A Place to Rest My Heart (26 page)
Tommy walked Connor to the door. I looked at Sean. “I guess it is finally all over, huh?”
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I think it is.” He brought my hand to his lips, his eyes never leaving mine, “I believe you said you loved me last night.”
“Hmm. Did I? I can’t remember.” I tried to say it with a straight face, I really did, but it was impossible. My heart was near to bursting. It was over. The monster in the closet was truly gone. I don’t know who killed him and I didn’t care. James could never hurt anyone ever again. That was all that mattered.
“So, Laney Murphy, when will you marry me?”
“Well, Sean Michael Muldoon, I’ll marry you when you ask me properly.”
“I did ask you.”
“No, as I recall you told me you were going to marry me.”
“Same difference.”
“It is not.” I drank more tea trying to get some volume in my voice.
“Jesus, Laney.” Sean said, standing up and turning away from me, hands in his pockets. “Are you ever happy?” He turned back around and got down on one knee. “Laney Murphy, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” He opened up my hand and placed a small velvet box in it. I looked around the room at all the shining faces of my family and then opened the box. I almost closed it back up and handed it to him. Inside was a golden band encrusted with small emeralds.
“This is … this is too much.”
Sean shook his head. “I see I am going to have my work cut out for me in showing you just how much you mean to me.” He took it out of the box and took my hand in his. “Will you marry me?”
I could have sworn at that moment I heard William’s voice in my head saying, “You’re damn right you will.” I laughed and answered him, “Yes.”
Sean slid the ring on my finger and kissed it. His eyes were as bright as mine. All the love he felt lived there within his eyes. It flowed between us as deep as the ocean and just as strong.
The celebration of family and friends began and went well into the night. Eventually we exchanged Christmas presents but they were almost anticlimactic after the past twenty-four hours. Eventually, I found a few minutes alone with Tommy. “You know, I don’t think you’re quite happy enough.” He teased.
“You know,” I said with feigned seriousness, “you’re quite right. I think all would be right with the world if you would give me away.” For the first time since I met him, Tommy was speechless.
“I think Dad would approve of you standing in for him.” Tommy nodded and enfolded me in his arms with surprising gentleness. “I would be honored, little girl.”
That night as I lay in Sean’s arms and listened to the rain on the roof, I thought back at how far I had come. When I arrived at Muldoon’s almost a year ago, I would have laughed in your face if you had told me I would have found peace and contentment here. So much had come before arriving here and so much after that. And there was still more to come. There would be difficult times and we would handle them. We would. I liked the sound of that. We.
“You should be sleeping,” Seam said, pulling me closer.
I turned to look at him. “I’m not tired.”
“Woman, you should be exhausted after the last twenty-four hours.” He gently kissed me. “God, Laney, I was so scared I had lost you. You weren’t breathing when I found you.”
“Tell me how it is that you did find me.”
“When I arrived and couldn’t find you, Mike said that you had gone upstairs to fix your face. So I got a beer and waited around by the stairs hoping to surprise you when came down. I was just about ready to come up and tell you your face was perfect, when I heard the sound of breaking glass. Mike was just starting down the hall when he saw me dash up the stairs. I went right through the door, locked or not. I found you on the floor, with James lying on top of you. I pulled him off and Mike turned on the light by your bedside. You weren’t breathing at all. I gave you mouth to mouth, and yelled at you a lot.”
“I know. I heard you cursing me. I dreamed I was talking to William. He and I were standing on the beach in Santa Cruz. He told me I had to go back.”
“I thought I heard you say his name when you first started breathing.”
I touched Sean’s cheek. “Did that bother you?”
He smiled and ran his hands over my back as he pulled me closer still. “Sweetheart, I should thank him profusely for sending you back to me.”
“When do you want to get married?” I yawned and snuggled closer.
“How does springtime sound?”
“Fine. Just fine,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Sean and I were married on the first day of spring in Tommy and Molly’s backyard. The reception, of course, was at Muldoon’s. There was no other fitting place. Tommy and Molly both cried as Sean and I drove off to begin our honeymoon.
“I have a stop to make,” Sean said, his face serious but his eyes merry. “You need to put on this blindfold.”
“What are you up to, Sean Muldoon?” I took the scarf from his hand. I shook my head but tied the scarf over my eyes and hoped I wasn’t going to be on an episode of
America’s Funniest Videos
.
“Laney Muldoon, I don’t know what you mean. I have a gift for you that cannot wait until we get back from Maui and I will say no more.”
True to his word, I couldn’t drag it out of him. Twenty minutes later we pulled to a stop. “Hang on.” Sean got out and I heard him come around the car and open my door. “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” He said, taking my arm and guiding me out of the car. I felt silly with the blindfold on as I stepped up on a curb.
“I know you’ve been looking for a place to start New Directions.” I turned to the sound of Sean’s voice.
“How did you know that?” I had only told Mason about it on one of our many flights to and from Los Angeles. We had won the case and it was only a matter of time and paperwork before the money was mine to do with as I pleased. “Mason told you,” I said, not knowing if I should feel mad about that. I was planning on telling Sean about my ideas once I was sure I had won. I wasn’t afraid to tell him. I knew he would support whatever I did.
“She did, but only because she found this building a couple of days ago and knew you had no time to take a look at it.”
Sean removed my blindfold, and my eyes adjusted to the sunlight. We were standing in front of an old brick building. It had a brick front walk up, three floors, and a sign over the doorway that read, “Future Home of New Directions.” I looked at Sean in shock. “If you don’t like it then you can look for a different place. But Mason, Mindy, and Stacey all thought it would be perfect. Mason told me about your ideas on how to use the money you inherited from William. You have my help whenever you need it.”
I just stood there, mouth open.
“Come on. I got the key from the landlord.” Sean grabbed my hand, dragged me up the brick steps, and, unlocking the door, pushed it open and stepped aside for me to go through.
I knew the moment I walked in that this was the place. I could see the offices that would be used to help people find jobs, get on their own feet, and get out of the fear.
I wandered around each room and up each floor while Sean hung back, watching me.
He finally got tired of waiting for me to say something. Anything. “Well?” The sun was just starting to set as I looked out the back windows from the third floor. I could just make out the Pacific Ocean over the tops of other buildings. Streaks of pink and orange light radiated out over the gathering fog.
I extended my hand to grasp Sean’s and then took his face in my hands. “You have given me the perfect gift, Sean Michael Muldoon. The perfect gift.” I pulled him closer and kissed him gently. We stood at the window, arms around each other, and watched the sun set. I just hoped that he was ready for the gift I would be delivering to him in eight months. I laughed and leaned against Sean and looked to the future.
About The Author
Galen Rose: I have repaired bikes, been a telephone solicitor, a day care aide, managed the order department of a family law publishing firm and for 9 years I ran an on-line Celtic jewelry and gifts store. Oh, and you can add in wife and stay-at-home-mom too. A Jill of many trades but not one true color for my parachute, until the day I sat down to write and kept on writing for three months. Once I came up to breathe and catch up on life and laundry, I knew I had finally discovered what I wanted to do.
I live in the Santa Cruz mountains with my very patient and supportive husband, my teenaged son who seems determined to give me gray hair, and 3.5 cats. When I’m not writing, I’m photographing flowers or wildlife, tending my garden or cooking. I have a passion for travel and a love of people watching.
Stop by and say hello at:
In the mood for more Crimson Romance?
Check out
Killing Casanova
by Traci McDonald
at
CrimsonRomance.com
.
