The Wishing Tree (5 page)

"I'm sorry. To have been so close to returning home…"

"I was lucky. One of my buddies came home in a box. Two others lost legs."

She bent to gently kiss him.

"I used to have nightmares about it. But … those stopped recently."

"Thank goodness. Maybe it's because of Christmas that they've ended."

"No. Christmases come and go. Love stays. Last night was the first night since – since it happened – that I didn't have those dreams. My first full night of sleep for six years. See what a miracle worker you are?" He tried to make light of it, but Ria could see how important it was to him.

She ran her thumb lightly over his cheekbone beneath the patch. "I hope … that's the first night of many, my love."

He glanced away, the sweet sincerity in her eyes bringing his emotions to the surface. "I hope so, too," he said quietly.

She lay back down in the circle of his arms, his arousal pressing where her thigh touched him. At her movement, he groaned softly.

"
Pete," she said, "if you want, we can—"

"No," he interrupted. "Let's wait. It's not that I don't
want
to, believe me."

"I
know
that," she teased.

His lips curved. "I want it to be special, Ria. Not here, where
Julio's been—"

She shivered against him. "I know. I agree."

A few seconds passed, and then he asked, "Will you be sorry to leave this place?"

There was no hesitation in her response. "No. I've never truly felt safe here, and … I've always dreamed of having a little home of my own. No upstairs neighbors." She smiled.

Pete gave a sardonic laugh. "Well,
little
is the key word, I guess." He sobered. "Listen Ria – my place
is
small. It's no mansion, by any means. But there's a back yard for Miguel and a place in the front for flower beds, a fireplace in the living room—"

"It sounds lovely,
Pete.
Perfect
." There were tears in her voice. "But are you sure you want to – to share it?"

"I'm sure," he said with conviction. "It's never been a home. But tomorrow, it will be."

The next morning, they were awakened by a despairing wail from Miguel.

"My wishing tree! Mama! Somebody ruined it!"

Pete sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'll go."

"I'm coming," Ria murmured sleepily.

Pete opened the door and walked into the living room to find Miguel crouched beside the tree, eyes wide.

"Look what somebody did!" he exclaimed. "I bet it was
Julio."

Pete
's eyes narrowed. "Maybe. But we're going somewhere today. Someplace safe that Julio doesn't know about."

"What about the
tree
?"

Pete
's chest constricted at the thought of how much the tree meant to the little boy. He reached to pat Miguel's back. "We'll take it with us, son. See – the branches are fine—"

"But the
lights
. They're broken."

"I bet we can find more. We'll get more ornaments. If you want, we can stop by the tree stand and pick out another one—" He broke off as
Miguel turned horrified eyes to him.

"No! This is the special tree.
The wishing tree
. It's the only one."

"Shhh, okay, little one. We'll load it up and take it to our new place and set it up there. How's that?"

Miguel nodded. In the next instant, he was in Pete's arms, his hands around Pete's neck. "Thank you."

Pete
hugged Miguel awkwardly, holding him for a moment before he said, "Okay, big guy. We've gotta get started packing everything up."

"Starting with our tree, right?" He let go of
Pete, his expression hopeful once more.

"Sure. Starting with our tree."

"I'll make something to eat," Ria said from the bedroom doorway. She gave Pete a grateful look as he stood up.

"Mama, look at our tree."

"I know, sweetie. I saw. We'll make it just as pretty as it was before."

Miguel
still looked doubtful.

"
Miguel," Pete said quietly. The boy turned to face him. "Did you know I've been working in my dad's tree lot since I was about your age? We'll make it look good. I've got lots of experience."

Miguel
nodded. It seemed to be the reassurance he needed to hear.

Pete
rose slowly. Miguel took his hand and looked up at him. The trust in the child's eyes was a gift Pete hadn't expected. He squeezed Miguel's fingers gently.

"Come on. Let's pick up some of these things while your mom rustles us up some food."

