9781618853158SpecialKindofWomanBergman (18 page)

Regina’s mind raced as
to what he could have said that was so wonderful. “What did he say?”

“Well, I won’t go into
great detail but I know he did talk fondly about how much he loved it when you
would run your fingers through his hair.”

Regina giggled as she
said that, it was one of the things she treasured doing the most with Collin. “Yeah,
I loved doing that to him too. I miss a lot of things really about your son
Alannah, just didn’t like what he did.”

“I know dearie, I know
and you have every right to feel that way. But you can’t be angry with him all
of your life, he loves you so very much and is remorseful. I think we all saw a
side of Collin while he was here that none of us had seen before. So where are
you at darling, you haven’t said a word about that?”

“Over at a B&B for
some R&R, it’s been really nice. I’ve met a really cute older couple. They’ve
kept me company while I’ve been here. I go out to the garden they have here and
I pick out vegetables and get eggs from the chicken coop. I haven’t felt this
good about myself in a very long time. I thought about staying an extra day and
the owners like me so much that they told me they won’t charge me at all, which
is nice,” Regina said, playing with one of the tassels of the rope that tied
the curtain back.

“So when are you going
to have that talk with Collin?”

“I’ve decided to call
him up after lunch today to see if we can talk.” She smiled thinking about how
long and hard she considered seeing him.

“Oh darling that is
wonderful news, I know he will be so happy to hear your voice and you’ll feel
so much better once you both talked,” Alannah said as she started to cry.

Regina smiled a bit and
almost started to tear up as well. “Please don’t cry, you’re going to get me
started crying too.”

“No more tears of
sadness darling, only tears of utter joy will you have when you meet him
again.” They continued talking until a knock came to her door.

“I’ve got to go Alannah,
they are calling me for lunch right now. I’ll let you know how everything goes,
love you all.”

She saw Martha at her
door with a smile on her face as she walked out and closed the door behind her.
“Bertha is making her famous salmon with dill sauce today for lunch, it’s
simply exquisite. We have to hurry before Fred decides to eat the whole platter
up.” Martha giggled.

Regina smiled while
holding her arm as they slowly walked around the porch and toward the dining
room door.

“You ladies better
hurry, she’s bringing out the salmon right now,” Fred said sitting at the table
looking like a little boy waiting for a slice of cake.

“Now sweetheart, you
better calm yourself down, I know how you are about Bertha’s salmon,” Martha
said while Regina helped her into her chair. “Thank you my dear for that.”

Regina sat down as
Bertha and Jeff came into the room with the food. Even though her stomach wanted
food, her mind was racing with anticipation of hearing Collin’s voice.

“So are you going to
call Collin today?” asked Bertha with a smile as she munched on her salmon.

Regina looked at her
and blushed a bit, she realized that she had gotten way too friendly during her
stay here and now basically everybody knew. “Yeah, I’m going to call him after
lunch to talk.”

“Well that’s good, you
both need to talk and get things out in the open. We hate seeing you here alone
and sad,” Jeff told her and continued eating.

Regina didn’t know what
she would have done without them this week. If they weren’t around to help her
through everything more than likely she would have stayed in her room the
entire week wallowing in self-pity.

“I do want to thank you
all for being there for me. You’re right, I’ve been feeling so lonesome and I
was tired when I got here but being around you all has refreshed me and has
made me think about a lot of things that I want in my life for myself.”

Taking a bite out of
the salmon with the dill sauce, Regina exclaimed, “You have to give me the
recipe for this Bertha, I’ve never had this before. It’s wonderful.” Dipping
some crusty bread into the sauce, Regina relished the taste of it. She felt in
her heart things would be good for her as she listened in on Jeff and Martha’s
conversation.

Regina decided to have
her dessert—cheesecake with fresh strawberries—in her room. She was anxious
about calling Collin. Grabbing the phone and taking it to her bed, Regina sat
and dialed the number that she had for Collin’s office from Maxine. Silently
saying a prayer to herself, she listened as the phone rang.

“Thank you for calling
Nicholas, Tatum, and Rutherford, this is Nancy how may I help you today?”

“Hi Nancy, it’s me Regina,
how are you?” she asked before taking a bite out of the cheesecake in front of
her.

“Oh my God Regina I’m
doing great now that I’ve heard your voice, how are you?”

“I’m doing just fine. I
was wondering if you could put me through to Collin.”

“Oh he’s going to be
very excited to hear from you, hold on just one second.”

Regina waited for what
felt like forever, to hear the familiar sound of his voice that she would often
listen for daily that lovely melodious sound would cause every part of her body
to quiver. It was time to finally get things squared away with Collin Noonan.

“Yes this is Collin.”

Regina’s heart skipped
a beat and she took a swallow of the cheesecake before she licked her lips and
said, “Hello Collin.”

“Regina, Regina baby is
that you?”

“What happened, it
sounded like you were wrestling with the phone or something over there?” She
giggled as he did the same.

“You can say I was, but
my God it’s good to hear your voice again. How have you been doing? Where are
you? I’ve missed you so much and I’ve wanted to talk with you but I know we
said in a week. But I was going out of my mind with worry over you.”

Regina couldn’t help
but laugh as he talked a mile a minute. “Collin hush will you, I can barely
understand you!”

Collin laughed again
and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry darling. I just thought that, I mean I don’t
know what I was thinking actually. I just got so excited hearing your voice
again. Where are you anyway?”

