Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (39 page)

“I can’t believe two people could
work so hard to ruin a man’s life over such a long period of time. The planning
they must have put into this!” the Sheriff shook his head in complete shock.
“Well, I guess all I need to do is confirm that Walter’s real name is indeed
Jamison. I will, of course, inform him of his sister’s death.”

“What happens with Laura?” asked Jake
worriedly.

The Sheriff shrugged. “I guess she
will be asked to testify at Walter’s trial, if it gets that far. He will be
examined by a psychiatric assessor to determine if he is as crazy as his sister
was. If he is, he may be admitted to a secure mental institution. If not, he
will stand trial. As far as Victoria’s death is concerned, I have no doubt it
will be termed accidental. After all, she fell on her own knife. Forensics
should been able to determine that the only fingerprints on the knife are
Victoria’s but considering Laura was kidnapped by them both, any force she used
to escape would be deemed reasonable and self-defence.”

He got up to leave. “I’ll let you
know of any developments if necessary. For now, I would try and pamper this
little lady. I hope you won’t be too long in recovery and will be back at the
diner soon.” He gave Laura a broad wink. “I’ll miss my breakfast.” He stuck his
hat on his head. “And my lunch.”

They all smiled, Kerry walking the
man to the door. “Thank goodness that’s done,” Jake sighed with relief.

“Unless I have to go to court to
testify,” Laura said softly. She shuddered. “It will be hard living through it
all over again.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart. If it comes
to that, we’ll be there in the courthouse, supporting you.” Jake gently rubbed
her back soothingly.

“I can still hardly take it all in,”
Kerry remarked as she re-entered the kitchen. “I would never have guessed in a
thousand years what those two were up to.”

“You knew there was a connection
between the two of them,” Jake said to Laura. “I should have listened to you
when you said it. If I had, none of this may have happened.”

Laura gripped his hand firmly. “We
can’t go back,” she said, staring at each one in turn. “We can only go forward.
Let’s just let go of the regrets and the what if’s. At least we are all here,
safe and together again. We have to be grateful for that.”

They nodded agreement. “There have
been several things I can’t understand. They’ve been churning round in my head
driving me crazy. Maybe you can make sense of it,” Laura mused suddenly.
“Firstly, how did you get my text? I know I didn’t get the chance to press
send, so how did it end up on your phone?”

“Maybe Victoria or Walter sent it by
mistake,” suggested Bill.

“I don’t see how,” Laura said
doubtfully. “And then there was the ropes that fell away from my hands. It was
like someone untied them or something. It was very strange.”

Jakes brow wrinkled in thought. “You
know now you come to mention it, something strange happened with me too. When
Walter was strangling me, he had me right where he wanted me. I don’t think I
would have gotten away from him.” Laura shuddered at the thought, grasping his
hand tightly. “Suddenly, he reared back and grabbed his butt like he’d been
burned or something. It’s what gave me the chance to get away from him. I have
no idea why that happened.”

Laura gasped in surprise. “Something
happened like that with me,” she exclaimed excitedly. “When Walter was trying
to force himself on me…..”

“He did what?” Jake roared.

Laura rubbed his hand with soothing
little circles. “I’m fine, nothing much happened. Victoria was determined that
he was going to get moving with the poison, so he didn’t manage to do much.”

“It’s a good thing he’s in jail or
I’d kill him!” Jake thundered, his face going black with rage.

“The point is that the same thing you
described happened to Walter when he was trying it on with me. And when
Victoria was beating me, there was a loud crash outside. It’s what stopped her
or she might have killed me.”

Jake shuddered at the thought. He
pulled Laura from her seat and into his lap, rubbing her back gently. Whether
it was to calm her or himself, Laura couldn’t quite tell.

She bit her lip in thought. “There
has been something I’ve been thinking about with all of this. It was something
I’ve heard other people talk about but I’ve never really believed in before.
Now I wonder if there’s something to it after all. I can’t help wondering if we
had help from unseen friends. There really did seem to be someone looking after
us through that whole ordeal, don’t you think?”

“You don’t really believe that do
you?” scoffed Bill.

“It’s a bit far-fetched really,”
Kerry shrugged dubiously.

“I don’t know. So many things
happened that can’t be easily explained. Anyway, if there was someone helping
us, I would want to thank them with the whole of my heart,” Laura said
sincerely. 

“Me too,” Jake echoed, holding her
close.

Unseen by any of the occupants of the
room, two fairy godmothers inclined their heads in humble acceptance of their
gratitude.

*****

Jake retrieved Laura’s car from town
for her, along with the dress she’d bought to celebrate their engagement. She
hung the dress up in the wardrobe Jake had given her in his room. She’d moved
all her things in earlier that day, neither of them wanting to be apart any
longer. She let her fingers drift over the soft fabric, wishing they’d had
their night together. Something always seemed to come along to ruin it, she
thought sadly.

“What are you doing just standing
there?” Jake asked in a teasing voice from behind her. Laura gasped and spun
around to see him standing in the doorway, dressed in dark trousers and a soft
blue polo shirt. He looked remarkably handsome, his hair damp from a shower and
his face freshly shaved. He looked at his watch. “You’d best get moving if
we’re going to make our booking.”

“What are you talking about?” Laura
stammered.

“I’ve rebooked our table at the place
I was going to take you last night. I explained what happened yesterday and
that this is a special occasion. They’ve happily fitted us in even though they
are fully booked tonight. So, you’d best get moving.” He tapped his watch
playfully.

Laura’s brow creased. “I don’t know
Jake,” she said doubtfully. “Look at my face. People will stare. I can’t even
cover it up with make-up.”

“You will look beautiful, no matter
what,” he told her sincerely. “It doesn’t matter what other people think, you
taught me that.” He indicated his own scar with a wry smile. “After everything
we went through, we deserve this celebration.”

