Safe in His Arms (17 page)

“Lindsay, you need to think about Emma,” Donna said.

“I am, Mom, and I'm thinking about myself, as well. Raising Emma is going to be the best thing I ever do, and I'm going to do it my way,” she said. “I also plan to keep seeing Joe. I'll even marry him if he asks. Emma loves him, and he'll make a good father figure for her.”

Warming to her subject, she returned to her seat. “I'll probably make other decisions in raising Emma that you won't agree with, either. I might make her bedtime too late or let her eat junk food on occasion or even put her down to sleep a few hours at my future father-in-law's house and then take her home—”

“Future what?” Brian wanted to know.

“Never mind, Dad. But like when Delia was raising her own daughter, those decisions regarding Emma will be entirely up to me.”

Out of words, Lindsay stopped. There was nothing like squeezing a lifetime of conversations into a single, painful talk. But some words did change everything, and whether happily or tragically, this one has one of them. So she folded her hands and waited to find out which way this one would go.

“I'm sorry, Lindsay.”

At her father's opening words, Lindsay braced her
self. She'd promised a fight, and now she had to prepare herself to deliver on that promise.

“I'm sorry, too,” her mother said. “For everything.”

Lindsay blinked. “I don't understand.”

“No, we were the ones who never understood,” Brian said. “We never even realized that we were showing favoritism to Delia or that our comparisons caused you so much pain. We're blessed that you still love us at all.”

“Of course I love you. You're my parents.”

Donna shook her head. “I'm beginning to see why Delia picked you to raise her daughter. You're determined and loyal, almost to a fault. You're just the person who has many things to teach our granddaughter.”

“You're right about that.” Brian patted his wife's arm and then turned back to his daughter. “We thought if we kept Emma close to us, it would be like having Delia with us.”

“That makes sense,” Lindsay said. “Emma is part of her, and we'll always want to keep her memory alive. Just leave her with me, and you can see her anytime you want.”

Her parents looked at each other and back at Lindsay. Her father spoke for the both of them. “We won't proceed with plans to file for custody. Now tell us more about this young man of yours.”

“Any other time I would talk your ear off, but I've really messed up with Joe, and I need to work things out with him first. If that's even possible.”

“Relax, honey,” Donna told her daughter as she moved to the door. “If our daughter could forgive us for all we've done, then anything that's broken can be fixed.”

J
oe grumbled as he pulled his patrol car to a stop outside the guard shack at Kensington Metropark. The guard waved him past. Clara had probably just been trying to annoy him when she'd suggested that he make a pass through the almost-fifteen-hundred-acre park during his shift that afternoon, so he'd been surprised when Brett had agreed with her and had made it an order.

Okay, he'd been testy the past few days, but that didn't mean that they needed to gang up on him and send him on the family reunion beat.

He hadn't driven far when he passed the first few reunions. Banners for the Long and Kryzewski families staked their claims in prime spots near one of the playgrounds and a baseball field. He could just imagine what a Rossetti reunion would be like: pretty light on the female side of the family, but there would definitely be a nice patrol car as a centerpiece.

He didn't want to think about the person he would want there, sharing his name, sharing his life. He'd chosen to avoid lost causes, and he and Lindsay together had every sign of being one of those. Loving
her hadn't made her love him enough to forgive him, so his hoping and praying for it was unlikely to bring her back to him.

Clara had mentioned something about him patrolling the area near the beach changing rooms, where there had been vandalism lately. It would have been nice if she'd told him which beach, but since he was going to have to do a drive-by of both, he followed the signs to Martindale Beach first. He didn't even want to think about why he would have chosen that one first, but he pressed his lips together when he caught sight of the waterpark they'd never had the chance to visit.

The beach was more crowded this time, with cars filling most of the parking spaces, so instead of just driving by, Joe parked his car and took a walk out toward the beach. Past the changing room, he scanned the grassy area in the foreground, with the long stretch of sand and the green-gray water just beyond.

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, just sunbathers dotting the sand, laughing kids bobbing in the water and weekend volleyball players showing off their skills at the net. Oh, and one family that had planned a reunion in an unfortunate location, too close to the beach.

Joe glanced at the family's banner that looked far more like a poster made with felt-tip markers, but when he read the name, he had to do a double take. Rossetti?

Fully aware that Rossetti was a rare surname this side of the Atlantic and even more aware that his dad and grandpa weren't much for party planning, Joe took a closer look. What he saw took his breath away. In what had to be the smallest reunion in the history of family reunions, the two ladies that meant the world to him sat on a blanket spread on the grass. They were having a private picnic.

