Goodbyes and Second Chances (The Bleu Series Book 1) (24 page)

After the song
concludes, a stagehand reappears to retrieve the ukulele from Dillon. He grabs
the mic and stands. “Tonight is a night of celebration and I got a lot to make
up for.”

At this point a
bodyguard escorts me and Will to the stage. The big guy sits Will in a movie
director’s chair that has been placed beside Max. Max fists bumps with Will’s
tiny one. Dillon walks over as he places the mic in his back pocket and gives
Will a kiss, and then musses the little guy’s hair.

Then, Dillon
grabs my hand and walks us to the center of the stage. All I want to do is kiss
him. He must sense this or wants the same, because the next thing I know he has
wrapped his arms around me and claims my lips in front of this packed house.
“It’s about time you put that ring back on your finger, where it belongs,” he
murmurs against my lips. He holds my hand in question and places a kiss on top
of my wedding ring. The place erupts in whistles and more applause. I grab up
his hand to inspect the ink. On the top of his finger is a cursive
J
. It’s so elegant, but I love it even
more when Dillon flips his hand over and exposes a cursive
W
that connects to the
J
underneath. “It’s not so bad being by my side is it, pretty girl?”

“Not at all.
It’s where I belong,” I admit.

“It’s about time
you realize this. I love you and we’ll work things out. Promise.”

I’m crying
again, so all I can do is nod my head in agreement. Dillon wipes my face
gently, and then looks over his shoulder. A stool is brought out and Dillon
gently sets me on it.

Dillon pulls the
mic from his pocket, brings it to those full lips, and announces, “Ladies and
dudes, this is my gorgeous wife, Jewels.” He points over to Will. “And that
good looking guy is my son, Will.” More applause breaks out. Dillon squeezes my
hand and waits for the crowd to settle back down. “Me and my pretty girl
recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.” The crowd erupts again with
applause. They seem to be as overjoyed as I feel. He patiently waits for them
to calm before continuing. “And that got me to thinking about the traditional
wedding anniversary gifts.” He pauses and nods his head towards Will. “I
already gave her the best gift I could ever give her on our wedding night.” He
winks at me. “I gave her a son,” he says smugly, causing more whistles to
erupt.

“The fifth
anniversary gift is wood. We had ourselves a sweet boat when we were kids. It
was a wood sports boat.” He cuts his eyes over to my brother in the audience.
“But I blew that sucker up,” he says as he shrugs his shoulders. Kyle and Max
are howling with laughter at the memory. “So I gave my lady a new boat.”

Tate walks out
on stage and hands Dillon a thick leather journal. Dillon nods his head at him
in thanks, and then hands it to me. “The fourth anniversary is leather. All the
pages in this leather journal are blank, and I want us to write our future
together in it.” This gorgeous poet is bringing me to tears in front of all of
these strangers.

Dillon kisses an
escaped tear away before he opens the journal to the back page and pulls out a
paper that was tucked there. “The third anniversary is fruit.” As he hands me
the paper, I’m racking my brains at what on earth he could possibly be giving
me that is related to fruit. I nearly drop the paper in shock when I read it.
“Me and this pretty girl danced the day away in a peach orchard not too long
ago. It was one of the best moments in my life. Just me and my girl and all
those peach trees. I want to be able to relive that moment any time I see fit,
so I bought it for her.” My hand shakes as I stare in awe at the bill of sale
for the orchard. How romantic can he get? Women in the audience are awing at
his sentiment.

“The second
anniversary is cotton and the first is paper,” he states these two together as
Tate carries out a very simple, yet very exquisite, wedding gown and hands me a
marriage renewal certificate. “Let’s renew those vows we took before God so we
can get to work on our ever after.”

I sniffle some
and try to clear my throat. I shake my head no and Dillon looks at me
concerned. “We’re gonna have to do it soon or I won’t be able to fit in that
dress.”

“What was that?”
he asks, but I know he heard me. Those dimples are on full display.

