Authors: Carol Durand,Summer Prescott
“So,
what time are we leaving to go to Echo’s?” Missy asked Chas over coffee the
next morning.
He’d
been texting like crazy, an activity that was highly unusual for the somewhat
reclusive detective. Missy figured that he must by tying up the loose ends of
the murder case.
“Excuse
me?” was the startled reply. Chas nearly dropped the phone that had been glued
to his hand the entire morning.
“To
Echo’s…you’re going to fix her ice maker and I’m going to hang out with her and
eat ice cream,” she explained patiently, figuring that the conscientious
detective had been so wrapped up in the murder case that he’d forgotten about
Echo’s refrigerator.
“Oh…yeah…right,”
he nodded slowly. “Uh, I’m not sure just yet, let me give work a quick call
before I make that decision,” he said, heading for the back door. Chas often
went outside to make official phone calls in private, so Missy thought nothing
of it, taking both of their mugs over to the coffee pot for a refill.
The
detective was only gone for a few minutes, and came in smiling. Taking his
coffee from Missy’s delicate hand, he kissed her lightly.
“So
when are we leaving?” she asked again, wondering when to take her shower. She’d
already had a nice long walk with Chas and the girls, during which he continued
to text, which she found to be mildly annoying, but she always tried to be
understanding when it came to his work.
As
he opened his mouth to reply, Missy’s phone rang and Cheryl’s sweet young face
popped up on the screen.
“Hang
on,” Missy said, holding up her index finger. “Hey darlin,’ how’s life?” she
asked, delighted to hear from any member of the Radigan family.
“Well,
actually, I’m in a bit of a pickle,” Cheryl sounded worried. “That’s why I
called, I’m hoping that you might be able to help me out.”
“Of
course, honey, what’s up?” Missy’s motherly concern kicked in.
“Ben’s
car broke down and he wants me to go pick him up, so that he can get the car
towed to the mechanic.”
“Oh,
well, I’d be happy to pick him up, just tell me where he is,” Missy was already
reaching for her purse.
“No!”
Cheryl exclaimed, startling her. “I mean…he really needs me to pick him up, so
I need someone to watch Cammie and I was hoping that you might be able to come
over.”
“Well…can’t
you just take that precious angel with you?” Missy suggested, thinking that
Cheryl must be so worried that she wasn’t thinking logically.
“Umm…no,
because…we don’t really know how long it might take, and I’d hate to run into
her nap time or something,” the nervous mother replied.
“Alright
sweetie, I’ll get my keys and come right over.”
“No!”
Cheryl said again. “Because…umm…the mechanic doesn’t open until, like, two
o’clock, so we don’t need you until maybe 1:30.”
Missy
pursed her lips. “Cheryl, honey…am I missing something? This all seems to be
terribly complicated for such a simple thing,” she said, her brow furrowed with
confusion.
Cheryl
hesitated. “Oh, sorry. Well…I…umm…omigosh, Cammie is crying – so hey, I’ve
gotta run, but you can come over at 1:30, right?” she blurted.
“Sure,
honey, I’ll be there, but shouldn’t we…” Missy began.
“Great!”
Cheryl cut her off. “See you then.” Dial tone.
Missy
stared at her phone as if it was an alien creature. Cheryl had acted so
strangely, it wasn’t like her at all to hang up so abruptly. She hoped that
there wasn’t more to the story.
“What
was that all about?” Chas asked casually, taking a sip of coffee.
“Cheryl
needs me to babysit, apparently there’s something wrong with Ben’s car,” Missy
murmured. “So anyway, what time are we going to Echo’s?” she asked again,
looking forward to seeing the handsome detective do some manual labor while
noshing on her favorite ice cream.
“Echo
said that the only time she has available today is at 1:00,” he replied,
getting up to forage in the refrigerator for some breakfast.
“Darn
it!” Missy exclaimed, disappointed.
“What?”
Chas asked, nose in the refrigerator.
“Cheryl
needs me to babysit at 1:30, and there’s no way that I can do both,” she
sighed.
“Well,
if Cheryl needs you, isn’t that more important? You and Echo have ice cream
together a couple of times a week at least,” he reminded her.
“Yeah,
that’s true, but you’re never involved,” Missy pretended to pout.
“The
way you two chatter endlessly when you’re together, it’s probably just as well
– I’d never get a word in edgewise,” Chas teased, coming back to the breakfast
bar with a container of yogurt and a bag of granola.
“I
hate to agree with you on that one, but it’s true,” she grinned, standing and
kissing him on the cheek. “I’m getting in the shower.”
Chas
watched her walk down the hall to shower and dropped his head into his hand,
sighing with relief.
Chas
left the house just before Missy did, and she was puzzled initially that he
headed in the opposite direction that he needed to go to get to Echo’s house,
but eventually figured that he had either gone to buy parts for the ice maker,
or needed to fill the gas tank in his car. Ever thoughtful, the handsome
detective had said that he wanted to take her to a nice late lunch after she
was done babysitting and asked her to wear the pewter dress that he loved so
much because it brought out her kitten-grey eyes.
