple syrup, bacon, and fried eggs whetted his palate.

As he got closer, voices and laughter drifted toward him—his parents among them. It was Thursday, and he supposed his parents had come to take Little Erik and Tiffany on their weekly grandparents/grandchildren excursion with Lillian and Henry, and since they were in town, Alessandro and Arabella, who’d adopted Aria as their granddaughter and included her in the excursions since she had no biological grandparents of her own.

It brought back memories of Erik’s fishing, hiking, and golfing trips with his paternal grandfather, along with Mass and Adam and their
noni
when they were kids. There weren’t any girls when he was growing up, but since this younger generation had more females than males, Lillian had started a traditional grandma/granddaughter day. It was nice to carry on old traditions and begin new ones, and it was the perfect day to come home since he and Michelle would be toddler-free for most of the day. Precious was old enough to take care of herself, and Fiona had her nanny and Grandma Hayes to see to her needs for a couple hours.

Erik ran into Mrs. Hayes around the corner from the kitchen. He silenced her with a finger to his lips, and after greeting her, he sent her on her way back to the kitchen. He grinned with anxiety and mischief as he watched and listened to his family.

“Why don’t you want to be called Little Erik, anymore?” Michelle asked their son.

“Because girls make fun of me. They say I’m small and tiny.”

“What girls?” Philippe placed his coffee mug out of Fiona’s reach, as she sat on his lap eating boiled egg yolks from a plate.

“Alyssa.”

“Well that’s just one girl.” Michelle ruffled his head of curly brown hair. “Other girls might not think you’re small and tiny. They might think you’re the biggest boy they’ve ever seen, and the handsomest, too.”

Erik was touched by his wife’s response.

“And Precious.” Little Erik pointed his fork at his sister who was sitting across the table from him.

“Precious, you make fun of your brother?” Felicia tossed Precious a mock look of disapproval. “Shame on you,” she said as she refilled Tiffany’s cup with orange juice.

Precious rolled her eyes. “I—I don’t make fun of him. I—”

“And Jason.” Little Erik was having a field day pointing out his accusers, even if they weren’t around to defend themselves.

“Jason’s not a girl,” Precious said pouring syrup over her pancakes and reaching for another helping of scrambled eggs.

Erik frowned at the “you should know” look Michelle tossed his daughter. A look that made her drop her gaze.
What had happened while he was away this time
?
What new milestone was he about to learn of
?

“Jason says I’m little,” Little Erik continued. “He won’t play with me. I’m not little. I’m big.” He dropped his fork, fisted his hand, and made a muscle. “I’m strong. I have muscles like Daddy.”