Authors: Marcia King-Gamble
His Golden Heart (31 page)
“Ed Anderson just called to apologize,” he said. “He feels duped by his client. Turns out the whole thing was a hoax, staged for the insurance money. Mrs. Simpkins’s husband punched her in the eye and with her consent gave her an overall pounding. They faked the vandalism and robbery. She started getting nervous with the trial practically around the corner. Remember I told you she was waffling about the boys’ identities. Ed pressed her and she came clean. Simpkins and her husband are the ones under fire now. There is no case to pursue.”
Shayna wanted to do cartwheels. A huge load had just been lifted off her shoulders. Anger soon took the place of the relief she felt.
“So you mean to tell me that she was willing to let my brother and those kids go to jail for something they didn’t do? We should countersue for slander.”
“That’s entirely up to you,” Colin said. “Sleep on it. Let’s have dinner to celebrate.”
“I’m sorry, Colin. I can’t,” Shayna said.
“But we should be swigging down the bubbly. Surely you’re not too busy to toast to the victory we worked so hard for?”
She had to tell him. She didn’t feel good about stringing him along. “I’m dating someone and it’s serious,” Shayna confessed.
There was a pause on the other end. “Why didn’t you say so before? I thought we could be good together.”
She liked Colin but she wasn’t interested in him romantically. “This is a new development,” she said, hoping to let him down easily. “We’ve only been seeing each other a short time. I tried my best not to mislead you.”
“But you did.” He sounded like he was choking. “Look, I wish you the best of luck. Who’s the lucky man? Beau Hill?”
“How did you know?”
“How did I not know? If it doesn’t work out, call me.”
“Thank you, Colin,” Shayna said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. You’ve been a good friend.”
“I wish I could be more.”
He hung up, and Shayna rested her back against one of the putrid green walls and took deep breaths. She held the phone, debating. After a while she hit the automatic dial button and got her father on the phone, and told him the good news. Vincent was elated. Better than elated, ecstatic. Her mother grabbed the receiver and Shayna repeated the news all over again. She could hear Kara’s sobs, but at least she knew these were tears of joy. Reggie was called to the phone and when the news was delivered he whooped in excitement. He was that excited.
Shayna then made a quick call to Beau.
“That’s wonderful, hon,” he said when he picked up. “The best news I’ve heard all day. Why don’t you bring the entire family over for dinner, say around eight? It will give me a chance to tell Towanda to toss another potato into whatever she’s making. How about you? Can you stop by now?”
Shayna debated. A quick call would take care of changing whatever plans her parents had made and she already missed Beau.
“Sure,” she said.
Shayna’s family gleefully agreed to meet her at Beau’s place. They were excited and in high spirits, Reggie, especially, since he and Beau had bonded.
Whistling a tune, Shayna set off up the mountain road. Any thoughts of running had gone clear out of her head. She wanted to see Beau. Needed to see him. Independent as she might be, she thought of him as a part of her life now. They supported each other.
So much had happened in a short space of time. Her feelings had grown and just thinking of him made her want to be with him. She was on an emotional rollercoaster. They still hadn’t talked about where they were heading but she needed to hear him say he loved her. Plain and simple she needed to be with him.
She parked her car behind an unfamiliar-looking sports utility vehicle and, using her key, entered the house. Voices floated in from the terrace. She’d thought they’d be alone. Wasn’t that why Beau had asked her to come over early?
Shayna stepped onto the terrace with some trepidation. She was still not used to seeing Beau walking on his own. The cane he seemed to use primarily for longer distances.
“Hello,” Shayna greeted the small party that gathered around him. She flashed a smile in the direction of his mom, dad, and Kelly, though really it was only Beau she saw. His eyes lit up when he spotted her.
A young man that she didn’t recognize was part of the group. Shayna nodded at him curiously.
Victoria greeted her like a long lost daughter. “Hi, Shayna. I’m so glad you’re here. You’re all Beau talks about these days.” She kissed Shayna on both cheeks.
Ed Anderson, whom Shayna had never met in person, introduced himself and then kissed her hand.
“I’m sorry and terribly embarrassed,” he said. “Sorry your parents had to go through such an ordeal because my client was deceitful. I should have done my due diligence and never taken her on.”
Shayna felt no need to say anything. Ed had said it all. Still, she wondered why the family gathering.
The stranger, judging by his hair color and coloring, must be a relative, interrupted. “Is anyone going to introduce me to this beautiful woman?”
“She’s mine,” Beau said.
“Nice,” The handsome man who was meticulously dressed like a New Englander, answered. He wore chinos, a buttoned-down oxford shirt, and loafers, not a hair out of place.
“Come meet my brother,” Beau said, kissing Shayna for all to see and branding her as his. He took her hand and guided her toward the starched-looking blond man who could easily have stepped off the cover of
Town & Country
. A warm embrace followed, and a drink was shoved into her hand.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you,” Jason Anderson said. “You’re actually one of the few people who can handle Beau.”
“It’s more like Beau handles me,” Shayna muttered, cutting her eyes at Beau.
Beau’s arm circled her waist. “I wouldn’t even try.” Shayna pretended to glare at him, and he tightened his hold on her, and fitted her snugly against him. The group stood for a while engaging in more small talk. After another few minutes elapsed, Beau said, “You’ll have to entertain yourselves, Shayna and I are taking a walk. If her mom, dad and Reggie show up before we get back, keep them entertained.”
