Diamonds and Dreams (21 page)

“Sometimes
that’s the only answer.”

“And
what should I think about in the meantime?”

“Us, of course.
 
Only we won’t worry until tomorrow who’ll give up their job or which of
us will make the biggest sacrifice.
 
For
now, since we’re stuck here until the traffic can move again, let’s play a
game.”

“The
core of my existence is being threatened, I’ve been stabbed, along with asked
to give up my job, now I’m stranded in a traffic jam, and you expect me to feel
in the mood to play a game?”

“Sure.
 
A question and answer game of ‘let’s
pretend.’
 
It’ll give us a chance to see
exactly how many goals we have in common and paint a clear picture of what we
each expect out of life.”

“Okay.
 
Shoot with the first question.”

“Do
you envision us having any children after we marry?”

“Yes.”

“How
many?” she probed.

“Two.
 
Maybe three.”

“That’s
what I want, too.”

“We’re
doing great with the questions so far,” he remarked.
 
“What’s the next one?”

“Where
would we go on our honeymoon?”

“Anyplace but New York.”

“Brant,
be serious.
 
You’re supposed to forget
our dilemma until tomorrow.”

“That’s
easier said than done.”

“Then
answer this—what trait do you admire most about me?”

“If
you change your mind and decide to remain in Columbus, it would be your
flexibility.”

“You’re
impossible!”

He
leaned toward her and kissed her warm cheek.
 
“So I’ve been told before.”

“Hey!
 
The traffic is finally moving,” she noticed,
turning the key in the ignition.

“At last.
 
Now we can go to your house and celebrate our engagement, even though we
still don’t know if we’ll be able to get married.”

“You
amaze me,” Brant told Lindsay after they arrived at her house and sat outside
in the dark on the patio.
 
“I expected
you to feel hatred toward
Rafe
for causing your
sister’s death.”

A
cool breeze lifted the ends of her long hair away from her face.
 
“I don’t like to feel hatred toward anyone,
no matter what bad deeds they did.
 
Hate
poisons the soul.
 
It’s a powerful,
deadly emotion that usually ends up ruling, then eventually destroying, a
person’s peace of mind and often their life.”

“But
you’re not a computer without emotions.
 
If you don’t hate
Rafe
, surely you must feel
something like resentment or a thirst for revenge toward him, don’t you?”

“I
pity him.”

“But why?
 
He’s the one who caused his own problem.”

“Only because he’s lost like a wild animal without a
home.
 
Yet once a living creature becomes tamed by
being the recipient of trust and kindness, it learns how to love and be a
friend, not just to others, but to itself as well.”

“You
offered
Rafe
friendship and affection.
 
That wasn’t enough to melt away all the
frustration he stored inside him.”

“Picture
Rafe
as only
half-living now.
 
He’s
probably wandering through life like he’s in a fog.
 
He must have dwelled on past unhappy
incidents because he’s unable to face and conquer his fears.”

He
studied her long and hard.
 
“I detect a
tremendous sense of peace in your life.
 
It’s the type that’s missing from most people’s lives, including
mine.
 
What’s the secret?”

“It
comes from being satisfied with what I achieved in my life—personally and
professionally.”

The
phone rang and interrupted their conversation.
 
Lindsay excused herself, answered it, and heard a voice say, “It’s
Desi
.
 
You probably
can guess why I’m calling.”

“Not
really.”

“Then
I’ll be blunt.
 
WBKB needs you.”

“The
station didn’t seem to need me much when you were about to fire me and allow
Brant to take over the job.”

“Are
you still upset about my little mistake in judgment?
 
Is that why you told WCIT you’ll work for
them—to get even with me by causing me to be in a bind now?”

“No!”
 
She felt disgusted by his suggestion that she
took the new job to spite him.
 
“You
should know me better than that,
Desi
.”

“If
I offended you, I’m sorry.”

“Apology
accepted.”
 
Although I don’t think you really mean it,
she thought.

“Like
I said,” he continued, “I’m having a real problem finding a replacement for
you.”

“I
thought you already hired someone to do my job.”

“It
didn’t work.
 
I want you to come back,
Lindsay.
 
Most of all, your listeners,
and there are quite a few, want to hear you on WBKB again.”

“Sorry.
 
My mind is made up.”

“How about if I offer you a raise in salary?”
 
The figure he mentioned was much higher than
what she earned at WBKB previously.

“I’m
still not interested,
Desi
.”

“WCIT
offered you more than that, I’ll bet, but did you consider how much extra
pressure you’ll be under there?”

“I
can handle it.”

“Surely
you must realize that all the best opportunities are at the larger stations,
but you’ll have to scratch a lot of backs before you’ll be able to feel secure
with your new job.”

Growing
more impatient by the minute, she raised her voice slightly as she told him
again, “I’m not interested,
so
you’re wasting your time
and mine trying to persuade me to come back.”

“Have
it your way then.
 
