I am shaking I am so mad. “You’re mistaken,
Sabrina. He wants me, not you. Now, get out of my way.” I start
walking towards her. She hesitates and then slowly moves out of my
way but as I pass her she says, “No, little girl. You’re the one
who’s mistaken. You’ll see.”
I go back to the table to find Jesse is gone.
I look around and see him talking with some people close to where
the auction will take place. I am so hot with rage that I decide to
go out to the small garden area there and get some fresh
air.
Outside there is a nice cool breeze. Standing
close to the cement stairs I view the different gardens that are
around the lawn with all the blooming flowers. The scent waifs in
the breeze with a perfumed aroma.
I hear a man inside at the microphone saying
the auction is about ready to begin. I start to turn around to go
in when I see Sabrina from the corner of my eye and feel her hands
on my shoulder pushing me towards the steps.
“I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HIM, YOU BITCH!” She
shouts, as I am falling and bouncing hard down the stairs until I
land with a thud on the landing at the bottom. My head smacks the
cement and my vision fades to black.
Chapter forty
“UGH.” I moan. Beep. Beep. Beep. What is that
constant beeping noise? I reach my hand out to feel for the alarm
and someone grabs it and holds it, kissing it. I open my eyes and
see Jesse’s worried expression.
“Baby, you’re ok. You fell down some stairs,
but you’re ok.” I hear Jesse speaking softly. It sounds like he’s
crying.
I turn my head to look at him and groan. Man,
it hurts to move. “Jesse? Why are you crying? Is it the babies’?
Oh, my God! Are they ok?” Tears start to make their way down my
cheeks. “I lost the babies’, didn’t I?”
He leans over and wipes away some of my tears.
“Shhhh, baby. No, honey. The babies’ are just fine. Shhhh.
Everything’s fine.” He kisses me on my forehead.
“Then why are you crying?” I ask. He brushes
some hair from my face. “You were out cold and so still. You
wouldn’t wake up when I shook you. I was so afraid of losing you. I
was afraid I had lost you,” he says with tears on his
face.
I reach over and cup his face. “Oh, Jesse.
You’ll never lose me,” I whisper.
I lay my hand on my stomach and yawn. I close
my eyes and drift back to slumber.
I wake up to the sound of whispering voices. I
slowly open my eyes and look around until I see Jesse speaking with
a doctor. I clear my scratchy throat. “Can I have some water,
please?”
They both turn around. Jesse practically
running over to my side. He smooth’s my hair with his hand
lovingly. He turns and looks at the doctor who nods at Jesse.
“Sure, Baby,” Jesse says as he pours some water into a glass from
the night stand. He reaches over and pushes a button on the guard
rail raising me to a slight sitting position. “Is that ok? Too
much?” He asks. “No, that’s good. Thank you.” He hands me the water
and sits in the chair close to my bed.
Meanwhile, the doctor has moved to the foot of
my bed. He smiles. “Hello, Cassie. I’m Dr. Phillips. How are you
feeling?” I look up and smile.
“My head hurts and my right leg and arm are
sore.” Reading my chart the doctor moves his eyes to me. “Well,
it’s no wonder with falling down cement steps.” He half smiles.
“Fortunately, your injuries are minor and the position you landed
helped to protect your babies’ who, by the way, have very healthy
heartbeats. We did do an ultrasound to check on them and they are
doing just fine. I do recommend you see your OB as soon as you can
so he can confirm. Congratulations by the way.”
I look over at Jesse who is showing that
million dollar smile. “Oh, thank God!” I sigh with relief. He
places the chart back. “You should be able to leave if you’re
feeling up to it. But you must rest for a few days. In bed. No
exertion. Ok?”
I nod. “That sounds great.” He turns to leave.
“Ok then. I’ll go get the paperwork ready and someone will be in to
take you to out.”
Once the doctor leaves the room I turn to
Jesse. “What happened to Sabrina, Jesse? Do you know she pushed me
down the stairs?”
