31. The Most Important Day
Tripoli - One Month Later
T he wind mostly covered the soft strains of The Chainsmokers and the vocals of Chris Martin playing over the radio in Tripoli’s Mustang. The sun was out, the top was down, the local highway was relatively empty of traffic, and today was about to be the most important day of his life.
He glanced over at the woman in the passenger seat, with her head rested against the seatback, sunglasses covering her closed eyes, and her head turned toward the passenger window. Her blonde hair hung loose over her jean jacket and blew around her face as wind rushed over her. Right now, she looked at peace for what he thought might be the first time in her thirty-six years.
Just looking at her made his heart seize. He’d almost lost her. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Well, four, if you counted patching her up on his dining room table.
She’d been out as soon as they’d hit I-90, and he’d hated to disturb a much-needed nap, so he’d detoured off the main highway to take back roads to their destination. He wasn’t in any hurry. He had the rest of his life with this woman. Or he hoped he did. He’d know shortly.
“Sorry. Too much fresh air.” Francesca’s voice was soft and sleepy, his favorite way to hear it. She made a failed attempt to push her blowing hair behind her ears. He smiled and held his right wrist out to her. Traffic had picked up a little bit, and he didn’t want to take his eyes off the road, or he’d miss the turn, so he watched her with his peripheral vision as she removed the hot-pink elastic from around his wrist and tied back her hair into her typical bun. “Where are we?”
He flicked his turn signal and turned right. “Just outside of Castroville.”
“You’re being awfully secretive today. What’s out here?”
“A surprise.”
“You know I hate surprises.”
“I know, but I think you’ll like this one.”
Lord, he hoped she would.
They drove past a few new subdivisions and entrances to several hiking trails for the national park. Finally, Tripoli turned his car onto a newly paved road that traveled along empty plots of land on either side, the ones on the left extending to the edge of the national park. One last turn took the vehicle onto a hard-packed dirt road, which slowed travel down to prevent damage to the car.
When the road ended, he parked the car and turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. He sat and looked ahead of him. They were at the top of a bluff, the land full of long scrub, green trees to their left, and looking down into the park. Out in front of them and down below was the town of Castroville itself.
He turned his head to her. “Take a walk with me?”
Francesca pushed her glasses up onto the top of her head. The look she was giving him was a puzzled one, but he’d satisfy her curiosity shortly.
Without waiting any longer for an answer, he opened his door and unfolded himself from the car. She let herself out, stretching the kinks out of her back from her nap by raising her arms straight up to lace her fingers above her head. When she joined him at the front of the vehicle, he clasped her hand and helped her over the uneven ground and through the brush to about thirty feet from the edge of the bluff. There he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her back tight to his front, his head against the side of hers.
“What do you think?”
“It’s quiet. Pretty.”
“I thought so too. The bulk of the tourists come here for the hiking trails, but those don’t come close to these parcels of land. The sunset’s beautiful from here, and there’s no city noise at all. You can actually see stars at night unless there’s cloud cover.”
“Okay. What am I missing?”
“Well, I was picturing that, right where we’re standing, would be an awesome spot for an outdoor kitchen. Far enough back from the bluff that a dog would have room to run around, especially if I put a hedge line in front of a fence there to prevent them from tumbling over the edge of the bluff. Only thirty miles to San Antonio if you feel the need to be around people, or people can come to us.”
She turned in his arms. “What are you saying, Ethan?”
He put his sunglasses on top of his head and wound his arms tighter around Francesca so that there was no space between their midsections. “What I’m saying, very poorly, is that I put a deposit down on this plot to build us a house. Well… five plots, actually, so that we’d have space between us and our neighbors, who I’m pretty sure once they see it out here are going to be Cosmos on one side and Triumph on the other.”
Francesca stared at him.
“If you hate it, we’ll keep looking. Maybe I should have asked you to help pick the spot. I just… I know you wanted somewhere quiet. Removed from the city, not a lot of amenities, but close enough for the rare times you might want to ‘people,’ plus you wouldn’t want me to be too far from the city and the airport to go to the other clubs. I know we haven’t talked about any of this?—”
“You’re right. We haven’t.”
He grimaced. “You’re mad.”
“Do I look mad?”
“Well… no. Cosmos told me I was an idiot for doing this without asking you to be a part of the decision, but you’ve been recovering, and I wanted you to rest. Based on what was happening before your family came to San Antonio and what you said to me at Elysium, I guess I assumed we were together. You quit your job and came directly to me, so?—”
“Ethan. Stop.” Her hand cupped the side of his face. “I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
She shook her head.
“So…?”
She smiled. “So, let’s talk about it. You mentioned an outdoor kitchen. A dog. A hedge. What else?”
Disentangling from her hold, he reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a gray velvet box. “Well… I thought… once the house was built… this spot would be a great place to get married.” He knelt down amongst the wild grass and flowers of the land, opening the box to reveal a three-carat gray sapphire. “I knew you wouldn’t want a diamond, so I hunted for a stone that reminded me of your eyes, always stormy and flashing.” He held it out to her. “Marry me, Francesca.”
A single tear tracked down her cheek. “Can I marry you sooner than the house is built?”
He slid the ring on her finger, kissing it, then turning her hand over to kiss the palm. He stood, taking her in his arms again. “I’ll marry you today.”
She nestled her head against his chest, her eyes looking out to the view of the town below the bluff. Hugging him tight, she whispered, “You know what?”
“What?”
“You were right. I love you more each day.”
“Yeah?” He kissed the top of her head. “How much more?”
“Mmm… to infinity.”
Tripoli’s eyes closed, and he sighed in relief.
Check out the short story prequel in the charity anthology Lucky in Love entitled “The Lucky Rabbit.”
Up next in the Six Paths to Justice series will be Justice for Abigail in 2026!