Eternal Vows (Hideaway (Kimani)) (21 page)

“Jaime told him I lived at Blackstone Farms. She didn’t know I’d moved here.”

“You better let Sheldon know that your crazy-ass ex just might turn up unexpectedly. And what about this afternoon’s surprise party?”

Peyton’s smile did not reach her eyes. They were cold, a frosty gray. “Everyone must have an official invitation. No invite, no entry.”

Lena rested a hand over her chest. “That’s a relief. Now, about you and your boss. What’s going on between the two of you?”

Peyton learned as a child never to lie to her mother because somehow she always knew when she wasn’t telling the truth. “I’m in love with him.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Too long.”

Lena settled back against the cushioned love seat. “We have at least an hour before we have to leave, so tell me about this incredible man that has my baby all lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.”

Peyton told her everything about Nicholas from their initial introduction to their current living arrangement. When her mother asked if she was happy, her response was one word:
very.

Lena’s cell phone rang and she answered it. “Yes, darling. I didn’t return your calls because I’ve been very busy. Of course I miss you. No, I don’t know when I’m coming back. Why don’t you take off a couple of days and come down and visit with your cousins. Really!” She winked at Peyton. “Are you certain you want to drive? It’s true we never had a real honeymoon, so spending a week in Virginia Beach sounds divine. Yes, darling. Don’t forget to call me before you leave. And Al, please stop and check into a hotel or motel if you get too tired. Yes, and I love you, too. Bye.”

Peyton gave her mother an incredulous stare. “When did you become a femme fatale?”

Lena’s eyes sparkled like Ceylon sapphires. “I was always one. It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve allowed her to come out.”

Peyton and Lena were still on the porch when Nicholas drove up with a horse trailer hitched to his car. His aunt had shipped the decanter and when Peyton opened the box it was even more spectacular than the photograph. Eugenia had offered to gift wrap it and when she returned the box with red wrapping paper and a black velvet bow she said she couldn’t resist using the colors of Blackstone Farms’ silks.

“Let’s go, Mama. We have a milestone birthday to celebrate.”

* * *

To say Sheldon was surprised to see the crowd that had gathered to celebrate his sixth decade of life was an understatement when he truly was at a loss for words. The committee had arranged for caterers to serve the sixty guests rather than have the farm chef and his assistants cook and miss out on the fun. They’d also arranged for a DJ to play nonstop music. Peyton and Kelly had gone over the playlist because they wanted music spanning genres. Buffet-style dining created a less formal atmosphere where guests and family members were able to mix and mingle under the large white tent.

Peyton had prepared herself for an assault when the triplets and Vivienne launched themselves at her, and soon she was falling to the ground under a tangle of arms and legs. She felt like Gulliver when the Lilliputians bound him, not permitting an escape.

“You’re going to have to let Auntie Peyton up so she can give each of you a kiss.” One by one they got up, stood in line like soldiers and she hugged and kissed each.

Nicholas stood motionless, stunned when he saw Peyton rolling on the grass in a white silk blouse and taupe linen slacks. Wisps had escaped what had been a wealth of neatly coiled hair on the nape of her neck. She kicked her legs like the children who smothered her face with kisses.

He was in love with her and he wanted her in his life and in his future.

Jeremy approached him, smiling. He offered his hand. “Thank you for coming.”

Nicholas shook the proffered hand. “I wouldn’t have missed this.”

“Pop is truly beside himself. He can’t believe you gave him an Arabian.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Nicholas angled his head. “I can’t take credit for it. Peyton suggested I give him the colt.”

Jeremy studied his cousin. “She’s something else, isn’t she?” He gave Nicholas a sidelong glance. “I guess you know that now.”

“I’m in love with her.”

Jeremy’s hand slapped Nicholas’s back. “Hey, man. Everyone knows that. What took you so long to finally admit it?”

“I don’t know.”

“So, when’s the big day?”

Lowering his arms, Nicholas shook his head. “There’s no big day. Not yet. I have to tell Peyton that I love her.”

“And if she tells you that she loves you?”

“Then I’ll ask her to marry me.”

“Long or short engagement?” Jeremy asked.

Nicholas chuckled. “Very short. I suppose she’d want to marry here, but then we’ll just have to do it again in West Palm Beach on New Year’s Eve. Of course all of the Blackstones are invited. I’ll make arrangements to fly everyone down and back and also put you guys up in hotels.”

“Sweet!”

“You guys do all right, but you haven’t partied until you attend a Cole function.”

Jeremy snorted. “Bragging, Lieutenant Commander Thomas?”

“You betcha, Sergeant Blackstone.” Inky-black orbs met and held a stormy gray pair. “Would you do me the honor of standing in as my best man if she does say yes?”

Whistling softly, Jeremy rocked back on his heels. “Hell, yeah! Now you better ratchet up the mojo if you want to tie the knot by the end of the year.”

