“Nine employees and ten customers.” Through the grace of God, no one else had been killed or injured. But he imagined the danger had taken an emotional toll on all of them.
“What about the home invasion?”
He understood her questions, but reliving these memories was hard on him.
“It was a family of six.” Alonzo paused as images from that day raced across his mind’s eye. “The parents were in their midthirties. They had three children, ages ten, seven, and three. The wife’s mother lived with them.”
Why is she rubbing my back? Alonzo had expected that Doreen would have started packing by now.
“Alonzo, you’re in law enforcement.”
“That’s not a license to kill.”
“No, it isn’t.” Doreen’s voice was patient. “It’s a directive to protect and to serve. You had to draw your gun to protect that mother and her baby daughter, the employees and customers in that bank, and that family.”
“I often wonder if there had been another choice.” He’d never spoken that uncertainty aloud.
Doreen stopped rubbing his back. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him from behind. Hard. “I’m so sorry you had those experiences. But, Alonzo, I don’t think you had another choice. A lot of lives were at stake.”
She’s hugging me. Alonzo barely heard Doreen’s words. He was too stunned. Instead of turning away from him, Doreen was literally embracing him. Did this mean she was willing to accept all of him, including his past?
Alonzo turned in her embrace. “This is the reason I’ve been so distant. I was afraid that, once you learned what I did, you wouldn’t want to marry me.”
Doreen’s eyes filled with sadness and confusion. “Alonzo, I know what you do for a living. I don’t like to think about the danger you’ve been in or the images you must have seen. But I’m not naive.”
Alonzo was weak with relief. He leaned back against the counter. “You’re not canceling the wedding?”
“No, I’m not canceling our wedding, although you’ve been a real pain in the neck.” Doreen rose on her toes to give him a q
uick kiss. “I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“And we’ll spend those years making only happy memories.”
“That’s a promise.” Doreen sealed it with a kiss.
CHAPTER 29
Benita followed Vaughn into his apartment Friday evening. In eight days, Mystic Park would take the stage. It would be the show’s debut performance. But if Benita’s negotiations worked, it wouldn’t be its last. This seemed like the best time to tell Vaughn about Tommy Poole’s offer, when she had other good news to share as well. But Benita didn’t know what to tell him about first: the L.A. theater producer or her buying Doreen’s house.
“How was your class?” She lowered herself onto the sofa, watching while he settled beside her.
“Something tells me you didn’t come here to ask about my music class.” Vaughn gave her a curious smile. “What’s going on?”
“You’re right.” Benita held both hands up, palms out. A huge smile stretched her lips. “Great news. I found a theater producer in L.A. who’s interested in performing Mystic Park.”
Vaughn didn’t respond. He returned her gaze as though she were talking a foreign language. Several seconds ticked by. Finally, Benita spoke again. “Did you hear me?”
“I don’t think I did.” Vaughn sounded so serious. His eyes were cool and distant. “Did you send my musical to a producer in Los Angeles?”
Benita’s smile wavered. “Yes, and he’s very interested in it. Very interested.”
“But why would you have sent it to a producer in Los Angeles when I specifically asked you not to do that?” Vaughn’s voice was tight with control.
“Mystic Park is a fantastic musical. It deserves to be seen in additional venues.” Benita felt her first stirring of unease.
“Son of a—” Vaughn surged off his sofa and paced across the room to the fireplace. “You’re a piece of work, Benny.”
“Vaughn, an L.A. producer wants to produce your musical. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” She thought he’d at least be flattered by the producer’s interest.