* * * * *

Moving didn't take long.
Maria had very few possessions. Since the apartment was furnished, there was no large furniture to move. They loaded Pete's truck bed twice, including the precious Christmas tree on the first trip, and were completely finished by early afternoon.

They made one last trip to the apartment to clean it, in hopes the deposit might be refunded.
Maria's lease would be up the first of January, anyway, she said. It had worked out as it should.

The cleaning completed, they walked across the complex grounds to the office to return the keys. The manager was not happy to be losing a tenant, and balked at returning the deposit, until
Pete insisted he come check the apartment immediately. If the deposit money couldn't be returned, perhaps they'd need to file a police report to take care of any damages Julio caused in the break-in.

Reluctantly, the manager wrote a check for three hundred dollars and handed it to Ria with a surly "Thanks."

She couldn't help but let go a sigh of relief as Pete opened the door for her and they left the office, Miguel holding her hand.

Pete
encircled her shoulders with his arm. "It's over. Time for chapter two."

She gave him a smile. "Thank you. He'd never have given the money back if you hadn't been with me. In fact, I'm thinking we better cash this on the way home to be sure the money's
there
."

"Not a bad idea. Then, I think we need to grab a pizza, what do you say,
Miguel?"

"I love pizza!"

"I could cook something—" Ria began.

"Nope. Tonight we're gonna do something relaxing,"
Pete said. He leaned close to whisper to her. "Maybe your last chance for the next couple of days. Christmas Eve tomorrow, then the big day … lots of wrapping—"

"We forgot paper!"

"Last minute shopping, too," Pete went on, "including paper … and tape. I've got scissors around the house somewhere."

"And food – oh,
Pete – what about Christmas dinner?"

He just laughed. "Pizza looks pretty good when you think about what we have to do tomorrow."

"Maybe tonight we can put up our tree again," Miguel ventured tentatively.

"We'll see—" Ria sad.

But Pete couldn't have turned Miguel's wish down. To the boy, nothing was more important than the tree.

* * * * *

They tried three stores before they found one with the right kind of lights for the tree. It had been worth it to see Miguel's bright smile. The first order of business had been to re-decorate the tree, as soon as they got home.

Pete
hadn't had a tree in his house since he'd bought it four years ago. There had been no reason, it seemed. Now, it was the focal point of the entire house. Pete had to agree with Miguel, it was even
more beauti-fuller
here than it had been before. Pete suspected a big part of that was because there would be no more worry about having to protect it from Julio's destruction – a heavy weight for a young boy to carry.

Although they agree to relax this evening,
Pete knew Maria – she wouldn't truly be able to take it easy until the necessities were handled.

They'd grabbed some wrapping paper, tape, and bows when they'd bought the lights and ornaments. A smile touched his lips as he remembered the thrill of pleasure on Ria's face as she'd picked out the rolls of paper, tags, and ribbon. He doubted she could have been any more pleased than she had been at that very moment.

"I can't wait to get started wrapping!" She’d given him a spontaneous hug as she put the paper in their basket.

Pete
heard the door click shut down the hallway followed by Ria's footsteps. She smiled as she came into the living room.

"He's all tucked in and almost asleep already."

"What did he think?" Pete asked. "Did he like the room?"

She sat down beside him on the couch. "He loves it."

"We'll need to get some new furniture eventually," he said thoughtfully. "I never really cared that much since that was a spare room, but—"

She turned and framed his face with her hands. "He doesn't mind. With a little paint on the walls and a place for that new Batman car, it will be perfect for him." She leaned forward, her lips brushing his lightly.

"I … poured us some wine," he said. "We can build a fire if you want."

She shook her head. "Let's go to bed."

The way she said it made his heart race.

"Ria—" He started to tell her they could wait. That he didn't want her to feel pressured – but why was he protesting something he wanted so much? What was he worried about? He wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him.

