“Carson!” I yelled but realized he wasn’t able to hear me. Not thinking, I left the studio and sprinted to the house. I was almost to the back door when Gabe captured me by the waist and gently scooped me up.
“Wait, sweetheart. I need to confirm Rosie is out of the house. Trent is with Carson. He’s fine.”
Two guards stood at the right ready to intercept me, too if Gabe hadn’t.
The phone was out of his pocket before I responded as he set me down. “Andre. Is it clear? Okay. Thanks.” He hung up. “You can go.”
Not wasting any time, I threw the door open and ran to the office. Carson was on the couch leaning back with his eyes closed. “Carson, are you okay? Do I need to call a doctor? Carson?”
He slowly opened his eyes. “I’m okay. That took a lot out of me. I hate the recovery process.”
“I’ll be right back. Stay put.” My instincts took over as I left the room. Gabe was right behind me. I grabbed the blood pressure cuff and pulse/ox monitor from the closet in the hallway. Dad insisted we had it on hand for Nonno in case something happened. Back in the room, I put the cuff on his arm and pressed the button. “Put your hand over your heart.”
“Willow, I’m—”
I glared. One look at my face and he stopped in his tracks. He offered his finger for the pulse oximeter.
The readings came back clear. “I need you to take it easy and not end up in the hospital again.”
He leaned back. “I promise. I’ll be good as new shortly. We got her, Willow. She can’t hurt you or Francesca ever again.”
After Rosie had been hauled off with the detectives, her parents called Carson and me. On advice from the attorneys, we sent the phone calls to voicemail. At this point, the judge confirmed no bail would be granted due to the heinous nature of the crimes and the instability Rosie exhibited when she arrived.
The scene I watched from the studio replayed in my head.
Soon the news would spread to our friends. I was surprised they hadn’t called given how desperate Rosie’s parents sounded on the voicemail. They begged us to drop the charges and promised to get her help. None of us could take that chance. The depth of Rosie’s deception warranted our weariness. But still… she had been our friend.
The sting of betrayal would spread and our group of friends would be forever altered. The innocence of past scenarios with Rosie were tainted. What other damage had she caused? Only time would tell if other wrongdoings would come to light.
There had been times I’d felt uneasy around her. But who wouldn’t when their friend chased boys and slapped their ass for the hell of it. Everyone had explained this with a simple “That’s Rosie for you.”
The car accident and the poisoning were now explained—two problems solved. And Alex had not been involved. Now we were back to the original dilemma. Alex was behind the remaining dilemmas, but in what capacity.
In hindsight, Alex had remained quiet since the finger. We knew he’d visited Alex Junior the night before I taught the class at Apple Blossom. What plans Alex had for us scared me. Sometimes I felt like a puppet while he pulled the strings, making us dance.
Laughter brought my attention back to the group. Nonno retold a story from his childhood when he tried to make his own wine. In the end, his mother ended up with a messy kitchen and smashed grapes everywhere. I’d heard the story many times, as I was sure Marie and Bennett had, too. Nonno once told me that a good story should be told often.
I agreed.
After dinner, we retired to the living room to visit. The ravioli had been a smash hit with Carson and earned Mildred a bear hug. She loved every second of our praises. The aroma of oregano and cheese from the homemade Italian dish lingered. Utter perfection. Aside from Mom and Dad’s absence, having everyone here felt like old times.
Carson shifted in his seat, and I looked him over to make sure he was okay. Overall he’d recovered quickly from the exertion of this afternoon. Francesca was radiant as she sat beside him. Such a drastic difference from a few days ago. Now she thrived versus barely surviving.
Carson decided when we had more definitive answers on Rosie’s sentence he would share it with Francesca. I trusted he knew best for her. We never used the TV and overall were unplugged from social media. It would be easy to keep her in the dark for a bit. When Francesca found out the truth about what had happened with Rosie, I wondered how she would take it. Trials were long and cumbersome. Hopefully, we were able to expedite the process.
I told Carson marriage should be transparent. If Gabe kept that from me, I would be livid. But… we were two different people and I knew Francesca preferred to remain in the dark from our talks. At some point he planned to tell her. Their relationship worked and that was all that mattered.
I snuggled into Gabe’s side as we shared the large overstuffed leather chair. It wasn’t until Francesca told everyone about her doctor’s appointment that I remembered the one I had today. It had left my mind in all the chaos. We were cleared for sex in two days.
