Homecoming (22 page)

Twenty-one

Tyler extended a hand to one of the pilots flying the Gulfstream IV jet, shaking his hand. “Good afternoon, Captain Gonzalez.”

The pilot inclined his head. “Dr. Cole.”

The fingers of Tyler’s left hand tightened around Dana’s waist. “Dana, this Captain Gonzalez, our copilot for this flight. Captain, I’d like to present my fiancée, Dana Nichols.”

Smiling broadly, Captain Gonzalez removed his cap, tucking it under his arm. “My pleasure, Miss Nichols. I’d like to offer my congratulations on your upcoming marriage.”

Dana found it impossible not to return the handsome pilot’s disarming smile. “Thank you very much.”

“Are you ready?” Tyler whispered close to her ear.

“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. And she was ready, ready to become Mrs. Tyler Cole and ready to share her life and future with him.

She followed Tyler up the stairs and into the sleek jet, her eyes widening in shock as she surveyed a forty-foot cabin that was configured for eleven to thirteen passengers, with sofas that folded out into beds. There was also a full galley and two rest rooms.

Captain Gonzalez entered the aircraft, pulled up the steps, then closed and locked the cabin door. He walked to the cockpit and took his seat next to the
pilot, where they awaited the signal from the tower to take off.

Tyler belted Dana in, before he sat beside her and repeated the action for himself. Holding her hand, he stared at her looking out the large oval window. She’d had no way of knowing when she’d made an appointment to have her hair styled that it was because she was going to a wedding—her own. The pale rose-pink color on her nails and toes was soft and complementary to her tanned golden coloring. Her chemically straightened hair, set, blown out, the blunt-cut ends turned under with a large curling iron, swayed above her shoulder each time she moved her head. The hot summer sun had bleached the light brown strands until they shimmered like liquid gold.

“Who owns this jet?” she asked, her attention focused on the activity outside the aircraft.

“A cousin.”

Turning her head, she stared at Tyler. “Your cousin in Georgetown?”

He shook his head, knowing it was time he revealed his family connections. “No. The cousin is the eldest son of one of my aunts. Timothy Cole Thomas is the CEO of ColeDiz International, Ltd. ColeDiz is family-owned, operated, and controlled.”

Dana’s mouth formed a perfect O when realization dawned as to whom she would marry. “You’re one of those
Coles?
” Closing his eyes, Tyler nodded slowly. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

He opened his eyes and smiled. “Would it have made a difference, Dana? Would you not have consented to marry me if you’d known that I was one of those
Coles?
”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “To be completely honest, I never considered marrying anyone.”

“Why not?”

“I guess it was because of my parents. Their marriage seemed perfect for so many years, but toward the end they argued every day about every little thing. After a while I didn’t want them to stay together because of the constant bickering. And it was always the same thing, my dad accusing my mother of running around with other men.”

“Could he prove she was seeing other men?”

“I don’t think he could at first.”

A slight frown marred Tyler’s smooth forehead. “He did later?”

“Yes. At least that’s what he said the night she was murdered. I don’t know why, I can recall every word of their argument that night. He said, ‘How can you still do it now that I have proof? Don’t you have any shame?’”

“Do you know what proof he was talking about?”

She shook her head. “No, but he did call her a tramp.”

Turning in his seat, Tyler caught her delicate chin, forcing Dana to directly look at him. “Did you ever think that maybe your mother was pregnant and that the child in her womb wasn’t your father’s?”

“I don’t think so. There was no mention of a baby.”

“Please fasten your seat belts. We’re cleared for takeoff.” The pilot’s voice came through the speakers positioned throughout the cabin, and the conversation about Harry and Alicia Nichols was dropped.

The jet eased forward, taxiing down the runway before picking up speed. Closing her eyes and pressing her head against the back of the seat, Dana felt the power of the jet as it lifted off, climbing steadily before leveling off above the clouds.

She sat, Tyler’s hand cradling hers protectively in his stronger grasp, willing her mind blank. Dr. Tyler
Cole was a ColeDiz Cole! The enormity of the life she would be thrust into was too unbelievable to fathom.

Her soon-to-be husband was a member of the wealthiest African-American family in the country, though the Coles had never disclosed the extent of their vast wealth. He’d talked about looking over loose diamonds the way a farmer would discuss his anticipated yield from a corn or soybeans crop.