She stood up and put her hand out to him. "
Tonight's the night
."

Pete
's lips quirked. "
Ain't nobody gonna stop us now…
"

"Rod
Stewart."

Pete
rose, taking her had. "Aren't you a little young to be a Rod Stewart fan?" he teased.

She laughed. "I love all the oldies. I don't even listen to anything after the eighties. My favorites are the sixties and seventies music."

"A woman after my own heart."

They'd reached the bedroom, and Ria turned to face him, stepping into his arms. "Oh, I plan to have that heart of yours,
Pete Cochran … lock, stock, and barrel."

She began to unbutton his shirt, her fingers brushing his skin. He sucked in his breath, letting it out very slowly. She reached up to kiss him gently. "Make love to me,
Pete."

"
Miguel was right about that tree," he said raggedly.

Ria pushed the shirt off his shoulders, her dark eyes gleaming. "I have to agree with him – it
is
full of wishes."

* * * * *

Could there be anything better than waking up beside Pete Cochran?

Ria's lips curved before she opened her eyes. She snuggled closer to him, and his arm tightened around her.

He was awake, too. She wondered what his thoughts were … hoped they mirrored her own. She opened her eyes.

He was looking at her as if she were a treasure. Her heart stopped for a moment. Had anyone ever looked at her that way? She'd never been cherished, as
Pete obviously did. If there had been any doubts about their feelings for one another, they had been dispelled during the magical night they'd spent in each other's arms.

"I love you," Ria whispered.

He kissed her. "I know." His knuckles caressed her cheek. "It's gonna be good for us, Ria. I promise you."

She nodded. "I feel like Cinderella."

He grinned. "It's not gonna be over at midnight, lady."

"Good," she said firmly. "I don't want this dream to ever end."

He sighed, turning onto his back. "It won't, but there's gonna be some ups and downs – starting with today."

"Why?" What could possibly mar this glorious day?

"I got a message from my mom yesterday. She's wanting us to come for dinner tomorrow."

"Good!" Ria teased. "We won't have to worry about cooking Christmas dinner
here
."

Pete
smiled. "Not so fast, woman. I may want some more of those
enchiladas
."

"I could make those to take over. I wouldn't want to go empty-handed."

"Do you want to go … at all? I mean…" His voice was uncertain.

"Of course. Don't you?" She came up on her elbows to look down at him. She was surprised at the hesitance in his voice, but it was in his expression as well.

"We can go, but I'm not sure how long we can stay. Dad and I haven't seen eye-to-eye on things for – most of my life. Their house is like a morgue ever since Josh—"

Ria nodded her understanding, laying her head on his chest. He'd told her about his brother two nights past. It hadn't been easy for him, even though ten years had gone by.

"Maybe it's time for the healing to begin, Pete. For all of you."

He remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I think of how my parents' lives were, after Papa disowned Julio. I think … sometimes he was sorry, but he was too proud to take it back. Julio turned even more to the gang, since he felt his family had abandoned him. I know that was why Mama was so angry at my father. He backed himself and Julio into separate corners that there was no way out of." Her fingers idly strayed across his chest.

"I don't know your father,
Pete, but it could be he feels the same about you. Maybe he's trying to make amends. I know as a mother, I could never stop loving my son, or wanting to see him, no matter what."

He didn't answer for a moment. But in the deep sigh he breathed, Ria heard regret and defiance leave him.

"You're right."

"Now
I'm
worried."

"Why?"

"What will they think of me, Pete? And there's Miguel—"

He kissed the top of her head, his grin curving against her. "You have no worries. My mom's been concerned about me for years. My dad's been worried sick over not having anyone to carry on the family Christmas tree business."

Ria laughed. "Two more wishes fulfilled. I don't think there's anything Miguel would rather do than work with Christmas trees."

"And you?"

She rose up to look at him. "I intend to be the best thing that ever happened to you, Pete. Now and forever."