He eases the mic
closer to my lips. He wants everyone to hear what I just announced. “I said we are
gonna have to say those I do’s soon, or I won’t be able to fit into that
beautiful gown.” Whistles and clapping erupts across the crowd.

A smirk crosses
Dillon’s face as he puts the mic back to his lips, “Man, I’m good.” He growls
playfully. He places the mic behind his back and leans towards my ear and
whispers, “We created our own treasure in that shed.” He is grinning in such a
way that is absolutely stunning. His eyes sparkle with unshed tears of joy and
he is nearly glowing with pride.

I like that he
thinks so much like me. I had already come to the same conclusion about our own
treasure over a month ago when I found out I was pregnant. “Yes, Dimples. We
did.”

Dillon drops the
mic and kisses me like his very life depended on it. After we are both
breathless, he pulls back and looks at me sternly. “No more goodbyes.”

“No more
goodbyes,” I promise.

Epilogue

Wow. All I can
say is wow!
                                

Me and Dimples
have stuck to our promise and have not said goodbye since that night on that
stage six years ago. I smile as I think of that now. The crowd started chanting
after a while for more songs, so eventually Dillon tore his lips from mine and
Bleu Streak rocked that place out.

Dillon had moved
us over to his hillside mansion after that concert. I finally got my
autographed CD’s! I asked him later that night as he held me in his king-sized
bed, why had it taken him well over two months to send for me and Will. I was
worried he had second-guessed wanting to be with me during those silent months.
He chuckled at my nervous question, making me want to pinch him.

“Buying a peach
orchard was no easy feat. That ornery owner didn’t want to come off it. So I
ended up paying a small fortune.” We both laughed at this. My husband was held
up buying me gifts while I sat fretting that our marriage was over.

Every spring he
whisks me away to our orchard and we spend the day dancing among the
pink-flowered trees. And we picnic there quite often during the summer. There’s
nothing better than hand-picking your sweet dessert right from the tree.

Kyle flew back
with Will and I after the California concert so he could walk me down the aisle
in my second wedding to Dillon Bleu. Will was the best man and Leona was my
maid of honor, with Jen as my matron of honor. Trace played the piano, of
course. Logan and Max were groomsmen. Mave flew in with Dillon and had asked
just to be a guest. He was still pretty weak. I was glad that the guys agreed
to move Mave to a facility back in Georgia. I felt he needed to be near us.

The ceremony was
held in our small church, which was packed out with people standing outside to
get a peek at the service. We had Momma May’s cater the reception that was set
up on the lakeshore. We had a country feast of fried chicken and all the
fixings. Max and Mave had an eating contest. You can only imagine how that
went. Needless to say, we had no leftovers. Dillon had Tate order a fancy
wedding cake from a gourmet cake shop in Atlanta. The owner personally drove
the cake down and served it to our guests. The band set up on the dock and
serenaded the crowd off and on throughout the night when Dillon wasn’t busy
dancing with me. The other side of the lake was packed with spectators trying
to get a glimpse of the rock stars through binoculars and high-powered cameras.
How do I know this? Because our wedding and reception pictures were plastered
all over the Internet the very next day. Dillon joked that we threw our money
away on a private photographer when we could have gotten all we wanted for free
online. Some were quite good, so we did swipe some for free.

The paparazzi
bugged us to no end for the first year, but Dillon always pleasantly let them
have the pics they wanted. He assured me it was pointless to fight against
them. I guess we were too nice, and eventually too boring, because the numbers
trickled down to only a rare few popping up occasionally.

A month after
the wedding, Dillon pulled up in a custom black Cadillac Escalade. The sides
are slashed with intricate blue and silver streaks and the windows are tinted
super dark. The interior has black, buttery-soft leather and every electronic
gadget you can imagine. It’s totally tricked out.

I questioned the
purchase and he shrugged his shoulders and answered, “We need family wheels.”

I had nodded my head
in understanding. “Family wheels, Dillon Bleu style.”

He produced
those dimples and replied, “Of course.”