Beau led Shayna down the steep terrace steps and toward the stables. Shayna could hear Scotch’s, Vodka’s, and Whiskey’s snorts as they got closer. She wondered if Beau was going to suggest a late evening ride. She was hardly dressed for that. Besides, it would be so rude, no one else had been invited. But he walked past the stables, leading her down a path that soon would be moonlit. They stopped at a wide tranquil lake.
He turned to Shayna. “I figured this might be the only time we would be alone tonight.”
“Too bad we can’t change that,” she teased.
Beau gathered her in his arms, staring into her eyes. He kissed her like she’d been gone months. When they eventually came up for air, she cuddled against him. The pinks and purples of a setting sun painted the distant mountains in a pastel hue. Water dippers skimmed across the lake’s surface, putting off a soft buzz. Summer was definitely near.
“Shayna, I love you,” Beau said. “More than I thought I could love any woman.”
“And I love you.” This time it came easily, the words slipping off her tongue.
Beau turned her around, cupping her chin in his hand and tilting it up. “We should talk about us. What we want to do about this beautiful and unexpected relationship and where we want to go from here.”
“What do you want to do about us?” Shayna challenged, putting the ball firmly back in his court.
“I want what we have to go on forever. You’re all I think of. I’m lost without you. Life is meaningless when you’re not around.”
Shayna sighed heavily. Beau was letting all his barriers down, telling her how he really felt.
“We’ve only known each other a short time,” she said. “And there’s no rush. You’ve got decisions to make, like whether you’ll want to ski again. Like what to do about
Peter and Josh, now that the others on the ski team ratted them out and Josh was forced to admit he got rid of your skis. You also need to decide what you want to do with Hill Of Dreams.”
“Yes, I know all of that and I know what I want. What I want is you. No amount of time is going to change my mind. And I’ve already thought about all the things you’ve mentioned. We’ll take it nice and slow. I’d like to ski again. I’ll never be Olympic caliber, but I’ll do ok. I can always coach young hopefuls.
“As for Peter and Josh, they’ve both been kicked off the ski team. That’s justice enough for me. Their reputation is tarnished in the industry, and no one wants anything to do with them. Athletes as driven as they are need to ski. There isn’t a more fitting punishment.”
Beau kissed her again and the outside world faded. She no longer saw the tranquil lake, the rapidly darkening sky, or heard the horses in the background neighing. Shayna closed her eyes, kissing him back. She leaned into him, trusting him to take her weight.
“So I thought,” he said, when he stopped kissing her, “that a vacation might be what we need. Maybe go to Paris, Rome, see London. When we return I’d focus my attentions on Hill Of Dreams, maybe start training again, and continue to develop The Hill into the place I want it to be.”
“I have vacation time coming up,” Shayna said, stars in her eyes.
“I know. I checked. What do you say?”
“I say, yes we do it. There’s so much I want to see.”
“Shayna,” Beau said, taking her face between his hands. “You are everything I ever wanted. I knew that from the moment I met you.”
“And you scared me to death,” she said, holding his gaze, “You were so handsome and you came across like you owned the place. You were my worst nightmare, a very tempting nightmare, but a nightmare no less.”
“Kiss me and tell me that again.”
Shayna threw her arms around his neck and gave him the full DaCosta treatment. When the kiss ended, Beau held her away from him.
“Shayna,” he said, “I love you so much. You’re all I ever think about.”
“And I love you more than I thought was possible. I’m trusting that we’ll eventually make our relationship permanent.”
“I’m ready to do that now,” Beau admitted.
“It’s too soon,” she said, kissing him again. “Ask me in, say, six months.”
His kiss made her forget about the family waiting to have dinner. She forgot all about how reality had a habit of dousing cold water on your dreams. Reality thinking wasn’t about now. Reality thinking was about when. It was realistic to have hopes and dreams.
“I’m asking and hoping you’ll agree,” Beau said again, holding her close and searching her face.
“Yes,” Shayna answered, knowing in her heart it would always be Beau and Shayna forever. She challenged anyone to try breaking them apart.
Dear Readers:
Have you ever had a change of heart? Were you ever involved in a relationship that seemed as if it had no place to go, or simply couldn’t grow?
My hero and heroine are two people meeting because of happenstance. Beau, a proud athlete, is humbled when his accident leaves him vulnerable and dependent on others. He is as prickly as they come.
Shayna, a once famous athlete, has had a similar experience. She knows what it’s like to be a has-been. Her adjustment to the world of real people was not easy, and she’s not about to be intimidated by Beau. He represents a personal challenge, and Shayna loves challenges. She is determined to get beneath the layers and find the real Beau.
I really enjoyed writing this story, because I believe that falling in love requires delving beneath the layers to find the real person. It means loving even their vulnerable side.
If you liked Beau and Shayna’s story, please let me know. Your support keeps me writing meaningful stories. My E-mail me at:
[email protected]
. You may also friend me on
Facebook
.
Romantically Yours,
Marcia King-Gamble
About the Author
Marcia King-Gamble
, a Caribbean/American author, hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue.
She is a former travel industry executive and a self-proclaimed globetrotter. Marcia is particularly fond of Hong Kong, Venice, and New Zealand, not only for the scenery, but because of the mouthwatering food.
A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned 26 books and 5 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling, and with her animal family.
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