A Chance Mistake (15 page)

Kory blinked and in that instant, Sundae with her face twisted in anger charged at Dafina. Kory rushed after Sundae, grabbed her, and jerked her back before she could tear into Dafina’s face with her claws.

“Sundae. Get a hold of yourself. Are you crazy?”

She writhed in his arms, kicking his shins with spindly high heels and made a move to bite his arm. He yanked his forearm out the way and picked her up while she kicked, taking her to the door.

“Let me go,” she hissed. “I’ll leave.”

He set her down by the door. She headed out the door, reached in her pocket and threw something at him.

“There’s your
stupid
key,” she yelled and shut the door behind her.

Kory took in a cleansing breath with hands on his hips. He turned to Dafina, relief flooding him that she was unharmed.

“Um. Something you want to tell me?” Dafina looked to be holding back a smile.

“That was Sundae.” He cleared his throat, his face becoming warm. “Dated her off and on for about two years.” Uh, oh, maybe longer than two years—five? “How much did you hear?”

“All of it.”

“Good—um,  good.”

A siren blipped on the street below then stopped. “What’s that about? It sounds like it’s on the front steps.” He took a step. “Come—”

“Right behind you.”

He grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Sundae like that. I was so deep into writing that it felt good to talk to a real person—you know?”

“I can imagine so, yes.”

“We never…It was more of a friendship. I never let it go beyond that. It made her mad.”

“Quite literally, sounds like.”

He stepped to the window at the rear of his apartment still holding Dafina’s hand.

“You don’t think you could have been stringing her along?” She said while looking down to the street. “Had she thought something would become of the relationship?”

“Hm. I…” His gut had rather the feeling of being punched.
Had
he been stringing her along? She’d always gotten mad, left, dated another guy, then came back. He enjoyed her company. Well, some of the time. She’d gotten mad because he drifted away from their conversation into writing mode. She’d wanted to go to next level. He knew she wasn’t right for him. He should have told her.
God forgive me.

Two cop cars were on the side walk directly below them. One officer held the arms of a woman behind her. She seemed to be resisting them. “It’s Sundae. The policemen have her.”

“Dear me.”

Kory scanned the people around them. “Look, there. Who do those two figures look like? One short, one tall.”

Dafina’s face paled. “The two darrens. They have the right build. Plus the short one always shifted his weight back and forth like that.”

“Come on. We can tell the cops what happened.”

He started off at a quick jog through the apartment pulling Dafina behind him. She kept pace with him and they entered the elevator. “If nothing else we can find out what happened, hopefully,” he said.

When the elevator came to the first floor and the door opened, he sprang out with Dafina and hurried out the building. The police had Sundae in the cruiser and pulled out onto the street to leave.

“I can’t believe we missed them,” he whispered to Dafina. No cops. A shiver went down his spine. Shorty and Laces were nearby. He braced himself and held her hand tight as they approached.

“Please let us introduce ourselves,” Shorty began. On the plus side he didn’t look half as crazy as Sundae. “I’m Chip.”

Laces stepped forward. “I’m Dale—and no, not the chipmunks, or the other guys either.” He smiled.

“Wait. This is too bizarre. What’s going on?” Kory took a step back.

Laces said to Shorty, “I told you that you shouldn’t use that name. Real people think we’re nuts.”

“Okay. My name is Chad,” Shorty relented. “The cops took Sundae away for a good reason. Can I take a few minutes to lay out what happened? I’m sure you can guess who we are.”

Kory nodded.

“Sundae hired us to tail you, wherever you went. She had the bright idea that it would be like a book you wrote. That you would like it. Two hoodlums chasing the good guy.”

“I know. Go on,” Kory said.

“She wanted us to tie you up, scare you a little, but make it so you could get away. Then we made the mistake of telling her you were staying with a pretty lady. Sundae didn’t like that at all. She went ballistic and uh—you’re not going to believe this. She said she’d pay us to
off
the girl. That’s when we packed up and left.”

“Before we could leave, some madman came up behind us and knocked us out,” Laces said. “When we came to, there were lights flashing, ambulance and a cop—we took off.”