Emma glanced at him first and jumped up, waving.
Lindsay looked up, too, but her smile was a cautious one. Unlike the rest of the beach bathers, the two of them looked more like attendees at a church picnic in floral sundresses. Although Emma's hair was tied up in her trademark ponytails, Lindsay wore hers long, with the breeze lifting some of those pretty red tresses. Clearly, Lindsay had fussed and prepared for this meeting. What he didn't know was why.

Clara and Brett had set him up. Of that he was certain. The rest he wasn't sure about at all. What did all of this mean? Had Lindsay forgiven him? Could he forgive her for pushing him away? Oh, who was he kidding? He'd forgiven her the minute he'd driven away from her home, even though he'd been nursing a broken heart.

Joe was tempted to run across the grassy area to reach them like a soupy tissue commercial, but he didn't yet know why they were there. Besides, a police officer running in uniform probably would set off panic on the beach, so he forced himself to slow. He needed to be cautious, anyway. The risk of being hurt again was too great.

But as was the case since he'd met her, the pull of this amazing woman was stronger than his ability to resist, even for his own good.

At the edge of the blanket, he stopped. “What's all of this about?”

Lindsay glanced around at the containers of fried chicken, veggies, potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon and cookies. “I guess we did overdo it a little.”

She indicated the farthest container. “The cookies were Emma's idea.”

“That's because she has great taste,” he said.

“Sit down, Trooper Joe.” Already, Emma had his hand and was pulling him to the blanket.

He let Lindsay stall for as long as he could as she
served up plates for three and they all started eating, but finally he couldn't take anymore. “You didn't answer my question. Rossetti?” He pointed to the sign.

“How else would you have found us here?” As she answered him, she pulled a hand-held video game from her pocket and handed it to Emma. The child accepted it, popped the earphones on and started clicking buttons while continuing to eat.

“Do you think all of those people are wondering whether Emma and I are getting arrested for being too dressed up at the beach?” She looked left and right, indicating the spectators who were watching them.

“I think a citation might be in order,” he said with a smile. “But you still didn't…” Joe held his hands wide.

“Fine. I wanted to tell you I talked to my parents.”

“Oh.” He hoped he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt. “And you enlisted both Clara and Brett to bring me here so you could tell me that?”

“It wasn't hard to convince them to help.”

“I see,” he said. “So, was your visit with your parents a good thing?”

“No, it was great. I couldn't tell you before because I was so upset about…the other thing…but my parents were meeting with an attorney to sue for custody of Emma.”

“That's awful.”

“It's okay though,” she said with a smile. “I told them how I felt, and I talked them out of it. They even apologized for showing favoritism to Delia.”

As she relayed the story, Lindsay lit up with self-confidence that had always seemed to be missing before. As much as Joe hated that he hadn't known about her crisis, hadn't been able to be there for her, he couldn't help but to celebrate with her. She'd stood up
for herself and for Emma, but that didn't mean she was ready to stand up for a relationship with him.

Joe took a bite of chicken as Lindsay continued telling the details of her happy story, but her next comment had him choking on his food.

“I also told them I planned to marry you…” she paused as if only then realizing what she'd said “…if you asked me, that is.”

For several seconds he could only cough into his napkin, but he finally got the spasms under control.

Lindsay shook her head. “I'm sorry about that. It had to be a bit much. We only went on one date, and I'm new at all of this stuff. I'm so sorry about overreacting about the accident scene. I understand that you were trying to shield me from more pain when you didn't tell me everything about that night.”

“I was,” he said simply. He couldn't believe his ears. She nodded as if she really believed him this time.

She continued, “I know I have some scars, but I also know I love you. I'm surer of that than I've been of anything in my whole life.

“I've probably been in love with you since I realized that you were the one who gave me that poem that told me to trust God when you weren't even ready to do that yourself.”

She glanced lovingly at the child, who was playing her game, oblivious of their conversation, and then she looked over at him again. “I realize it's a lot to ask a man to take on a woman and a child who come as a package deal, but I know you would be wonderful for Emma. And for me.”

Lindsay stared at Joe, shocked and dazed by the things she'd said. Had all of those things really just come from her mouth? Was it good for anyone to ever be that honest? She turned to watch Emma again, wor
ried that she might have messed up their future with the man who was surely supposed to be part of it, by pushing too hard, too fast.

She hadn't even asked him if he'd forgiven her for pushing
him
away before. If he couldn't forgive her, what would she do then?

As a movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, Lindsay turned back to see Joe kneeling before her on both knees, uniform and all. A knot formed in her throat as she stared into his eyes and waited for him to say words that would change both of their lives.

