Surrender to a Donovan (Kimani Romance) (15 page)

Chapter 23

T
ate had never seen so much money in her life. Stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills were packed neatly in five black shoe boxes. There were also about a million dollars in bonds and paperwork describing deposits into two accounts in the Cayman Islands—the name on the accounts were that of a dummy business that Sean said must have belonged to Patrick.

This was Patrick’s stash. It was the money he’d conned numerous elderly individuals out of. Finding it would be a godsend to them. That’s what the FBI agent had said when Sean had contacted them a couple hours after they found the money. There was also some jewelry in the box and the agent asked her if it was hers. But it wasn’t. The only thing she took from the box were the two life insurance policies she’d put in there.

Now they were back at the hotel in Maryland. They’d left Briana in Miami with a very excited Janean, since they were returning in the morning. Tonight, Sean had said he had a surprise for her.

She’d dressed in a peach dress that hugged her curves and made her feel very feminine. He was dressed in a black suit and yellow tie, and she felt like royalty as they were led to the very back of the hotel’s premier restaurant. They were seated at a table that had more chairs than they needed.

He hadn’t said a word about the impromptu proposal he’d offered when he’d been in the hospital. That seemed like ages ago, and Tate refused to bring it up. She’d agreed to move into the house with him because it was good for Briana, and she was in love with him. If she had to wait for a real proposal, that would be fine. She was confident it would come eventually.

With a ready smile, she sat at the table and gazed at the menu. Really, she wasn’t reading a thing on there. She didn’t care what she ate, as long as she ate enough not to be lightheaded for this special night.

Their table was right next to a large window that looked out onto the Chesapeake Bay. It was the height of crabbing season, so several boats could be seen pulling in for the day. She remembered watching the crabbers bring in their catch and then selling the crabs to the local merchants down at the pier. Every now and then, one of the fishermen they were friendly with would give her and Blake a couple of crabs and they’d take them home for grandpa to steam.

It hit her at that moment that she was back home in Maryland. Her grandfather’s house was about an hour away from where they were staying, but this was the closest she’d been to home in years. That thought was bittersweet.

“What would you like to drink?” The waitress had come to the table and was addressing Tate.

Before she could answer, a familiar voice said, “A tall half-and-half with plenty of ice.”

Tate turned around in her chair so fast she almost fell out of it. She whispered his name as she stood. “Grandpa.”

“Get over here and hug me, gal,” he said, lifting his big, beefy arms.

Tate did as she was told. She’d always done as Grandpa said, until the fateful day when he’d warned her about Patrick.

When he wrapped those hefty arms around her she cried, because there was nothing else she could do. He always called her “gal,” her and Blake and Jamie—he called them all that no matter what.

“Turn her loose, Dad. Let somebody else get a hug.”

That was her father, and she couldn’t get into his arms fast enough. Her heart slammed against her chest as the smell of his Old Spice cologne permeated her nostrils. “Daddy, I missed you so much.”

“Then you shouldn’t have stayed away,” Charlie Griffin said, patting her on the top of her head and letting his fingers trickle over her face until he could nip her chin.

Just as he did when she was little.

Behind him was Blake dressed in black capris and a flared top and Jamie wearing her signature jeans, tennis shoes and T-shirt with some odd saying printed on the front. Her sisters.

The reunion was teary, and the waitress quickly brought everyone tall glasses of half lemonade and half iced tea. They sipped and talked until baskets of hush puppies, fried calamari and bowls of crab soup were situated in front of them.

“If this boy of yours hadn’t called me, we wouldn’t have even known you were here,” her grandfather said.

Sean had been quiet, watching her and her family, reaching out to take her hand underneath the table.

“You called my grandfather?” Tate asked, turning to him.

Sean shrugged. “Figured since we were here, it would be rude to not see everyone. And you know how my mother is about me being rude.”

“Good mama you got then,” Grandpa said, popping a hush puppy into his mouth.

Tate took a spoonful of soup and savored the tangy flavor of the Old Bay seasoning.

“He also told us about that reprobate you married,” Blake added. “I had a few of those families he robbed in Daytona call me at the Legal Aid Bureau.”