He takes my hand and rubs his thumb across it.
“Yes, baby. Someone saw her. The police came and took her to the
station. They said that once you felt up to it they would need a
statement from you.” I nod slowly.
“Sweetie, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.
I didn’t tell you we had dated for a while. Actually,” he looks
down unable to look me in the eyes anymore, “we were
engaged.”
I gasped and covered my mouth with my other
hand. “But it’s been over for a couple of years now, before my
mother was killed. She didn’t understand why I needed to find the
men who killed her. It ended badly. She yelled, threw things, she
was verbally abusive. I should have told you. I’m
sorry.”
“But. How? How can you work with her after how
she treated you, Jesse?” He shifts in his seat and looks up at me.
“In her business she’s the best. She apologized to me and said she
could be professional. I was stupid thinking she could change. I’m
so sorry, baby. Please forgive me.” I can see the tears forming in
his eyes.
“Jesse, no. It’s not your fault. Please don’t
think it is. I don’t blame you for what happened.” Now I’m starting
to cry again.
I try to lighten our conversation by chuckling
a little. “Well, aren’t we just the pair.” He looks at me and
chuckles a little too. He leans over and kisses my shoulder. “Yes,
we are and we are going to have a happy ever after.
Together.”
The police came over to our house the next day
and took my statement. Later I was to find out that wasn’t her
first offense. Apparently, she has abused previous boyfriends as
well as the girls they were with after they had dumped Sabrina.
It’s a wonder to me how in the hell she had kept her job and had
made it in the business world at all.
~*~*~*~
It’s been three days and Jesse will not let me
get out of bed. “Ugh! I need to move around. I can’t stand sitting
in this bed anymore. Dr. Phillips said I only had to stay in bed a
few days. Few means three!” I look over at Allie and
frown.
“Geez, grumpy. I’ll go talk to Jesse. He’s
getting you some lunch.” She pats my shoulder and leaves the
room.
I am still sitting in the bed, beating my hand
down on the mattress beside me when Jesse comes into the room
carrying a tray of food. He sets it down over my lap and sits down
on the bed next to my legs.
“If you don’t quit hitting the bed you’re
going to spill your food,” he smirks. Looking up to the ceiling I
huff, “UGH! Jesse! The doctor said only a few days of bed rest.
Can’t I at least move down to the couch for a change of scenery? I
am about to climb the walls in here.”
He laughs at me. Laughs at me? Nice. Shaking
his head as he pats my leg gently. “Ok, after lunch. I’ll carry you
downstairs so you can camp out on the couch for a
while.”
I look at him incredulously. “I can walk you
know.” I cross my arms across my chest. He’s still laughing. “I
know, baby. But let me take care of you, please?”
I roll my eyes but then I look at him and see
the sincerity in his eyes. Damn, I really can’t stand to do
anything that will hurt his feelings.
I reach over and clasp his arm. “Jesse, my
love. I would love it if you’ll carry me downstairs after lunch.” I
say sweetly. Sigh.
Camped downstairs on the couch for the rest of
the week was better than being in that bed. By the end of the week
he actually even let me walk by myself. Baby steps. But, I feel so
loved and cherished by this man that I wouldn’t change it for the
world.
Epilogue
It’s been three months since the Sabrina
incident. Since then Allie has moved out to a condo across town
saying we need our privacy and so did she. Ha, I bet she did. She
and Shane have become a little chummy.
One day I came home from work to find our
living room dark, candles lit all over the room and rose petals of
different colors scattered on the floor creating a path from the
front door into the room. Soft music playing, an assortment of food
laid out on the coffee table with candles and vases with handmade
roses adorning the table.
My hands fly to cover my mouth and I gasp. I
see Jesse enter the room from the kitchen smiling at me, carrying a
red handmade rose. He walks over to me and puts his arms around me.
We hold each other and sway to the music. He kisses my cheek and
whispers in my ear softly, “Welcome home, baby.”