You’re just like your mother
, her inner voice nagged at her again.

Alicia had wanted to marry up, live in a grand house, and flaunt her status as the wife of Dr. Harry Nichols.

Dana wanted to shout to the world that she wasn’t Alicia Nichols because when she married Tyler she would remain faithful to him.

She loved him!

“I love you.”

Tyler went completely still, his whole face spreading into a smile. She’d finally said it!

Reaching over, he unbuckled her belt, lifting her effortlessly onto his lap. “Say it again,” he whispered in her ear. “Please.” At that moment he didn’t care how desperate he sounded.

Holding his head to her breasts, Dana pressed her lips to his close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair. “I love you, Tyler Cole.”

Rocking her gently, he kissed her mouth. “You are my everything. My life. My all.”

The time passed in a blur for Dana from the moment a limousine met them on a private airfield at the West Palm Beach airport for the drive to the Cole family estate.

She stared out the window at a large house designed
in Spanish and Italian Revival styles with barrel-tiled red roofs, a stucco façade, and balconies shrouded in lush bougainvillea and sweeping French doors that opened onto broad expanses of terraces with spectacular panoramic water views. The magnificent structure was surrounded by tropical foliage, exotic gardens, and the reflection of light off sparkling lake waters.

“No, I didn’t grow up here,” Tyler said, reading her mind. “My father did. But he lives here now because of my
abuela
.”

“I take it
abuela
is grandmother?”

“Sí, senorita.”

She cast her eyes downward, blushing. “I suppose I’ll be around for more than four months, so now you can teach me to speak Spanish.”

“I intend to have your around for a long, long time, Mrs. Cole.”

She placed her fingertips over his mouth. “You can’t call me that for another twenty-four hours.” Their wedding ceremony was planned for seven Saturday evening.

“I’m just practicing. You’ll become one of only three other Mrs. Coles. There’s my mother, my uncle David’s wife Serena, and of course my grandmother.”

“There are no other Cole men?”

“Uncle David has two sons, Gabriel and Jason, but everyone’s given up on any of his children marrying.”

The driver stopped the car, shifting into park. Just as he exited the limousine to open the back door for his passengers, the front door to the opulent structure opened. A knowing smile touched Dana’s mouth when she saw a tall, silver-haired man descend the steps. She knew this man was Tyler’s father and her soon-to-be father-in-law.

She stepped out, reaching for Tyler’s hand, but he was already striding toward his father, arms outstretched.
Watching, she saw them embrace warmly before Tyler kissed his father on both cheeks.

Shifting, Tyler held out his hand to her. She took it, moving closer to his side. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Dana Nichols. Dana, this is Martin Diaz Cole—my father.”

Martin stared at the delicate woman standing beside his son through half-lowered lids, his mind taking him back fifty years to when he first saw a young woman walk into the private room at a Palm Beach restaurant for an engagement party for a mutual friend. Dana Nichols wasn’t as tall as Parris, but her coloring and jewel-like eyes were similar. And it was like father, like son. He’d fallen in love with Parris Simmons on sight, and it was apparently the same with Tyler and Dana Nichols.

Martin pulled Dana to his chest, lowered his head, and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I welcome you on behalf of the entire family. I hope you think of me as your father, because as of now you are my daughter.”

She felt the power in the solid body pressed to hers. Martin Cole had celebrated his eighty-first birthday in January, but could easily pass for a man ten years younger. His silver hair lay against his scalp in layered precision, while a network of lines around his large dark eyes were more from squinting in the hot sun than age. And like fine wine, he’d aged beautifully.

“Everyone’s out back waiting to meet you,” Martin said in a soft drawling voice that reminded Dana of Tyler’s.

Tyler winked at her. “Are you ready?”

She flashed a tight smile. “I think I am.”

Martin instructed the driver to leave Tyler and Dana’s luggage in the foyer while he led the way along a flagstone path to the rear of the house.

Dana would’ve bolted and run if Tyler hadn’t tightened
his grip on her fingers. There appeared to be hundreds of people sitting and standing around a grassy area large enough for two football fields. Moving closer to her fiancé’s side, she affected what she hoped was a smile.

Leaning down from his superior height, Tyler whispered, “Each one is going to come to meet you and I’ll introduce them to you. We’ll begin with my
abuela
.”