Blake was an attorney and worked a lot with pro bono cases on the East Coast. Jamie was a gym teacher, which was not at all a surprise, since their father had her in every sport there was when she was growing up.

Tate sighed. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have let him keep me away from you guys.” She figured that was the admission they all wanted to hear, so she wasn’t about to make them wait for it.

Her father waved a hand. “You were in love. People do crazy things when they’re in love.”

“Yeah, like call his girlfriend’s family and plan a surprise get-together,” Sean said before taking another gulp of his half and half.

“Actually, I think that was kind of cute,” Jamie added.

Blake smiled. “Very smart of you to make that call. Then again, I’ve heard the Donovans are a pretty smart bunch.”

“Oh, you’ve heard of us?” Sean asked.

Blake nodded. “Your cousin Ben and I shared a mutual federal detainee about a year ago. We had to communicate regarding who would get the scum bag in their courtroom first. He won, since he works defense, but if he got his client out of jail, I’d get next shot at hanging him.”

Sean laughed. Tate knew that Ben Donovan was Sean’s cousin from Las Vegas. She’d learned a lot about the Donovans in the time she’d been with Sean.

Dinner continued with steamed lobster, soft-shell crab sandwiches, crab cake sandwiches and fried chicken platters. And when they were all stuffed and probably ready to doze off, Sean stood.

“I asked you all here because I wanted Tate to reconnect with her family. I’m happy she’s had the opportunity to do so.”

He spoke like he was a politician making a grand speech for re-election. Strong, confident, authoritative. Tate loved to hear him talk this way.

“But I also wanted to kill two birds with one stone,” he continued, reaching into his suit jacket pocket and pulling out a small box.

Blake gasped. Charlie put both his elbows up on the table and stared with a questioning look. Grandpa fake coughed, hiding a grin. And Jamie glowed like she’d been the one to orchestrate this entire scenario.

As for Tate, she didn’t know what to do. Once she’d seen her grandfather, she’d figured that he was the surprise Sean had for her. But she should have known better.

* * *

“Mr. Griffin, I’d like to ask for permission to marry your daughter,” he said, turning to look at Charlie.

“He’s got good eyes,” Grandpa tried to whisper to Charlie, but the entire table heard him loud and clear.

Charlie nodded. “I’ve seen his eyes, Dad.” Charlie nodded and kept looking at Sean.

“You know that fool hurt her before,” Charlie said.

“Yes, sir, I do,” Sean said.

“You wouldn’t be planning to do the same would you?”

Sean shook his head. “No, sir. I can promise you my goal will be to make her the happiest woman alive.”

Charlie nodded. “That’s a good goal to have. But you see, she’s my daughter, so I know that might be a pretty steep mountain you’re trying to climb.”

Blake and Jamie both laughed.

“I’m up for the challenge,” Sean said.

“I think you are,” Charlie said, scratching at his beard. “I believe you are. So I give you my permission. But now that I know who your family is, I know where to come with my rifle if I so much as see one tear in her eye because of you.”

“Yes, sir,” Sean said.

He pushed his chair back and lowered himself to one knee in front of Tate.

“I asked you this before, in my hospital room. I thought I heard you say yes, but then you never started planning any wedding. I figured it was because you were waiting for a ring. So I’m going to do this again, but right this time.”

Tate was trembling all over as she extended her hand to Sean. Her eyes watered so that his face was a blur in front of her. But his eyes, they were clear, and she locked in on them and felt all the love she had for this man come rushing to the surface.

“I think I’ve loved you since that first day in your office. I know I loved Briana from the moment she looked up at me from her crib. I want nothing else, need nothing else in this world but you two. Please do me the tremendous honor of becoming my wife.”

She could do this, Tate thought. She could open her mouth and speak, had been doing it for years. Her lips actually moved, but nothing came out. Tears dripped down onto her cheeks as he put the biggest, clearest diamond she’d ever seen onto her left ring finger. When words still weren’t coming, she simply nodded. And nodded. And nodded.

Sean smiled, lifting her up out of the chair and pulling her into a tight hug. When his lips touched hers, she quickly acquiesced. There was no longer a need for words.

* * * * *

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ISBN: 9781459241701

Copyright © 2012 by Artist C. Arthur

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