Chapter 22 Vivien #2
“And what are you going to do about it?” Quinn shot back, tossing the crowbar and picking up the other power tool, squeezing the trigger and aiming the tool at Peter with a vile look. “You and the old ladies and babies are going to stop me?”
Peter moved so fast, Vivien didn’t actually think she saw it happen. One second he was at the base of the steps and the next he launched up them—three long strides, no hesitation. He clamped a hand over Quinn’s wrist, the other caught the back of his shoulder to turn him with precise force.
The impact driver died mid-snarl as Peter twisted it cleanly out of Quinn’s grip and it dropped to the planks with a hollow clang.
“You’ve already removed material from county property without authorization,” Peter said, low and controlled, right at Quinn’s ear—but every word carried. “So here’s what you’re going to do, Mr. Hargrove: Pack up, unload the lumber you salvaged, put your tools in the truck, and get out.”
Quinn jerked free just enough to sneer a curse at Peter. “You can’t do a thing to stop me.”
“Watch me.”
Peter’s weight shifted as his hand slid behind Quinn’s arm, guiding—not shoving—using Quinn’s own resistance against him. The motion was so fast it barely registered as force.
Quinn’s balance disappeared.
Peter muscled him down the short embankment beside the bridge and drove him into the sand in one controlled sweep. He planted a knee square between Quinn’s shoulder blades.
One hand locked his wrist, the other already reaching for cuffs Vivien didn’t even know he had.
It was over before anyone processed it. Before anyone breathed.
“You are being detained for performing construction and demolition without a valid permit, violating a stop-work order, and interfering with a government order,” Peter said, his voice like iron. “And you are going downtown.”
Quinn swore into the sand.
Vivien might have swooned.
Leaning in just enough to be heard, Peter got right in the guy’s ear. “You don’t get to dismantle historic public property because you’re greedy and in a hurry.”
He pulled Quinn’s arms back, secured the cuffs, then finally looked up at the stunned circle Eli had managed to hold back. His gaze traveled over all of them, but landed directly on Vivien, as warm and heroic as that day in the rain.
“Aren’t you going to read me my rights?” Quinn asked.
“Sure.” He stood them both straight up, moving Quinn like a helpless puppet.
“You have no right to talk to women who are out of your league,” he said in a perfectly dry voice as he walked right past her and winked.
“Don’t jump without me, Viv. Don’t let go of a thing until I get this menace booked. ”
He pushed Quinn forward and guided him into the back seat of a sheriff’s SUV, slamming the door as a final punctuation.
Everyone stood stone still as Peter drove off, except for Tessa, who sidled up to Vivien and whispered, “And that’s why you’ve spent thirty years mooning over the man.”
Vivien smiled. She had a feeling she was about to spend thirty more.
They all decided to wait for the hero of the day before they jumped. The result was an impromptu party, a massive bonfire, and endless songs from the early ’90s on cassettes that Jonah pronounced “epic.”
As Tessa, Olive, and Nolie danced on the sand to “Walking on Broken Glass,” Meredith sat with Connor, talking over a sleeping Atlas, while Eli and Jonah stoked the fire.
Dusty and Anthony had run back to the house and returned with a truckload of chairs, blankets, drinks, and snacks.
Before she left, Natalie explained how her meeting with Vivien had gotten her fired up for one last effort to save the bridge. She’d been the one to go to the sheriff’s office when a certain piece of documentation was missing, and Peter had glommed onto the case to help her.
Vivien hugged her and promised to stay in touch.
It was dark by the time Peter returned to a rousing round of applause that he waved off.
“You all look too dry to have jumped off that bridge,” he said, laughing. “Or are you worried it isn’t safe?”
“It’s structurally sound,” Eli assured him, placing an arm on Peter’s shoulder. “And you, my friend, made us proud.”
Peter grinned at him and said something under his breath and the two of them laughed at one of their inside jokes.
Peter’s gaze flicked over the crowd, and he spotted Vivien and held her gaze just long enough for her to know…they may not need that talk after all. Some things didn’t need to be said out loud.
After accepting a few more accolades for the arrest, he came over to Vivien and lowered himself onto the blanket next to her, the firelight catching his warm expression.
“Hey,” he said. “Hope that didn’t upset you.”
She chuckled. “Did a number on my hormones.”
Laughing, he put an arm around her and pulled her a little closer. “We got the goods on that guy, and he won’t be sniffing around the bridge for a while. Kudos to you, Natalie,” he added to the other woman a few feet away. “You do love the history of this place.”
“It fascinates me,” Natalie said with a smile, looking up at the shadow of the bridge in the darkness. “Although I’ve never jumped and let go.”
“Then start us off,” Peter said. “Surely you have something to let go of.”
She gave a wistful smile and stood, walking toward the bridge just as Roman and Lacey leaped to follow.