With gentle hands, he reached for both of hers. “Lindsay, I love you. You turned my life upside down the day you came into it, and I wouldn't take back my perfectly balanced life for anything in the world. There's only one thing I can think of that would be better than making you my wife, and that's helping to raise Emma as part of a package deal.

“If you don't already have plans, would you mind spending every day, for the rest of your life, with me?” He smiled. “Will you marry me?”

“Hmm, let me think about it.” She took a bite of watermelon and thoughtfully chewed and swallowed, but finally she grinned back at him. “Yes. I thought you'd never ask.”

He didn't hesitate, but leaned forward and drew her into his arms. His kiss felt like a promise of a lifetime filled with more laughter than tears, more hope than regrets. She answered with a promise of her own.

She didn't know how long the kiss went on, hoped it would never end, but at the sound of applause, they drew quickly away from each other and looked around to the crowd they'd drawn. The ruckus must have pulled Emma out of her video counting game because
she squeezed between them and was looking out with trepidation at the crowd of strangers.

“I think we're going to have to work on this whole public-kissing thing,” Lindsay said as she pulled back, still holding Emma to her side.

“Are you kidding? I don't care who sees me kiss the woman I love. We just stand out because I'm the only guy on the beach in uniform.”

As she shifted Emma onto her lap, Lindsay scanned the curious faces around her. “Do you think they know?”

“That we're engaged? They know. There might not be a ring yet. I didn't know you'd be giving my future in-laws the scoop so early, so I wasn't prepared. But with the whole kneeling thing, oh yeah, they know. I want them all to know.”

With a squirming preschooler hugged between them, Joe bent his head to brush his lips across Lindsay's again. She didn't care that a bunch of sunbathers were watching because it was a perfect moment, full of promise and dreams for the future. A future for three individuals who soon would be a real family.

 

Lindsay brushed her hands over the smooth satin of her tea-length bridal gown, feeling the crush of the tulle from the layers beneath. As she lifted her hands, she was startled by the sparkle of the bridal set on her finger, proving that all of this was real, not just an amazing dream.

The day had been too perfect for them to have planned it in less than a month, but her mother had come through with the surprising skills of drill sergeant and professional wedding planner combined into one. Donna had rolled with it, even when Lindsay had announced that she wanted to have the service at the
Milford church instead of their home church. Forgiveness had come easily for her family, when combined with love and understanding.

“What are you smiling about, Mrs. Rossetti?”

Joe grinned back at her as he hurried back into the church vestibule, pulling Emma, whose dress was a miniature and baby-blue copy of Lindsay's, by the hand. She wondered why he'd been so fast to volunteer when a certain flower girl had needed someone to take her for a potty break before they started the receiving line, but a suspiciously loosened bow tie gave her a hint. Even with the loosened tie, Joe still looked like he could have been on the cover of a bridal magazine. He was right here with her, instead.

“‘Mrs. Rossetti.' I like the sound of that.”

“Well, you'd better because you're stuck with it.” He took her hand with his free one. “And me.”

“Aunt Lindsay, where's my basket? I lost my basket.”

“I don't know, honey. Let me—” As Lindsay glanced around for a missing basket for flowers, she noticed that another bouquet was conspicuously absent as well. “Hey, where are my—”

“Flowers?” Dressed in a simple, baby-blue dress, Tricia came through the door from the sanctuary then, carrying both the missing basket and Lindsay's amazing bouquet of white roses, along with her own bridesmaid's nosegay.

“You were so excited to have tied the knot with your man that you forgot your flowers and nearly dragged him out of the church,” Tricia said.

She handed the basket back to Emma and then gave Lindsay her bouquet.

“Oh, no, Tricia. You've got it all wrong,” Joe said. “I was the excited one. I was dragging
her
out of the church. You know how much we guys
love
weddings.”

“That's why we Rossetti men only go through the whole ceremony thing once.”

They all looked back to find Joe's father, Leo, leading his own father through the door from the sanctuary. Nobody mentioned that Leo had brought Clara to the wedding as his date, but several of them exchanged secret smiles.

“Okay, everyone, take your places,” Lindsay's mother called out as soon as the usher led her into the vestibule.

But instead of stepping into the line herself, Donna hurried over and hugged her daughter. “You make a beautiful bride, Lindsay.”

“I only wish Delia could have been here.” Tears that had danced in Lindsay's eyes several times throughout the ceremony spilled over her lower lids this time.

“Oh, she's here.” Donna brushed away a tear at the corner of her eye. “She's looking down on us from Heaven today, and she's got to be so proud of you and pleased with the man you chose. I know
we
are.”

Lindsay hugged her mother a second time, and then brushed away her tears to get ready to greet their guests.