Don’t come crawling
back to Columbus, begging me to give you your old job back after you discover
I’m right.”

“I
won’t.
 
Goodbye,
Desi
.”

She
forgot that Brant listened until she hung up the phone and faced him
again.
 
His eyes reflected a tired
sadness as he said, “I wish you’d cooperated with
Desi
.
 
If you’d go back to work at WBKB, our problem
would be solved.”

“No,
it wouldn’t.
 
Not for me.”
 
Her voice was strained and she felt exhausted.
 
“It’s late, Brant.
 
Let’s call it a night.
 
I’ll see you tomorrow, won’t I?”

“Yes.”
 
His shoulders slumped as he walked toward the
door,
then
paused to kiss her devouringly before they
parted.
 
“We have something beautiful,
Lindsay.
 
Let’s do everything we can to
hold onto it.”

That
was all he said before he left her alone and she headed to her bedroom.
 
All night one question invaded her thoughts,
preventing her from falling asleep—how much should a woman give up
to build
a life with her man?

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

“I
wish it would stop raining,” Lindsay told Brant in her car the next day after
they went bowling.
 
The squeaky sound of
the windshield wipers swishing back and forth was bothersome.

“You
could add some sunshine to my day right now if you’d tell me you want to marry
me this week and live in Columbus.”

“Don’t
start with that, Brant.
 
Not now.
 
It’s been a wonderful day—one I’ll treasure
always.
 
Please don’t ruin it.”

“All right.
 
The day is far from over.
 
Can’t
we spend the rest of the afternoon together?”

“Sure.
 
What would you like to do?”

“There’s
a tour of new homes in the
Windrush
Lake
subdivision,” he said.
 
“The builders are
having open house, so let’s stop by and look through some of the places.”

“Okay.”

The
first house they saw was a two-story contemporary with an oriental flair.
 
“It’s huge, but a bit too flashy to suit my
tastes,” Lindsay whispered to Brant.

“I
know what you mean.
 
Even on this cloudy
day I almost need to wear sunglasses to walk through it.”

The
fourth house, designed in the Provencal manner and secluded on two acres, made
Lindsay catch her breath.
 
“This house is
magnificent.
 
It has the allure of
southern France.”

“It’s
my favorite so far, too.”
 
Brant held the
carved wooden front door open so she could enter first.

Inside,
Lindsay looked up at the fourteen-foot coffered ceiling,
then
inhaled the smell of new wood which was all around since several walls were
paneled with oak and the parquet floors banded in walnut.
 
A curved staircase near the spacious entry
hall reminded her of the ones she read about in romance novels where Southern
belles lived in splendid plantations with beautiful winding staircases.
 
However, it was the enormous brick fireplace
with a raised hearth that stretched across two walls in the family room that
made her sigh in admiration.
 
On the wall
across from it were atrium doors which led outside to a redwood deck.

“Let’s
go into the kitchen,” Brant urged her.
 
All the latest modern conveniences were found there.
 
“I’d like to cook breakfast here.”

“You
enjoy cooking?”
 
Somehow, Lindsay wasn’t
surprised.
 
Brant seemed at least a
little interested in just about everything.

“Sometimes.
 
I still could use more practice.”

“Time
to move on and see the next house,” she said finally.

He
grabbed her arm.
 
“Wait!
 
Let’s talk about the one we just went
through.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to know what you think of it.”

“I
love it.
 
It’s the house I always dreamed
of living in someday.”

He
smiled.
 
“Great!
 
I hoped you’d say that.”

“What for?”

“Let’s
go sit in the car.”
 
He stood on the
paved brick sidewalk and felt a raindrop spatter on his forehead.

“Don’t
you want to see the last few houses?”

“No.”
 
He helped her into the car,
then
got in on the passenger’s side.

She
started to put the key in the ignition, but he urged her, “Don’t go yet.
 
Let’s sit here for a few minutes.”

“Why
are you behaving mysteriously?”

“Yesterday
I spoke with a realtor about buying the house of your dreams over there.”

She
gasped.
 
“You’re kidding!”

“No.
 
I’m interested in it.
 
We negotiated the price and the realtor
agreed to accept my offer if I decide to sign the purchase agreement.”

“I
can hardly believe you did this!”

“This
house will sell quickly, Lindsay.
 
If we
want it, I need to tell the realtor soon.”

“We?”
she repeated, taken aback by his words.

“Of course.
 
The only reason I’m considering buying it is if you’ll marry me and live
with me here.
 
It has four bedrooms, all
that we need for our family, and…”

“Hold
it!
 
Before you make more plans, don’t
forget that I’m not going to live in Columbus.”

“I
hoped that if I showed you this house, which seems to have been built
especially for
us, that
you might decide to turn down
the new job.”

His
suggestion tempted her.
 
If he wanted to
put more pressure on her, he succeeded in doing a good job.
 
Staring at the fabulous house before her, she
envisioned herself living inside it with Brant.
 
She loved everything about the place and its neighborhood.