Impulsion: A Station 32 Fire Men Novel (41 page)

Her eyes searched his, wondering what he knew and what he didn’t, if he truly understood what she was saying or if he was telling her that with Collin was where she was supposed to be. Under either of those possibilities, she sensed a test, him asking her to prove her emotions with actions.

Right then, Claire Tatum managed to break whatever focus Conrad had on the crowd and bring it back to Garrison. “Dear, you were already tragically late. I’m sure you and Harley will have several chances to speak tonight,” she said, putting a glass of wine in Garrison’s hand. “I do believe that Collin had a toast for you before we joined our other guests.”

The crowd began to shift, all facing Harley and her father. Collin cleared his throat as he took the few steps between him and Harley.

“Is that a fact?” Garrison said with a glance to Harley, who had squeezed his arm as if she had just witnessed a tragedy and needed her father to protect her.

In Harley’s mind, there was no telling which way this was going to go. Her stare was begging Collin just to blow this off, make up some speech wishing her father a happy birthday,
not even try to take the blame for any of this. Without a doubt, Harley’s father knew she had been ‘cheating,’ or rather had been with Wyatt. There was no reason for Collin to take this hit when the blame was already squarely on Harley’s shoulders.

If Collin could just blow this off, alone with their family, Harley could take the blame for all of this, tell them all she loved Wyatt from first sight, that she and Collin never had a chance, that they were meant to be friends. Her mother’s reaction would be colder, more fierce in that small setting, but Harley didn’t care. She didn’t give a damn what she thought or did; Harley was going home the first chance she had, far from here.

Harley knew, though, what kind of man her father was. That he admired boldness. He would never doubt how she felt about Wyatt if she confessed that before everyone. If she confessed what would be a sin in the eyes of her mother’s inner circle.

That was it. That was the answer from day one: tell the truth. To state it with enough conviction that no one would be bold enough to doubt your words or even dare to cross them.

“Garrison. I assure you that my words will steal your attention,” Collin said. “You see, one of the first things I remember about meeting you was when you introduced me to Harley and you said, ‘I’d like you to meet my greatest accomplishment.’” People in the room started to laugh politely, as if they all had heard that at some point.

“Those words stayed with me. As Harley and I grew up, almost side by side at every event our mothers could think to take us to, a friendship was born.”

“A friendship that Collin was a saint in,” Harley said quickly, as if the words had been jerked out of her. “Always the gentleman. Always caring how I felt, wanting to know what I needed.”

“I was only repaying the same courtesy,” Collin said. “The public eye saw that friendship for more than it was.”

“Which is why Collin tried to make it work, but—”

“We are getting off track, Harley,” Collin said, raising his glass toward Garrison. “Harley is your greatest accomplishment because she was the one that taught you how to love unconditionally. This family, the Tatums, made me strive to feel that for myself, which is why—”

“Why I told Collin—” Harley said over him.

“Harley—” Collin said over her, and he wasn’t alone
. Her mother said her name, too, nearly forgot to use her kind, public tone.

“Are the two of you giving Harley the floor?” Garrison asked with a wry smile, making light of the fact that Harley’s name was echoing through the pair of them.

“No, Collin has a point,” Silvia said, “Collin, go ahead, dear.”

“A point? So this is not a toast, but a speech,” Garrison said, putting his glass down and leaning back on the table just behind him. He nodded to the wait staff at the side door. When the door opened, the wind was knocked out of Harley.

Wyatt was standing there in a suit that seemed to reach out and grab all the power he had in his soul, the power he used on the farm, the power he used in his career, the power he had to command Harley’s heart to thunder forward. Looking commanding enough to rule the world, the confident glint in his eye underlined the dominance he was emanating.

She could not see anyone or anything past him, but she was sure that Memphis and Easton were standing off to the side outside those doors.

What is he doing here? Oh my God, he knows what they think Collin was going to ask. Why does he not look mad?
Those were the thoughts racing through her mind.

“I was told there was someone else who had a speech or a point to make,” Garrison said. “In fact, this young man, in his own way, told me seven years ago that he would need this time right now.”

Conrad was chuckling as he shook his head. His wife Silvia looked infuriated, but the look on Claire Tatum’s face was priceless, somewhere between rage and surprise, as her classic fake smile disintegrated.

Wyatt stepped forward, holding Harley’s gaze, doing everything in his power to keep her there with him, hoping against all hope that she could see that no one in this room mattered but them, that he had fought for her and won, that this was the end. The ending they dreamed of.

“Can we have a moment?” Claire said to the room. Garrison held his hand out, telling everyone to stay.

“I want to introduce Mr. Doran to my closest friends.” He raised his chin in Wyatt’s direction. “All of you in this room know of this young man; if not of him, his family.
This is Rose Ellington’s eldest grandson.”

Everyone in the room seemed to gasp or ah in some way. Stares filled with instant honor and respect were aimed at Wyatt.

“All of you know I have oil in my blood, deep southern blood. The kind that makes men. The kind that gives you the power not only to take what is yours, but protect what is yours.” He stood from his lean. “Mr. Doran comes from the same roots I had—well, minus the oil,” Garrison said with a grin. “Nevertheless, the same drive and fearlessness. A boldness that puts the world at its knees in awe. Mr. Doran comes from a southern legacy that only grows stronger with each generation. His family equestrian estate has hosted some of the most prestigious international guests the world has known. They are the masters of the sport of kings.

“Their reputation, along with my mother’s longstanding respect and honor for the Ellingtons, who became Dorans, is why I eagerly asked for my daughter to be schooled by them. I knew they could bring out that fire
and passion in my daughter. And they did.

