Divine (15 page)

Only Mom would start arranging a party when
she’d just stirred from a coma; her mother’s way of coping.

As purple flowers popped into her mind,
animals roaming in the distance, she sighed and excitement grew
deep within. Maybe her mother was on to something. Thinking about a
grander time had to help her recovery. “Sounds wonderful. I know
the perfect place to be married.”

Bradley’s lips went flat. He hung his head.
“If that’s what you want, Sis.”

“Oh, yes,” Mom slapped her hands together.
“Was it by the stables, with the pond in the background? It’s the
perfect setting.”

“You made your mother very happy, little
girl,” Dad said, a huge grin on his face.

“Mountains,” she breathed, liking the idea
more.

“Blue Ridge Mountains,” he said. “I’ll make
it happen.”

“No. Not in Virginia, in Montana.” She
touched the space beside her where Matt had laid. “I still feel
him. He’s in Montana.” Ignoring the gasps from Mom and Dad, she
turned her attention to Bradley. “Matt’s the one.”

The corners of Bradley’s mouth lifted, and
his face brightened. “Going for what you want?”

“For once, yes. I am.”

“Good for you, Sis,” he said.

“Thank you,” she mouthed, since her throat
clogged and stole her voice.

“What’s that?” Dad approached and patted her
arm. “What are you going for?”

The confrontation with her parents should
have happened years ago. “I heard you and Mom, the lies you told
Matt. You’re the reason he’s not here.” She wanted to spit nails.
“Face it, I don’t love Cal, never have, and I won’t be marrying
him. Haven’t I, actually all of us” —she made a circular motion
with her finger— “dealt with enough? Don’t you want me happy?”

Mom kissed her forehead. “Of course, we
do.”

“Matt will make me happy.”

Mom gawped sheepishly at Dad. He nodded with
the same defeatist look as her mother.

Finally, they understood!

After going on a fire call and working at his
new business Divine, he was fatigued. He dropped into a chair on
his front porch, breathed in the clean Montana air, and popped open
a beer to drown the lonely ache looming over him. Travis had
convinced him to purchase the parcel of land next to his. Once he
did, his brother did a disappearing act, responding to search and
rescue calls along with chasing forest fires across the Continental
United States. The reasons he stayed gone had just as much to do
with fighting fires as fighting loneliness. While Travis had all
his limbs, he wasn’t in any better shape than him. They both
suffered with that lost feeling as if they didn’t belong
anywhere.

He scanned the acreage in front of him and
the business he built to make his life complete by trusting it
would deliver Trina to him. With each passing day, hope chipped
away. The old saying—build it and she will come—stuck in his mind
ever since Bradley surprised him by showing up in Montana months
ago. Trina was alive and single!

The news came at the perfect time. He’d been
so depressed, not knowing what he would do next with his life he
seriously thought about selling everything and backpacking across
Europe.

He’d wanted to rush to her, but Bradley said
to give her time. When she was ready, she’d come to him. With so
much time passing without a word, he wondered if she’d changed her
mind. Did another parent-induced Cal cross her path?

He lifted his beer to his mouth and before he
took a sip, he set the can on the table beside him. Since his binge
drinking at the river, he promised himself he wouldn’t drown his
sorrows and hadn’t partaken much.

Bradley hadn’t said much more about her
recovery or what that entailed, but what he had said affected Matt
tremendously and gave him something to live for, gave him purpose.
Trina fought to find her way back. As he could attest, no one could
be whole after a trauma. Without a doubt, Mr. and Mrs. Lovett had
something to do with their daughter’s need for perfection. He would
have argued the point with Bradley, but why bother? Sure, the
Lovetts controlled their children, so much so they were destroying
their lives, but more importantly, they loved them. For that, he
had to understand. He didn’t have parents to argue with, to have
them suffocate him with their opinions.

The goats in the pin locked horns and he
chuckled. He may have built her dream, but her dream gave him life
and gave families a magical place to escape. Trouble was the woman
he hired to take care of the nursery when he had a fire call. She
wanted to date. He’d even gone out once and had a beer with her and
some other employees, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Too much had happened for him to want to hang
out around bars or date different women for fun. One day, when the
time was right, the right woman would appear. Deep down, so fucking
deep that it hurt, he knew whomever he started to date and allowed
himself to love could never know the truth about Trina.

Secrets destroyed a relationship. He hated
them. A woman learning his business was inspired by his first love
left a bad taste in his mouth. She’d get hurt and leave. How could
she not? No one would ever compare to the girl who stole his
breath, the girl who’d given him his first hard-on.

“Damn Trina,” he muttered, rested the back of
his head against the chair, and closed his eyes. “Come back to
me.”

“I wish you had let me keep you company.”
Cadence’s voice came over the Bluetooth in Trina’s car.

No one could go with her to see Matt for the
first time. Thanks to her brother, he kept Matt abreast of her
recovery, but she couldn’t have Bradley or Cadence babysit her
anymore. The rest was on her. She let Matt slip through her fingers
one too many times, no more. She would tell him every dirty detail
and explain her actions with no audience, just her and him.

