Heroes Never Die (6 page)

“Stephanie,” he argued.  “I had just received a letter telling me that you never wanted to see me again.  What was I supposed to do?”

Waves of ripping pain stabbed her insides.  How can he justify betraying me?  “I just told you I saw you with another woman and you don’t even have the decency to apologize?  Do you understand how much you hurt me?

“Spend the night with me, Stephanie.  We’ll talk this over.  We’ll work it out.”

Stephanie didn’t want to share the bed he had shared with another woman.  “It’s over, Kyle.  Something in me died that night.  I’m moving on with my life.”

“You are my life, Stephanie,” he said as he tightened his grip around her arm.  “And I don’t plan on living it without you.”

“Let go of me!”  She jerked her arm loose.  Then she heard the music stop.  The silence blared in her ears.

“You know, Stephanie, you are really incredible.  I’ve waited over four years to marry you, and now you’re telling me it’s over between us and you won’t even try to give us another chance?  Just what do you expect me to do, walk away as if I never knew you?”

“Yes,” she said as she tossed back her head.  “And I can show you just how easy it is.”  She spun around and walked away.

Kyle grabbed her arm and snapped her back.  “Don’t you ever walk away from me again!”

His eyes were as wild as the night he hit Duke and Stephanie was frightened.  “Let go of me,” she cried as she struggled to pry loose from his grip.  “Kyle, please, you’re hurting me.”

“No, Stephanie,” he said as he jerked her close to his face.  “You’re hurting me.  And I’m not letting you go until we work this out.”

Suddenly Stephanie noticed Brian approaching.  He latched onto Kyle’s arm.  “Let her go,” he demanded.

Kyle looked down at his arm and then he angrily lifted his focus to see the man who had cuffed it.  Stephanie felt Kyle’s grip loosen, and she pulled her arm free.  She backed away until she felt safe beside Brian.  Stunned, she watched as both men stepped up to each other until their faces were nearly touching.  “Guys, don’t!”

Kyle stepped even closer.  Stephanie overheard his threat.  “We’ll meet again soon, my friend.”

Brian grinned.  “I’m looking forward to it.”

Kyle turned to face Stephanie, and then he left abruptly.

The lead singer, wanting the lively mood to return to the party, dedicated the next song to the guest of honor.  The guests began to relax, and the tense silence lifted.

Stephanie watched Brian.  His eyes focused on Kyle until he was out of sight.  She didn’t realize that she had been rubbing the soreness in her arm.  “Are you okay?” he asked with concern.

Stephanie nodded.  “I’m just a little shaken.  That was a brave thing you just did.  Do you have any idea who that was?”

“Rowdy filled me in on all of the details that you left out,” he playfully scolded.  She was not humored.  “He doesn’t scare me, Stephanie.”

“Well, he scares me.  I’ve seen what he can do.  And he already knew your name,” she said to prove herself.

“Come on, Stephanie,” he said to calm her fears.  “You don’t need to be a sleuth to figure out my name.  Anyone here tonight could have told him who I was.”

“I suppose,” she said, still grappling with the uneasy feeling in her stomach.  “But I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of this.”

“He won’t be back.”  Brian was so convincing that Stephanie began to feel safe.  The soreness in her arm began to ease and she lowered the hand she had been using to rub it.  Brian noticed the bruise immediately.  “I see he left his paw prints – nice guy.”

He wasn’t trying to be funny, but his comment made her laugh.  “I’m okay – really.”  She felt relaxed again.  Her dad was throwing her the biggest party of her life, she was with the man she had been looking forward to spending the evening with, and she wasn’t going to let anyone, not even Kyle, spoil her fun.

“They’re playing a song for you,” Brian said as he nodded toward the band.  “Feel like dancing?”

“You bet I do,” she answered as she folded her arms around his shoulders.  She gazed into his eyes, amazed by what she saw.  He was so sensible and so very brave.  No one had ever stood up to Kyle the way Brian had, and she was rightfully impressed.  “Doesn’t anything scare you?”

“Yeah,” Brian said, suddenly becoming serious.  “You scare me.”

