Rose of Thorne (26 page)

“Baby
, PLEASE… PLEASE come back to me! I can’t live without you. Oh, my sweet girl... PLEASE wake up. I LOVE YOU, SKYLAR… please… PLEASE… BABY… don’t leave me!” I sob into her neck. The doctor gently pulls me off her and leads me out the door.

A frantic Kylie runs to me as I exit the
double doors and I pull her in for a hug.

“Whatever she needs
, doctor, I want her to have the best of care. Fly in a specialist from anywhere in the world. Money isn’t an issue when it comes to her.”

The doctor nods his head and places his hand on my shoulder.

“Son, she is in the best hands possible and we have been consulting with other specialists. Right now, you need to pray for that young lady. The doctors have done their part, now we have to let the Good Lord do the rest. You need to get some rest too, son. Have you seen anyone for that yet?” he says as he lifts my bloodstained shirt to check my shoulder wound.

“No
, sir, I haven’t,” I reply and he frowns at me.

“Follow me
, son,” he says as he motions for me to go in to a little room.

Fifteen
stitches later the doctor shakes my hand and has the nurse go over my wound care with me. I don’t give a shit about that right now and barely register her speaking to me as I slip my shirt back on. I just want to know how Skylar is doing.

An hour
later, a devastated Sophie arrives at the hospital. She immediately becomes frantic at the sight of me and Kylie wraps her arms around her and begins soothing her.

“I can’t lose he
r, Kylie; she is all I have left.”

Sophie’s
words cut through me and I have to walk away. I just keep walking until I reach the little chapel at the end of the hospital corridor. It is there that I do something that I am ashamed to admit I haven’t done since I was a child… I kneel to the floor and start praying. It has been almost 18 years since I sat next to my mother in the pew of the Baptist church, but suddenly it all comes back to me. Clasping my hands together, I pray with everything in my heart and soul.

Please
Lord, she is my life; don’t take her from me!

Skylar

I feel as though I am floating in peaceful bliss. A calming warmth radiates through my body and the world seems slow around me. I can see my Momma and Daddy’s faces and they are both smiling at me with their arms wide open. I reach out for them, but I cannot quite make their grasp. The closer I get to them the more I feel them being pulled away from me.

NO! Why can’t I
reach them?

Something is smothering me and I gasp at the intense pain in my chest. A
n alarm goes off when I frantically try to pull the mask off my face. I can hear his wonderful voice calling my name.

“BABY!” Sebastian cries out!
“DOCTOR… SHE IS WAKING UP!” he shouts but never leaves my side.

I search his horrified face.

I can’t breathe… something is gagging me and stabbing me inside my chest.
A doctor and nurse both hold me down while another sticks a needle into my IV making the world slow down. I watch his glowing amber eyes… and then I return to blissful darkness.

I awake again to beeping noises, but this time a warm hand is holding mine.
It hurts to open my eyes, but I slowly lift my lids. The room is dark, but the lights from the machine illuminate his beautiful face. His head rests on the bed while the rest of his body sits upright in the chair next to me. I stare at his handsome sleeping face. It feels like it has been years since I have seen it. His chin is full of dark stubble and his clothes are wrinkled. I am hurting everywhere, but I try to muster the strength to squeeze his hand. My fingers manage a twitch and he snaps up off the bed. His eyes take me in disbelief and he stumbles to stand.

“Oh
, baby, I have been so scared that I had lost you!” Tears run down his face and he leans over me and holds his lips gently to mine. With his forehead pressed against me, I can taste the sweet drops of his tears. He is whispering thanks to a God that I didn’t know he even believed in.

“
I’m going to get the doctor,” he says and I blink and try to shake my head. I manage to squeeze his fingers as he lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses my fingers.

“I love you
, baby, so much. I don’t know what I would have done if you…” he starts crying again and I squeeze his hand to reassure him that I am okay. Sebastian stands above me just taking me in. Our eyes are speaking to each other’s souls, without words needing to be spoken. He kisses my forehead gently once more and leaves the room to get the nurse.

Minutes later an older nurse and doctor make their way into my room.
After an examination, they speak to me briefly before talking to Sebastian outside. He returns minutes later with my sister and Kylie. He leaves us for our emotional reunion. Sophie cries into my shoulder as we relive the news of the event while an emotionally wrecked Kylie sits beside me and holds my hand. I am growing tired from the medication so they both promise to come back in the morning to see me.

After they
leave, I hear the door open and close quietly. He reaches for my hand as he sits back down beside me.

