True Love's Fire: A Red Hot Valentine Story (Hell Yeah!) (17 page)

“I don’t want anything,” she assured him. “I just wanted to meet you.”

“I’m so glad you did.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “My wife couldn’t get pregnant. I didn’t have any children. Until now.”

*  *  *

Scott left Eliza Page’s Jewelry store with a blue box in his hand. If he needed to get it resized, he would. But he thought he might be a good judge. Unable to wait a moment longer, he sent Lia a text instead of a call, just in case she was busy.

SCOTT: What’s my angel doing?

LIA: You must have the wrong number.

SCOTT: Ha! I don’t think so. Did you see your father?

LIA: I’m with him now.

SCOTT: Good. Call me later.

She didn’t respond, but the next second, his phone rang. It was her. “Scott, he’s wonderful! And he likes me.” Her voice was filled with wonder, like she had doubted her worth. He had to work on that.

“I’m so glad. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I’ve told him all about you.”

“I’m so happy for you.” He was, he could hear the unmitigated joy in her voice.

“I’m going to stay with him for a few days before I have to go back for the Adah festival.” She let her voice fall to a whisper. “And then, we’ll talk seriously. Okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed, but what she didn’t know was that waiting was not his strong suit. He wasn’t about to let her tackle the small-minded people of Adah alone.

*  *  *

A bright morning sun lit the small town of Adah, Arkansas. The high school marching band played the school song as Lia sat on the dais which was set up on a make-shift stage in the town’s only park. She hugged her coat around her. It was chilly. According to the program, her speech and presentation would come after Mayor Hollingsworth finished speaking. Every time she grew nervous, she looked out at the friendly face in the crowd—her dad. He had asked for her to call him Dad. They had spent almost a week together. It had been an amazing experience for her. She had met his wife, who was shocked, but not unaccepting.

The days since, had been spent communicating with Cade. Much to her relief, he had loved
True Love’s Fire
and it was scheduled to be his closing number at the Valentine’s special, the song which would be performed live. What would Scott think about it? She didn’t know. Lia shivered. Just the idea of telling the world how she felt about Scott Walker thrilled her and at the same time scared her to death. Since she’d seen him, she’d talked to him almost every day. Except for the last two days. Each time she’d phoned, the call had gone to voice mail. What if he’d changed his mind?

She hadn’t gone back to Ladygrey, it wasn’t home anymore. As much as she loved the mountain, Scott was right. He was home, not some geographical location. She would never sell it, and the day might come when she’d want to visit again. Lia didn’t know. Since returning from Little Rock, she and Elvis had stayed at a motel. But today was Valentine’s Day, and as soon as this was over, she was heading south. If she drove straight through, she could be at Scott’s by the time Cabe’s show came on. Or at least that was the plan. It would be more impressive live than recorded, but she wasn’t going to quibble. Just being in his arms again was the most important thing.

Lia tried not to look at the crowd. Where had all of these people come from? Oh, many of the faces were familiar and most of them were friendly. The mayor and city council had been nice enough, except for Dewey Poindexter. She’d caught him staring at her breasts, not that she had that much to stare at. But Scott seemed to like them, and that was all that mattered. But when she scanned the crowd, she saw Reggie hanging out with a few of his cronies and the look he gave her was full of hate. Great.

At the rear of the crowd, Scott stood. He didn’t want her to see him, not yet. It wasn’t that he wanted to make an entrance, but he was waiting for the right moment. The helicopter had landed on the parking lot of the First Baptist Church. After speaking to a couple of passing teenagers, he had found out where the celebration was being held and walked the block and a half to the city park. Scott ignored the stares. What? Had they never seen a man in a tux with a big bouquet of yellow roses? Hell, he didn’t care. He was only here to impress one woman.

The speeches were boring, the special music was dry. And when he heard one man make a suggestive remark about that Houston woman, he didn’t even hesitate. Scott carefully laid his roses down and tapped the man on the shoulder. He was a big guy, but Scott was bigger. The cap he wore said Keep Calm and Eat Poultry. His clothes were clean, but a peculiar scent clung to the man. It made Scott’s nose twitch. “Would you repeat what you just said?”

Two other men looked Scott up and down, then backed away. Apparently Mr. Keep Calm was on his own. “What’s it to you?”

“Believe me, it’s important. Now repeat it,” Scott demanded.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I said she was a good lay.”

Anger boiled up in Scott. “Oh, you know that for a fact, do you?”

The ass smirked. “I do. She’s easy, if you know what I mean.”

