Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3) (21 page)

(Camille, Outside of Cancun, Mexico)

I couldn’t believe my eyes – Will was here.  I looked to a small group sitting in white plastic chairs set up under a clump of trees, hidden from view of the cottage by shrubs.  Beau and Lacey, Bruce and Hannah, Bart, Ben and Gretchen were all sitting in the shade.  Drake’s mom, Hallenjah Nash, sat in between Gretchen and a Centaur who looked like an older version of Drake.  Bianca walked up and stood next to Gage, her smile beaming, “Surprise.”

I was stunned.  “How did you. . . ?”

Will’s arms gathered me in a tight hug.  “Bianca always has a few tricks up her sleeve.”  He was smiling so hard that his eyes wrinkled.  I let go of Will and leaped the few steps to Lacey and Beau, who both stood up and hugged me hard.

I hadn’t seen them since they left South Dakota and went into hiding.
  She leaned down close to my ear, “I told you it would work out.”  Lacey was the seer.  Before she and Beau left South Dakota, she told me not to worry, things were going to work out.  The realization hit me:  it was
her
voice that I had heard in my head.  All those times I tried to convince Drake his transformation was only temporary – it was because Lacey had seen it.  She told me before she left.

Bruce and Hannah hugged me
next.  Drake and I first met at their wedding, and I couldn’t believe they’d risk exposing themselves to come to ours.  Bart and Ben were all smiles, too.  Both gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Gretchen
stood on the other side of Ben, and when she hugged me, it wasn’t a quick embrace.  She held me so tightly it nearly crushed my lungs.  I couldn’t believe my eyes; everyone was supposed to be in hiding.  Why would they risk coming here?

Gretchen heard my thoughts and answered
aloud, “We couldn’t let you get married without your family.”  She motioned to Drake’s parents, “Your whole family.”

Drake stepped up to hug his parents th
en wound his arms around my waist as his lips went to my ear, “Sorry.  Gage and Bianca made me promise not to tell.  They wanted to surprise you.  We should get started before we lose the priest in the surf.  Don’t worry – everyone is staying for the party afterwards.”

“Party?”

“Let this be a lesson to us both.  If Bianca tells us she needs two hours to make room reservations, she is probably doing more than making a couple phone calls.”

Hallenjah
held out her hand and I took it.  She looked almost regal.  I had only met her once, briefly, when she told me Drake was still alive, and she took the dreadful shock collar off of me so we could escape Zandra’s house.  Her voice was warm, “You look radiant, Camille.  Welcome to our family.”  Her words nearly brought tears to my eyes.  She knew I was from the Lost Herd, yet she willingly accepted me.

Drake’s father was a different story.  He
took my hand awkwardly, and his palm felt stiff around mine.  “Mr. Nash, it’s great to finally meet you.”

Drake’s Dad looked from me to Bianca
and back to me.  His eyes held nothing but loathing – it was obvious he didn’t want to be here.  I remembered Drake telling me his father had wanted him to collect a Blood Debt when Bianca had run off with Gage.  Drake had stood up to his father and told him it was his idea to call things off with Bianca.

The smile I’d plastered on my face began to falter.  I looked to my right,
where Drake had appeared beside me.  “We’re both glad you’re here, Dad.”

His father huffed, “
Didn’t have much of a choice, did I?  Couldn’t let your mother come here by herself.”

Hallenjah’s voice was
irritated, “Don’t you start, Nathan.  When your only son gets married, you drop what you’re doing to be a part of it.”

In an unfriendly tone and wearing an angry look
, Nathan said, “You are lovely.”  I didn’t know why he bothered to say something nice if he didn’t mean it and he didn’t want to be here.

Drake and I had been through so much
:  two kidnappings, the belief that he’d died, his transformation into a Centaur Warrior, running for our lives – too much for anyone to get to spoil today.  I didn’t listen in, but I believed Hallenjah was silently scolding him.  Drake’s words were soft and sweet in my head, “
He doesn’t do well with surprises.  Don’t pay any attention to him.
”

I nodded my answer to Drake, but turned my eyes on his father.  “Mr. Nash, could I have a word with you?”