“But when we got back to the States,” Shorty said in a hushed voice, “Sundae wanted to meet with us and pay us big bucks to
kill
you.” He pointed to Kory. “She thought that we’d already killed the girl. That’s when we went to the cops. They got us wired up this morning and the police would have gotten her—”

“At her father’s theater. That’s where she wanted to meet us,” Laces broke in.

“Yeah,” Shorty said, “But she slipped out the back—a hidden exit. The cops caught sight of her car and determined that she came to this vicinity.”

“We followed the cops, guess we shouldn’t have, but—” Laces said.

“Then, when she came out of this building…” He lifted his hands. “They got her.”

“We never meant any harm to you or your lady,” Laces gave a short bow.

“So, in effect, you saved us—protected us.” Kory relaxed. “Thank you—but you did scare us pretty badly.”

The two men smiled, looked down, and almost blushed. “Thank you,” they both said.

“Just who are you guys?” Kory couldn’t imagine.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shorty shifted his weight and squared his shoulders. “We’re actors.”

****

Dafina didn’t feel like having any sort of conversation on the subway ride to their next destination. Kory looked shell-shocked and muttered under his breath a couple of times. She hadn’t tried to decipher the words, but she appreciated that he held her hand. In his other hand he carried a sack containing the photos for Luke.

She couldn’t be too hard on Kory, after all the things he’d gone through for her sake. When she’d asked him if he had been stringing Sundae along, the poor fellow had taken it to heart. If he had, he’d done it unintentionally. Ah, men.

Their stop came and they exited without a word. Kory motioned to a taxi; he helped her in the backseat and got in. She looked out the window. All the activity of people hurrying here and there boggled the mind. Although Dafina tried to enjoy seeing the crowds, cars, buses, and outstanding architecture, she became overwhelmed. The single best part of New York was Kory.

The taxi driver shuffled hurriedly in and out of lanes and ran a couple of red lights. The driver veered off to the right and stopped; Kory paid the man. After getting out of the taxi, she tried to get her bearings as they stood on the sidewalk. They were at some sort of parking center.

“Here we are. Shouldn’t take long. Have to rent a car.” Kory sped talked as he sped walked. “We’re heading out of the city. I think you’ll like the country and towns.”

“Right-oh.” Sure he’d do fine. What had he said, ten years of no driving?

After getting beeped at several times, they made their way out of the city. But in all fairness, he did just as well as the taxi driver. Dafina relaxed, rolled down the window a bit, and breathed in cool air. A glance at Kory told her he wasn’t quite so relaxed. His hands gripped the steering wheel. But after close to forty minutes of enjoying the green rolling hills, he gave her a reassuring smile.

“I suppose you think I’m a real jerk with how I led Sundae on.”

“You’re no worse than any other man.” Dafina teased, biting back a smile.

“Zing. And there we have it.” Kory groaned.

“Let’s look at it from my perspective, shall we? First—”

“Your dad left you, without any trace,” he said solemnly. You probably dated boys who were either less than mature or moved away. Then you had George who you loved, and he was only after money. It is a cruel world.”

“True that.”

“Pops your best fellow?”

She nodded trying to keep from smiling, but smiled then laughed. “I could tell from your expression that you were right mortified at the thought that you’d strung ‘er along. You are a decent fellow, you are. Wouldn’t have come ‘ere if you weren’t.”

“Dafina, I could never do you wrong. But…”

She waited. His forehead winced. “What?”

“I have this problem of zoning out sometimes.”

“Really. When? I ‘aven’t noticed.”

“You didn’t notice the subway ride, or in the car when I didn’t say two words.”

She shrugged. “A bit of quiet never hurt anyone.”

“I fall into inner dialog…writing, plotting, setting scenes.”

“But that’s what you do.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

She shook her head. “No. I ‘ave things to think about, too. I don’t need entertaining
all
the time.”

“I promise that you can interrupt—any time without worry of bothering me. I’ll put writing on the backburner and trust that I can move it forward later.”

She touched his forearm. What a dear he was.

