Better Than Gold (23 page)

He took her hand in both of his and kissed each fingertip.

She stiffened, but didn’t pull away.

“I was alone in my office when Heather burst in looking less frazzled and purely determined. Every time she called me an idiot, she made it sound as if she were doing me a favor.”

The expression on her face didn’t change and that made him hurry on before she bolted.

“She said I should take a chance on happily ever after, another chance. And for the first time in years, I felt free.”

She stared at him, her eyes widened.

“I love you, Mia.”

“Daniel, I—”

“I know I’m not doing a very good job with this. Maybe I am an idiot.” A tiny smile curled the corners of her mouth. “But please, if you will still have me, I’m yours.”

“What about—”

“What about my past? That’s where I want to leave it. Otherwise I’d be an...”

“Idiot.” She grinned and his heart soared.

“Yes, and I don’t like that status much. Even before Heather, Aunt Margaret pleaded with me to find somebody to spend my life with. She would be ecstatic to know I feel I can do that now.” He wanted her to throw herself at him, wind her arms around his neck and never let go, but he wasn’t sure she had that to give anymore. He looked into her blue eyes and searched for the answer. If she rejected him, he’d leave for good this time and let her get on with her life.

She didn’t say anything, she just stared at him. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

“I hope I have found someone. I hope you will have me after all I’ve done to discourage you.” He kissed the palm of her hand and she curled her fingers around the kiss as if she wanted to keep it forever.

“I love you, Daniel.” Her voice was low and sweet. “I think I have ever since you didn’t rat me out to the chief that first day. And I have never found a way to stop.”

Wild joy shot through him. “Mia, I want you in my life forever. I love you.”

Just then the room seemed to burst into color as the sun came out from behind the clouds and the light from the skylights flooded the gleaming kitchen.

“Fireworks!” she exclaimed.

He was sure that must have some special meaning to her.

“Monique said when a guy told me he loved me, fireworks should go off and the world should suddenly seem brighter.”

He brought her mouth to his and she kissed him eagerly, putting her arms around him, giving him what he had wanted all along but was afraid to accept.

He pulled back and smoothed her hair away from her face.

“If I asked you to marry me, would you think I’ve gone too far in the other direction?”

“No. No, I would not. I’d accept, but I have one condition.”

He laughed. She made him laugh and he knew she always would. “Really? A condition? Already?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I deserve that. You name it.”

It was a while before she could name anything, but fireworks went off over and over.

EPILOGUE

T
HE
BRIDES
AND
the grooms and their immediate families were all that fit in the tiny old wooden church for the double wedding ceremony. On the brides’ side were Mia’s parents, Monique’s grandfather and Chief Montcalm. On the grooms’ side were Heather Loch, Mrs. and Mr. Gardner and Lenny’s partner, Officer Doyle.

Waiting, eagerly, at the Pirate’s Roost for the wedding reception were more fishermen and women and townsfolk from the Braven’s gatherings than could be counted on the fingers and toes of both brides and their spouses. There were on-and off-duty police officers, dry cleaning customers and the owner of said store, a contractor without his blue shirt but with his lovely wife and several of his crew. Also in attendance were four distinguished-looking women and their mates, some university types. There were even a few teenagers, but they didn’t stay past the food.

Tending to the guests were the most wonderful bunch of workers, none of whom had been found digging for treasure anywhere in town.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from THE MOMENT OF TRUTH by Tara Taylor Quinn.

CHAPTER ONE

“C
OME
ON
, J
OSH
,
it’s only a few weeks before Thanksgiving, please stay until after the holiday....”

Joshua P. Redmond III, heir to a conglomeration of holdings that spanned the globe, replayed his mother’s words as he stood alone in the elevator of the Rose Garden Residential Resort, watching the floor lights blink their way upward.

Two, three, four.

“My presence is a detriment to Father’s firm, and a source of incredible pain to the Wellingtons.”
His stilted response followed his mother’s plea in his replay of that morning’s breakfast table conversation.

“You are our son, Josh. Your father cares more about you than he does about the firm.”

Six, seven, eight.

“And you are more important to us than the Wellingtons, too, you know that.”

And if tradition provided for a small family gathering at the Redmond mansion, Josh might have stayed—to please his mother who’d done nothing but champion him since the day he was born.

Nine, ten, eleven.

But Thanksgiving at the Redmond estate had always been a highly coveted social affair among Boston’s elite. To uninvite the Wellingtons would be in poor taste. Beyond indecent.

