When You Fall... (38 page)

“I’m not a ma’am. I’m a Courtney,” she said.

“Hello, Courtney,” Frank said, and his smile widened at Courtney’s grin.

“How long have you been here?” Carter said. They were both watching Courtney and Frank flirt.

“Not that long. About 20 minutes. You hungry? They make pretty good burgers here,” Rafe said, looking between Frank and Courtney. “You two want to get a booth?”

“Sure,” everyone said. Rafe told the bartender that they were moving, grabbed a couple of menus, and moved them all to a booth in the corner.

Courtney sat first and Frank slid in next to her. She looked over at him and smiled. She was a beautiful woman, Rafe thought, and turned to slide in across from her and caught Carter watching him. He smiled. She gave him a small one back. He inwardly chuckled. Could Courtney be right? Could she really be into him? And more than just sex? His heart buoyed at the thought.

“Want to dance?” Courtney asked, looking at Frank. The music here was piped in, country mostly, with the occasional pop tune thrown it. The dance floor was empty, but it usually was this early in the evening.

“Sure,” Frank said, and scooted out. Courtney followed him to the dance floor.

Carter picked up her menu, pretending to look it over. “What’s good here?” she asked.

“The hamburgers. I’d stick close to the popular items. I can’t vouch for the others. What’s up?” he asked.

“You’ve been helping Courtney quiet a bit. I thought…”

“You thought what, Carter?”

“I thought maybe you might want to move on. She seems like more of a match to your list than me.”

“Did you want to be a match to my list? I thought you were only interested in Mr. Bentley Now, not looking for more.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” she said, looking at him, her chin sticking out, like she was spoiling for a fight.

“Oh, yeah? You interested in more from me?”

“I am,” she said.

“You’re jealous?”

“Maybe,” she said, same tilt to her chin.

He laughed. “I’m not interested in your sister. Never have been,” he said, looking at her.

“Okay,” she said, her chin down now. She went back to looking at the menu. “You do have to agree that she meets most of what’s on your list. More than me, anyway,” she said a few minutes later.

“I threw that list away a long time ago. It was stupid to begin with,” he said, looking away for a minute. “My father loves my mother, beyond what I think is healthy, beyond reason, actually. It’s crazy love; always has been, even growing up. She can be…
is
demanding. Sometimes it seems as if she’s never satisfied. It was hard to see my dad give so much to her and get less back.”

“Maybe you couldn’t see what she gave back to him.”

“That kind of love can hurt you,” he said.

“It doesn’t have to, as long as the other person loves enough to be hurt, too, right? If they both are there in it, feeling the same thing?”

“Right. I guess it could work if both people felt the same,” he said.

“It could work.”

“It could,” he said, smiling now.

“So, how long ago?” she asked.

“How long ago what?”

“How long ago did you throw your list out?” she asked.

“Not too long after I met you.”

“Oh. That’s good,” she said, trying not to smile.

“You don’t know? You never figured it out, did you?”

“Figure what out?”

“Courtney’s worked with me all this time to make you jealous. I wanted to marry you the first time I asked you; that day in the barn after you’d returned from talking to your dad. I knew then.”

Carter was quiet at his words.

“I wasn’t ready. I thought about it, though,” she said. “I needed to figure out who Carter was first, and you were a huge help with that,” she said, leaning over to softly touch her lips to his. “Thank you. And if your invitation still stands, I’m open now to marrying you,” she said.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her closer to him. “I love you. Will you marry me?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said and leaned in to kiss him again.

#

“Rafe…,” Carter said, her words a moan as she lay flat on her back, her hands stretched above her, a tight grip to his bed’s headboard as Rafe moved with determination above her.

“Yes,” he said, as he thrust into her, his hands on her hips, his mouth near her breasts. He took one into his mouth.

“Oh,” she moaned.

“Yeah… I know,” he whispered against her skin, as he pulled out and slid back into her warmth, moving his mouth to her other breast.