Dillon didn’t
leave my side the entire pregnancy, saying he would not miss a moment of his
baby growing in his bride’s body. He was fascinated with my ever-changing body
and couldn’t keep his hands off me. And just let me tell you, the most precious
vision I have ever witnessed was the day my husband held our baby girl in his
arms for the first time and openly wept at the sight of her. Our Grace has her
own hit song, “My Amazing Grace,
”
and
at only age five is already set for college and life after because of it.

I have filled
four leather journals so far with this treasure of a life with my family. I’ve
been approached to turn them into a memoir for Bleu Streak. I hesitantly told
the agent, maybe one day, but as for now the answer is no. I’m not ready to let
those treasures be discovered yet. I want them all to myself.

The band is
doing better than ever. They only commit to one performance a month so we can
all tag along. Trace ran off with Jen last month and got married. They are
still honeymooning in Jen’s small cabin at the moment. They are quite the
lively couple, with both of them always having an abundance of energy. I’m
surprised it took them this long to figure out they belonged together.

Oh, I almost
forgot to tell you that Mr. Wayne and Ms. Raveena went all Dillon and Jillian
style. Those two got secretly married a few years back. We put two and two
together after catching them sneaking out of each other’s trailer several times
before dawn. We threw them a surprise wedding reception and pretty much forced
them to admit it. They are quite the cute couple.

Max, Mave, and
Logan went in together and purchased a bachelor pad a few miles from here. It’s
a lake house closer to our side than the rich side of the lake. So all of my
family is close, except for Kyle. He makes more trips home now than what he
used to, which makes me happy. His life isn’t here, but I’m glad he still
visits often. I think it’s because Grace has him wrapped around her little
finger.

The first row of
new cabins has just been completed, and we gave Tate the one closest to the
lake. He is working on his business degree through an online college, and
Dillon is planning on bumping him up to the Bleu Streak management team after
Tate graduates. So he is sticking around, too. I like that. He is a great help,
and more importantly, a great friend.

A recording
studio was constructed in record time behind our cabin. We also added a master
suite to the bottom floor of our home. In interviews, a popular question they
like to ask Dillon is, “You’re a rock star with millions in the bank. Why on
earth do you live in a trailer park?”

He always shrugs
his shoulder and looks at the interviewer as though the answer should already
be so obvious. “Because it’s home,” he answers simply.

You still have
to keep on your toes around this crowd. A few months into us getting settled
in, Max made the mistake of wanting to spend the weekend with us before they
had their place ready. Max was bragging on and on about staying up days upon
days at a time during the tours. He was stretching the truth quite a bit, so
Dillon challenged him to see just how long Max could actually go straight
without any sleep and promised to pay him a thousand dollars if he could stay
awake until the sun came up the third morning. Never one to back down from a
challenge, no matter how stupid it is, Max said he would kick butt. The guys
took turns staying up with him, and Max actually made it a little over
forty-eight hours before passing out. Now maybe this sounds like a pretty lame
challenge, but Dimples had an ulterior motive. Max woke up the next morning,
stumbled into the kitchen, and just about scared me to death. I thought a stranger
was robbing me or something. I had to take a second good look and found it to
be a very bald Max.

He ran his hand
over his slick scalp and declared, “Dillon is going down for this.”

When he turned
to walk back out, I was barely able to restrain myself. Written on the back of
his bald head in permanent marker was,
Dillon
was here
. No one, not even Will, told Max about it either. So the poor
idiot walked around for a week oblivious. People would asked, “So, you close to
Dillon?” or “You and Dillon tight?” And the poor guy would carry on and tell
them, “Yes, Dillon is my man.” Or he would declare, “Dude always has my back.”
It was hilarious. The boys had a field day with Max until the ink eventually
wore off.

Mave came home a
few weeks after that and set out to cutting his own hair off when he took in
Dillon and Max’s transformations. Logan followed suit too and trimmed his afro
way down. So Trace felt left out, of course. He cut all of his fluffy blond
hair off, too. I always liked their long hair, but just let me tell you those
dudes got even more handsome once you could actually see their faces.

The only new ink
Dillon has is when his tattoo artist entwined a cursive
G
into his ring finger tattoo. He’s such a sentimental old soul. I
fall in love with him more each day. Really. How could I not?

