Epilogue

Danica (Six Months Later)

 

I was exhausted, absolutely worn out, but at the same time, I was on top of the world, happier than I’d ever been before. Everything had finally come together in the best possible way, and I still couldn’t believe how my life had turned out. It was like a dream come true—only better.

“Are you okay, Danica?” Rhett asked me, with true love shining in his eyes.

I nodded, as he gripped onto my hands tightly, trying to stop the emotion from spilling down my face. Then I forced myself into a sitting position because I couldn’t lie down in the hospital bed any longer; it felt like I’d been in the same damn position forever.

“Here we are!” A friendly looking nurse burst into the room holding my bundle of joy–the love of my life. My baby boy, Ashley Fronton, had been born only a short time ago at a weight of just over seven pounds, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him again.

As he was placed into my arms, I felt that intense rush of love wash over me once more. There was nothing like it in the world, no sensation quite so strong, and I couldn’t believe that I was finally getting to experience it more fully. My heart filled with more love than I even knew I had inside of me. It was pure, unconditional, and powerful. Even more powerful that the emotions that ran through me for my baby’s father.

“Can I hold him?” Rhett asked, snatching away my chance to be with my son again. I didn’t mind, though; he was already showing himself to be a devoted father, and I couldn’t wait for the rest of our lives together. We brought out the absolute best in one another now that things were solid between us, and I just knew that we were going to be amazing parents. We’d become this solid unit, a team, and I knew that was going to help us when we faced even the toughest of times in the future.

Nothing could ever be as bad as what we went through with Brad. Luckily, with him behind bars, we were slowly starting to forget that he ever even existed.

“He really is beautiful.” My mom scooted closer to Rhett, looking about as happy as I felt. “I can’t believe that he’s finally here!”

She was in a good place now, slowly moving on from Brad. As Auntie Cat had predicted, she was able to organize a divorce earlier than normal because of Brad’s behavior, so that was currently being sorted–leaving her with a small sum to get her life started again. Of course, most of Brad’s money was obtained illegally and was being paid back and swallowed up in legal fees, but she did get some.

Not that she really needed it; she was doing just fine on her own. Her career was going from strength to strength. On top of that, she had been dating someone new. And this time, she was taking things much slower, really getting to know this guy before she fell for him. I was very proud of her for that and glad that she was finding happiness. If anyone deserved it, it was her!

Another unexpected turn of events was her newfound friendship with Marcie–Rhett’s mom. They’d gotten together shortly after everything had happened, and despite their weird connection, they found themselves having a lot in common. They still hung out now, which was great for everyone involved. It meant that Ashley would get to spend a lot of time with both of his grandmothers.

The weird thing was we felt more like a family now than ever before. When we’d actually had a family link, it was odd and never quite felt right. This, right now, it felt perfect.

“Marcie will be here soon,” Mom clarified. “But I’ve already sent her a photograph of the little man so she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out on anything.”

“Thanks, Lyla,” Rhett smiled gratefully at her. “I just haven’t quite gotten around to it yet.”

“No, don’t be silly,” she reprimanded him. “You have enough on your plate now.”

As they bickered playfully, I glanced down at the shiny, princess cut diamond that was sitting on my ring finger, and I couldn’t help but grin brightly to myself. When Rhett had asked me to marry him only a few weeks before, I’d jumped at the opportunity. Of course I wanted to be his wife; did he even need to ask?

His proposal was amazing, though–well planned out, and seriously romantic. As he knelt down in front of me on the roof top of the fanciest restaurant in town, I felt my heart flutter wildly, and my world fell together.

We would get married soon–not that we were in any particular rush–but our main priority for the time being would be Ashley. Keeping him warm, safe, and loved would be easy, but would also take up a huge amount of our time. We wanted to give him everything that Brad had never given Rhett, and even though we didn’t have anything like the sort of money that man had, what we could offer was so much better.

Luckily, to make things a little easier on everyone, Rhett and I had a home of our own now. Of course, that meant I had to move out of my dorm room with Chloe, but that was actually okay. She was still my friend and I hung out with her and the other girls a lot–our social groups had managed to merge, which made everything so much easier for everyone.

Some of the girls would even come and visit me in the hospital soon enough to get a glimpse of Ashley. Much as they were all shocked to learn that I was going to become a mother, they were very happy, too, and incredibly supportive. It didn’t escape my notice how lucky I was–I thought that I’d always be grateful for that.

Rhett and I had managed to renegotiate our courses so that we could both do them part time for a little bit longer, meaning that we could split the childcare evenly, with the help from our moms, too. It was going to be a tiring life, but it would mean that we could still achieve our dreams with only a little financial help from our family around us.

As for Brad, he would be behind bars for a very long time, not bothering anyone. The trial was looming, but we still weren’t sure if we were going to be required to give evidence in court or not. At the moment, Brad was still being pig-headed and pleading not guilty, despite the overwhelming evidence against him, but that could change nearer the time.

We weren’t worried though, none of us. The police had uncovered enough–including violent charges–that by the time he was released, he would be a very old man.

