Chapter Sixteen #3
Her heart jerked hard in her chest. The envelope was thick and business sized. She tore it open, wondering what he’d sent her. A note? A ticket? An explanation?
Money. She stared at the stack of hundred-dollar bills, then counted. Five thousand dollars. There was a folded piece of paper with a single sentence: “You can expect this same amount every month.”
The bastard hadn’t even bothered to sign his name.
Cathy looked at the money. So that was all he thought of her. Fine. She would put the money away for the baby. Maybe start a college fund. All the investment people said it was never too early, right?
She glanced around as if she couldn’t quite remember where she’d been going. Oh, to get chocolate. Cathy frowned. No, that wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to eat; she wanted a life. And by God, she was going to have one.
She turned around and marched into the house.
After picking up the catalog and her notebook, she hurried to her car.
There was still time to make the first class.
She would convince the instructor to add her to that class list and she would get the other two she wanted, as well.
She would make a success of this. Just to make sure there was no mistake, she was going to take a seat in the front row!
* * *
Fourteen weeks later, Cathy pulled into her driveway, still grinning like a fool. She was tired, but happier than she’d been in months.
She done it. She’d just taken the last of her three finals. She’d completed her first semester of college.
“Are you proud of your mama?” she asked as she placed her hand on her swelling belly.
She was five months along, and the pregnancy was no longer easy to conceal.
Cathy had found that hadn’t mattered. The students in her classes hadn’t judged her because she was pregnant and unmarried. If anything, they’d been kind to her.
She thought back over the past few months.
College had been hard. She’d loved finance, had tolerated economics but who in the world would ever want to be an accountant?
She shuddered at the thought of more balance sheets in her future.
She’d only made a B in that class, but she was confident that her other two grades were As.
She was exhausted. All that studying, the tests, forcing herself to work hard even when she was tired and her body kept betraying her by getting bigger and bigger.
“It was worth it,” she told her stomach, talking to her child as she often did. “You’ll be worth it, too.”
She turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. It was nearly nine in the evening. She’d joined a group of students for an after-finals dinner at the local Italian restaurant. She’d enjoyed the easy conversation and the laughter. There hadn’t been enough of either in her life.
Eddie, her boss at the answering service, was so proud of her for finishing her first semester, that he’d given her the night off. She was grateful. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours.
She walked up toward the house. A shadow moved. Cathy was too startled to be afraid. The shadow moved again, and became a man. Then she knew.
After all this time, Stone had come back. She didn’t know what to think. What to say. He’d sent the money every month. Most of it she put away, though some she kept out to buy things for the baby. She’d talked to Ula a few times, but the housekeeper hadn’t had any news.
She stood there on the path and tried to figure out what she felt.
Not anger, even though she should be furious.
Not even sadness, although there were tears on her cheeks.
Despite everything, she’d never stopped loving him.
The love moved through her, filling her with a warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time.
The same love she’d experienced before, with only one difference.
The past four months had taught her how to be strong.
She’d survived without him. She would continue to survive.
She loved him and wanted him, but she didn’t need him in order to feel that she had a life.
“Hello, Cathy.”
He moved off the porch and approached her. The night was still with bright stars but no moon. She searched his face, but she couldn’t see him clearly. It was just like when she’d first been at his house. Meetings in the dark.
“Stone. This is a surprise.”
He stopped in front of her. “Are you angry?”
“I probably should be, but I’m not.” She took a step toward the house. “Let’s go inside and you can tell me why you’re here.”
“As calmly as that?”
She shrugged. “What did you expect? A scene?”
“No. I suppose you’ve forgotten all about me. I wouldn’t blame you. I don’t deserve more.”
“You’re right, you don’t. Unfortunately I haven’t forgotten. But at least I’ve learned to live without you.” A cool breeze made her shiver. “Come on, it’s cold. Let’s go inside.”
She led the way. Well, he was going to get quite a shock when she took her coat off. The thought was almost enough to make her smile. Whatever he had to say, she would handle it, just like she’d handled everything else recently. She’d learned that she was pretty tough.
She unlocked the door, then reached for the light switch. Stone placed his hand on top of hers. “Please don’t. Not yet anyway.”
“I’ve seen the scars.”
“I know. Humor me.”
He closed the door behind them, and they stood there in the dark.
“I’d ask you to sit down, but I’m afraid we’d both crash into something.” She took a breath, prepared to add something witty yet biting. Something to show how well she’d done without him. But he touched her face. Strong, warm fingers stroked her cheek, and she melted.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice low and husky.