Music is a
constant in this house. Now my son does not have the divine gift as his daddy
has been blessed with. I doubt none that the gift Dillon has is a rarity. But
this doesn’t deter Will. He just can’t figure out what instrument he wants to
commit to entirely. One month he is dead set on the guitar and plays nothing
but it, and the next month he is back to being obsessed with the drums. This
delights Mave. He has spent many an hour working with Will on his technique. I
personally think Will is born to be a drummer. I guess only time will tell on
that. My little Grace is all about the piano. She plays duets with Dillon in
church every third Sunday. The girl has an ear for music and this tickles her
daddy. You should see him all lit up as they sit on the piano bench in the
small sanctuary—Dillon looking larger than life beside our dainty little girl.
It’s precious.

Mave is doing
great, by the way. He still looks like he has worms though. And he’s still too
curious for his own good. He set out to showing Blake what that little work
truck could really do one afternoon and ended up pushing the truck on to its
demise. Mave earned a crushed foot in the accident, but was adamant about only
taking over-the-counter pain meds. And let me tell you, that poor guy suffered
until his foot was healed. He spent a lot of time asking to be alone. The pain
would escalate and he wouldn’t be able to tolerate being around people. His
doctor and drug counselor reassured him there were choices for pain management
for him, but he was scared he would relapse, so he suffered it out. Whatever he
got caught up in really scared him straight. He now has Psalm 46:1 tattooed on
top of his right hand as his reminder.
God
is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble
.

As for our poor
truck, Dillon had a metalworker salvage as many pieces of the body as possible,
and then he had it professionally cabled and attached from the ceiling in the
larger shed. We call it our redneck chandelier. A hidden message was discovered
underneath the frame too. Painted in neon green on the backside of one of the
fenders is
Dimples Loves His Jewel
. I
asked Dillon about when the message came to be and was astonished by his
answer.

 
“I painted that the winter before the boat
blew up,” he admitted. Of course that earned him a lot of love that night. I
thought that confession was the sweetest thing—him loving me long before
admitting it.
 

Hudson replaced
the truck with a John Deere Gator with a dump bed. He had a custom bumper
sticker made and placed across the back that says,
Maverick King is NOT Allowed to
Drive Me!!
The Gator is actually bigger than the truck. Blake was
pretty stoked about it. He is graduating college soon. Dillon rode him pretty
hard and the kid has been receiving straight A’s all the way.

Dillon even made
the arrangements for Brina to go back to school. She is now an RN, I’m proud to
say. She can afford to live outside of the trailer park, but has no desire to
live anywhere else. Brina says this is home and I couldn’t agree with her more.
Last year she got permission from me and Hudson to replace her old trailer with
a brand new one that is bigger but can still fit on her lot.

There have been
other instances of Dillon helping others get a better shot of a life throughout
the last few years. I teased him a while back, saying, “You can’t save the
entire world, Dimples.”

He gave me a
glance at those dimples and rebuked, “No, but as long as God puts them in my
path I will never stop trying.” Oh how I love that man!

I’m in the midst
of putting away some dishes, lost in my thoughts, as my crowd busts through the
kitchen. Dillon picks me up and kisses me, before setting me down and grabbing
a bottle of water. My babies shadow behind him. “We’re going on a treasure
hunt, Mommy,” Grace squeals in delight.

I look down at
my baby doll. She has long, wavy hair in the same black hue as her daddy, but
has striking green eyes. She makes me smile just by looking at her. She smiles
back and rewards me with a showing of her sweet dimples. Will stands behind
her. He’s working on being taller than me already at only the age of ten. He
looks more and more like his daddy the older he gets too. Besides Grace’s eyes,
you could swear I had no part in the making of my own young’uns.

Dillon walks
over to Grace and swoops her up in his arm. There is nothing sexier than seeing
that tough-looking giant of a man charmingly carry his daughter around like the
princess she is. He places a kiss on her temple and swipes both of them a
strawberry from the bowl Will is munching through.