Only two more days.
I had nearly jumped off the table in glee, but somehow managed to keep my cool. Or at least I pretended the doctor didn’t notice my obvious jubilation.
Life was complete in this moment.
“Baby, would you mind getting me a little water?” Carson asked Francesca as they cuddled on the love seat. Francesca watched closely over Carson. It was obvious how much she truly loved him. Hopefully we had time to hang out together again soon.
She kissed his cheek. “Yes, be right back. Does anyone else need anything?”
No thank yous were murmured by everyone. As she left the room, Carson grinned, gave me a wink, and stood near the fireplace. After a long nap, he appeared more rested. Marie gave me a curious look in my peripheral vision, but I remained focused elsewhere. This was Carson’s moment. Only I knew the secret after our talk this afternoon.
Before anyone had a chance to ask, Francesca bustled back into the room. “Here you go.” She noticed he’d moved. “Did you need to stretch your legs? Are you feeling okay?”
Carson tucked his hair behind his ears and blew out a quick breath. “I need to ask something else of you.”
“Of course. What is it? Are you okay?”
He took her hands after setting down the drink. “You are the one for me. The only one. And you’re giving me the greatest gift in the world… a child.” She looked down with a smile on her face, embarrassed.
Gabe dug his hand a little deeper into my hip. I wasn’t sure he was aware of it, and I wondered if the words struck home with him.
Carson brought her gaze to meet his with his fingers. It was an intimate moment passing between the two as they stared into each other’s eyes. “As you know, the night of the accident I had planned to ask you to marry me.”
“I know.” The answer was somber, bringing back the awful memories and the hard fourteen days that had transpired since.
Bringing her right hand up, Carson rubbed the engagement ring she received from Bennett at the beach house. “Dad gave you the ring as a symbol of our love while I fought my way back to you.”
The women in the room started to sniffle, including me. We were lucky to have all of us here to experience this moment.
“I love you, Francesca, with my entire being. You are the other half I was meant to be with. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and building a life with me?”
Her head nodded before she quietly responded, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Cheers erupted as she threw her arms around him. Carson spun her around she squealed in delight.
“Dad told me what you said. And now I’m here to move it to the proper hand.” Before everyone descended on them, Carson moved her engagement ring from her right hand to her left.
With her hand extended, she looked at the ring. “It’s perfect.”
Seeing them bound together gave me wistful thoughts of wearing Gabe’s ring and being his in every way possible. A b
eautiful dream. When would we be ready? I turned to see Gabe watching me. I mouthed, I love you.
He mouthed back, I love you forever.
A girlish giggle bubbled inside of me. It was my turn to hug Francesca after Marie.
As we embraced, I said, “I always wanted a sister.”
“Me, too. I couldn’t ask for a better one.”
“Me, either.”
Since Carson woke up, Francesca hadn’t mentioned the engagement once. She had Carson and that was all that mattered. I respected her confidence in their love and for not pressuring him ever even after becoming pregnant.
Next was Carson. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Me, too, Willow. Me, too. I’m happy for us.” He brought me closer to him. “Never forget you deserve this, too.”
In bed, I read reviews and ratings of baby items Francesca and I had found. She had gone to bed a while ago. Two of almost everything would be needed. The expense of having a baby blew my mind. Since we weren’t finding out what we were having, I would need to stick to gender-neutral colors.
The pros and cons blended together along with the warnings. My word, I needed a manual for all this baby stuff. Earlier I’d placed the paint order for the colors I decided on for the baby room. Next week, I’d start outlining the drawings on the wall. I wanted the walls finished before I got too large.
Carson, Gabe, and Trent were in the office. While they talked, I’d hung out with Francesca, not wanting her to be left out while they went over security measures. I figured there was more on the agenda, but Gabe would tell me when they were done. Not once this evening had Francesca mentioned wanting to be there for the security discussion. Truly she seemed happy remaining in a bubble.
When my eyesight became blurry from staring the screen too long, I set my tablet aside and picked up the memory book Francesca had given me. In the rush to get to Carson, I had left it in her hotel room. When we retired to my room to drink hot chocolate, she brought it to me. It truly was a beautiful gift—one I would always treasure.
A yawn escaped as I scooted farther down in the bed and flipped to the last page. Sleep would be upon me soon. I should text Gabe and check on him. I stared at the picture.