“I scare you?”  She was surprised.  “I don’t understand.”

“I could easily fall in love with you, Stephanie, but when, or if, you don’t want to see me anymore, it’s going to hurt.  And that scares me.”

Stephanie’s insides tingled with warmth.  “I feel the same way, Brian.”

“Are you sure you’re not on the rebound?” he asked to test her affections.

“I don’t know,” she honestly replied.  “I’ve never been on the rebound before, but if this is how it feels, I hope it lasts forever.”

Brian pulled her closer and tenderly kissed her.  Stephanie suddenly remembered something.  “Just one more thing – do you have to make early rounds in the morning, or was that part of your devious plan?”

“I can dance until the sun comes up,” he gladly admitted.”

Stephanie laid her head against his chest and allowed her body to gently sway with his.  She looked up to the sky and saw a blanket of stars twinkling with approval.  Her insides swelled with happiness.  I will never forget this night.

Chapter Four:

Stephanie stood in her driveway and filled a bucket of soap with water from the garden hose.  She carried the bucket over to Brian’s car.  Brian stood in the distance and shook the dirt from the car mats.  “Here’s the soap,” Stephanie said as she lowered the bucket onto the driveway.”

“Thanks, hon.  I’ll wash, you rinse.”

Brian sponged soap all over the top of his car.  Stephanie sprayed water over the hood until all of the suds rinsed away.  She felt a fine mist of water jet backward and spray her face.  It was a hot August day and the cold water felt good on her skin.  She followed Brian around the car, rinsing the suds as she went, accidentally on purpose spraying him whenever she thought she could get away with it.  As she watched him scrub the last tire, she couldn’t resist the temptation any longer.  She aimed the hose at Brian’s face and blasted him with cold water.  Then she screamed with laughter.

Brian caught hold of her and lifted a bucket of water over her head.  “Truce, Brian, truce,” she cried as she braced herself for the gush of cold water.

“Too late.”  Then he poured the icy water over her head.

The blazing sun quickly vaporized the water on their skin.  They put away the cleaning supplies, and Stephanie led Brian upstairs so they could dry their hair.  She handed him a velvety soft bath towel from the linen closet and he playfully wrapped her up in it until she couldn’t move.  She screamed with laughter as he shimmied the towel back and forth in a buffing motion to dry her.  Then Stephanie took another towel from the closet and dried Brian.

On their way downstairs, Brian noticed the étagère holding Stephanie’s dolls and stuffed animals.  “I see you still play with dolls,” he teased.

“Don’t be silly,” she giggled.  “I’m saving them to give to my own little girl.”

“Do you want a family?” he tested.

“Someday,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders.  “But I’m in no big hurry.”

“Well, I am,” he said as he playfully pulled her into his arms.  He began to tickle her sides, and Stephanie twisted and giggled.  Then all at once, the tickling stopped.  They were still for a moment and their eyes filled with intense longing.  Brian pressed her mouth with his.  She felt his kiss intensify.  “I want to make love to you,” he whispered.

“Dad is due home any second,” she said as she embraced his face, hoping he would understand.

“Then let’s go downstairs,” he said coolly, his brow twisted with tension.

Stephanie heard his feet on the stairs.  He already had the power to crush her.  I don’t want to lose you, Brian, but I don’t want to break my dad’s heart, either.

Brian was already in the family room when she caught up to him.  She could see the tension in his face, tension he had been unable to release.  “Are you angry with me, Brian?”

“Let me ask you this – will you ever be able to leave your dad?”

“You know how I feel about Dad.  He’s all I have.  The last thing I want is for him to come home and catch us in the act.  I love you, Brian, but if you don’t understand that, then you can leave.  And on your way out, I’d be more than happy to give you directions to the red-light district.”

Brian’s head reared back with surprise.  “As usual, you jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“Oh, really?” she argued, offended at the accusation.  “Then tell me what I’m missing.”

“I know you love your dad, Stephanie.  I asked if you could ever leave him because I want to marry you.”