“The doctor says you are doing remarkably well. He wants to keep you here at least until the end of the week.
Your throat was badly damaged from the fight and from the breathing tube so he doesn’t want you speaking. You’ve been out now for over four days, baby, and I don’t think I have ever prayed for anything more than to see those beautiful eyes of yours. Do you know why you are here? Remember just nod your head, don’t speak.”

I manage a nod as a tear
fall down my face.

“Don’t
, baby... it’s all over. Don’t cry for that bastard. He’s dead and he won’t ever hurt you again. I swear, Skylar, no one will EVER hurt you again!” he promises, as he takes me into his strong arms to hold. I can’t help it; I can no longer fight the tears that I have held back for so long. They were tears of long held fears, but now they are tears of relief and love. He kisses my cheek and he looks at me with a serious expression on his beautiful face.

“I have something to tell you
, baby. I wasn’t really in New York. I was going to surprise you at the airport. I just let everyone think I was there to not ruin the surprise. It terrifies me that he knew I wasn’t going to be around. The police said he had planned this for months, Skylar. He had been watching you and me both now for weeks. He was waiting on the perfect time and he took it. How can I have been so stupid to not make sure someone was with you all times? I thought I could keep you safe, but all I managed to do is get you hurt.” I squeeze his hand as I shake my head no and look at him confused.

“He would never have come back
here in the first place if I hadn’t been digging for information on him. You started having nightmares when we were together. It was terrifying to watch and you started screaming out his name in your sleep. At first, I thought they were only bad dreams, but it happened too frequently to be a coincidence. So, I had someone who works for me look into it. My investigator found out Trevor’s identity and his relationship to you. He also discovered the police file, Skylar. I know what that sick bastard did to you. Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me, baby? Why?” he says and I blink away tears to avoid his gaze. I am mortified that he knows all of this. I am ashamed he had seen me like that in those pictures. So I turn my body away from him and hide my face in my hands.

“Hey…
don’t, baby. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I just wish you had trusted me enough to let me help you. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands when I saw the cuts and the bruises. I won’t lie to you. I went looking for him for that very reason. I didn’t care what it cost me… he was going to pay for what he had done to you. He kept evading our searches, but I had no idea he would come back here for you. I am just so sorry that he hurt you again, baby. Putting that bullet in his head is the best thing I have ever done. I just wish that I had done it sooner,” he says and carefully climbs in my bed to sit beside me.

“I love you so much
, Skylar… so fucking much, baby. When I saw him shove that glass into your chest, I think I died right there. I just unloaded the clip of the gun into him,” he says, and I just hold onto him as his body shakes. I manage to raise my hand to his head and we sit there in my room crying into each other until we fall asleep.

My beautiful
hero. He had saved me from the monster, so why is he punishing himself?

The nurse
finds us both asleep in my bed. Although she has a good sense of humor about it, she insists that Sebastian let me rest. He never leaves me more than an hour or so the entire time that I am in the hospital. The days slowly go by and on the fourth day, I am discharged. By then, I have slowly received some of my voice back, but I am still experiencing a lot of pain from my chest wound. Sebastian insists on caring for me and even hires a live-in nurse to help me gain some of my strength back.

After what had
happened, my old house just holds too many bad memories for me to keep it. Without hesitation, I ask Sebastian to help me put it on the market, and within the week, he has all our things placed in storage and the house ready for sale. Surprisingly, it sold by the end of the month to a new family.

It’s now been three long weeks since Trevor’s attack and I am slowly getting back to normal. My Sebastian has been simply incredible, so
patient, and caring. I don’t think I can possibly love this man more than I already do. Today, he has asked me to join him for lunch in town. It will be the second time that I’ve ventured out since arriving home from the hospital.

I take my time dressing today
because I want to look my very best for him. He has seen me long enough in pajama bottoms and t-shirts. I stare down at the small scar between my breasts. The scar has now begun to scab over and heal, but the reminder is still there… it will always be there. But it’s also a reminder that I survived and I am now free.

For a
while after the attack I worried that Sebastian would never want me again. Most of the cuts have healed nicely, but a random few will remain quite evident. I smile as I remember the loving kisses that he trailed down my chest the night before. He told me how beautiful I was and quickly put my mind at ease.

I stand in front of the
full-length mirror and check my appearance one final time. I am wearing my short pink sundress with my white wedge sandals and have decided to pull my hair up on this warm summer day. I know he loves it when I wear it up. I grab my purse and head downstairs to the driver who is waiting for me. Al, the doorman greets me with a wide smile as he opens the door for me. After getting into the car, I notice we are not heading into the downtown area. I try speaking to the driver, but he is wearing earphones and gives me a thumb’s up.