It wasn’t anything that would have crossed his mind six months ago.

Twelve, thirteen, fourteen.

“I’m leaving this evening, Mom. It’s for the best.”

She’d nodded then, blinking away tears. He knew she’d given in because his going was for the best. And because she’d already pushed him as far as she could in getting him to agree to relocate to the godforsaken desert town of Shelter Valley.

As godforsaken as he was, he should fit right in there.

Seventeen.

A bell dinged gently, followed by the almost imperceptible glide to a stop that preceded the opening of the doors in front of him.

Plush beige carpet greeted him. Stepping out, he hardly noticed the cream-colored walls with maroon accents, or the expensive-looking paintings adorning them. Michelle Wellington’s suite, one of four on the floor, was to the right. He headed in that direction.

Who would ever have believed, two months ago, when they’d arrived in separate cars for their combined bachelor/bachelorette party, that the vivacious and sexy, gracious and gorgeous twenty-seven-year-old brunette would be reduced to living in a long-term care facility? An expensive and elegant one, to be sure, but still a home for those who couldn’t function on their own.

Michelle should have been lounging on a private beach on an island off the French coast, enjoying her honeymoon— their honeymoon.

“Hi, sweetie.” He announced himself the very same way every time he visited.

Her vacant gaze continued to stare forward.

Approaching the maroon velvet-upholstered chair, he held out the sprig of colorful wildflowers in his hand. Michelle loved natural arrangements, colorful arrangements, not hothouse or professionally raised blooms. Something he’d learned from her mother while they were both sitting in the hospital waiting room two months before.

Dressed in a silk blouse and linen pants, she showed no reaction to the flowers he’d placed in her direct line of vision. The ties holding her upright and in the chair were discreet—and all that he saw.

“I brought flowers,” he said. He’d have brought chocolate, too, if she’d been able to taste it through the feeding tube that administered all of her nourishment these days.

No more decadence for Michelle Wellington.

No more sushi or expensive wine, shopping, traveling or any of the other things she’d loved.

And he, Joshua P. Redmond III, descendent not only of the Boston Redmonds, but also, on his mother’s side, of the even more influential Boston Montfords, was largely to blame.

* * *

“H
EY
,
LITTLE
FELLA
,
where’s your family?”

The soft, feminine voice floated through the balmy Arizona night, seemingly out of nowhere.

Stopping on the path behind the Montford University library, a shortcut to the parking lot where she’d left her car, twenty-five-year-old Dana Harris listened.

“It’s okay, little guy,” Dana heard the woman say. “I won’t hurt you.”

Dana hardly took a breath as she strained to pinpoint the direction the voice came from.

“Come on, it’s okay. See? I won’t hurt you. Where do you belong?”

The voice came from the right, and all she could see there was a huge desert plant of some kind. Still fairly new to campus, Dana didn’t know what lay behind the large desert bush that stood well over her head. She didn’t usually park where she’d parked that evening, didn’t usually take this route to her car and had never studied at the library this late before.

“You’re all right,” the voice crooned. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? Both of us out alone in the dark and cold? Don’t worry, little buddy, I’ll take care of you.”

Rounding the bush slowly, Dana caught sight of a small figure leaning against a cement wall that matched all the others that surrounded trash Dumpsters on campus, with what looked to be a ten-or fifteen-pound dog in her arms.

“Hey,” she called out softly. “I don’t want to startle you, but I couldn’t help overhearing...”

The owner of the voice glanced up, and with the help of the security light shining behind the Dumpster, Dana recognized her.

“You’re in my freshman English class,” she said, in case the younger woman was nervous, being approached in the dark.

The other girl studied Dana for a second. “Yeah,” she said after a moment. “I’m Lori Higley. And you’re the woman who always sits in the front row.”

“Right.” Drawing the sides of her sweater around her, Dana moved closer. “What have you got there?”

“A dog, or rather a puppy, I think. I’m not sure what kind. But his paws are pretty big for his size so I’m thinking he’s young and going to be big.”

Reaching out, Dana stroked the dog’s back. “It’s okay, little fella,” she said gently when she felt the animal quiver beneath her touch.

“He’s scared,” Lori said, adjusting the dog in her arms so Dana could get a better look at him.

“And hungry, too, I’d guess,” Dana replied, scratching him lightly under the chin, near the throat. “His back is too bony.”

“Do you think he’s abandoned?”

