Brown Eyed Girl (33 page)

“
You didn’t win that one, Vivi...you cheated.”

Vivi turned to see Pete McAllister’s massive bulk filling the doorway.

“
It just took me awhile to get cleaned up and make it here.”

Vivienne rushed into her husband’s bear hug.

“
You should have waited for me, hon,” Pete scolded.

“I know, but you’ve been so sick.” Vivienne touched her husband’s face gently then reached up to feel his forehead. “You’ve still got a fever, Pete.”

He pulled out a bottle of aspirin and downed two tablets with a cup of water from the cooler. “Satisfied now?”

Vivienne smiled at him and nodded. “Melissa called me a few minutes ago. She said one of the local networks had a helicopter view out there because of that accident and they preempted regular programming to show the entire thing. She wants a ‘family gathering’ at her place to make sure everyone’s okay. They live in a subdivision across town, Tiffany, but it’s on your way back to I-10.”

“Let me find out what we need to do before we can leave,” Red said, going off in search of someone in charge. He returned in less than a minute accompanied by an officer. “Doc, you need to give your statement to Officer Tate before we can go.”

Tiffany held up one finger to the officer. “I need a minute first,” she explained before pulling Red off to the side for a private consult.

“
Hey, McAllister,” she said, placing her hands around the back of his neck and beaming up at him. “You feel like getting married today?”

“
Don’t tease me, Doc. Not after coming so close to losing you.”

“
I’m not. Everything we need to seal the deal is in my car. Think you can find us a judge that can take care of what we need to do to get this done before we leave Lafayette today?”

“
Are you serious? After everything you’ve been through today?”

She nodded. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Scott McAllister. Our birth certificates are in the glove compartment of my car...here’s my set of keys,” she said handing him the set. “There’s a Scala design I’m dying to wear and a sexy as hell suit for you with all the trimmings. You think you can handle this?”

Red beamed at her. “You bet your beautiful ass I can. I know just who to call.” He wrapped her in his arms for a mutually mind blowing kiss as the station erupted in a chorus of ‘atta-boys’, cat calls, and whistles.

Chapter 16

Two hours later Red stood before Melissa’s bathroom mirror cursing his tie under his breath. “Come on in,” he said, at the sudden knock on the door.

Pete McAllister walked inside. “I wanted to let you know Jackson and Giselle made it in. You have everything you need?”

“
Just running out of patience with this damn thing, Dad,” he said, still struggling to get the knot just right.

Pete turned Red to face him and made the necessary adjustments to the silk tie. He gave it a final pull then stood back and looked proudly at his son. “You look good, Scott. I think you two will be very happy together.”

Red took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m crazy about her, Pop.”

“
Yeah, we’d have had to be blind not to see that at Thanksgiving…even before that, if you ask your mother.” His face grew suddenly somber. “I uh…I didn’t want to ask this in front of your mother, but…Did Benji die quickly?”

Red gave his father a brief nod before giving his tie one last check in the mirror. “He died quicker than he deserved, but still not quick enough to keep him from hurting Mom and Tiffany.”

“God forgive me, but that was a much kinder fate for that son of a bitch than I would have planned for him. Just the thought of him putting his hands on my wife,” Pete said, his jaw working furiously.

“You know, Doc kept her phone on when she was with him and I heard some of the things he told her.” His jaw tightened as he looked at his father. “I have
never
felt so helpless in my entire life. I couldn’t have lived with myself if something had happened to her.” He ran a hand nervously through his hair. “I came so damn close to losing her, Pop.”

Pete put his hand on Red’s shoulder. “We both came close today, son, but they’re still here and we’re going to thank God for them, and not dwell on the rest of it. Just make the best of your lives together.”

Red nodded. “I plan on it. I don’t know if I’ll always feel this way, but right now, I can’t imagine life without her.”

“If you’re lucky, you’ll feel that way for the rest of your life. God knows that lady of yours has already found a place in my heart for what she did for Vivi—that says a lot about her character.” He gave his son a hug that ended in a hearty back slap.

They walked into the hallway just as the door to the master bedroom opened up. Red turned, watched his sisters step aside to reveal his bride to be, who turned in a slow circle as though seeking his approval. His heart filled with a deep seeded pride as he gazed upon the woman he loved wearing the dress he’d chosen for her.
Not bad for a guy, McAllister.
He stepped forward to admire her graceful beauty, from her waterfall of golden brown curls, to her tasteful touch of make up on an already flawless palette. “You are stunning,” he said, touching the delicate dangling diamonds on her ears. “Do you like them?”

“
No,” she said, smiling. “I love them, as well as the dinner ring. You didn’t have to get something so extravagant, though.”

“
I wanted to.” He offered her his arm. “Are you ready to make this official, beautiful?”

She fairly glowed as she took his arm. “You bet your sexy butt I am. Is the J.P. here, yet?”

Red halted mid-stride and turned back to her. “Yeah, but Drake couldn’t make it. He had a two o’clock meeting, and it was too late to cancel. I’m sorry. I know you wanted family here.”

Tiffany’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “It’s okay, Red. This is my family now, too. ”

He led her in front of the judge, a friend of Red’s who’d asked to do the honors, and smiled down at his bride to be. “What do you say, Doc? You ready to be a part of this crazy family of mine?”

“
Say yes, Tiffany. We’re extremely annoying but not all that dangerous,” Bailey said.

“
Well, except for Red. There
was
that period when he was a biter,” Rebecca added.

“
But he’s up on his shots,” Vivienne threw in.

“
I was four!” Red interjected.