A thumb
’s up? What the heck is that all about?

I sit back and watch as we make our way
to the interstate and then turn onto the exit for the airport. The car stops as make our way to the private jet entrance and then the driver slowly pulls the car on to the tarmac. Immediately, the driver opens the door and extends his hand to help me out. I’m confused as to what is going on and then I see Sebastian making his way toward me carrying the biggest bouquet of flowers I have ever seen. I squeal with delight and drop my purse to run to him and he scoops me up spinning me around.

“Ever had lunch on the beach
, baby?” he whispers in my ear and I grin widely into his neck.

Sebastian

Her head rests on my shoulder as I watch her sleep peacefully. I don’t move because I’m afraid I will awaken her. A short month ago, I almost lost her… my beautiful girl. Honestly, I don’t think I will ever get the image of him driving the glass into her chest out of my mind, but her gentle breath on my face calms me and I know she is here… safe with me. I would give anything if I could have kept that monster from laying a hand on her. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to erase the horrible memories she carries inside her.

She has no i
dea what my intentions are for this trip. I told her as we boarded the plane that this was just a quick getaway for us. My pilot, Kevin, is announcing to me that he is making his landing preparations when she begins to stir. She smiles apologetically at me for falling asleep and I smile at her sweet, newly awoken face.

I will remember many things about this stunning creature before me, but the expression on her face when she
sees the ocean for the first time is one I won’t soon forget. She is so innocent in her awe of the waves that crash before her. I sit down on the sand and watch her dip her toes in the water. She smiles over her shoulder at me as dances into the incoming waves. It is so good to hear her laugh and see her smile again. But more than anything, to see her dance.

She is mesmerizing;
even more a miracle from God to me than the ocean crashing behind her. I hold her small, soft hand in mine as we walk down the beach. Being with her feels as natural as the breath I take and the beat of my heart. We make our way up to the area designated for our lunch. She holds her hands over her mouth and gasps when she sees my surprise. A white table sits in the sand surrounded by candles and flower petals.

“I believe I promised you lunch on the beach,” I say before grabbing her hand and pulling
her to the table. We both enjoy a beautiful meal and then she lures me back to the water. We splash each other in the waves and walk hand in hand down the beach as our clothes dry. She is now sitting against me in the sand and I watch her long dark waves gently blow in the wind. I inhale her sweet candy scent as her hair tickles against my face.
She has no idea what that smell does to me.

Her breathtaking face glows in the evening sun as she snuggles in closer against me. The sudden buzzing in my pocket catches my attention and makes my heart begin thumping a mile a minute. This is it…it is time.

I smile and pull her up to me
then I slowly and sweetly kiss her. I want her to feel my love in every slow stroke of my tongue.

Ed Sherran’s
Kiss Me
begins playing from the restaurant’s outdoor speakers.

“
MMMMmmm… isn’t this perfect?” she says breathlessly and nuzzles into my chest.

“Y
es, it is absolutely perfect,” I agree, watching as she looks deep into my eyes.

She is
the other half of my soul.

I kneel down in the sand before her and look up at her beautiful face. With the color
of turquoise looking back at me against the matching color of the sea, I do what I have dreamt so long about… I begin my proposal. Our eyes meet and I begin talking to her soul.

“Skylar, finding you was like finding the very breat
h I had thought I had forever lost. From the moment I looked into your beautiful eyes, I saw someone seeing me for the first time. You did the impossible… you taught me how to love. You are truly my sweet angel sent from Heaven above to show me that despite all the bad in life….there is always more good. I know now that I wasn’t living at all until I met you. Until you, I had merely existed. I love you more than my own life, my sweet beautiful girl. I want a lifetime of moments with you. Skylar Rose, before you, I never had a future. I only had a present and past. Will you be my forever and always….will you marry me, baby?” I plead as I open the velvet box that I have had for so very long.

With
tear-filled eyes, she gasps at the ring and holds her now trembling hands to her mouth. The huge square diamond sits above an infinity diamond symbol.  It is my promise to her, that my love has no beginning and end, because we have always belonged to one another.

“Yes…
OH YES!” she exclaims as I slip the ring on her delicate finger. She falls to her knees and grabs my face into her soft hands. Her tender love radiates from her body and we continue kissing passionately on the beach. Her sister and Kylie scream in excitement and she is momentarily stunned. Their being here is just a little something extra that I had planned to surprise her. I wanted to share this moment with everyone she loved. They are her family and I hope they will soon also be mine.

