Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (76 page)

Or so she thought. When Vic opened the ring box, the ring he took out wasn’t what she expected. It was smaller, with one medium-sized stone and several smaller ones flanking it on either side. And it looked old. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Vic, we looked at some rings, and this isn’t . . .” she started.

Then she saw that Vic’s eyes were red. “I know, precious.” He sniffed hard. “This was my mom’s ring, and it was her mother’s ring, my Nonna Cabrizzi; Nonna Cabrizzi got it from her mother, my mom and Zia Raffie’s Nonna Alemagna. Zia Raffie had it and gave it to me.” He heard every woman in the room say A
wwwwww!,
and he looked down at the ring. “I have another one. I’m sure you’d rather have it; it’s much prettier. But if you’d just wear this one during our ceremony, it would mean a lot to me.”

Crystal tears fell down Laura’s face as she leaned in to kiss Vic. “I don’t want the other ring. I want
this
ring. It’s perfect.” She wiped her eyes, then straightened and waited, hands on hips. “Um, is there anything you want to ask me?” she smiled through her tears.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” He took a deep breath. “Laura Butler, I love you more than I thought it was possible to love someone. I love you now, and I’ll still love you when I draw my last breath. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

Laura held out her hand, and Vic slid the ring onto her finger. “Hmmm. Let me think about it for a minute,” she said, rolling her eyes upward, her finger on her chin, pretending to be in contemplation. Then she looked at him and grinned. “Okay! That sounds good!” she laughed. Vic grinned, wrapped his arms around her, kissed her, and smacked her ass. It made everyone laugh.

Then Tony heard Vic whisper to Laura,
“Tu sei il mio amore, per sempre e sempre,
la mia bella farfalla,”
and Tony slipped his arm around Nikki. He kissed her on the temple and she took his free hand and leaned into his shoulder. She and Vic would never know what life might’ve been like if they’d met each other first. And it was okay.

Cheers broke out all over the room, but Vic said, “Wait! I’ve got another proposal to make.” He pulled a tiny box out of his other pocket and went to the patio door. “Ella Jane, come here, baby,” he called, and the little girl ran straight to him and threw her arms around his waist. “I’ve got something for you.”

Ella Jane gasped. Inside the box was a tiny ring with three little diamonds set in its band. Vic took her little hand and slipped the ring on her finger, then said, “This is for you. When you get all grown up, if you still want to marry me and I can get rid of her,” he said, looking at Laura and winking, “I’m all yours!”

“Oh, Zio Vic, I love you,” she giggled and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be a grownup in . . . hey, Mommy, how long will it be before I’m a grownup?”

“A long, long time!” Brittany laughed.

“I guess if you want to marry her before I get grown up, it’ll be okay. But then you have to marry me!”

“So for now, permission granted, huh?” he grinned.

“Permission granted! Now I have to go back outside. Anthony is pulling his clothes off. He says he wants to go swimming,” she said, glancing out the patio doors.

“Oh, god, not again!” Clayton groaned as he jumped up and took off out the doors. “Young man, put those pants back on!” he yelled as he ran.

“A
nd so the longer he jackhammered, the farther down his pants fell. And he couldn’t feel them falling because of all the vibration. So by the time he got finished, his pants were down around his ankles.” Everyone was gasping with laughter as Vic told the story. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if we’d been out at a jobsite somewhere, but we were two blocks from the Speed School, so he had quite an audience. Wish you could’ve seen his face when he realized what had happened, and to make it worse, everybody – and I mean everybody, the other guys, students, everybody – had stopped to watch. Thank god he hadn’t gone commando that day or the cops would’ve been watching too.”

“You’re lying!” Nikki laughed hysterically.

“No, swear to god. Downtown Louisville. Long before cell phones, or it would be on YouTube, Facebook, everywhere.”

“Does he still work for us?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah! You know him! Thomas Linde? Framing crew supervisor?”

“Oh my god, yes! Wait ‘til I see him . . .”

“Oh, hell, don’t say anything,” Tony said. “He moonlights as a minister now!” he laughed. His phone rang and he pulled it out to see who it was. When he looked at the screen, he showed it to Nikki. Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

“Hello? Yeah! Hey, why in the world are you calling me on a holiday?” He looked at Nikki. “I don’t see why not. He’s here too. Let me ask him.” He turned to Vic. “Any reason why you can’t play golf with me, the governor, and the lieutenant governor Saturday after next?”

“Can’t think of a good enough reason,” Vic said. Roy and Brenda’s eyes went round.

“You’re on. And tell Governor Junior to bring his swing this time – looked like he left it at home in his Wheaties box the last time we played!” Tony laughed. “Oh. That sounds pretty good. Let me ask them.” He turned to Nikki, then looked at Laura. “He wants to know if we’d all like to go to dinner afterward at the club in Frankfort.”

“Think you’ll feel well enough by then?” Vic asked Laura.

“Probably. We’ll work something out,” she said. How exciting – the governor! She glanced at her parents; they were obviously impressed.
Hah! See? I’m somebody!
, she wanted to yell.

“It’s good for me. I’ll help Laura if she needs it,” Nikki told him.

“Yeah, that’s good for us. Um-hum, she’ll be with us. Okay, I’ll tell her. And thanks. I appreciate it. Let me know when our tee time is. Good to talk to you too,” he said and hung up. “Laura, I meant to tell you,” Tony said, “you should be getting . . .”

Laura’s phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, even the area code. “Damn telemarketers. On a holiday no less,” she mumbled. Before Tony could finish, she answered, “Hello?”