“
It’s okay, babe. If you have a relapse I’m up on my shots, too,” Tiffany said, before turning to the judge. “Let’s do this.”

There, in the living room of his sister’s home, they were married before family and a few good friends. Afterwards, Red’s niece, a budding photographer, coerced them into taking a few commemorative shots to capture the joyous feeling of the day. Like the happy couple feeding each other bites of celebratory pizza…ordered by the groom at the bride’s request. She also threw the bouquet—a handful of knock-out roses from Melissa’s yard, tied together with a white satin ribbon—right at Annie, who promptly let it fall at her feet and refused to pick it up. They even toasted to sparkling white grape juice, because that’s all Melissa could find that didn’t come in a juice box with a plastic straw attached to it. After the stress and strain of the past week, the hilarity of the afternoon was a much welcomed change.

Tiffany pressed a hand to her growling stomach. “I’m starving,” she said turning toward the multitude of pizza delivery boxes stacked on the table.

Not wanting to let her go just yet, Red grabbed her for one quick kiss…that ended up with Tiffany bent backward over his arm in a lengthy embrace.

“
Okay, okay!” Bailey said, pulling her new sister in law away from him. “You can let her go for a minute or two. The poor girl’s got to eat sometimes.”

“
Yeah,” someone snorted from the back. “She’ll need her strength for tonight.”

Hearing the comment, Tiffany turned back to her husband. “Uh…Mr. McAllister…You’d better eat your fill here, because the
only
room we’ll be doing any cooking in tonight is the bedroom…” she said, giving him a wink.

Red raised one hand to put a halt to his family’s raucous laughter. “I’m way ahead of you, Mrs. McAllister. That’s why I ordered an extra one…to take with us,” he said, winking back at her.

Annie walked by snickering in disgust. “God, it’s not bad enough that we have to suffer through mom and dad’s public displays of affection. Now we’ll have to put up with you two.”

Red gave his youngest sister a smug smile. “Annie, I’ve got two words for you...
security
cameras,
” he said, before he and his bride left her standing there with her face twisted in a curious frown.

<><><>

Red closed and locked the door behind him and turned to his new wife, starved for her touch after being separated during the hour long drive home. He pulled her into his arms for a good long kiss before they made their way to the bedroom, leaving a trail of discarded clothing down the hallway.

They fell into the master bed, making love with a sense of needy recklessness. As Tiffany neared her moment of release, she tried to control her cries but Red grabbed her face in his hands. “Let me hear you, Doc. There’s nobody around for miles.” It was all the encouragement she needed to release the sharp cry she’d been withholding. As soon as she finished, Red groaned loudly with his own release.

He held her tightly and rolled them both onto his side, waiting for his heart to slow, his breathing to return to normal. They lay facing each other as Tiffany’s emotions got the better of her. He kissed her tears away, speaking in low soothing tones until her tears ended. After a few minutes, she was finally able to speak.

“
I’m so relieved it’s all over.”

“I know, babe, and so am I.” They lay quietly in each other’s arms, secure in their love for one another, and fell asleep.

Red waited until Tiffany had stepped into the shower that evening before escaping outside to dial the number his new brother in law had given him. He took a calming breath in preparation to answer.

“
Daniel LeBlanc here,” barked a deep voice.

“Mr. LeBlanc, this is Scott McAllister. I wonder if you have a few minutes to speak to me, sir.”

“Scott McAllister. The same man someone tried to set up for arson and murder? The man I just saw on the evening news running to my daughter on an overpass in Lafayette…
that
Scott McAllister?”

“Yes sir, the one and the same.”

“I’d be more upset about this call if my son hadn’t already been singing your praises to me, and why the hell hasn’t Tiffany been answering her phone?”

“Well, I wasn’t aware Drake had done that, sir, but tell him thanks for me when you see him next. As for Tiffany’s phone, she lost it at some point during the incident.”

“Hmm,” he grunted. “Drake had his P.I. check you out, you know. If he hadn’t, I would have.”

“Not surprising. I had my own check out the both of you, also.”

“How did that bouncer get past your investigator, Mr. McAllister?”

“He was half brother to a man I fired two years ago—same mother, different fathers and last names, no family resemblance. He was the perfect employee for two years, and extremely patient.”

“I see. I assume you called for a reason. Is my daughter all right?”

“She’s fine, sir, but I did call for a reason. I was wondering if you had a little time in your schedule to meet with me tomorrow.”

“Just you, or will Tiffany be accompanying you?”

“Just me; I thought I’d speak to you man to man before dragging her into this. She’s been hurt enough by you and your wife. I don’t want it happening again.”

“Excuse me, boy? Just who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m a thirty-eight year old man, sir, so
don’t
call me boy. I’m her husband, and I’ll do whatever I can to keep her from being hurt.”

“Her husband!” Daniel bellowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“We got married this afternoon in Lafayette.”

“Why weren’t we told about this?”

“Ask Tiffany. We’d planned to do several days ago and it fell through. She’d wanted Drake there, but not you or her mother.”

“Well, why the hell not?” Daniel asked, sounding more perturbed by the second.

“I don’t know, sir, but she’s been your daughter for thirty six years. I bet if you try hard enough, you could think of several reasons.”

Red waited through an awkward silence before taking control of the conversation again. “Okay, let’s start off with the most recent and work our way back, shall we?” He cleared his throat and began. “How about the fact that you both tried to force her to marry a man she didn’t love, and who obviously had mistreated her for five long years? Your wife went so far as telling her she’d be responsible for making her a social outcast and called her an ungrateful daughter.” He heard Daniel’s long drawn out sigh.

“
Monica always did have a flair for drama.”