The Wreck Page 18

  Dealing with a new flood of tears, Carly nodded.

  “Well, I knew this ring was coming to me when I was ready to get married, and I’d planned to give it to you the next day. Then everything happened, and I never got around to it. I regretted that, Carly. After all, we were engaged. I spent a lot of time after I left wondering if I’d given you the ring and made it official, if we might’ve somehow found a way to stay together.”

  “Why didn’t you give it to Beth?” she asked softly.

  He shook his head. “The only person I ever could’ve given it to is you.” Reaching for her left hand, he said, “Will you marry me, Carly? Will you make my life complete by spending the rest of your life where you should’ve been all along? With me?”

  “Do you even have to ask?” she whispered.

  He slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you, and I’m sorry it took me so long to come home to you.”

  “All that matters now is you did and nothing has changed between us.” She raised her hand to take a better look at the ring. “It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you.”

  “I want to get married as soon as we can.”

  Surprised, Carly glanced up at him.

  “What kind of wedding do you want?” he asked.

  “Something small. Is that all right with you?”

  He snorted with laughter. “I couldn’t care less how we do it, as long as we do it—and very, very soon. I’ve lived long enough without you. Are you going to be okay with not getting married in church? They’ll frown on a two-time divorcee.”

  “Father Joe might make an exception for us.”

  “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, honey.”

  “Maybe we can do something in my parents’ backyard and ask Father Joe if he would marry us. If we’re not in church, it might not be an issue.”

  He tightened his hold on her. “I can’t believe we’re in bed together talking about getting married. I used to spend tremendous amounts of time imagining us just like this. I hope you won’t mind if I keep you in bed for most of the first year we’re married.”

  She laughed. “Just the first year?”

  “I’ll have to go back to work at some point so I can take care of you.”

  “I don’t know if I can live in New York, Brian.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “But your job—”

  “We can live in the burbs, and I’ll commute, or I’ll quit and do something else.” He shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

  “You love that job. I’d never ask you to quit.”

  “You didn’t, so don’t sweat it. I’ve had a bunch of offers since the Gooding trial. We can do anything we want. I’m ready to find something with more regular hours, so I can spend most of my time with you. And the baby.” He ran a hand over her flat belly. “What will we name him? Or her?”

  “You don’t already know?”

  “Should I?”

  She nodded.

  “Hmmm. I’m stumped.”

  “We’ll name him—or her—Sam.”

  “Carly,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to hers. “My parents would love that. Thank you.” He noticed the new tears in her eyes. “Hey! What’s this?”

  “I’m just…”

  “What?”

  “Happy.”

  Pulling her to him, he held her as tight as he could. “Good. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”

  “And scared. We’re so close to having everything we’ve ever wanted. I’m afraid he’ll find a way to take you away from me again.”

  “I’m won’t let him touch us, Carly. I promise you that.” He poured all his love for her into a kiss that left them both breathless. “Guess what I discovered out there in the world?”

  Amused by his expression, she said, “What’s that?”

  He kissed her neck until she trembled with desire. “There’re tons of ways to make love. We’ve only scratched the surface.” He kissed his way down to her belly and dipped his tongue into her belly button.

  She clutched handfuls of his hair. “Brian!”

  Laughing softly, he said, “I’d forgotten about your hang-ups. We’ll have to get you over that—and fast. I’ve got lots of stuff to show you.”

  “Oh, God,” she groaned.

  On their way back to Granville late on Saturday, they called Brian’s parents and Carly’s sisters, requesting everyone meet them at Carly’s parents’ house.

  “Did you ask her?” Mary Ann said breathlessly.

  “I’m not saying a word,” Brian replied with a wink for Carly.

  “That’s not nice!” Mary Ann complained.

  “See you at seven thirty,” Brian said, smiling as he ended the call.

  “She knows,” Carly said.

  “She thinks she knows.”

  “She gave you the ring,” Carly reminded him.

  “I told her not to get her hopes up and not to tell my dad about the ring, just in case.”

  “In case of what?”

  “In case you said no.”

  Startled, Carly spun around in her seat to stare at him. “Did you really think that was a possibility?”

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you felt about me being married before. And I was afraid I might be hitting you with too much too soon.” Pausing, he added, “If I am, you know, going too fast for you, it’s okay to say so.”

  She held his hand between hers. “You’re not, Bri,” she said. “I want everything right now, too. I feel like my life has been on hold for fifteen years, and now that it’s finally moving forward again, I don’t want to waste a minute of it.”

  He squeezed her hand. “In that case, how about Labor Day weekend?”

  “That’s in three weeks!”

  “That long?”

  “We can’t get a wedding together in three weeks!”

  “Sure we can. I’ve got nothing but time right now since I’m not working. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  “I know you’re quite experienced with planning weddings—”

  “Watch it,” he said in a teasing growl.

  She giggled. “But you’re still a guy, and no woman in her right mind would trust her one and only wedding to a guy.”