Nicholas didn’t want to interrupt Peyton’s time with her little cousins so he headed for the tent to get some water. There was a nip of fall in the air during the morning hours but by afternoon the temperatures were in the upper 70s. The weather had cooperated for Sheldon’s birthday and he hoped it would hold off for the walk he intended to take later on that night when he revealed to Peyton what lay in his heart.

Chapter 18

“D
o you know how long it took for me to track you down?”

Peyton’s blood ran ice-cold in her veins when she recognized the voice at her ear. How was he able to evade security? How long had he been there? She’d gone into the smaller tent to get some lemonade and she had no way of knowing Reginald was waiting for her.

“How did you get in here?”

“Turn around and you’ll see.”

When she did turn it was to see her ex-husband in the same uniform worn by the waitstaff. If she was shocked that he’d located her, Peyton was more shocked by his appearance. His hair was sparse, face gaunt, pitted, eyes shrunken in his skull-like head, and the rich color in what had been a smooth milk-chocolate complexion was now ashy.

“What the hell happened to you?” He smiled and in what had been a mouth filled with straight, white teeth more than half were missing. “You’re a flippin’ meth head.”

“So,” he sneered, “you recognize the ravages of the drug, Dr. Blackstone.” He’d spat out her name. “You see what you turned me into?”

“Get away from me. Better yet. Get outta here.”

Reginald grabbed her upper arm. “If I’m getting, then you’re coming with me.”

He held on to her left arm, which gave her full use of her right. Her fingers curled into a fist and she swung, connecting with his left eye. He groaned and before she could swing again she felt something sharp pressing into her ribs.

“What do you think you’re going to do with that?” she shouted, garnering the attention of those in the tent. “Let me go!”

It was as if the world stood still. She saw Nicholas and Jeremy out of the corner of her eye. Then Billy Ritchie and her mother. The pressure against her ribs increased, and she knew Reginald intended to hurt or kill her.

“Jeremy! Get the kids inside.” Peyton didn’t want the children traumatized when they saw their auntie with a crazy man holding a sharp object against her side.

“What the hell is going on?” Nicholas shouted.

Tears were streaming down Lena’s face. “That’s Reginald. Her ex.”

Reginald put his free arm around Peyton’s throat. “No one come any closer or I’ll gut her right here.”

Peyton felt something warm trickle down her side, and she knew it was her blood. Reginald was mad and only half-alive. She knew he didn’t care about his own life because he was killing himself with methamphetamine.

“Nicky, no! Please don’t come any closer.”

Nicholas didn’t want to believe the scene playing out in front of his eyes. He had no intention of standing by and watching some lunatic hurt the woman he loved. A feral grin touched the corners of his mouth. “If you think I’m going to stand here and watch you hurt my wife, then you’re real crazy. We can do this two ways: twelve jurors or six pallbearers. The choice is yours.”

“She can’t be your wife.” Reginald’s chin quivered as he tried not to break down and cry.

“Why can’t she, Reggie?”

He bared his rotten teeth. “Don’t call me that! I’m not a little boy!”

Peyton’s gaze shifted from Sheldon, to Jeremy and back to Nicholas. “Let me go, Reginald, and everything will be all right.”

“It’s not going to be all right. It was all right before you left me. Now everything is mixed up. Crazy.”

She moaned, stiffening in pain as the blade dug farther into her side. The pain had become excruciating, and she feared if he stabbed her again he was going to puncture her kidney. Peyton was also losing blood and when she glanced down the entire side of her blouse was red. First she was standing, then she felt the ground come up at her at the same time she heard a sharp crack. Someone broke her fall, and when she opened her eyes she looked into the eyes of the man she would love forever.

“I love you,” she whispered as blackness descended, swallowing her whole.

* * *

Peyton opened her eyes to the sound of machines monitoring her vitals. Turning her head slowly, she saw the IV taped to the back of her hand, giving her sore body the nutrients it needed for survival. “Nicky.” Why did her voice sound as if she were in a tunnel?

Nicholas moved off the chair where he’d spent the past two days waiting for Peyton to regain consciousness. He’d left the chair long enough to shower and change clothes in the small private hospital with a wing named for Sheldon’s first wife who’d died from breast cancer. Hospital administrators had provided him with a suite where he could sleep, shower and take his meals but he preferred sleeping in the chair next to Peyton’s bed. He wanted to be there when she woke up.

He smiled. “Welcome back.”

She tried smiling but her lips were dry and cracked. “How long have I been away?”

“Two days.” Leaning over, he kissed her lips.

Her eyelids fluttered. “That long?” Reaching up with her free hand, she combed her fingers through her hair. It was oily. “I need to wash my hair.”

Nicholas sat down on the side of the bed. “That will have to wait until you’re able to stand up on your own.”

“What happened?”

He knew she wanted to know about her ex. “He didn’t make it. He was shot by one of Sheldon’s security team. The man was a former army sniper and he just grazed Reggie’s scalp. It wasn’t the bullet that killed him but his heart.”

She tried to sit up, but Nicholas gently pushed her back to the pillows. “What about the children?”