“What?”  Stephanie was stunned.  An eternity seemed to pass before she was able to comprehend what Brian was saying.  “You’re asking me to marry you?”

Brian placed his hands on her face.  She saw his eyes soften.  “I love you, Stephanie, and I don’t want to be without you any longer.  Please marry me.  Please say yes.”

Stephanie suddenly realized that her mouth was gaping.  “You’ve only known me for three months, Brian.  What if you wake up one morning and decide that you don’t want me anymore?  I couldn’t bear it.”

“That will never happen.  You are my once-in-a-lifetime dream come true.  I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you.  I’ll never hurt you, and I’ll always be there for you, I promise.”

Brian’s proposal was so sudden, so wonderfully breathtaking, and Stephanie felt like she was floating in a dream.  “Oh, Brian,” she finally answered.  “I want to marry you, too.”

“You’re saying yes?”

She nodded.  “Yes – yes I want to marry you.”

She saw the corners of his mouth bend upwards into a nervous smile.  He pulled her into his arms and sealed his commitment with a passionate kiss.  “I don’t want to wait, Stephanie.  I’d be just as happy to stand before a judge if that’s okay with you?”

“I want the magic, Brian,” she said, shaking her head.  “I’ve always dreamed of wearing my mother’s wedding gown.  There’s even a matching diamond tiara.  And cake, and flowers – I want it to be special.  I want it to be a day we’ll never forget.”

“I want you to have your special day, Stephanie, but I don’t want some long drawn-out engagement, either.  Like I said, I don’t want to be without you any longer.”

“Well then,” her mind quickly went to work.  “We can have an intimate gathering right here.  I already have my wedding dress, and I’ll ask Jan for help.  I’m sure she won’t mind helping me coordinate all of the details.  She has a friend who owns a cake shop, and there’s a florist right beside her boutique.  I’ll bet we could pull it off in a short amount of time.  Are there a lot of people you want to invite?”

“Simple works for me – my parents, my brothers, my grandparents, a few friends, and of course our mutual friends from Walter Reed.”

“I’m guessing fifty altogether.  I’ll work on the invites right away.  How about if we set the date for the last Saturday in September – I think it’s the 25th.”

“That sounds like a wonderful date for our anniversary.  There’s only one problem, Stephanie – your dad.  This is going to break his heart.”  Stephanie heard the front door open and then she heard her dad’s familiar footsteps.  He was walking toward his study.  “Let’s go and get this over with,” Brian said.

Stephanie took a deep breath as though it would give her enough courage to break the news to her dad.  She reached for Brian’s hand and searched his eyes for strength.  Together we can do anything.  They walked hand-in-hand to her dad’s study where he was digging through a pile of paperwork.  He looked up when they approached his cherry desk.  Stephanie could see that he obviously knew what was coming next.

“I’ve asked Stephanie to marry me,” Brian said in his usual, straightforward manner.  “I would like your permission.”

Stephanie saw a flash of disapproval race across her dad’s face.  “Don’t you think this is rather sudden?”

“I’ve given the matter a lot of thought.  I love her very much, and I’ll take good care of her.”

Robert stood.  “I’m not questioning your integrity, Brian.  I would be proud to have you as my son.  It’s Stephanie I’m concerned with.”  Robert walked to the front of the desk and approached Stephanie.  He looked sternly into her eyes.  “You’ve only known Brian for three months.  I want you to live your life before you go rushing into a lifelong commitment.  And that’s my final word.”

Stephanie’s heart sank with disappointment.  But that can’t be your final word.  You’re just afraid of losing me.  Robert turned around and headed back to his desk.  Stephanie followed him and put her hand on his back to gently stop him.  “Daddy, I love Brian,” she insisted.  “And I want to spend the rest of my life with him.  But Dad, no one can ever take your place.  We’ll be here all of the time.  We’ll even buy a house that’s close so you can come and see us.  And we want to give you grandchildren.  All of us will be happy, Dad.  Just you wait and see.”  Robert turned and faced her.  She could see the water welling in his eyes.  “I won’t marry Brian without your blessing, Dad – please.”