Everything in my life had all come together in the best possible way. If I thought I was happy before, I was completely wrong. As I finally held Ashley in my arms again, and I stared into his eyes, I knew that this was happiness, this was my life complete. He brought me the intense kind of joy that I’d never even expected to have in my entire life.

As I scanned my eyes around the room, looking at Rhett and my mom, knowing that Marcie, James, and his girlfriend–who were slowly becoming firm friends of mine, too–and my gang of girls were on the way, I could not believe how well things had turned out.

This was it, the life I never even knew that I wanted, the life that I now had.

It was perfect.

 

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Bull Riders Baby

By Naomi Niles

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

 

Copyright © 2016 Naomi Niles

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Meli

The plane pulled away from the DFW terminal as I stood watching through the huge, plate-glass windows from the boarding area. There goes my life, I thought. Sighing, I picked up my carry-on and it occurred to me that’s exactly what I was doing … carrying on. In fact, it’s just possible I could fit my entire life in that bag. I could feel the hot tears wanting to pool in my eyes and I quickly tapped my sunglasses down from my bangs to my nose. I didn’t need an audience to my heartbreak.

Languages chattered all about me and excited children skipped and played tag on the carpeted expanse that stretched into the distance, dotted by clusters of traveler seating and boarding gate signs. For some reason I had always loved the patterned carpets of offices and public places; there was something reassuring in their symmetry. It was especially apparent in airports where the energies of joy and sadness ricocheted off one another like feuding blue jays.

The practical shoes I’d chosen for travelling were something less than practical. They pinched my feet and I could feel a blister on my heel. Stylish they might have been, but hardly suited for a long flight from New York City and being ejected into this awful heat and humidity. Even indoors I could feel the difference and this did not add to my cheer in any sense. I was a northern gal, born and bred. I loved winters in the snow and to skate on the frozen ponds. I even liked pushy people who used one volume—loud. It was familiar and how I’d been brought up.

I could tell from the voices around me that they sounded nothing like home. These people were also loud, but their voices boomed and were accompanied by back-slapping and posturing with boots and hats. I tried not to be judgmental; after all, these were going to be my new friends and neighbors.

How had Jeremy let this happen?

 

* * *

Jeremy and I had finished the last two years of college together. We dated casually at first, but then as the end of our final term approached, something like a fire alarm went off between us. We both knew we were at a crossroads. We could either split and wave goodbye, or we could put some glue between us. We opted for the latter and pooled our pitiful furniture and found a grubby apartment we could afford in the city. We both needed to turn those shiny diplomas into paying jobs—and good paying jobs they had to be. He hit pay dirt first and suddenly we could afford to eat. He landed a legal secretary position at a so-so firm, but it was the start of something big.

Or so he promised me.

I, on the other hand, was a journalist; well, more of a photojournalist, and I was in the center of my world. I finally landed a job selling classifieds for a small, yellow journal in a bad part of town, but it was at least in my industry. Promotions and new companies could come later. We ate more regularly and even bought a used bed and threw away the futon that folded flat; well, flat if you didn’t mind rolling into one another at night.

I’m not really sure that Jeremy and I were truly in love with one another. I think we were more like fond roommates who needed one another’s contribution to get a toehold in the uber expensive world that was the city. We made love once in a while, kissed one another goodnight if either wasn’t already asleep, and in general lived like an old, married couple right from the beginning. It was comfortable; it was safe.

Jeremy got a promotion and started coming home later and later in the evening. I tried to ignore this; tried to bury my head in my own work, but there wasn’t much to bury it in. I kept waiting for my place in the line to come to the forefront. I wasn’t even entirely sure I was in the right line—but then my entire life had been like that.

Finally, one night Jeremy didn’t come home at all. I remember lying in the dark and staring at the ceiling. I tried to force myself to worry about him, to play the role of a frantic wife who couldn’t decide whether to call the hospitals or the morgue first. It was no good. I knew at my core that he was in someone else’s bed.

I didn’t see him until that next evening. He was waiting for me, perched on the retro bar stool that served as the company seating in our tiny apartment. I knew as soon as I saw his face.

“You’re moving out.” I saved him the words.

He nodded.

“You sure?” I asked, but knew the answer.

He shrugged but didn’t try to hedge. I felt even more miserable. He was leaving me and wasn’t even sure she was what he wanted. Evidently, he wanted anyone but me.

There wasn’t a whole lot more to say, so that weekend I helped him fold his shirts and underwear and stow them in the big, plastic Macy’s bag that served as his suitcase. He laid a few hundred-dollar bills on the crate nightstand to get me through the end of the month until I could find another place, or so he said.

I remember lying in the bed all by myself that night, wondering how the hell I’d gotten there and what I was going to do. The next morning, I called my sister, Jill, who was living in Dallas.

“Can I come to stay a while?” I asked her with a request for pity in my voice.

“You left Jeremy?” she asked simply.

“Nah … he left me.”

“No shit? Didn’t see that coming. Sure, c’mon. You don’t mind sleeping on the sofa, do you?”

“See you as soon as I can get out,” I answered.

