Last First Kiss (47 page)

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Around three o’clock, Red and Giselle wheeled Jackson into the Lake Coburn courthouse. Tiffany LeBlanc met them at the doors.

“
Glad you could make it, Doc,” Jackson said.

Giselle grinned at the woman she’d grown to like as a person outside her professional persona. She turned, wanting to witness Red’s reaction to Tiffany, sans scrubs and athletic shoes. She nearly laughed in delight as the big, brawny man practically paled at the sight of “Doc” as Jackson had dubbed her. Tiffany’s choice of a sexy, sleeveless sundress seemed to have made quite an impression on the eternal bachelor.

Giselle smiled devilishly as Red’s blue eyes savored the good doctor’s appearance, all the way down to the strappy, heeled sandals showcasing her quality pedicure. Giselle glanced at Tiffany, who straightened from checking to make sure her patient’s leg was properly supported. Was it just her opinion, or had Doc applied makeup since she’d seen her last?
Hmmm. Interesting.
She watched and listened, waiting to hear what Red had to say.

“
Hello again, Dr. LeBlanc. I almost didn’t recognize you. You are truly stunning,” he murmured.

Tiffany mumbled a thank you, before turning toward Giselle.

Thanks again for doing this,” Giselle said, grasping her hand. “You look fantastic, by the way. I want the name of the dress shop after the ceremony.”

They found Jackson’s friend, who had all of the paperwork prepared, thanks to an earlier phone call. They obtained the license then stopped off at the judge’s office for special dispensation of the three-day waiting period. Within twenty minutes of their arrival, the four of them were standing before the Justice of the Peace.

Giselle watched as Tiffany signed the area designated for the first witness then handed the pen to Red to add his signature. Once the document was stamped, signed and safely in her hands, Giselle turned to thank the witnesses, giving each a big hug.

The group exited the courthouse and gathered around Giselle’s vehicle. Heat rose from the concrete parking lot in waves as the late August sun beat down mercilessly.

“
Well, good luck you two,” Tiffany told them. “This was an honor.”

“
Thanks Doc,” Jackson said. I’ll see you for my check up next week.”

“
You certainly will.” She looked over at Red and nodded. “Mr. McAllister.”

“
Dr. LeBlanc,” he said, with a slight bow of his head.

Once Red helped Jackson into Giselle’s vehicle, he left them alone so he could follow in his truck.

Giselle buckled her seatbelt and looked over at Jackson. He was a sight, with his head shaved, a surgical steel plate in his skull, a metal brace with pins sticking out of his right leg, a cast on his left arm, and black and blue from head to toe. She smiled as he gave her that crooked, boyish grin of his.

“
Not much to look at right now, am I?” he asked. “You thinking you dove into the shallow end of the pool?”

“
All I did was gain a wonderful husband. You’re the one who gets a wife and two rowdy girls.”

“
Baby, this is a dream come true for me.”

She leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips then stared into his eyes. “Let’s go home.”

EPILOGUE

October 25

Crystal white lights twinkled and glittered in the luminescent glow of the evening sky, reflecting off the pond like bits of diamonds. Friends and family members gathered around to watch Jackson and Giselle as they walked gracefully to the center of the dance floor under the pavilion that Bill had constructed for this night. It was the perfect night for a wedding...crisp, cool but not cold, with low humidity.

Giselle was stunning in an ultra feminine, ivory, tea length, wedding gown with insets of Brussels lace. She danced with Jackson, the man she’d just married for the second time. Her new husband had so completely filled her life with love that, at times, she thought she had never been this happy. At other times, of course, she remembered she had been. She knew how lucky she was to have found love twice, first to Toby, and now to Jackson. This kind, loving, sexy man was her future and she prayed every day to spend the rest of her life with him.

She stared up at her husband...tall, healthy, and handsome in his black tuxedo, holding him, loving him so much. They swayed to the sound of James Otto’s deep soulful voice, singing their favorite song,
Last First Kiss.

“
Sing to me Jackson,” she said, gazing up into the piercing blue of her husband’s eyes.

He smiled down at her, and did as she asked, singing the words she loved to hear. He backed away from her for the last verse, and got down on one knee, acting out the words he sang in total confidence.

Giselle laughed, delighted at the show, and then pulled him up off his knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tip toe to whisper the closely guarded secret she’d saved for this moment.