“How did you guys
…” she begins to ask, but she looks to me and squeezes my hand. With tears in her eyes, she mouths ‘thank you’ to me as her sister and best friend continue to hug and congratulate her. So many little moments I will never forget are adding up today, but the look of love in my future wife’s eyes will always be my favorite.

Skylar

Moments as perfect as this have never happened in my life. Actually, quite honestly they completely terrify me. My life has been filled with so much sadness, but now, looking at my handsome fiancée I see nothing but happiness. One part of me wishes I could have my happily ever after and another part of me constantly looks for the rug to be yanked out from beneath me. I decide to enjoy this beautiful tropical paradise that surrounds me with my family for today. Right now, my future has never looked so bright.

While I lay tanning in my white bikini, cool wet hands be
gin rubbing up and down my now bronze back. He trails his fingers over the small white scar on my lower back and kisses it tenderly. He gently lifts me up to face him so he can remind me again just how lucky he feels he is. The funny thing is I feel like I’m the lucky one. I find it hard to see what he sees in me. I always have. I was so incredibly blessed to be that special to someone… so blessed to have found the love of my life.

Kylie and my sister flew back this morning
, leaving us here to enjoy our last day together before having to return home to Austin. I lay with my head in his lap looking out at the waves that crash before us. He lazily plays with my curls and looks down at me with love-filled eyes. That look alone stops my breathing every time. To me and pretty much every other female, he is the most gorgeous man ever. But when I look at him, I see so much more than his beautiful body and striking face; I see that beautiful soul that I am so deeply in love with and intrigued by.

There is so much of him that
he still holds back from me. It is as if he is ashamed of some terrible dark secret. I know that there is something that he’s wanted to tell me from the beginning of our relationship, but still it remains in the dark. I only hope in time he will trust me enough to tell me. I pray that when he does I am strong enough to help him with fighting the demons that wake him at night. I know those demons all too well because I still fight them myself. But I know in his arms I am safe, I am loved, and I am never alone.

After blissful hours entwined in each other
we now are boarded his plane headed home to Austin.

“Are you happy
, angel?” he asks me, grabbing my hand, and threading his fingers through mine.

“I’ve never been happier.
I wish we could just stay here from now on.”

“I know
, baby, but there is so much more of the world I want to show you. And trust me; we will have many trips like this. Besides we can come back here any time you want,” he softly replies.

“So where does my beautiful girl
want to go on her honeymoon?” he asks, kissing my hand that he is currently holding.

“Anywhere that you are,” I reply with a squeeze of my hand.

“I love you, sweet baby,” he says,

“Not as much as I love you,
” I reply.

Although we haven’t settled on an exact
date, we both want a small late summer wedding. It only gives me about a month to plan, but when you want something as much as I want this, you will do anything to make it happen.

When we discussed it
the night before, he insisted on hiring a professional wedding crew to handle all of the details. He said he wanted me to have the wedding of my dreams and any wish was mine to come true. What he doesn’t know is that he truly is my wish come true.

I told him that I didn’t want a bunch of strange people fussing about me and handling our special day for me.
I wanted something very simple and it would mean more if I handled it. He didn’t argue with me he just smiled and nodded. The only thing he had asked was that he could pick the venue. It seemed really important to him so I had agreed. I can’t help but wonder what my beautiful husband-to-be has up his overly expensive Armani sleeve.

It
is official. August 17
th
will be our wedding day! I smile as I stand before the large oval mirror while the seamstress makes the last of the dress adjustments. Who knew that a late afternoon lunch date with Kylie would have led me to a new boutique where I would find the dress of my dreams? It had been the first and only dress that I tried on. Now, standing in front of that antique mirror I know without a doubt that I have found the perfect dress for my perfect day.

The dress
is beyond elegant with its vintage cream lace that lightly sweeps over my shoulders and forms a scalloped v-cut down my chest. The lace body conforms to my curvy figure perfectly, as the long length flows to the floor. The back of the dress is open all the way to my lower back and has a short lace train that is attached with antique crystal gems. I am hoping that Sebastian loves it as much as I do.

We settled on two different dress designs for both Sophie and Kylie, who
are both going to be my maids of honor. Both dresses are a different hue of silver and as unique in their design as my two favorite women’s personalities. Every detail seemed to be going fantastic, except the fact I remained clueless about where I am getting married. With a small wedding of around 150 guests Sebastian already had invitations secretly hand delivered and is continuing to leave me in the dark.

A
fter several blissful hours of ‘practicing for our honeymoon’, we lay completely sated in our bed holding one another. His gentle hands trace over my arm and I snuggle into his firm chest. I look up at him and decide to see if he will finally tell me the place he has been keeping a secret… our wedding venue.