“With writing I can set my own schedule and live anywhere.” He gave her a quick glance with a raised brow.

She smiled. Was it his way of telling her that he was open to moving? “Nice.”

He turned the car down a country road lined with poplars and pulled off to the side. “We’ll have to get out and walk a short way.”

Picking up the sack, he got out of the car, walked to her side and helped her out.

“It’s beyond this stand of trees. I know it seems kind of odd, but trust me.” He looked at her reassuringly then brought his face near and kissed her tenderly. He took her hand. “This way.”

He led her through the tall, narrow trees that rustled in a soft wind. Beyond an even row of hedges, large trees grew, more poplars, and… Her breath caught in her throat. Monuments, headstones. No. Kory’s friend. Dead. She mourned the loss as if he were her own friend. She’d wanted to meet him.

Kory brought her to Luke’s headstone on the edge of the cemetery.

“Here we are.” Kory kept his focus on the engraved, gray stone.

Dafina was unsure if Kory spoke to Luke or to her. “Kory, I’m sorry.”

“I have
so
many regrets.” His voice wavered. “I only went to see him once after the accident. Always told myself I’d go again soon.” He paused, trying to regain his composure. “He was such a great friend. Christian. Fun to be around—always positive. And entertaining. When he was in grade school, he performed magic tricks.”

She held Kory’s arm. “I’m sorry that you had to lose him.” She rested her head on his shoulder and waited for him to continue.

“It was a dirt bike race, our last. I was ahead of him—I told you how competitive he was. My bike swerved on one turn, but I was able to get control and continue on. Luke lost control, fell and was hit. He was paralyzed—lived for a year after that.

“He told me that he wanted me to travel, take pictures, and tell him about it. I should have done it back then for him. After he died, I immersed myself in writing. All the anguish was fuel, I suppose.

“I can’t tell him I’m sorry.” He pulled out several loose photographs and one that was framed and showed her the castle pictures. “I tried to remember all the names, but…”

“That’s all right, Kory.”

He set the pictures by the base of the headstone and put the framed picture on top of them. A picture that he’d taken of her and himself. Bittersweet, it was, seeing it there.

“Pray about it Kory. God can make everything right. Pray that God will let Luke know how sorry you are—how much he meant to you…”

He nodded and closed his eyes that brimmed with tears.

Chapter 22

Kory put ice in two glasses, filled them with soda and stepped to his parent’s kitchen table. Dafina smiled her thank you. He sat next to her at the head of the table in the quiet room. Since he’d taken her to dinner at a favorite barbeque place, they’d missed his parents who had already gone to bed.

Through God’s grace—he was sure—he felt more at peace with his life about Luke’s tragedy. How easily the accident could have taken Kory’s life instead of Luke’s. Kory could see that he’d been hiding survivor’s guilt deep in the recesses of his mind. If anyone would have asked him if he suffered from it, he would’ve denied it. But he’d been deceiving himself.

A weight had been lifted and he was free, like the sun had appeared after a long season of heavy clouds and rain. A season that lasted years on end.

“Thank you for today,” Kory said softly.

She nodded.

“Dafina...” He took hold of her hand and held it gently, thankful to look at her beautiful hand as he struggled with his thoughts.
Her hand
—he had a ring for her.

“What?”

He looked up, expecting to see concern but instead saw faint amusement. How he loved that about her. “I, uh…” Emotions clogged his brain. Action. That was all he knew. He leaned forward and kissed her, trying to convey his love, breathing in the warmth of her perfume. When he moved away to catch her expression, he couldn’t quite determine her thoughts. Her arms around his shoulders relaxed to let him go. He kissed her softly on her neck then whispered. “I love you, Dafina.”

“Love you, too,” she whispered back, and caressed his cheek and jaw line. Her eyes were liquid sincerity. She gave him a small, soft kiss…the purest kiss.

He sat back in his chair as he was before and went for the box in his jacket pocket. Surely he was only operating on autopilot now, being swallowed up in the moment. His hands shook as he took hold of the ring. “This is for you.”

