First Kiss (17 page)

Cade pulled out a long box and opened it.

He heard Parker take a deep breath. “Conner’s Purple Heart.”

Cade looked up at him.

“Your dad showed it to me before he put it in the box. He thought it would be safe in there after Conner died. He wasn’t even sure his sister knew about it.”

“Olivia told me what happened.”

“I can’t imagine what he saw. It’s too bad his life wasn’t different from the start. He was a fantastic man. Things just turned.”

Cade nodded his head. He wished he could have known the man Conner had become. He’d keep the medal safe for Gage. That would be something honorable to know about your father. This was his chance to make Conner Carter bigger than life, and he was going to do just that.

There was one more box left in the safety deposit box, and this one was a ring box.

He pulled it out and hesitantly opened it.

Inside was a diamond solitaire. He’d have guessed an engagement ring. Had his father planned to give that to Olivia? Had Conner?

He closed the box and continued with the few items left.

There were more receipts for items that Cade couldn’t identify and an old silver dollar. He laughed at the random things left in the box. At the bottom was an envelope of pictures.

They were black and white and of his father at a much younger age. He saw the resemblance now. He certainly was his father’s child.

He flipped to the next picture and froze. It was the first time he’d seen his mother’s face since she’d left them. Honestly, he didn’t remember her at all. She could have walked up to him on the street, and he wouldn’t have known her. But to see her, standing next to his father, he remembered her.

The picture after that was of his parents standing over their wedding cake. The ring in the box had been his mother’s.

There was a pang in his heart. He wanted Olivia to have the ring. Not because his mother didn’t care about it, but it symbolized everything else. Olivia knew his mother couldn’t have stayed in Aspen Creek. Certainly he’d inherited her wanderlust. But it symbolized the sacrifice his father made to stay in the town to raise him. And if it hadn’t been for that, he’d never have met Olivia.

It was also something his father picked out for the woman he loved. Likewise, he knew his father loved Olivia. And, if he hadn’t been so stubborn, he probably would have married her and given Gage a name, no matter what people thought.

Would she understand the sentiment of him giving her a ring his father had purchased? It would be as though it were from both of them.

That was if she would ever speak to him again.

Ashley had better get to Aspen Creek as fast as he could before Cade ruined everything.

Olivia did everything she could to make Gage comfortable while they waited for a seat on a flight back to Denver. She only wished she could make herself more comfortable.

She’d known heartbreak before. The first time she’d ever felt it was sitting in that damn tree house in Cade’s back yard when her stepfather pulled her from the tree. Over the years, her heart had ached for every Carter man she’d known. But this hurt the worst. He’d lied to her from the very start and now she carried his child.

How could she have been so foolish to have gone to bed with him? Gage would be devastated in time and angry when he grew to understand.

If Cade lied about this, he certainly wouldn’t be the best role model for a child. She’d be doing this alone—again.

The flight was long and bumpy. Denver was hot and dry. Of course, there was traffic the entire way back to Aspen Creek. The drive was already long enough without it. Add that to constant breaks for food for Gage and rest for her, it had taken nearly eight hours to make a four hour trip. She didn’t arrive home until ten-thirty that night.

The house was dark and looked as sad as she felt. She tucked Gage into bed and headed for the shower. Tomorrow was Monday morning, and even though she’d informed Parker she wouldn’t be there, she had no intentions of taking one more day off of work. She was going to need to save every cent she could get her hands on.

The look on Parker’s face let her know he certainly hadn’t expected her. He followed her into her office and shut the door.

“You said you’d be gone all week.”

She slammed the drawer after putting her purse in it and snapped her head up to look at him. “Change of plans. So are you going to fire me for coming into work?”

“What? No.” He moved toward her and she backed away. That stopped him. “I just thought…”

“I don’t care what anyone has thought. I’m back. I’m not going anywhere so let me get to work.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Kat opening it before she was invited in.