“We’re giving up the single life!” she called.
Peter snuggled closer, giving Vivien a delicious whiff of soap and his cologne.
“You showered before the jump into the water?” she asked, leaning into him.
“I smelled…and not like teen spirit.”
She laughed. “That was the song Dusty played when we were sixteen and jumped.”
“I know.”
Inching back, she frowned. “You weren’t here. You were watching the four hundredth sequel to Lethal Weapon.”
“Don’t knock it. Where do you think I learned the slick cop moves? And, yes, we were here.”
“No,” she insisted. “You and Eli were watching the movie and we came alone. Do not question the veracity of my diaries.”
“I don’t question the diaries, but I do question your ability to know when you’re being trailed. You think Eli and I were going to sit on our butts watching a movie when our girls were out in the dark with the likes of Dustin Mathers?”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or be aghast. “You followed us?”
“Of course. I saw you jump. Made sure you got out and home okay.” He closed the tiny bit of space between them, ignoring the cheer that went up when Roman and Lacey splashed in the water. “We beat you home, had a beer on the beach, and you lied and said you didn’t let go of anything.”
Now she was aghast. “How do you know I lied?”
“Because I can read your eyes, Vivien Lawson. I know what you gave up then, and I know what you gave up two months ago.”
She stared at him. “You.”
He angled his head, his dark eyes glittering. “And now I think you need to let go of letting go of me.”
Oh. He was so right. She dropped her head back and looked toward the first few twinkling stars, not bothering to argue.
“Ready?” he asked, rising and reaching for her hand.
“Our turn!” Dusty and Tessa scooped up Olive and carried her to the very lowest rung of the ladder up the bridge. The two of them stood in knee-deep waves, holding her to help her jump.
“Let go, Olive Oyl!” Tessa cried. “Life is about to change!”
The little girl had no idea what it meant, but she jumped into Dusty’s arms and called out, “Again! Again!” While the happy couple let her jump over and over, Meredith and Connor stayed deep in conversation.
“Are you going to jump, Mer?” Peter asked they made their way to the bridge.
“Connor can’t, so I’ll stay in solidarity.”
Connor lifted his cast and gave her an apologetic look. “You sure? Go jump.”
“Nah. Tell me more about the workload at dental school. It sounds wonderfully daunting.”
Vivien and Peter shared a knowing look. “Overachievers, both of them,” she said.
“Well, he hasn’t stopped talking about her since they met on the Fourth of July, so…”
She lifted a brow and filed that little piece of juicy gossip. “Where’s Holly tonight?”
“Back in Pensacola for good,” he said.
She kind of hated the relief that washed through her. “Oh, are you…”
“Still divorced,” he said with a wry smile. “But not at odds anymore, which is all I ever wanted. Why? Were you worried?”
She slowed her step as they reached the bridge, looking up at him, vowing to never play another game with him again.
She took a breath and exhaled. “I missed you,” she said simply. “I wanted to be with you and felt I couldn’t.”
He draped an arm around her and eased her onto the step in front of him. “I missed you, too, Viv. Come on, let’s get up there.”
She climbed the few steps, feeling the strong warmth of him behind her, basking in the joy that not only had she not lost him, they felt closer than ever.
Looking down, she had to laugh.
“Why did we think it was such a big risk?” she asked.
“Because letting go of anything is a risk,” he said, guiding her over the rusted metal and wide wood planks to the center point, helping her to the edge. “And sometimes, so is holding on.”
Just then, the boom box crackled with more volume and the opening strains of “I Will Always Love You” floated up.
“Oh, Tessa.” Vivien shook her head. “Predictable is her middle name.”
“What’s yours?” he asked.
“Leigh,” she replied. “Yes, I’m Vivien Leigh. Have you met my Gone With The Wind-loving mother?”
He glanced at Maggie, deep in conversation with Jo Ellen by the fire.
“Why do you want to know?” she asked.
“So that when I propose, I can do it with full authority and sound exactly like the movies.”
Her jaw dropped and she leaned way back, so far, he caught her from falling. “Peter!”
“What? We both know where this is going. I’ll wait for the right moment. Unless…now feels good.”
“Everything with you feels good,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m in no rush but that doesn’t mean I’m letting you go, Peter McCarthy. The only thing I’m letting go of is doubt, fear, and whatever has ever held me back from telling you and the world that…I love you.”
He closed his eyes on a sigh. “Finally.”
He lowered his head and kissed her just as the music hit its iconic crescendo and Whitney wailed her famous chorus.
“What are you letting go of?” she asked into the kiss.
“A future without you.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I love you, Viv.”
Still in a warm lip-lock, they pushed off, falling the short distance in an instant, still clinging to each other as they went under the dark water.
Coming up for air, they paddled to the side, and climbed out, arm in arm, knowing the one thing they’d never let go of—each other.