Scott stepped up to him and walked the man to one side, merely by crowding him until he moved. They went past the edge of the crowd, Scott kept pushing until they were several yards away, then he picked the man straight up by the collar. “You are nothing. You are the scum of the earth. That woman you’re referring to is a lady. Furthermore, she’s my lady. Do you understand?”

“Now, look here.”

Scott jerked him close, so he could make sure the ape understood. “What’s your name idiot?”

“Reggie Latham.”

“That’s what I thought. Reggie, I’m only going to say this once. Lia Houston belongs to me. If I ever hear of the likes of you looking at her, much less speaking to her, I will break you in half. Do you understand me?”

“Yea, but she’s not worth it.”

“She’s worth everything.” With one shove, Scott knocked him down and walked away. He had wasted too much time on the jerk. Lia was about to speak, and he didn’t want to miss it.

“We, the residents of Adah, Arkansas are proud to recognize one of our own as Celebrity of the Year. She’s a 2007 graduate of Adah High School and a very accomplished song writer. One of her songs is up for a Grammy and she has had numerous hits on the charts. She composes for Cabe Allen, Sela Duncan and Wildfire. Join me in welcoming Lia Houston!”

Lia rose and approached the stage. Right now, she’d rather be facing a firing squad, but she had to get through it. “Thank you, Mayor, City Council, the citizens of Adah. How privileged I am to accept this honor. But you made a mistake, I’m not a celebrity. All I do is write songs, I don’t sing them. This is something I’ve done since I was in grammar school. Cabe and Sela are the celebrities. But I do receive joy from putting my thoughts to music. In a way I’m preserving memories, telling people about times and places and events they might not hear about otherwise. When I first began writing music, I penned love songs. But I changed and when I changed, my music did also. I channeled my love of history into my music and I’m grateful that there are singers and listeners who can appreciate my vision.”

She looked over the crowd. Rosamund Lathan had a smug look on her face. A few other women had their noses turned up. She looked for Reggie, but he was nowhere in sight. Taking a deep breath, she put aside her notes and spoke from her heart. “I grew up in Adah. And there are good people here. Some of the most beautiful countryside in the world surrounds us. I receive inspiration for my music every time I look at the mountains, the river, and the stately trees. But the greatest blessing I received was from the two women who gave me a home. They were born and raised here—Sally and Analia Houston. From my earliest memory, they taught me right from wrong, how to be productive and honest and to be kind to others. When faced with adversity and sorrow, they stood tall. When a mistake was made, they chose life over death. My mother chose me. And for that I’m grateful. It took more courage to love and carry on than it would have to take the easy way out, to avoid looks and stares. If there is a celebrity here today, it’s not me, it’s any of you who face gossip or bullying or unkindness, yet you hold your head up and take the road less traveled by. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity to recognize their memory and to introduce you to my father, Randall Roberts.” Many gasps were heard and everyone turned to look where she pointed.

Scott did also, and he couldn’t have been prouder. She stood up there, so brave, so beautiful. And when the program was over and she started to come off the stage, he was there to take her hand. The look on her face was priceless. “You came!”

“There was nowhere else for me to be,” he explained simply.

“I am so surprised.” She hugged him again. “Come meet my father.” Taking him by the hand, she led him to Randall. “Dad, this is Scott Walker, I told you about him. Scott, this is Randall Roberts.”

Scott shook his hand. He wanted to hug the man for making his Lia happy. And she did look happy, and peaceful. He looked at the geologist. “I’d like to extend to you an invitation to come to Texas. There are some rock formations on my ranch, WestStar, that I think you’d find especially interesting.”

“It looks like you two have some unfinished business.” Randall pointed at the flowers.

“We do,” Scott agreed. “But if you’d give us a ride to the Baptist church, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’m not marrying you without a wedding dress, Scott Walker.” Lia huffed.

Scott couldn’t help but laugh. “The helicopter is at the church, there’s no preacher waiting, but I wish I’d thought of it, truthfully.”

“Sure, come on.” Randall led them to his car. Scott gave her the roses and kissed her soundly.

“We have to go to the motel after Elvis and my clothes.” She reminded him.

“That was my first stop.” Scott pointed. Elvis was sitting up in the helicopter with the pilot, patiently waiting.

“You know, you’re a heck of a lot nicer guy than I first thought you were.” She teased Scott. “I think I’ll keep you.”

“I sure hope so.” He told her father goodbye. Lia hugged him and they loaded up, heading for Texas. As soon as the helicopter was above the trees, he turned to her. “Well, Miss Houston, it’s time for me to pop the question.”