“You have someone here to see you.”

“I don’t want to see…”

The man behind Kat walked straight in.

He had to have been the tallest man Olivia had ever seen, and Parker’s expression teetered on excitement and annoyance. He slid his sunglasses off his face and put them on the back of his neck, just as Cade would do. That only revealed the most stunning set of blue eyes Olivia had ever seen. The sharp contrast with his caramel skin made her speechless.

“Ms. Baker?”

“That’s me.” Her voice cracked as he walked toward her with an enormous bouquet of red roses cradled in his arm.

He held out his free hand for her to shake. “Ashley Wilkie.”

She took the man’s hand and noticed that when he’d said his name both Parker’s and Kat’s eyes shot wide open. “Mr. Wilkie, it’s nice to meet you.”

“These are for you.” He handed her the bouquet.

“Thank you, but…”

He held up his hand. “I also have this for you.” He handed her an envelope with a card inside.

It was hard to take her eyes off the man standing before her to open the envelope. When she did, she found an invitation.

Your presence is requested
at the marriage of
Olivia Baker and Cade Carter
this afternoon at 5PM
Under the Tree House

Olivia’s mouth had fallen open as she looked up at the man ginning before her.

He cleared his throat. “I would have been the Ashley you heard about in Green Bay. My mother had a funny sense of humor.”

“Ashley?” She let it settle in her mind. “You’re Ashley?”

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Carter has been here for the past week with his new coaching job at the high school and settling in so that he could marry you.”

“Cade was here?”

Parker stepped forward. “He came in yesterday to see you. He didn’t know you’d left for Wisconsin.”

“So, he isn’t married or doesn’t have some girlfriend?”

Ashley shook his head. “No, ma’am. He’s got it bad for you, and trust me, I’ve lived around the man for a long time. I’ve never seen him quite like this.”

Olivia pressed her fingers to her lips. “He still wants to marry me?”

“Under the tree at five.”

She looked at Parker.

“You weren’t scheduled this week. Perhaps you should go home.”

At that moment, Michelle walked into her office with Gage on her hip. He jumped down and raced to her.

Olivia scooped him into her arms and looked back at Michelle.

Michelle shrugged her shoulders. “I got a call from Cade that said I needed to get Gage to your office right away and then follow you home to help you.”

Tears were stinging her eyes, but they wouldn’t fall. They were happy tears, and she’d rather keep the stupid grin on her face that she could feel tugging at her cheeks.

“I think you need to help me get dressed.”

Michelle was obviously as clueless as the rest of them—all except for Ashley Wilkie, whom she found out later from Michelle was some big time football hero, almost as famous as Cade Carter.

Chapter Nineteen

Michelle had followed her home and helped her take Gage from the car. Olivia wasn’t sure why she was surprised when she walked through the front door and found, draped on the chair, a white dress and a new pair of shoes.

The tears fell then as Michelle walked in behind her.

“This has got to be the sweetest thing I have ever seen.”

Olivia shook her trembling hands. “He meant it. He meant it all along. God, he promised me he’d marry me when he was six. And a few more times over the years, but I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

She walked to the chair and picked up the dress. Under the dress was a tuxedo Gage’s size. The tears streamed full force now.

As she picked it up to show it to him, she noticed legal papers beneath it. She handed Michelle the tuxedo. On the papers, which were drafted by an attorney in Wisconsin, there was a yellow sticky note.
This is what I want from you as my wedding gift.

Michelle walked up beside her. “What is it?”

“Adoption papers. He wants to adopt Gage.”

Cade paced beneath the old tree house in the back yard of his father’s house. A drape of white netting had been hung from the branches and a few folding chairs from the local Christian church had been lined up in the back yard. There wouldn’t be many people at their wedding, but those who were there were the ones who mattered.

Who would have thought that he’d almost lost everything when he tried to give her the perfect day.

He’d seen Michelle walk out of the house holding Gage’s hand. That meant Olivia had arrived.