Laura smiled and nodded her head,
humbled by his words. He was right, they did deserve this and she couldn’t let
a little thing like her appearance get in the way. “Okay, give me some time and
I’ll get ready as quickly as possible.”

She showered and dressed as quickly
as she could. She decided to leave her hair down, as much because Jake loved it
that way as to cover her face a little, so people wouldn’t stare too much. She
knew Jake was right, that she shouldn’t care what other people thought and she
didn’t, but she still felt too vulnerable to want to draw that much attention.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she decided she was as good as it was going
to get.

Gliding down the stairs, Laura’s
breath caught in her throat at the hot desire she could see in Jake’s gaze. His
eyes slid over her, making her feel beautiful and desired despite her injuries.
He held out his hand to her and she took it, feeling his warm fingers close
around hers. He pulled her closer, giving her a soft kiss.

“You look amazing sweetheart,” he
whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

“As long as you think so, that’s all
that matters,” she replied. He took her out to the car, helping her into the
passenger seat. They drove for some time, with Laura begging Jake to tell her
where they were going, but he refused. The road they followed seemed to be
heading up into the mountains. The air around them felt more clean and crisp
the higher they drove.

At last they came to a large open
space, where several cars were parked. A large stone building stood nestled
into the side of the mountain. Laura could see a wide veranda that encircled
the building, with tables set out onto it. Each table had a vase of flowers on
it, with even more flowers in large tubs standing in strategic spots all
around, scenting the air with gentle floral aromas. Waiters scurried to and fro
with delicious looking plates of food that hungry customers waited for
impatiently. Fairy lights were strung up around the whole area, lighting the
place with a soft romantic glow as twilight hung in the air. The whole thing
looked enchanted.

Jake helped Laura from the car,
walking her to the restaurant. Laura’s mouth fell open as she took in the
incredible interior of the dining room. A large fireplace stood proudly centre
stage, with wooden beams spanning the ceiling. Every table was solid wood, with
plush comfortable seats and expensive looking china at every place-setting. The
splendour of the place filled Laura with awe.

“This is incredible!” she breathed to
Jake.

“I thought you’d like it,” he said
softly in her ear. “You wait until you taste the food!”

The waiter led them to a table for
two outside. Laura gasped at the view still visible in the dwindling light. The
valley below spread out like a glorious natural painting. The sight was beyond
words. Laura drank it in as the waiter brought their drink order and left them
menus. Laura hardly knew what to choose from the extensive selection. In the
end they took two meals and shared them. Jake was right, the food was exquisite
and Laura enjoyed every bite, wondering if she couldn’t create something like
it.

“Have you enjoyed yourself?” Jake
asked as they finished their coffee and dessert.

“It’s been perfect,” she smiled, her
eyes sparkling in the fairy lights. “I’d like to come back here for every one
of our anniversaries. This is our special place now.”

“Whatever you want my love,” Jake
smiled back, linking his hand with hers. “From now on, we can plan our future
with nothing hanging over us. It’s going to be amazing.”

Jake paid the bill and they headed
home. As the entered the ranch house, he swept Laura off her feet and held her
close in his arms, careful of her injured ribs. Her breath caught in her throat
at the intense desire she saw in his eyes. His lips descended on hers as he
carried her up the stairs, reminding her of the night they’d made love for the
first time. It seemed so long ago now with everything that had happened, had it
really only been the other night?

Her body felt drunk on desire as they
entered their room, Jake kicking the door shut. They stopped in surprise at the
sight before them. Someone had been in there while they’d been out. The bed had
fresh sheets that had been turned down, soft rose petals scattered across the
surface. Several candles had been lit and placed around the room, giving a
beautiful romantic air. A chilled bottle of champagne had been placed in the
room with two glasses.

“Kerry,” Laura sniffled, touched at
her friend’s thoughtfulness.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Jake asked pulling a face, his expression worried.

Laura took his face in her hands and
kissed him deeply, knowing he was worried about the reminder of Victoria’s
little set up. She pulled back and stared into his eyes. “What is past is
past,” she told him firmly. “All that matters now is me and you. Let’s enjoy
this wonderful romantic setting without letting any of that colour our
happiness.”

“You’re right. It’s over. We have our
whole lives ahead of us to enjoy each other.” He grinned wickedly in
anticipation of their passion filled night to come. Laura’s eyes darkened with
desire, her breath catching in urgent need.

Jake set her gently on her feet and
kissed her again as he unzipped her dress. He pulled the material down her
shoulders and let it drop to the floor in a pool of pink at her feet. Laura’s
breath caught in her throat as his lips descended on the soft skin of her
throat. She shivered at the contact, desire raging up through her blood. Heat
spiralled through her, making her lose control, as only Jake could.

She gripped his polo shirt in her
hands and swept it up over his head in one smooth motion, letting her fingers
trail over his chest, her lips following suit. She felt the deep rumble of
laughter rise up from his chest.

“I thought you’d prefer this style of
top,” he grinned wickedly. “I’ve bought quite a few more, in preparation for
our life together. I thought it would be less expensive than shirts.” Laura
giggled along with him.

She gasped as he turned them around,
landing on the bed on his back with Laura straddling his hips. Her hair
cascaded down over them both, like a curtain of silk. His lips captured hers in
another searing kiss. Laura felt herself burning up with desire as his hands
trailed over her body, slowly and tantalisingly removing her underwear.

Unable to wait any longer to feel him
completely naked under her, Laura undid his trousers, pulling them from his
body. The heat between them built with every touch, every desire filled kiss.
They were soon lost to the magic of the wild fire between them, creating their
own world where only the two of them and their love for each other existed.