Her eyes grew big. He grinned, knowing what she was thinking. But instead of a ring, he handed her a heart-shaped box of candy that had been resting on the floor of the copter. “Will you be my Valentine?”

“Yes, I will.” She hugged the box to her heart. “I have a surprise for you, a little later tonight.”

“You better.” He gave her a wicked grin and a wink.

“Well, that too, but this is better.”

Drawing her close for a kiss, he was honest as the day was long. “Honey, nothing is better than loving you.”

*  *  *

All the way home, they whispered and kissed, telling one another all of the details of their lives they’d missed being apart. But when they started to land, Lia noticed they weren’t in the city. “This isn’t Austin. Where are we?”

“This is WestStar.” Escoring her from the helicopter, they walked away as the pilot lifted off to return it to its hangar in Austin. He led her around, showing her the grounds, the house, letting her get a feel for this place he had so longed to share with her. “It’s not Ladygrey, but we have our own mountain, springs and creeks, lots of fresh air. There is plenty of room for Elvis to run. I think you’ll like it here.” Taking her arm, he led her past the house and down a path. “I have something to show you.” Scott had worried that Aron and his crew wouldn’t finish in time. He’d told Scott that a piece of this magnitude was new for him. It wasn’t actually a sculpture, but he had commandeered a couple of craftsman and they had used some blasting materials and other power tools to create what Scott considered to be a masterpiece.

“What’s down here?” Coming around from the side, she first saw the spring. The blue water formed a deep swimming pool, it reminded her of a scene from a jungle movie. Walking around, Lia saw the rock formation, an outcropping of the mountain which provided a natural backdrop to the water. But what she saw on it caused her to stop and grab her heart. “Scott Walker, what have you done?”

“I wrote the words for you in a way they would last forever. This won’t melt and fade away. Water won’t be able to wash them away. This declaration of my love for you will last forever.”

Lia stepped closer, then turned and grabbed Scott around the neck. “I love you so much, so much.” She kissed him, then turned around in his arms to gaze at a carved heart on the side of the mountain. It was at least as big as a house and in the middle of the heart were these words:

SCOTT WALKER

LOVES

LIA HOUSTON WALKER

WITH ALL HIS HEART

“I can’t believe you did this.”

“I wanted to do something to show you how I felt.” He dropped to his knees, holding out a ring. The last time he’d done this seemed to have happened in another lifetime. There was no comparing the two women, and there was no comparing how he felt. This was love. “Lia Houston, will you marry me?”

“Yes, I will marry you.” She went to her knees, joining him. “You have changed my life completely. I didn’t know love was real until I met you.” He put the ring on her finger. “This is the best Valentine gift in the world. Thank you.”

“Now, where’s my gift?” He ran his hand down her arm, getting that look in his eye.

“First, let’s watch Cabe’s special. Please?”

“Okay, I guess I can wait that long.” He was teasing, he wouldn’t miss this program for anything in the world.

She took one last long look at the eternal evidence of his love. “I will be back to look at this every day.”

“As often as you want, but I won’t let you forget it. I’m going to whisper it in your ear first thing in the morning and the last thing every night.”

Holding hands, they went back to the house. He let her in and she felt at home. The house was beautiful, made of natural stones and wood. It reminded her of the cabin, except it was bigger and full of beautiful things. But still, she felt like she belonged.

There was a big screen television in the living room, and that’s where they went, making themselves comfortable on a large leather couch. When he turned on the set, the special was just beginning and Scott was enraptured, listening to Lia’s music. He heard all of the ballads he knew by heart, and the new ones she’d just written would fast become his favorites, he could tell. Even though Cabe did a magnificent job, it was Lia’s music and words which had him mesmerized. They held hands. And the longer the show was on, the closer she drew to him. So by the end of the program, she was sitting in his lap.

The announcer said the last song would be live. Lia tensed, this was it. Cabe came into focus and he looked right into the camera. “I am blessed to have one of the greatest songwriters alive today. She’s my friend. Her name is Lia Houston. This is one of her songs, and she has dedicated it to the man she loves, Scott Walker. The song is
True Love’s Fire
.

Scott looked at her, mouth agape. For a moment, she thought he might be displeased, but then his face broke out in a smile that would rival the morning sun. “Baby, what is this?”

“I wrote you a song. I wrote it on the way home, the last day we were together. I had no doubts. I loved you then, I love you now. I’ll love you forever.”

And then Cabe began to sing.