“They didn’t see anything. Thankfully they were in the other tent, and Tricia’s grandfather got them far enough away so they didn’t even hear the gunshot. Your father’s here.”

“Daddy?”

“I arranged for the ColeDiz jet to bring him down. We sat up all night talking about you.”

She sighed. “What about me?”

“I told him how much I loved you and that I wanted his permission to ask for your hand in marriage.”

Peyton had closed her eyes again. “Did he give it?”

“Of course he did. And as soon as you’re out of that hospital bed I’m going to take you shopping so I can pick out a ring for you.”

“We can’t go shopping yet.”

His brow furrowed. “Why not?”

She reached up and touched his bearded jaw. “You need a shave.”

“I’ll shave when I get you back home. Now, why can’t we pick out rings?”

“You didn’t ask me whether I wanted to marry you. You don’t even know if I love you.”

“I know you love me because you said it just before you passed out.”

Peyton sighed again. “Who heard me?”

“Everyone close enough to hear you.”

She hit the mattress with a fist. “That’s not how I wanted you to know.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you hadn’t told me I was ready to tell you. If you don’t believe me then ask Jeremy.”

“When did you and Jeremy become best buds?”

Nicholas wound several strands of her hair around his finger. “When I asked him to be my best man just before the crazy clown grabbed you.”

“How much damage did he do?”

“He nicked your kidney, but the doctors were able to repair it. However, you did lose a couple of units of blood. Fortunately we’re the same blood type so I was able to give you one unit and your mother the other.”

Peyton sat up again. “Where’s Mama?”

“She’s sleeping. The first day she was here 24/7, so when your dad came he took her back to the cottage. They’ll be here later.”

“When can I get out of here?”

“What’s the rush?”

“I have to plan a wedding.” Healthy color flooded her face for the first time in days. “I forgot to ask. When do you want to be married?”

“I’ll leave that up to you. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

Peyton beckoned him closer. “We can have a church wedding on Blackstone Farms and then repeat our vows in West Palm on New Year’s Eve. I want Tricia’s daughters to be my flower girls, Ryan’s youngest son as the ring bearer. Caroline will be my maid of honor and Celia, Kelly, Renee and Tricia my matrons of honor. It will be your responsibility to come up with three groomsmen, because you already know who’s going to be your best man. The farm wedding will be a black-and-red color scheme and black and silver for New Year’s Eve.”

“Did you just think of all of this?”

“Hum-m-m.”

“How about babies?” Nicholas teased. “Do they also fit into your grand scheme?”

“Of course. But I’d like to wait until the beginning of the year before we start trying for a baby.”

“That’ll work. How many babies do you want?” Nicholas placed feathery kisses across her forehead.

“As many as you’ll give me.”

“I’d like two girls and two boys.”

“That’s a nice even number.” He sat up straight, reaching for his cell phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“My parents. They just got back from Europe. I want to tell them they’re going to get the second daughter they always wanted.”

Peyton smiled as she watched the man she loved tap keys, then speak Spanish to someone she assumed was his father, then hand her the phone. “Hello...Dad.”

“Hey, I like you already. Nicholas says you’re a little under the weather.”

“He’s right, and I plan to blow this nightclub in another day or two.”

“I told Nicholas that his mother and I are coming to see him. My wife is afraid of horses, but she’s just going to have to endure the magnificent beasts if she wants to see her son married.”

“I’ll tell Nicky to keep the horses far enough away so she won’t have to see them.”

“Peyton?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.”

She gave Nicholas his phone at the same time a nurse came in to check on her. She shooed him out of the room while she changed the dressing on Peyton’s incision, injected a syringe with a painkiller into the IV, adjusted the sheet and blanket and left as quietly and efficiently as she’d come.

Peyton was drifting off to sleep when her father walked in with a bouquet of flowers. “Hi, Daddy.”

Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. “Hey, baby girl. Welcome back.”

When she smiled it came out lopsided. “Thank you. I’m getting married.”

Alphonso Blackstone nodded. “Nicholas is a good man, and I know he’ll be a better husband to you than I’ve been to your mother. But I told her I’m working on it.” His eyes flooded with tears. “I don’t want to lose her.”

Peyton patted his hand. “You won’t if you can remember that she’s your queen, which means you must respect her and treat her with tender care.”

“How did you get so smart?”

“Upbringing. You and Mama raised me right.”

“That’s more than that crazy boy’s parents did. They gave him everything except boundaries, and in the end he self-destructed.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.” Peyton was slurring her words. The painkiller had kicked in. “Can you please tell Nick...Nicholas to go home and sleep. Let him...know I’ll be here when...”

Her words trailed off as the saying about good things come to those who wait flooded her consciousness before she surrendered to the welcoming arms of Morpheus. A smile curved her mouth as she slept. Images of white wedding gowns, flowers, champagne toasts and wedding bands crowded her dreams. Nicholas had asked if she wanted a second chance at love and she did. She knew he would be the last man with whom she would exchange vows.

Eternal vows.

* * * * *