There was a long pause. “Yes, this is Laura Butler.” She waited. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Vic was concerned at the expression that passed over her face – total confusion. “This is who? Whom, I mean?” She looked at him and it was her turn to have her eyebrows in her hairline. She growled, “Who is this? Peyton?” and glanced across the table. Peyton was still sitting there, and he held his hands up to show her he didn’t have his phone. “Is this some kind of joke?” she asked.

But Tony knew. “Laura!” he whispered. “It’s exactly who they’re telling you it is, honey.”

Her eyes went wide and her cheeks pinked up. “Yes, I’ll hold.”

“Who is it?” Vic mouthed.

She could barely speak. “They said it’s the office of the president,” she said in a breathless whisper.

“It is,” Tony said with finality.

“What the hell?” Vic gasped, staring at him. Tony just smiled.

“Yes, this is Laura Butler.” She turned to the rest of them and mouthed,
Oh my god!
“Yes, sir, I’m here with my family. Oh, no problem, sir, no problem at all. We’re finished eating. What on earth can I do for you?” she asked, taking the phone down from her ear and hitting the speaker function.

“Laura, I got a call from the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He said that you had served meritoriously in Bosnia and sustained injuries and a grave injustice during your service there. Is that right?” the voice they’d all heard on TV asked through the speaker.

Laura looked like she would start crying, and Vic took her hand. “Yes, sir. I was brutalized and then there was an attempt on my life by one of the men who attacked me. I still have the scars. I have to look at them every day. And he tried to kill me just weeks ago, almost killed my, um, fiancé.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you while you were risking your life for our country. Navy EOD specialist, correct?”

“Yes, sir. Assigned to three infantry divisions, sir. It was all I ever wanted to do, sir.”

“That’s a tough enough job without being sexually assaulted and nearly killed. Plus I’m guessing the guys didn’t want you there, correct?”

“No sir. They did everything they could to make me feel uncomfortable and out of place. But until the incident, no one had ever physically threatened me, although the stress of their harassment didn’t make an already difficult job any easier.” She hesitated, then added, “Sir.”

“I know it didn’t. I think
that
part of the job has gotten a little better. Women are more accepted now than they were in Bosnia. But the sexual harassment and assault issues are still following us around. As you know, they were especially bad during the Iraq and Afghanistan operations, and we’re trying to address that. I’ve put together a task force to address it, and there will be investigational hearings. We’re looking for military personnel, particularly females, who’ve experienced this kind of abuse and terrorization and who’ll be willing to come to Washington and speak about what happened to them. Would you be interested in doing that?”

Laura looked at Vic, and he nodded and smiled. “Yes, sir! I’d be glad to do that, sir!”

“And the civilian slots we have on the task force – would you be interested in taking one of those seats?”

Laura glanced at Vic again; he looked like he’d burst with pride. Across the table, Steve was beaming. “Yes, sir! I would be most interested in doing that, sir!”

“Good! I’m glad. I think you’ll be a strong voice for other military women. I’ll have my assistant contact you when we know more. And let me say again, thank you for your service to our country. You’re what makes this nation great.”

“Thank you, sir. Thank you so much, and thanks for calling me on a day you’re off work,” Laura gushed.

He laughed. “Laura, I don’t
get
a day off! But I will tell you this: My family and I will be visiting Arlington National Cemetery today. I want my children to understand what it takes to be a member of the American military who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. So, enjoy the day with your family and tell them all that I said hello.”

In unison, everyone in the room said, “Hello!”

“Well, that must be a big bunch!” he laughed again.

“Yeah, and they’re the greatest people in the world,” she said with a sniffle.

“You guys all have a great holiday. Bye, Laura. We’ll be in touch.”

“Goodbye, sir. Thank you, sir,” Laura said as she hung up. There was complete silence in the room. Then she turned to Vic, put a hand up, and he high-fived her, then grabbed her and hugged her. That’s when the room erupted into screams and laughter.

“Laura? Baby? Wake up. How do you feel, angel?” When she managed to pry her eyes open, she saw Vic’s worried face peering back at her with Tony and Nikki in the background.

“Is it over?” she mumbled. Her throat was sore; they’d told her it would be from the tube they said they’d insert during the surgery.

“Yes, it’s over, babe. Want some ice chips? That’s all they’ll let you have for a few hours,” he said, holding up a cup.

She nodded, and he fed her a couple of spoonfuls. “Hurt?” he asked.

“Not yet, but it will, I’m sure,” she said faintly.

“Go back to sleep. Get some rest. I’m taking you home tomorrow. I’ve got a nurse coming to help you,” she heard him say as she drifted off again.

“She looks good,” Nikki said. “She’ll be fine, honey.” She put her hand on Vic’s shoulder and felt him sag. “You need to get some rest. You had to be here so early this morning that you’re bound to be exhausted. Let Tony help you unfold this chair over here so you can lie down. I’m going to get you something to drink. Want a soda?”

“I’d like some whiskey, but I think that would be frowned upon,” he smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He turned back to the bed and picked up Laura’s hand. She stirred just a little, then settled back down.

“You guys can go home. We’ll be fine,” Vic told Tony, his eyes never leaving Laura.

“Not a chance, bud. We’re here for the duration. Now get your ass over here and get some rest. I’ll sit right there with her,” Tony told him. “She won’t be alone if she wakes up. Now go,” he said, pointing at the chair.

“Okay, okay. But you’ll wake me if she wakes up, please?” Vic asked, pulling a blanket over himself.

“Of course.” Tony looked back at Vic, only to find that he’d already nodded off.

“Gone?” Nikki asked with a grin when she came back with the soda.

“Yeah. Out like a light.”

Hah! Fooled you!
, Vic chuckled to himself.
But if this is what Tony went through when Nikki was shot, god help him.