Hallenjah and Drake froze.  My tone was sharp and anyone within ten feet knew it wasn’t a request.  “Do I have a choice?”  He raised his eyebrows.

“No.” 
As I started walking back toward the bungalow, Drake and Hallenjah took a step in our direction.  I turned around and shook my head, “No, we’ll just be a minute.”

We were back on the porch of the bungalow before either of us said a word
to the other.  He stared at me with angry eyes.  Maybe he was mad that I’d pulled him away from Hallenjah.  Maybe he was embarrassed I’d been so forceful in front of everyone.  Maybe he was just a jerk.  “Can I call you Nathan?”

He nodded. 
With more confidence than I was feeling, “Okay, out with it.  This is the ‘speak now’ part – before you have to ‘forever hold your peace’.”

Nathan’s words were sharp,
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“Really? 
Maybe I can get things going for you.  How about: you’re not good enough for my son.  Let’s start there.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Don’t let me put words in your mouth.  Whatever problem you have with Drake and me getting married, I want to know what it is now.”

“You want to know what my problem is?”

“Duh” was sooooo the wrong answer, and in spite of myself I almost let it slip out.  Instead I just looked at him, waiting for a response.  I didn’t want a shouting match, and I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to fix whatever his issue was, but he was Drake’s dad, so I was going to listen.

“Fine.  You’re from the Lost Herd.  He marries you, his future
’s over.”

“That’s not a secret.  Drake loves me
, and he doesn’t care who my parents are.”

“Of course
, he doesn’t.  It’s his life.  His choice.  It doesn’t matter what I think, so I’m not sure why we’re wasting time.  You want to get married so bad, go do it.”

“You know we wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for Hallenjah, right?”

His words were slow and hateful, “Don’t remind me.”

A
nger began mauling my insides.  I leaned up against the beam of the bungalow, steadying my legs.  If he felt this strongly – should I go through with it?  Did he already blame Hallenjah?  “So, you wanted Drake and Bianca to marry.”

“That’s not a secret
, either.  She was perfect for him.”

I couldn’t keep the
frustration and anger from my voice, “She was in love with Gage.  Drake wouldn’t have been happy.  They both would have been miserable.”

His words rushed out, “They would have had a future.  He could have had children with her.  He could have taken over my business and had a
n honorable life.  Instead, he’ll be looking over his shoulder for what’s left of his life.  You’ve effectively destroyed our blood line by choosing him.  Now you want me to be happy about it?  Fine, I couldn’t be happier that you’re getting ready to exchange vows with my son.  You’re signing his death warrant.  For the love of Zeus, don’t have any children – the loss of Drake and grandchildren would kill Hallenjah.”

Nathan looked out into the surf.  I felt like
he’d given me a swift kick in the stomach.  The anger was gone, so was my rage that had steadily built up toward him.  This didn’t have anything to do with him being angry about me being from the Lost Herd – at least not the way I was picturing it.  All those times Drake said his father didn’t care for him or didn’t approve of him, nothing could have been further from the truth.  My answer was calm, “I can’t promise you any set number of days you’ll have left with Drake.  I don’t know if we’ve just got today, or ten days, or ten years, or a lifetime.  The only promise I can give you is every day he has left will be spent with a Centauride who can’t live without him.”

He blinked but didn’t turn away from the ocean.  “I know you don’t approve
of me.  If I were in your shoes, I’d probably feel the same.  But you know as well as I do, Drake isn’t like other Centaurs.  Drake would do more than sacrifice his life for me, he’d sacrifice who he is, and do it without regrets.  I’ll never forget who he is.  He’s your son and he learned how to be who he is from you.”

Nathan continued looking off into the distance.  Drake said the two had never been close, but
after this conversation, I knew it wasn’t because Nathan didn’t care about him.