“He has a collar.”

“I couldn’t read the tag.”

Moving together, Dana and Lori approached the security light and Lori held the dog aloft as Dana studied the tag on his collar.

“He’s had his rabies shot, which means he’s probably at least three months old,” she said. “But there’s no name or ID other than the rabies registration number.”

The dog shivered, and shoved his nose against Dana’s hand. “We can call the vet in the morning and see if we can have this tag traced,” she said, lightly massaging the top of the dog’s head with her fingers. The more good feeling they could bestow on the little guy, the better chance that he’d relax.

She was also checking for mats or scabs or any other sign of disease or abuse.

“He was cowering in the corner over there by the Dumpster,” Lori said, rubbing the dog’s side as she held him. A bit huskier than Dana, Lori took the little guy’s weight with one arm.

“Probably looking for something to eat.”

“I’ve got tuna in my dorm...” Lori’s voice faded away, and Dana remembered overhearing the girl say something about being alone in the cold.

“I’ve got a kitchen full of food at home,” she said quickly. “Why don’t the two of you come with me and we’ll get a better look at this guy while he eats.”

“You live off campus?” Lori’s gaze matched the envious tone in her voice.

“I have a duplex about a mile from here. You can ride with me in my car if you’d like. That way you can hold him. And I’ll bring you back whenever you’re ready. Do you have a curfew?”

From what she’d heard, the dorms at Montford were still old-school—separated by gender and under pretty firm house rules. Dana started slowly walking toward her car.

“It’s not until midnight, and I’m in no hurry to go back.” Still cuddling the puppy, Lori fell into step beside Dana.

“Problems?”

“A roommate who was great until she met some guy that she can’t live without. We have a suite and right now he’s in the living room part of it with her and they’ll do it even if I’m there.”

“I thought the dorms were segregated.”

“They are.”

“So he’s not supposed to be in the room?”

“Right. But if I tell on them, I’ll have made a couple of enemies for life. They don’t care if I’m around so it’s not like I can act all put-out, like they’re keeping me from my room or anything. And I don’t want them to get kicked out of school.”

“Did you know her before you came to school?”

“Yeah. Forever. She’s my best friend. Or she was until she met him. She started drinking with him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s doing drugs, too.”

“Montford’s not the place to start screwing around with that stuff.” Dana crossed behind the library and headed toward the parking lot in the distance. Her little used Mazda was the only vehicle there. “From what I’ve heard, they’ve got zero tolerance for substance abuse. You’re caught, you’re out.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t stop kids from partying. It goes on even here, trust me,” Lori said. “Kids are more cool about it, and keep it quieter, but college is college, you know? I just never expected Marissa to get into that scene. We were like the nerds in high school because we were the only two in our class who didn’t party. It’s one of the reasons we chose Montford.”

They’d reached Dana’s car. Unlocking the passenger door, she held it open while Lori, puppy in arms, slid inside.

“Where are you from?” she asked the pretty blonde beside her as she started the car.

Dana had always wanted blond hair—naturally blond—instead of the mousy brown she’d been born with. Her younger half sisters both had blond hair. At least she had their blue eyes.

“I’m from Bisbee. It’s a little town in southern Arizona. How about you?”

“I’m from Richmond, Indiana. It’s on the Ohio border.” She gave the dog a reassuring scratch and put the car in gear. “My folks own a small chain of furniture stores there.”

“Indiana is days away from here!” Lori said. “What brought you all the way across the country? You have relatives here?”

“Nope.” Dana shook her head, feeling a tug as her long ponytail caught between her back and the seat. “I’m here on scholarship.”

“What made you apply to Montford?”

It was just talk. A normal conversation between fellow students who’d just rescued a dog.

And it was excruciating as far as Dana was concerned—the explaining, answering to and thinking about her past. Shelter Valley represented a new start for her. A life where she could just be Dana Harris, a person who wasn’t second-best, who didn’t wear Cinderella clothes and live a Cinderella life. A woman who’d accepted a scholarship she hadn’t applied for, to embark on a life she hadn’t planned on, because she hadn’t been able to bear the thought of doing as her father had demanded and marry a man she didn’t love.

But then, Daniel Harris, for whom she’d been named, the man she’d always called “Dad” and thought was her biological father, wasn’t really her father. And no matter how far away she roamed, or how hard she tried to be good enough, that fact was never going to change.

Copyright © 2013 by Tara Taylor Quinn