  “You’ll pay for that later.”

  “I’ll look forward to it,” she said with a saucy smile.

  “What do you say to quitting that job of yours so you won’t have to trust the wedding planning to a dreaded guy?”

  She shook her head. “Not until we’re married and figure out where we’re going to live and everything.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do. Molly has been so good to me.”

  “The right thing would be for you to take the next three weeks to enjoy every minute of planning your one and only wedding without any pesky distractions like a job. I’ll move in with you and pay for everything, so you can focus on the wedding.” He kissed her hand. “Let me do this for you, honey. Please?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “What’s there to think about?”

  “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Brian. Just let me have some time to get used to the idea that I’m not going it alone anymore.”

  “You’re not alone anymore.”

  “I know, and you’re very sweet to want to come in on your white horse and take care of me. But even if I do say yes to this plan of yours, I’d have to give Molly some notice.”

  “Fine. Tell her tomorrow you’re leaving at the end of the week.”

  “Brian.”

  As they crossed the line into Granville, Carly felt her tension return. Somewhere in this town she called home was a man who wanted to harm her for a transgression she could neither remember nor repair. Her worries about who he was and when he might strike again took something away from her happiness, and that made her mad. Hadn’t he already taken enough from her? When would the debt be repaid?

  “Hey.” Brian rolled their joined ha
nds around on her leg. “What’s going on over there?”

  “He’s out there somewhere, waiting for us to come back. It’s like I can feel him watching me.”

  “Why don’t we go to New York until the wedding? There’s no need for you to live like this when I’ve got a place sitting empty in New York. Let’s get you out of here until they find him.”

  “What’s to say he won’t follow us there?”

  “He’d be out of his element in the city.”

  Carly thought about that as Brian rolled the car to a stop at a four-way intersection. “You can take Tucker Road,” she said. “There’s no sense going all the way around.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded, and he took a right.

  “So what do you think about New York?”

  Turning her head so she could see him, she said, “Would you think I’m a silly, sentimental girl if I said I want to be with my mother, my sisters, and my nieces before the wedding?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then we can stay here at least until the wedding?”

  “Only if you’ll consent to spending twenty-four hours a day with me.”

  “I don’t know if I could stand that,” she joked.

  He poked her ribs, and she was still laughing as they took the last curve before the accident site. Her laughter faded to a shriek when Brian slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a person standing in the road. The car fishtailed wildly for what felt like an endless second before stopping just a few feet from where Sam and their friends had died.

  In the time it took for Brian to regain control of the car, the man dashed into the thicket of trees that lined the road. Brian sprinted from the car and disappeared into the woods after him.

  “Brian!” Carly screamed. “Come back!”

  Fumbling around in her purse, she found her cell phone. With shaking hands, she dialed 911.

  Chapter 19

  Carol pressed a cup of hot tea into Carly’s cold hands. “I added a shot of whiskey to warm you up.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She took a tentative sip of the hot brew and felt the whiskey burn its way through the numbness. “Where’s Brian?”

  “In a huddle on the back deck with his father, Matt Collins, and the FBI agent, Nathan someone.”

  “Barclay,” Carly said as she took another sip of tea. “Nathan Barclay. Is Brian still bleeding?”

  She nodded. “His mother’s after him to have it looked at, but he’s keeping the towel on it and brushing off her attempts to hover.”

  “We were coming to tell you we’re engaged.” Carly’s eyes filled, and she blinked back the tears. She refused to give in to the overwhelming desire to weep. “We just wanted to tell you.”

  Carol took hold of Carly’s left hand. “Your ring is beautiful, honey. You must be thrilled.”

  “I’m so far beyond thrilled, I don’t even know what the word is,” Carly admitted. “He wants to do it in three weeks. Do you think we can get it together that fast? Nothing fancy, just something small.”

  “Of course we can.” Carol eased her daughter’s head onto her shoulder and stroked a loving hand over Carly’s hair.

  “Did Cate and Caren leave?”

  Carol nodded. “They took the kids home to bed.”

  “Where was Zoë?”

  “A group of her friends got together to spend the night at someone’s house. They figured they’d do better together than they were doing alone.”

  “Cate took her there, right?” Carly raised her head to look at her mother. “You’re sure she’s safe?”

  “Of course, honey. Don’t worry.”

  Carly put down the teacup and stood. “I need to see Brian.” With an odd feeling of detachment, she walked through her parents’ house, aware of worried glances from her father and Brian’s mother, who were talking quietly at the kitchen table.

  She slid open the screen door and stepped onto the deck.

  “There’s no way,” Brian was saying. His back was to her, but she could see him dabbing at his face with a paper towel. A branch had caught him just under the eye, cutting open his cheek. One glimpse at his bloody, furious, frustrated face emerging from the woods after an interminable wait had caused Carly to faint in the road next to his mother’s convertible. A day that had begun with such promise had ended with fear and pain. “You are not using her as bait. I don’t want to hear another word about that, Dad. Think of something else.”