“Every day, every hour. I was an incredible fool. You are an amazing woman. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, and I was so stupid.
I lost you. I don’t know if it was pride or anger at myself or guilt.
It’s taken a while, but I’ve learned to let go of the past, just like you told me. ”
She opened her mouth, but couldn’t speak. Was Stone saying what she thought he was saying? She couldn’t be sure.
“You were right,” he continued. “About everything. Ula was right, too. She said I was an ass, and I was.”
“Ula said that?”
“More than once.”
She felt more than saw him move closer. He cupped her face.
“I’ll understand if you’ve moved on and left me behind.
Or even if there’s someone else. But if neither is true, would you please give me a chance?
I love you, Cathy. I believe I always loved you, but I was afraid to admit it.
That business about fixing your life was just an excuse to have you near me and not have to take responsibility for my feelings.
I love you. Please come back home with me. ”
She couldn’t believe. “Are you really here?” she asked. “Are you really saying these things to me?”
“Yes. All of them. I love you.”
“Oh, Stone.”
She threw herself at him and kissed him. Their bodies pressed together, and in the darkness they clung to each other.
“I love you, too,” she said, pulling back enough to catch her breath. “There’s no one else. How could there be? I gave you my heart and I don’t have it back to give again.” She laughed. “This is so amazing.”
“So you’ll come back?”
She hesitated, not sure what he was asking. “I love you and I want to be with you. But I can’t be a rich man’s mistress. I’ll see you whenever you want, but I’m going to live here. I’ve also gone back to college. I refuse to give that up.”
Stone chuckled. “So I really blew that one, huh? I wasn’t asking you to move in, love, I was proposing. I want you to marry me.”
“Oh.” Marriage? To Stone? “Oh.”
“Oh yes, or oh no?”
Tears flowed again, but this time they were from happiness. “Yes,” she said, and kissed him over and over. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“And if we’re married, you will live in our house, right?”
“Of course.”
“I think college is a great idea. You’ll do well.”
“I already have.”
He laughed.
Cathy leaned against him. Her belly brushed his, and she caught her breath. “Stone, I have something to tell you.”
“I have something to tell you, too.”
“I’d like to go first,” she said.
“Actually so would I.” Before she could protest, he reached behind him and flicked on the light.
She blinked in the sudden brightness, then her gaze focused on his face. Her breath caught in her throat. On the left side of his face, thin pale lines took the place of the ridged scars.
He rubbed the lines self-consciously. “The doctor assures me they’ll fade quickly.
I’ll always have a few marks, but nothing like what was there before.
” He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to be married to half a man.
I want to show you the world. At least what I remember of it.
The rest I thought we’d discover together. ”
“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured, in shock. “I can’t believe how good-looking you are. Women will be all over you.”
“But I’m yours. For always.”
She touched his face. “I never cared about the scars.”
“I know. That’s one of the reasons I was ready to get rid of them. The other…” He shrugged.
She understood. They had been his strongest ties to the past and he’d let them go. It had been time.
She realized she had to expose her secret, as well.
She took a couple of steps back. “I haven’t been eating chocolate again.
I know I didn’t tell you when I first found out, and that was wrong.
I should have. But it was the day I left and I just couldn’t bear to talk about it.
I tried calling a couple of weeks later, but you were gone.
I hope you won’t be angry. If you are, if it means you don’t want to marry me, I’ll understand. ”
The last bit was a complete lie. She wouldn’t understand at all, but she felt as if she had to give him an out.
She shrugged out of her coat and let it fall to the floor. Stone stared at her belly. “You’re pregnant,” he breathed.
“Five months.”
His expression softened. “A baby. You’re having my baby. A new life and a new chance.” He dropped to his knees and reverently pressed a kiss to her belly. “I’ve been incredibly stupid. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Yes.”
He hugged her tight. She stroked the top of his head. She knew there would be questions later. They weren’t important now. It was enough that they were together.
He rose to his feet and took her hand, then led her to the sofa. “I just want to hold you,” he said. “I’ve been so empty without you.”
She went with him, finding peace in his arms. He placed his hand against her tummy and grinned. “It’s going to be a boy.”
“Oh, please.” She laughed. “That’s just so typically male.”
He hugged her close. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again.”
“I promise.”
“And I promise you forever. I love you. You are the best part of me.”
Cathy rested her head on his shoulder and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Together they’d healed each other and found their peace.
Forever, she thought happily. Now, there was a promise to hold on to.
* * * * *