Missy
had a delightful time with little Cammie, and was surprised when Cheryl called
to tell her that one of Ben’s friends from grad school needed “baby practice”
because she had just found out she was pregnant, so she’d be coming over to take
Missy’s place. Missy was excited that her late lunch with Chas could now be
earlier than they expected, and texted to tell him the good news, hoping that
he had finished with Echo’s ice maker. As it turned out, he had not only
finished with the ice maker, but had gone ahead to a swanky jazz club on the
outskirts of town to see if they’d let him in without a reservation. They’d
reluctantly agreed, but told him that he’d lose his table if he left the restaurant,
so he apologetically asked Missy if she could just meet him there.
“Just
let the valet park your car, I don’t want you to have to walk very far in this
humidity,” he’d thoughtfully instructed. Missy’s heart beat faster – she’d
wanted to see what the jazz club was like for quite some time, and now she
finally would.
Missy
pulled into the circular drive in front of the club, and when the valet saw her
car, he spoke into a little walkie-talkie that was attached to his red blazer.
The thought crossed her mind that the poor man must be close to heat
exhaustion, wearing a blazer on a day like today. He came to her door and
opened it for her.
“Good
evening, Miss Gladstone,” he greeted her. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“Really?”
Missy asked before she could stop herself, then covered her blunder. “Thank
you,” she recovered, trying to act as though such things happened to her all
the time.
A
concierge met her at the door as the valet drove away in her car. “Come with
me, Miss Gladstone,” the elegant gent offered his arm.
When
he opened the door, Missy heard the strains of her absolute favorite Elvis
song, “
Can’t Help Falling in Love,
” being played live, with a smooth
jazz touch. The lights were low, and candles flickered on every table. She was
astonished when she glanced at the main stage which was strung with hundreds of
firefly lights, and saw Chas, decked out in a fine Italian suit, standing in
front of the musicians’ box, beckoning to her. Spellbound and more than a bit
startled, she allowed the concierge to guide her toward the stage, where her
handsome detective waited. Not realizing or caring that every eye in the room
was on her, she practically floated onto the stage.
Chas
took her hand and gazed into her eyes, a look on his face that she’d never seen
before. It was as if every bit of emotion that he kept carefully hidden, along
with the heart that he guarded so closely, was shining there in his cobalt
eyes, for all the world to see.
Unable
to look away, Missy whispered, “Chas, what’s happening?” as the band softly
played the last few notes of her favorite song.
“I
love you,” he said, taking both of her hands in his, his words filling the
room. She saw that he had a tiny microphone fastened to his lapel.
“I
love you, too,” she replied, her eyes moist.
“When
I first met you, I knew you were special. I wouldn’t admit it to myself at the
time, because the thought scared me, but I knew that you were The One,” he
smiled tenderly, caressing her cheek with his thumb and kissing her lightly.
Missy blushed and grinned up at the most handsome face in the entire world.
“Any time that you’ve ever been in danger, I feel like if I lost you, life
would have no meaning. I could go on, I just wouldn’t want to. I’ve known for
quite a while now that I want you to be by my side, forever.”
The
tears that had welled in Missy’s eyes slipped slowly down her cheeks and he
wiped them away with a fingertip. “Oh Chas, I want that too,” she admitted with
all of her heart.
“And
because of that…I’m going to ask you a question that I never thought I’d ask
anyone.” Chas reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet box
and Missy gasped as she finally realized what was happening. Her beloved got
down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a heart-shaped diamond ring that
had probably cost more than Missy’s car and house combined.
“Melissa
Gladstone, will you make me the happiest man on earth? Will you marry me?” he
asked, his own eyes shining as he placed his ring on her finger.
The
crowd in the restaurant erupted when she said a vehement and heartfelt yes, and
the house lights came up to reveal all of her friends and loved ones. Echo was
there, at a table with Ben and Cheryl and the rest of her staff from both
shops. The mayor was in attendance, as were the remaining members of her book
club, including Sam, and people with whom she’d laughed, cried and done
business. Everyone and anyone who was precious to her was there, and at the
moment, they were all on their feet applauding, many of them with tears on
their cheeks. Now all of the weird behavior from Echo, Cheryl and Chas made
sense, they’d been plotting together to surprise her, and had succeeded
admirably.
When
Missy realized the thoughtfulness and planning that it had taken to make this
happen, she was overwhelmed and felt truly loved – by friends, loved ones, and
the man who’d just become her fiancé. Her tears flowed freely as Chas took her
in his arms and kissed her soundly, a fitting way to begin the rest of their
lives together.
A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my Amazing readers:
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing
it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!
I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay
in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff)
Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,
Carol Durand