“This old man and his horrid health took my daughter away from her passion, away from the Dorans, but earlier this year life brought my daughter and Wyatt Doran together once more.” Garrison chuckled. “Look at me, so damn old that I ramble. I’m getting ahead of myself. Wyatt, you did have something to say, or did you not?”

Wyatt had not let his stare leave Harley’s. He didn’t hear a word Garrison said beyond his name and asking him to speak. The world stopped for him right then, and a shy smile dangled on his lips.

“Harley, there is no amount of time or space that could ever make me feel apart from you. You are the life that breathes into me.” He stepped forward, holding her gaze. “You told me once that in life all you wanted was to ‘be.’ You wanted to exist in a world surrounded by everything that excites you, pushes you, and drives you. You wanted endless passion, a love so deep that your only fear was losing it…I want to give you all of that and more.”

He stepped forward again and carefully fell to one knee.

Harley’s heart was thundering. Logic told her to gauge her father’s expression, to understand if he knew this was coming. Logic was telling her that she should notice that ice cold stare of her mother, or even glance to Collin to gauge his expression. But logic didn’t exist in Harley anymore.

She felt like she was going to faint; every hope she could have had for her life rained down on her all at once.

“Harley, will you be mine forever?” Wyatt said as he spun a silver band on his finger, flashing the three-carat canary diamond.

Claire Tatum gasped. When she looked at her husband, she found a smug grin, a glint of satisfaction in his stare. What kept her silent, what left her speechless was the fact that she knew it was not malicious satisfaction; he was truly happy for their daughter.

“I always have been,” Harley said, not even looking at the ring, still holding Wyatt’s ice blue gaze. That instant, he was on his feet, pulling her to his lips. He heard the room clap, heard the clanking of glasses, but he deepened that kiss, kissed her like it would be the last time he’d ever touch her.

If there was anything that the hell of being away from Harley had taught him, it was that you do not wait to show someone how much you love them, you do not assume they know; you tell them every day, in every way. You fight with all that you are for them.

“As I was saying,” Garrison said over the clatter. “Life brought my greatest accomplishment back to the legacy of the Doran Estate. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having dinner with Mr. Doran, and he asked for my daughter’s hand, a request that I was eager to grant.”

Wyatt had slowly ended that kiss, and his eyes lingered in Harley’s for a moment before looking to Garrison, to Claire Tatum.

“I was eager to announce this at this party, eager enough to tell Conrad, and then we understood we had a small issue.”

“I’ll say,” Silvia Grant said coolly, doing her best to look calm under all the glances of the room. The Tatums had just humiliated her son, and all she could feel was rage.

Conrad let out a slow smile as he caught Collin’s stare. “Son, in all that glorious grooming your mother put you through, did they not teach you that it is rude to leave your date unattended for more than a moment?”

Collin glanced to Harley to see that she was just as lost, even gauged how Wyatt had pulled her a little closer, not sure what game was unfolding.

The side doors opened again, and there stood Quinn. Even though her gown was elegant and she was simply ravishing, everyone’s stare in the room seemed to fall to her hand.

Collin let a relaxed smile spread across his face and began to speak. “I would like to introduce everyone to the future Mrs. Collin Grant. Quinn Moran.” Collin walked right up to Quinn and landed a soft kiss on her lips, then smiled that classically trained grin and aimed it and his wit at the room. “Clearly, Mr. Doran is the romantic in the room. Me? I proposed at sunset from my balcony, overlooking the city.”

“Your kingdom,” said someone in the room, causing a roar of laughs. Endless congratulations came from every direction at that point.

Gradually, those in the room started to make their way to the party that was blossoming outside, each eager to spread the dramatic, unexpected news of the toast that had just occurred.

Wyatt had never let go of Harley, no matter how many hands he shook. He even made it a point to
try and keep himself between her and her mother.

Moments later, after the Grants had moved to one side of the study to meet Quinn, Claire Tatum moved closer to Wyatt and Harley.

She only stared for a second before she spoke. “The Ellingtons. No one thought to tell me of that connection.”

“And why would I do that?” Garrison said from her side. “If I did that, dear, you would continue to see a name and not what lies behind the name. Wyatt and Harley would not have understood that time and circumstance are nothing but trivial matters when it comes to obtaining a dream that you have, in their case a love affair.”

“I only want the best for our daughter. You know that, right, Harley?” Claire said as her gaze met hers. Somehow, this proposal had shifted the balance of power. Harley could swear she saw some fear in her mother’s eyes. It was because she knew how much power Garrison had just handed over to Wyatt. Garrison had given him his legacy and everything that was attached to that name.

“No, I don’t,” Harley said evenly, not expressing a single emotion, just the way her mother had raised her. “If you wanted what was best for me, you would have asked what made me happy
. Instead, we both failed. I tried to make you happy, be who you wanted me to be. That did nothing but make me miserable. I’m not living like that anymore. Mother, you owe the Dorans an apology for the harsh things you said years ago, and if you give a damn about me, then you’ll give that apology and be at my wedding, one that I will plan to my liking, one that represents us.”

Claire Tatum sucked in a deep breath. Fury was in her eyes now, a cold fury, but she smiled. “Of course. Whether you care to have it or not, you have my blessing, Wyatt.” And with that, she plastered
on her fake smile, moved past Harley and Wyatt, and started saying things like “Thank you, we could not be happier” to everyone who congratulated her.

Garrison didn’t even bother to acknowledge how shallow his wife’s words sounded. Instead, he said, “Tell that Armstrong boy to come on in. Ballantine, too. This party would be a bore without them.”

Wyatt nodded in the direction of Memphis and Easton. A bit nervously, they came in, but they seemed at ease as Conrad and others started to talk to them.

“I’m guessing you said yes?” Easton said as he reached to hug Harley. He leaned away. “Which means I have to wear a suit again.”