“I love you,” she said, part moan and part declaration.

He stopped and looked up, catching her eyes. “I love you, too,” he said, his breath ragged from the effort of making love to the woman he’d grown to loved. He gazed at her underneath him, the woman that he loved like no other. He hadn’t thought it was possible to love someone so much.

“What is it?” she said, in between pants, staring into his eyes, trying to read his expression. He smiled.

“You are where I belong,” he said, and smiled as he pushed into her body. He slid up to capture her lips with his, pleased at the moan she’d released. He was one lucky man.

“You are where I belong,” he said, again, capturing her mouth with his.

#

Two weeks later.

“Hell no. We are not giving them any money. I mean it, Carter. Hell no,” Courtney said. A few days ago, Carter had brought up what had been running though her mind for a while now.

“I can’t let them hang in the wind. As much as I want to, I can’t. They were my family. They are our family. Our great-grandfather put them in the will for a reason. He left it up to me to make the decision for the family for a reason. He trusted me to make the right decisions. We cannot allow them to fail. I can’t follow in my ex-father’s footsteps.”

“You can’t. But I can,” Courtney said.

They’d been having this discussion for the last three days and Courtney was nowhere near budging.

“If I can forgive them, so can you. See what it did to our uncle? Do you want us to be responsible for generating more hate? Help me here, Courtney. It will be tough, but we can make it. It’s the right thing to do. We have to choose love over hate every time. I have to choose love over hate.”

“Okay. Fine. We can have them come to the house weekly, and give them a little of it at a time. String them along, like a drug dealer,” she said.

Carter laughed. “Remind me to not get on your bad side. Let it go, Courtney. Please,” she said.

“Fine!!!!” Courtney screamed at the top of her lungs. She looked over at Carter and started laughing.

“You are crazy.”

“You are crazy for giving them money, but fine, I’ll agree to it. Not that I have to. You don’t need me to,” she said, her tone back to its normal volume. “I’m doing it for you, because it means so much to you and you’ve come to mean so much to me,” she said.

“Love you, too,” Carter said.

#

“So, are you happy?” Rafe asked her, coming to stand beside her in the barn later on that night.

“I’m getting there. There a few more things that I need to do,” she said.

“Like what?” he asked.

“First, I’m going to give some money to my sisters.”

“Why?”

“It’s the right thing to do. Yes, my father was wrong in not telling me the specifics of the will, my dad/uncle, whatever he is now, and I’m not sure I’ll ever speak to him again. But my sisters need the money, especially Madison. She won’t stop calling me. But even without all of that, I still need to help them,” she said, looking at him.

“What was Courtney’s reaction?” he asked.

“About what you’d expect. But she eventually agreed. It was my call, and there is enough money for all of us. I’m going to split it seven ways, and give my sisters their share. My great-grandfather wanted them included for a reason and I need to honor those wishes. The decision is not about them, it’s about me,” she said, with more force than she meant.

“It’s my job to do what I think is right, because I have to answer for my actions, just like they will have to answer for theirs.”

It was silent for a minute. Rafe grabbed her hand.

“I love you. I agree with you. I’m proud of you. I love you,” he said again. She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips.

“What else?” he asked.

“I sent a letter to Bentley and his wife, separately, apologizing for messing up their day. I’m so far from that woman that I was then, so far from that place and so glad that I had the chance to come here, and find the original me again. I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t come home. Funny how things work out. I would have never dreamed of this outcome.

It’s a part of the reason I need to make amends with Bentley and his wife. I don’t want any more bad karma. I’ve got to try and correct what I tried to destroy. We could use as much good karma as we can get. Need to let go of the bad; it’s been too much, with my dad and all. I don’t need any more of it around me,” she said.

He leaned over and kissed her.

#

Things were going great and according to their plans, Carter thought, sitting on the back porch, her feet up on the rail, taking a break. It was Friday evening, a week later, not that that meant anything on the ranch. There was still plenty of work to be done.