Jackson stepped back to stare down at his bride. “Are you sure?” he asked, even though he knew she wouldn’t have said anything unless she
had
been.

When she nodded and gave him a teary eyed smile, he hugged her, treasuring this moment as if his life depended on it. He squeezed his eyes shut and held on to her, praying for the strength to protect her from all harm. He cherished this woman, as well as their daughters, Mac and Lexie...And now the new life growing inside her.

“I love you, Jackson,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I’m perfect. Everything’s perfect...And I’m going to be a daddy again.”

Excerpt from

BROWN EYED GIRL

Book 3 in
La Fleur de Love
series

CHAPTER 1

October 25
^th

He watched Red, carefully concealed behind the trunk of the massive oak. His target of vengeance laughed and carried on like he didn’t have a care in the world. He didn’t; not yet, anyway.

“Soon, McAllister...Soon you’ll be wondering what the hell hit you, and where it came from,” he murmured. “When the time is right, and when I’m good and damned ready to turn your life into a living hell.” He placed a toothpick in his mouth, mostly to stave off the urge to smoke. He didn’t need to be lighting up here and calling attention to himself. For now, he was satisfied to relax in the shadow of the century old oak and watch the man whose life he’d vowed to ruin.

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“
Hey everybody...I’m gonna be a daddy again!”

Scott “Red” McAllister, turned toward the man who’d just made the proclamation. He watched his friend, Jackson Broussard, scoop his bride up in his arms, as the gathering of wedding guests erupted in applause and whistles.

“Put me down, Jackson; your leg!” Giselle said.

“Oh, hell, my leg is as good as new, right Doc?” Jackson asked a beaming Tiffany LeBlanc, who stood among the group of well wishers surrounding the couple.

Tiffany, Jackson’s orthopedic surgeon, gave her head a vigorous nod. “It sure is. I’ve never seen anyone make such a speedy recovery.”

“Tiffany’s right, his leg is perfectly healthy,” Annie McAllister added. Annie, Red’s youngest sister, had recently moved to Kenton to begin work as a physical therapist in a local clinic. She’d treated Jackson as a patient for six weeks.

Red reached out to clasp Jackson’s hand. “I’m happy for you, man.” He turned to Giselle for a hug. “When’s the due date, beautiful?”

<>

Tiffany searched the crowd for her fiancé. “Dammit, Tanner, where the hell are you?” She heard a throat clear as a hand landed gently on her shoulder.

“Dr. LeBlanc, would you like to dance?”

She gazed down at the hand he held out to her then up into those gorgeous blue eyes of Red McAllister’s. She reached out hesitantly, placed her own hand inside his, and let him lead her onto the dance floor to Percy Sledge singing
When
a Man Loves a Woman
.

Red grinned down at her. “The doctor can dance.”

Tiffany gave him a nonchalant nod. “The doctor can do lots of things when she has the opportunity. You’d think as few chances that we get to cut loose, my fiancé would be by my side.”

<>

Red moved Tiffany smoothly around the dance floor, wanting her to remember how well they danced together. He’d thought about her often over the last few months, although he’d only had the opportunity to see her three times since Jackson’s hospital release. Her image had invaded his thoughts no less than several times a day-not to mention the nights.

Red passed his right index finger lightly over the huge diamond she wore on her left hand. Maybe if he made a good enough impression on Tiffany today, he could lure her away from Tanner before she married the asshole.

Just as the thought entered his mind he spied Tanner walking toward the barn and stable area, looking around as if to make sure nobody followed him. Red searched the area around the stables in time to see his youngest sister, Annie, disappear into the structure. Annie had told him she couldn’t wait to check out Bill’s livestock. By the time the song ended, Tanner had reached the barn.

Itching to go after him, Red walked Tiffany slowly off the dance floor and thanked her before making his way over to the stables.

By the time he got there, he could hear his younger sister’s voice raised in anger.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Annie demanded.

Red ran to the back of the building and turned into the last stall in time to see the tiny, 5’1” woman slap Tanner with all her might, then shove him away from her.

Red nodded at his sister. “I know that, sis, but I have a personal interest invested. He’s the reason I wasn’t invited to Jackson’s first wedding.”

“You’re
that
jerk?” Annie accused. “If I’d known that, I’d have done some real damage to that pampered face of yours.”