She took in a surprised breath and smiled. “The tiger-eye ring.” She watched as he slipped it on her left, ring finger, her smile deepening.

“I know it’s not a diamond…but will you marry me?” His voice threatened to give out and he swallowed hard. “I love you, Dafina, and I want to always be with you. For us to make a life together. To have the family that you want. To bring happiness to you.”

Tears of joy welled in her eyes, and she didn’t speak. A dull pain in his gut struck him as he was uncertain of the tears.
No.
Not happiness or joy, they were of out of sadness or grief.
What had he done?

She stood and glanced at the hall as if she wanted to leave the room, but he couldn’t let her go. Not like that. He rushed to her in one step.

He put his arms around her and held her. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She trembled like a feather ready to drift to the floor, and a tear slid down her cheek. Where was her spunkiness and her inner strength? Before she could have easily batted her eyelashes at him and told him to get lost.

“Kory…there—you don’t know.” She stopped and took in a shaky breath. “Remember George, the conversations with Aunt Nesta?”

His thoughts raced. “What? We had a lot of conversations. That’s one of the ways we got to know so much about each other. Her topics delved deep.”

“Think about it.”

George…
the annulment. His arms lost their hold on her as he thought. Auntie had asked if Dafina was expecting, and she’d said it was too early to tell. Dafina had only teased her aunt or was she not teasing? Had she found out that she was pregnant with George’s baby?

Dafina took a small step back, and he let go of her. “Well,” she stated softly. “You’ll have to ask me again later—if you want to marry me. But I’ll wear your ring,” she smiled and her cool, mysterious self was back, “Mr. Kory Slate, writer of horror.”

She disappeared from view as she stepped out of the kitchen.

****

The next morning, Dafina awakened refreshed. She’d totally done the right thing, making Kory think a little bit deeper about what marriage would entail. She had been married before, that was part of her past. And part of her present involved relatives like Aunt Nesta that could pop up at any moment, stay for an extended amount of time, and ask questions—lots of questions.

She didn’t want him to haphazardly make a life changing decision, and if she were totally honest with herself, she needed more time to think about it, too. She knew a bit about what a bad marriage looked like. The loft bedroom in her home appeared in her mind with the horrid, mud-brown bedcover. She shuddered at the sad thoughts the room evoked. How would she ever be able to go to that part of her house again? Maybe it would be best after all, losing the house and starting over.

Still, the thought of Kory asking her to marry him warmed her heart and brought giddy happiness inside. She hadn’t felt that way about George even though she had loved him. How easily everything appeared in its correct form in hindsight.

Kory rushed into things and when uncertain, used that foolish coin to make a choice. She gritted her teeth. He’d better not have used it to decide to propose. At least she’d given him cause to think it over. The poor man looked absolutely befuddled.

She showered quickly and dressed for the day. As she put on her mascara and lipstick, she could hear muffled voices, his parent’s voices—but not Kory’s. Wasn’t like him not to join in on any conversation. Perhaps he was still asleep.

Stepping out into the hall, she could see his open bedroom door. She peeked in. Empty. He’d made his bed and taken off.

“Good morning,” Kory’s mum said. “Come and have breakfast. I’m sorry we have to leave for work. But help yourself to the pancakes or whatever you’d like. There’s cereal and—well, you know.” She laughed.

“Thank you for letting me stay here. Very kind of you.”

“We’re happy to have you.” The older lady’s voice hushed, “Even if you take our son away to live in Wales. You bring out the best in him.”

“That she does,” Kory’s father chimed in. “Also it will give us a reason to go traveling.”

His wife poked him in the ribs.

“Evidently, I’ve said too much.” He half smiled.

“Kory had some things to do at his apartment and said to tell you that he’d be back later. Make yourself at home.” Kory’s mum stepped out of the apartment and his dad followed.

“Have a good day.” Kory’s dad nodded and winked.

Dafina nodded in return and smiled.

After the door closed, she folded her arms across her chest, not feeling too sure about Kory wanting to live in Wales. With him being gone for the day, it wasn’t a very good indicator of his thoughts for her. He’d finally thought it all through.