I eased over toward him, understanding him better than maybe his own son did. 
“Drake told me that you wanted a big family.  He remembers Hallenjah trying to convince you to try again, to have more children.  Drake said he remembers her screaming at you about it, but you wouldn’t.”

There was something different in his voice when he spoke.  A tenderness that hadn’t been there before. 
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hallenjah had complications giving birth to him.  You wouldn’t try to have any more kids because you couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.”  Nathan’s eyes wouldn’t meet mine
, and his silence told me I was right.  “That’s how much I love your son.  No matter how impossible the odds, we’re going to succeed, because I can’t stand the thought of a day without him.”

He turned toward me and looked into my eyes. 
Nathan shared the same color eyes as Drake – the same piercing ice blue.  “I don’t know if we’ll be successful.  I can’t guarantee that we won’t be hunted like dogs.  But if you ask him, he’d tell you he’d take a few days of bliss with me over a lifetime without me.  That’s how I feel about him, too.”  I waited for him to argue with me, but no words came.  “Deep down, you know I’m right, because that’s how you feel about Hallenjah.”

His gaze refused to drop mine
as he pursed his lips together hard and nodded.  We stood there in silence.  The only sound was the surf gently lapping against the beach.  I waited for him to say something epic, or maybe just kind, or anything.  Nathan pushed himself off the wall of the bungalow and held his hand out to me, “I see now why Drake was so taken with you.  Not only are you lovely, you are compelling.”  That didn’t sound like much of a compliment, but he gave me the same smile Drake had with the dimples that made me want to melt.  “C’mon, the others are waiting.”

“Slow your roll, Speedracer.”  That was one of Daniel’s phrases
, and I’d always wanted to say it.  In twenty-three years, this was my first opportunity.  “You’re okay with the wedding?”

He nodded, “I’m more than okay with it.
  I forgot what it felt like to be young and in love.  Thank you for reminding me.”

When we got back to the beach
, Drake and Hallenjah looked nervous.  I’d purposely blocked Drake from the conversation so he couldn’t listen in.  I didn’t know if Nathan had done the same, but from her questioning look, I’d bet that he had, as well.

Drake took my hand in his and led me to the awaiting priest.

The ceremony was perfect.  I barely heard the priest’s words, and even if I had, his accent was so thick that they sounded like he was speaking in Spanish.  It was Drake’s ice blue eyes that held me captive on the sand throughout the short ceremony.  His fingers caressed mine as he held my hands and a warmth baked from inside me.

Drake gently slipped the ring on my finger, “
Mom brought these with her.  They belonged to my grandparents
. 
When my grandfather passed in a car accident, my grandmother left for the pasture a week later.  She couldn’t stand the loneliness of losing her Centaur, and her body refused to live without him.  Mom told me she saw the same love in your eyes that she always saw in her mother’s and wanted us to have them.
”

G
oosebumps erupted on my arms.  The priest announced, “I no’ pronuse yo man e wife.”

Drake and I
turned around while a photographer was snapping pictures rapidly.  Bianca really had thought of everything.  Ben and Bart walked straight up to us and said, “Welcome to the family,” then proceeded to tackle Drake into the ocean.

Laughter erupted from all sides. 
Drake stood up and was soaked from head to toe.  He walked out of the water, all smiles, shaking the salty water from his face.  He wrapped his arms around me and bellowed, “I don’t know what you’re laughing at.”  Within seconds he had brought me down into the ocean with him.

The priest excused himself and the party commenced.  Tables full of food were carried down to the beach by more men wearing nicely pressed white shirts.  Caribbean music echoed out on the beach
, and a full-blown party ensued well into the night.

Drake’s parents were not at all what I had expected
.  Both could dance, like dancing I’d only seen on music videos.  His father threw Hallenjah in the surf before the night was over, too.  As Hallenjah’s laugh echoed along the beach, Drake watched his parents play in the water.  I stood next to him, intertwining my fingers with his, “Your dad isn’t what I expected.”