He smells my cheek breathing deeply as he
begins kissing my skin, moving down to my neck. I bend my head a
little to give him better access as he continues trailing kisses
and sucking on my neck. “Hmmmm,” I moan as he pulls back a little
and starts on my other side. I move my head the other direction and
back some, moaning.
“Baby, you don’t know what you do to me,” he
murmurs.
His kisses make their way back up my neck and
find my mouth. Our kissing becomes heated as we continue to slowly
sway to the music. He holds me tighter, squeezing me until I can
barely breathe. We stop kissing and I move my mouth to his ear,
caressing his face with my hands. “Don’t stop, don’t ever stop,” I
whisper.
As he moves his hand to my stomach he begins
rubbing it soothingly. He looks into my eyes. “I love you so much.”
He bends down and kisses my stomach and then looks at it. “I love
you so much.” He continues to bend down on one knee and looks up at
me, taking my hand.
“Cassie Morelli. I love you with my whole
heart. I can’t imagine a day without you in my life. I want to
cherish you, take care of you and our babies’. And yes, spoil you
and them rotten.” He smiles and chuckles.
Then he gets serious again. “But baby, I need
you. I need you to be with me and officially become my family. I
want to become your family. Forever. With all my heart, with every
inch of my soul, with every breath I take, I promise to love you
forever.”
Tears are flowing down my face now and I can
barely see him. I reach up with my free hand wiping them from my
face.
“Cassie, will you marry me? Become my wife and
together we will live happily ever after, forever.”
Releasing my hand, he pulls a ring box from
his pocket, opens the lid and holds it up to me. It is a beautiful
heart shaped diamond setting with smaller pink diamonds that
surround it. Smaller diamonds follow the band on either side. It’s
stunning!
“Take my heart, for you have already taken my
mind and soul.”
I can’t stop the tears as I nod shakily and
whisper, “Yes.” I clear my throat and speaking louder,
“Yes!”
He jumps up, grabs me and picks me up,
swinging me around as he peppers my mouth with kisses.
Once he sets me down, he takes the ring from
its box and places it on my finger. He brings my hand up to his
mouth and kisses the ring. With love in his moist eyes he looks
into mine. “You’ve made me the happiest and luckiest man on
earth.”
I reach up with my other hand, lovingly
brushing the hair out of his eyes. “My love. You keep saving me
from all the torments that have been in my life. You’ve given me
the happiness I have always wished for, longed for. You will always
be my Savior. Forever.”
~*~*~*~
We decided on a September wedding. The weather
not being too hot or cold. Being six months pregnant and with twins
my stomach is huge already. Of course, I have been eating
everything in sight. So I have already had to get maternity
clothes. Allie and I found a gorgeous dress at the bridal shop that
fits where I need it to, showing my ample cleavage, but flowing in
the front to hide my growing stomach as much as it can.
We haven’t heard from Thomas since the night
they had their bad fights on the phone, but we sent him an
invitation anyway. He is going to be a Grandpa after all. No one
has heard if he will be attending the wedding though.
Stella is actually going to close the Café
that day so they can all attend. But after we’ve wed, the reception
will be held there. Allie is going over early that morning and help
decorate.
~*~*~*~
Our wedding was held in our backyard. Buck,
Shane and Tuck had brought over all the chairs, tables, tent and
wedding arch that we rented and they helped set everything
up.
The design company decorated everything
outside with lights in the trees, candles and the tables were
outfitted in the finest tableware. All complimentary.
As I walked down the aisle made up of a
beautiful gold runner, I look into my soon to be husband’s smiling
face at the end. I am trying to hold my tears at bay until it’s
over but not sure I can. When I get to the end, Jesse takes my hand
and holds it through the entire ceremony. As he says his
endearments he lays his other hand on my protruding belly, moving
his thumb over it soothingly.
“Cassie, my love. Fate led me to you, to save
you, to keep you. I will always be there for you, protecting you.
My heart overflows with love for you. Will you be mine,
forever?”