“I’ve staying at this
place called Cella’s Bed and Breakfast over by Myer’s Lake. It’s been really
peaceful here and the owners have been so nice to me. I have this older couple
that has been keeping me company and they’ve been so sweet. I’ve had time to
sit back and collect my thoughts Collin and I think we need to talk.” Taking
another bite of her cheesecake, Regina waited for his response.

“I think so too and I
want to hear all that you have to tell me Gina, I’m coming up there right now
all right? We can just put everything out on the table,” Collin assured her.

“I was hoping you would
say that.” Regina took another bite of the cheesecake, letting out a contented
moan.

“What are you doing
over there?”

“Eating a piece of
homemade cheesecake with strawberries, you can have a piece when you get here
if you like,” Regina said as she started making yummy sounds over the phone.

“If you can get me a
slice without the strawberries, then that would be fine, I’m allergic to
strawberries.”

“Really, I didn’t know
that. Well, I’ll see if Bertha can save you a slice or two without it. I’ll be
waiting for you, I think you’re going to like it here Collin.”

“Baby, can you do me
one favor before I get off the phone with you?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you say my name
one more time?” he asked so softly she could hear his voice crack a bit and she
honestly couldn’t help but reply to his request.

“Collin.”

“I’m on my way baby.”

Hanging up the phone, Regina
couldn’t help but tear up at how he sounded so excited to hear her voice. She
had been just as excited to hear him but it was the emotion within that voice
when he sounded as if he was crying on the other end that made her weak in the
knees.

As Regina came into the
kitchen, Bertha asked, “Is he coming here?”

“Yeah and do you have
any more of the cheesecake left but without the strawberries?”

“Of course, I can have
two slices saved for him and would you like some tea along with it?”

“That sounds pretty
good. Now, all I have to do is wait for him to come. I just hope he doesn’t go
crazy on the road and starts speeding his way down here.” Regina laughed as
Bertha shook her head.

Regina started a small
fire in the fireplace to get the chill out of the room. The aura of the flame
gave the room a much warmer feeling. Sitting in the rocker waiting for Collin, Regina
found herself slowly falling asleep as the warmth of the fire as well as the
food she ate earlier made her feel comfy and cozy.

Girl
you’ve got to stay up until he gets here, wake up Regina!

She opened her eyes and
went to the kitchen to make some tea to drink back in her room.

* * * *

Collin decided before
he left to get on the road that he would head over to his place and pack a
small bag of things for the rest of the week. He wasn’t going to let her go now
that he had her back in his life again. He knew that whatever she had to say to
him, he would totally understand completely and maybe they could work things
out with each other. After changing into some comfortable clothes and getting
his bag, he headed out to meet his true love again.

The blaring lights and
siren of a cop car in Collin’s rearview mirror started him cussing under his
breath while pulling over to the side of the highway. “Shit and damn!” he
hissed as he turned off the engine and waited for the cop to walk over. When
the cop stood by his window, he rolled it down.

“Sir, do you know how
fast you were going just now?”

“No sir, I don’t know,”
Collin replied as he started to become anxious. This guy was taking too long,
keeping him from Regina.

“Can I get your license
and registration sir?” Collin handed him what asked for and he walked away but the
cop came right back to the car and asked, “You’re last name is Noonan?”

Curious about his
reaction, Collin told him, “That’s what it says on the license.”

“Do you have a brother
name Kenny and another brother name Kendrick? You know, now that I look at you
good, you look just like them both.” He chuckled.

Collin laughed. “Yeah,
it’s the hair that gives us away.”

“Both your brothers are
a trip and a half, always have me laughing to the point I nearly piss my pants.
Kenny’s in my precinct by the way, I’ll let you go since you’re his bro and
all, just make sure you be careful driving out here and slow down. Where are
you headed anyways?” the officer asked.

“A place called Cella’s.”

“Say that’s just about ten
miles down the road here till you see the sign on the left.”

“Thanks, I appreciate
it.” The officer gave Collin his things and gave him a nod while walking away.
Collin put on his seatbelt again as he waited for a way to get back into
traffic once more. When he saw an opening he quickly got back on the road
again. As the miles sped by, Collin’s heart started racing and he was sweating
up a storm so he turned on the AC full blast. He wanted to take her in his arms
and hold her forever. Soon he saw the sign and made the turn onto the road.

Chapter Ten

Regina thought she
heard a car coming up the road. As she got out of the rocker, she saw his car
pulling in beside her own. A knot quickly formed in her throat as she walked
out of her room and onto the porch. His red hair popped up from the car door as
he looked around while she made her way toward the front of the house. She
stood there with a smile when he noticed her standing there at last.

The look on his face
was beautiful as he came closer to her. He obviously appreciated the time she
put into getting ready the way his gaze trailed over her floral print dress.
All she wanted to do was stare at him as he stared back at her. The only thing
heard between them was the whistling of the wind through the trees and the
rustle of her dress.

“Regina, I heard a car
coming in…” Bertha’s words faded away as she stood at the door, smiled and
slowly walked back inside.

Looking into those
beautiful green eyes of his, wisps of red hair lightly blew across his forehead.
Regina reached down and ran her fingers along his forehead and Collin closed
his eyes. Grabbing her hand, he held it against his cheek while kissing her
palm. His lips made her skin tingle when they touched and she could see tears
in his eyes as he said, “God I’ve missed you Gina.”