  “I’ll do it,” Carly said, startling them.

  Dropping his hand from his face, Brian spun around.

  She winced at the angry cut beneath his eye, which had swollen shut. That he had come so close to losing his eye… A quarter of an inch higher and he would be in the hospital.

  He reached out to her. “Are you all right, honey?”

  “You want to use me to lure him out of hiding,” she said to Michael as she took Brian’s hand. “I’ll do it.”

  “The hell you will!” Brian said. “No fucking way!”

  “It’s me he’s after,” Carly argued. “Let me do this before he hurts someone else.”

  Brian’s angry outburst had caused the wound to reopen. “It’s not an option,” he said, wiping the fresh blood from his face.

  Carly took the paper towel and gently tended to him. “This seems to have begun with me, so doesn’t it seem fitting it should end with me, too?”

  “No, it does not seem fitting. It seems stupid and risky. Call me crazy for not wanting to dangle my fiancée in front of a psychopath.”

  “Your fiancée?” Michael asked, the delight all but radiating from him.

  “That’s what we were coming to tell you,” Brian mumbled.

  Michael put his arms around them both and simply held them.

  Nathan Barclay cleared his throat. “Well, it seems you all have other fish to fry tonight. We can discuss this in the morning.” To Brian, he added, “Get that looked at. You might need stitches.”

  After congratulating Brian and Carly, Matt left, too.

  “I found a couple of butterfly bandages,” Carol said.

  “Let’s see if we can get one on without getting too close to your eye.” Mary Ann took Brian by the hand to lead him inside. “Come in here under the light.”

  Carly watched Brian work at standing still while his mother fussed with the bandage.

  “There,” Mary Ann said. “That ought to do it. If it’s still bleeding in an hour, I’m taking you in.”

  “I don’t have to do what you tell me anymore,” he reminded her in a teasing tone.

  “Where’d you get that misguided idea?”

  The others laughed, and the tension that had filled the air suddenly lifted.

  “What we need is some champagne,” Steve Holbrook declared. He rummaged around in a kitchen cabinet, returning a moment later with a bottle he held up with a smile. “The good stuff left over from my retirement party. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion, and I can’t think of one more special than this.”

  He popped the cork and poured it into the glasses Carol had gotten out. When everyone had one, Steve raised his glass. “To Brian and Carly, may your future be bright and full of all the happiness you so richly deserve. Congratulations.”

  “Hear, hear,” Michael said, touching his glass to Mary Ann’s.

  After they polished off the first bottle, Steve went looking for another.

  As she listened to their mothers discuss what needed to be done to throw together a wedding in three weeks, Carly began to believe for the first time that it might actually be possible. Caught up in their excitement, she almost didn’t notice when Michael stepped out on the deck.

  He rested his hands on the rail and hung his head, rolling it back and forth in an effort to relieve some of the tension that had gathered at the base of his neck. Better there, he had discovered, than in his chest.

  “Dad?”

  Turning, Michael could have swooned once again with relief at the sight of his boy, even with the
nasty cut on his face. He was safe, he was alive, and that was all that mattered to Michael. When he considered what could have happened earlier, in the very same place as before… It didn’t bear thinking about.

  “How’s the cut, son?”

  “Hurts like a bastard.”

  “Maybe you should get to the E.R. You’ll have a scar if it doesn’t heal right.”

  “A scar would add to my rakish good looks.”

  Michael smiled. “What kind of B.S. has that lady of yours been filling your head with?”

  “The very best kind,” Brian said. “The kind I somehow managed to live without for far too long.”

  “I’m happy for you, Bri. You can’t know just how happy.”

  “Then what’re you doing out here by yourself when there’s a wedding to be planned?”

  “I’ll leave that to the ladies.”

  Brian snickered. “I’m told I have no place in the process.”

  “You know what I did for my wedding?” Michael asked, resting back against the rail.

  “What’s that?”

  “Got married.”

  Brian laughed. “Sounds like the wisest course of action.” A moment of quiet passed between them before Brian said, “Why didn’t you collapse or do something equally dramatic to force me home sooner?”

  “Because it wouldn’t have been time.”

  “You could’ve saved me—hell, all of us—a lot of aggravation if you’d come up with something, anything, to get me back with her again.”

  “You wouldn’t have wanted to hear it, especially from your old man, even if he’s all-knowing and filled with wisdom.”

  Amused, Brian said, “You’ll be my best man again, won’t you?”

  The burst of pleasure in the midst of mayhem surprised Michael. “Of course,” he said, touched to be asked and at the same time oddly saddened, as he’d been twice before, to know there was no one else his son could ask. “We should have it down to a science by now.”

  Brian hooted with laughter. “You had to say that, didn’t you?”

  Michael shrugged. “In this case, the third time will definitely be the charm.”