As soon as she woke in the hospital, she
wanted to call him, craved to hear his voice and tell him she was
okay. She waited because she wanted him to see her walk on her own,
without a catheter. He’d dealt with so much already. To contact him
before the doctors cleared her from having any lingering side
effects would have been selfish and mean. She still could have
unforeseen health issues, but the probabilities grew slim as time
passed.

What she thought would take a couple of
months before she saw him, ended up being six; a lot longer than
she’d hoped. Now, she was as close to perfect as she could be.

“To take a long drive alone to who knows what
end, after everything you’ve been through, is too much,” Cadence
said, cutting into her musings.

She chuckled through the tightness in her
chest and breathed in the scent of her car’s mango air freshener.
Thank goodness for Cadence. She stuck by her day in and day out for
months of rehab, like hook pile tape stuck to a knit sock.

“I’m good. The rehabilitation therapy made me
a new person.”

Cadence laughed. “I wish I could say the
same.”

The injury to Cadence’s hip gave her troubles
and a limp. “Give it more time. Remember, I didn’t have the
injuries to heal from like you.”

“No, you slept through it.”

“Ha! I did.”

“How much farther do you have?”

“A few minutes.” She tightened her grip on
the wheel. “I’m nervous.”

“Of course you are! I’d give anything to see
Matt’s face when you show up. To think your parents would let
someone feel such grief. When he sees you…” Her voice drifted.
“Wow, just wow.”

She cringed. Thanks to Bradley, Matt knew she
was kicking and single, but nothing more. He didn’t know if she
wanted him. “I don’t want to think about what Mom and Dad did. I
have to turn, better say bye.” Her heart beat so fast, her ears
vibrated.

“Go live out your dream, sweetie.” Cadence’s
loud sigh came through the device. “Love you.”

She disconnected and glanced at the
directions Bradley had given on her GPS and slowed the car to take
the left off the highway. The sounds of engines revving past, and
the bumping noise the tires made, ceased. The area was quiet and
peaceful, but her insides twisted in knots. Soon, she’d make the
last stop to either joy or despair.

Bright colors stole her breath. Purple-blue
clusters with trumpet-shaped flowers covered the trees on either
side of the road. Moisture filled her vision. She was close, so
close to living what she’d always wanted that her nerves pounded
her stomach like popcorn. In a daze, she pulled into the parking
lot, pressed on the brake, and gaped.

A peacock strutted amongst the pasture grass
and occasional wild flower. Its stunning white-tailed feathers
fanned out like a bridal veil. A miniature horse’s long mane danced
around his face as it dipped its head as if to say welcome. An
alpaca chewed his cud then spit at the horse. The horse’s curled
lip said what he thought of the act.

Giggling, she slid the gearshift into park
and cut the engine. A garden nursery situated not only beside a
petting zoo but intermingled with it. She climbed out of the car on
wobbly legs.

Had he?
She covered her hand to her
mouth.
Did he?
Not knowing how to put into words his amazing
act, she stared at the flowers and animals.

Shades of the rainbow popped into her vision.
Annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees stretched over a large piece
of land. In the distance, magnificent mountains rose like
protectors high above the flowery meadow and the stream running
along its base.

Still not able to come to terms with what she
saw, she sucked in a shaky breath.

More fenced animals bordered the rear of the
nursery. Each sweet creature watched, ears rising in anticipation.
A mixture of perfumed flowers, hay, and manure drifted on the
slight breeze. The scents brought memories of how much she loved
farms—pets, goats, horses, and breathing in the fresh air.

Gravel crunched behind her. The posted hours
stated the place closed an hour ago, which meant the owner
approached.

She braced for coming face-to-face with the
one person who meant the most and caught sight of a wooden sign
stretched from post to post above the entrance. The word ‘Divine’
etched into the wood grain.

Emotions hit hard. Hugging her waist, she
bent gasping and squeezed her eyes.

He loved her so much he’d carried out her
dream. A loud sob escaped. What man on God’s green earth could be
this great? Could do such a wonderful thing?

A bleating goat jerked her out of the
moment.

The goat had wedged its head between the two
bottom boards and cried for help. The brown and white pigmy didn’t
angle its head toward her, but to the person behind her.

“Ma’am, we’re closed.” Matt’s voice drifted
over her. She wanted to savor the sound, feel the warmth it
fortified her with, but disappointment intruded when he hadn’t
recognized her. Of course, he wouldn’t have. With her back to him
and her hair more blonde than red, how could he? Her untamed locks
had been her trademark and she’d cut them to shoulder length.

She turned. Want and love jolted her more
than she expected. She knew seeing Matt would be wonderful, but no
words described the strong pull for him, what she saw.

A stunningly gorgeous man in a plain dark
brown T-shirt with Divine stitched on the left hand side. The
cotton fabric bulged across his impressive biceps, and his jeans
fit him all too well. A close-shaven beard and mustache shielded
his face from the elements, but also hinted at a bad boy image. Her
girlie parts jumped with excitement.

His steel-colored eyes darkened, not with
desire liked she hoped, but with shock. “Trina.”