Tyler led her over to a frail white-haired woman sitting in a wheelchair. The beauty that had been so obvious in her youth had not faded completely with age.

Hunkering down, Tyler held Marguerite Josefina Diaz-Cole’s hand in a gentle grip. “
Abuela
, I’d like you to meet the woman who’s going to become mine tomorrow.” He’d spoken in Spanish because M.J., as everyone called her, had decided she didn’t want to speak English anymore.

M.J. raised her head, staring up at Dana for a long moment. She smiled, and twin dimples creased her paper-thin cheeks. “She’s lovely,” she remarked in Spanish. “She will give you beautiful children.”

Tyler translated his grandmother’s remarks for Dana, who blushed furiously. “Tell her thank you.”

“Tell her yourself. All you have to say is,
gracias, abuela
.”

Bending slightly, Dana kissed M.J. on the cheek, repeating the Spanish.
“Gracias, abuela
.”

“De nada, nieta.”

“She said, ‘Thank you, granddaughter,’ ” Tyler explained, translating the Spanish again.

“Why didn’t you tell me I needed a crash course in Spanish?” she whispered to Tyler.

“You’re safe now. Everyone else speaks English.” He led her over to his mother, flashing a wide grin. “This beautiful lady is my mother, Parris. Mom, Dana.”

Parris flashed her son a thumbs-up sign before she
hugged Dana. “If you call me Parris I’ll disown you. I want you to call me Mom.”

Dana stared at the tall woman with the mysterious brown-green eyes. “Thank you.”

Holding her at arm’s length, Parris smiled. “No. Thank
you
. I can see that you’ve made my son very happy.”

“That’s because he makes me deliriously happy.”

Tyler led her over to another couple. There was no doubt the tall woman leading against a man with silver-gray hair and a neatly barbered gray mustache was Tyler’s sister.

“This very beautiful woman is my older sister, Regina. The gentleman with her is her husband and my brother-in-law. Aaron and Regina live half the year in Bahia, Brazil, and divide the other half between Mexico and Florida. Aaron can take all of the credit for helping me to decide to go into medical research.”

Regina moved forward, hugging Dana while kissing her cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

Dana was surprised to hear Regina’s low throaty voice. Tall and elegant, she was definitely her parents’ child. She’d even inherited the trademark Cole dimples.

Tyler walked over to another woman, who sat on a cushion chair while a man stood behind her, one hand resting possessively on her shoulder.

Hunkering down, he held Arianna’s hands. Her fingers were cool, clammy. Vertical lines formed between his eyes. “What’s the matter?”

She rested her forehead on her brother’s shoulder. “I feel like I’m going to lose the contents of my stomach.”

Rising to his feet, he motioned to Silah. “Get her back in the house. She needs to lie down. Put a cool cloth on her forehead. And if she asks for something
to drink, give her water with ice. Don’t let her gulp it. Small sips. If she wants food, then tell my mother to get some dry crackers for her. Understand?”

Silah Kadir nodded.
“Oui.”

Silah did not hesitate as he eased Arianna to her feet. Everyone stared silently as she held her belly and permitted her husband to lead her back to the house.

Tyler watched his sister until she disappeared before he returned his attention to Dana. “That’s my younger sister, Arianna. As you can probably guess, she’s pregnant.”

“Is it her first child?”

“Yes. My parents are overjoyed because it’s been a long time since they’ve had a grandbaby to spoil. You’ve met my siblings. Now it’s time for aunts, uncles, and cousins.”

Dana lost track of the names as she met Tyler’s two aunts and two uncles. Josephine and Nancy were both great-grandmothers, while their half-brother Joshua Kirkland proudly boasted about his four, and soon-to-be-five, grandchildren. His son Michael, daughter Emily, grandson Alejandro, and granddaughters Esperanza and Teresa had all inherited his green eyes. But it was six-year-old Alejandro who had also claimed his silver-blond hair.

Tyler kept up a running commentary each time he introduced her to another family member. Emily’s husband, former New Mexico Governor Christopher Delgado, was now a federal district judge. The Delgados had celebrated the birth of their third child six months ago. Mateo Arroyo Delgado already showed signs of being spoiled by his older siblings Alejandro and three-year-old Esperanza, who regarded her new baby brother as one of her dolls.