Gage let go of Michelle’s hand and ran to Cade. He lifted him into his arms and gave him the biggest squeeze a man could give a child.
His
child.

Ashley rested his hand on Cade’s shoulder. “I thought I witnessed history that day on that field, but I think I’m about to witness it again.”

“I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

The back door opened to the house, and he saw her. The most beautiful vision he’d ever seen.

The thudding in his chest went deeper than it did that day when he had stood in the same spot with Conner to his side. They’d both been breathless when she walked toward them with her curtain-draped head. Now, here she was—the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, walking toward him in the dress he’d picked out for her—along with Conner’s son.

She’d been crying, but the smile let him know they were tears of joy.

“You came.”

Olivia let out a deep breath. “You’re not living with some woman named Ashley.”

They both chuckled, and he reached his hand to her cheek. “I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Michelle, and she handed her the papers Cade had left for her. “These are for you.”

He looked down at them as everyone watched them. The minister to his side waited patiently.

He turned to the page where she was to sign them and noticed that she had. Marriage was one thing, but to become a father—that moment filled him with a love and passion that even Olivia couldn’t have brought out in him.

“He’s our son now.”

“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. Do you know that?”

“I don’t think I have yet.” She moved in closer to them and wrapped her arms around both Cade and Gage. “My gift to you is my son, whom I love and I know you do, too. But I have another gift for you. A child of your own.”

The thudding that had been in his chest moved to his throat, and he could feel the blood drain from his face. “A child of my own?”

“Yes.”

“You’re…”

She smiled wide. “Yes.”

He scrubbed his hand over his face and let it all sink in. “We’re a family again.”

Olivia nodded. “And I saw what you did to the house. It looks like you plan to make a home right here were home always was.”

“That was the plan.”

“I don’t think you could make me any happier, Cade Carter.”

“Let me try.” He turned to Ashley and motioned to the pocket in his suit. Ashley handed him the ring he held. “This was in my father’s safety deposit box.” He slid the ring on her finger. “If he hadn’t given up everything to settle here and raise me, I wouldn’t have you. If he wouldn’t have given Conner a home, we wouldn’t have Gage. If he wouldn’t have put everything right in place, I wouldn’t have come to the funeral at all. He made sure we found each other. He made sure we were together just as we were supposed to do.”

“I knew I loved that old man.”

“I did too. I’d just forgotten how much.”

Olivia rested her head on Cade’s shoulder. “I want to name the baby Austin, even if she’s a girl.”

“I think that would be wonderful.”

“I’m so happy that I’m marrying you right here under our tree so that our first kiss as husband and wife will be in the same place where we shared our first kiss.”

Cade kissed the top of Gage’s head and then the top of Olivia’s. “Then let’s get married.”

Meet the Author

Bernadette Marie has been an avid writer since the early age of 13, when she’d fill notebook after notebook with stories that she’d share with her friends.  Her journey into novel writing started the summer before eighth grade when her father gave her an old typewriter.  At all times of the day and night you would find her on the back porch penning her first work, which she would continue to write for the next 22 years. 

In 2007—after marriage, filling her chronic entrepreneurial needs, and having five sons—Bernadette began to write seriously with the goal of being published.  That year she wrote 12 books.  In 2009  she was contracted for her first trilogy and the published author was born.  In 2011 she (being the entrepreneur that she is) opened her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing.

In 2012 Bernadette Marie found herself on the bestsellers lists of iTunes and Amazon to name a few. She also finaled in the Award of Excellence, hosted by CRW, and Reader’s Choice Awards, hosted by RomCon Inc., in 2012.

Bernadette is also an accomplished martial artist who will earn her conditional second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do in October 2012.  An avid reader, she enjoys most, the works of Nora Roberts, Karen White, Megan Hart, to name a few. She loves to meet readers who enjoy reading contemporary romances and she always promises Happily Ever After.