She was tired—to the marrow of her bones kind of tired—but happy. It was evening, and she’d come in from the stable and showered. She sat now, a class of wine in her hand, waiting for Rafe to return from his trip to town.

A nice new Mercedes Benz SUV pulled into the back drive. Carter dropped her feet from the rail and walked out the back door. She watched Bentley smile at her as the driver’s side door opened and he stepped out. She started to laugh and he joined her as he made his way around to the passenger side to help his wife, LaShondra. It was her. Carter would recognize her anywhere; her look of shock from the wedding day had been embedded into Carter’s brain.

“You look awful,” he said, smiling at Carter. He and LaShondra stood at the bottom of the step, looking up at her.

“Hey,” she said, her smile tentative as she moved her eyes to LaShondra. She received a small tentative smile in return. LaShondra must have gotten her letter.

Bentley walked up the stairs. “A bed and breakfast/ranch/farm,” he said, joking, as he wrapped her in a big hug. “The only African American horsewoman I know,” he said, laughing as he reached for his wife’s hand, pulling her up the steps.

“LaShondra, I’d like for you to meet Carter, a very, very dear friend of mine,” he said.

“Hi,” LaShondra said, caution still in her eyes. “Thanks for the letter. I appreciate it,” she said.

“I meant every word. I was wrong. I owed you an apology for interrupting your special day. I hope I didn’t spoil it too much,” Carter said.

“Not too much,” she said, looking at Courtney who’d come outside and was standing on the porch.

“Bentley and LaShondra, this is my sister, Courtney,” she said.

“I heard,” Bentley said, shaking his head, chuckling.

“I know. Crazy, huh?” she said.

“You two hungry?” Courtney asked.

“We could eat,” Bentley said, letting go of LaShondra’s hand and following Courtney into the house.

“I really am so sorry,” Carter said to LaShondra now that they were alone.

“I know.”

“Don’t know if there is a way for me to make it up to you,” Carter said.

“I’ve got just the plan. I heard you were getting married soon. I’m sending my sister to your wedding. You remember her?”

“The bridesmaid that followed me out of the church?”

“That’s the one, and she don’t play. We had to keep her from coming to your apartment. You owe me for that,” LaShondra said, laughing now.

Carter laughed, too.

“Bentley’s a good guy. He tried to explain you to me and now that I’m here, the you he knows makes sense. He also said you’re getting married to a farmer?”

“Yes, you’ll get to meet him. He stops by most evenings,” she said.

“Glad it worked out for you. Glad you found someone,” LaShondra said.

“Me, too, and thanks again. Bentley’s a lucky man,” Carter said.

“He sure is,” LaShondra said, as they entered the house, laughing.

#

The reverend looked over the congregation. “If there is anyone who thinks these two souls should not be joined in lawful matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace,” the minister said, his voice reverberating clear into the quiet air surrounding the wedding ceremony for two young people standing before him; one of them had been a long-time member of his flock. She hadn’t been around lately, but they would work on that, he’d been assured.

Carter looked at her bridesmaids. Frankie was working hard to contain her laughter, Gwen and Sandra both had their eyes glued to the minister, and Carter knew they were working to keep a straight face as well. All of her sisters were bridesmaids and they were fighting off their laughter, too.

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Carter glanced over at Rafael. He was also working to keep a straight face. He leaned over to her and whispered, “I thought about paying someone to come and interrupt the wedding, but thought you’d kill me,” he whispered, grinning, turning his eyes back to the minister, who smiled at him and winked at Carter.

“Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride,” he said, winking this time at Rafe, who laughed and did just that, to the encouragement of the 350 family and friends of the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church of Light, Love and Redemption.

The End

RUTHIE ROBINSON resides in Austin, TX with her husband and two teenage children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Clark College and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas in Austin (Hook ‘em horns!). She worked for more than a decade in the banking industry before turning her love of stories into a second career.

When you Fall…
is her first self published book. She may be contacted at her website—
www.ruthierobinson.com
.