I scooped up the hundred dollar bills, grabbed my clothes, wadding them into a suitcase, and put my important papers, my two favorite books, and my diploma into my carry-on and called a taxi. Within two hours, I was in the air. I had called Jeremy and told him the bed was still there, if he wanted it. I really didn’t care.

My cottage and white picket fence disappeared behind the jet and what lay ahead was a life with my quirky sister, a sofa, and the promise of no income whatsoever. I won’t say I was entirely broken-hearted—at least not about the Jeremy part. He was sort of like a rest stop for me; somewhere to grab a few winks before you continued toward your destination.

As the jet sailed high above the clouds, I tabulated my skillset. I could use a camera like a maniac, wrote some fairly comprehensible copy, and had a curiosity that should have spawned a middle name of “Curious.” I could do the drudgework—babysitting, cleaning motel rooms, slinging hash, or ringing up at a checkout—if I was forced to. It was with some chagrin that I realized that was exactly where I was; I would have to.

Resolved to eat crow for a bit, I napped and awakened as we began our descent and the seat belt advisory dinged through the crowded cabin. It was an eventless trip in an eventless life; and it was mine.

Perhaps I should have booked a seat to Mongolia, I thought as I waited to leave the plane. At least there I would be a little unique.

I snagged my beat-up suitcase from the luggage carousel and made my way through the throng of people toward the light. That’s all I could see over the bobbing heads and used it like a beacon.

The current carried me out the automatic doors and my knees buckled as I hit the heat. I looked around and everyone else seemed comfortable. Perhaps it was the joy of anticipation that insulated them. Me? I had Jill and a couch. Jesus, it’s hot.

I hailed a taxi and gave the driver Jill’s address. I’d never been to see her before; she had always come back to the city to stock up on Boho clothing and the newer Broadway requisites. Her stays were short, generally, three days. I wondered how it would be to share quarters again. We’d never done that well as children. I hoped we had matured by now.

“First time in Dallas?” asked my driver. He was stealing glimpses in his rear view mirror. He had yellowed buckteeth and was wearing a bolo necktie. I tried not to roll my eyes and just nodded.

“I can always tell, you know,” he went on.

I gave up. “Really? How’s that?”

“The heat. Ya northerners always come here with too many clothes on.” He sneaked another look in his rear view to see how I reacted.

It entered my mind to ask him about his qualifications for style and design counseling, but I decided the less conversation with him, the better. Again, I just nodded. Then I had a thought. I leaned forward just a bit; enough to give him the idea that I might have cleavage without actually displaying any: this worked every time. If there was one thing I knew my way around, it was taxi drivers. “You know where I’m headed. That’s my sister’s place. I need a job. I’m a journalist and photographer. Anything close by in that area you could suggest?” I figured if he thought he knew something about clothing and design, he might also think he knew something about my line of work.

“Huh. Nope. The kind of thing ya want is downtown and your sister doesn’t live in the high rent district. Sorry,” he finished.

I must have looked a bit crestfallen, because he tried again.

“I’ll tell ya what I’d do,” he began and I prepared myself for a come on. Men were always suggestive to me, and over my lifetime, I’d gotten used to it. I knew I was attractive, but wasn’t about to fall to that depth to make money. He was saying something and I tried to catch up. “You’re new around here. What I’d do is get out and get some pictures and write a few stories and then try to sell them. Kind of like a portfolio, ‘cept ya write about things people around here like. Not that Yankee stuff.”

Yankee stuff? I knew I would have to get used to that expression. “What sort of thing has a market here?” I asked him. There was no one else to talk to and there was a slight chance he might actually have a valid idea. It wouldn’t cost me a penny to find out.

“Tourist stuff. Ya know, the landmarks, ranches, the skyline, restaurants, guys with boots and Stetsons, horses, steer, oil …”

I could hear him going on and on, but I’d tuned him out so I could think. I nodded, just to be polite. Maybe he’s got a point. After all, if this was New York City, that’s exactly the kind of thing I’d be doing anyway. Broadway openings, the Statue of Liberty, Macy’s windows at Christmas, skating at Central Park, Times Square. “Where can I buy a car? I mean a cheap, really cheap car?” I asked him.

He was looking me over in his rear view again. “Ya any good with that camera?” he asked me.

“The best; why?” I asked and steeled myself for an invite to do a porn film.

“I got a daughter, ya see? She’s gettin’ married next weekend and well, them photographers ain’t cheap, ya know?”

I had no vanity. “What’s it pay?” Haggling: now I was on familiar ground.

“Well, what would you say to having a tour guide and a chauffeur?”

I cocked my head and frowned. “What does that mean?”

He understood my hesitation and rushed on. “Oh, no, no … nothin’ like that. This here …” he slammed his hand down on the taxi dashboard, “it’s about all I got to my name, but it’s paid for and it’s mine. I was thinkin’ that I could sort of take you around to some of those places one day and you could take your pictures and get whatever you need for the writin’. Sort of swap your time for mine.”

He was studying my reaction in the mirror. I leaned forward and asked, “What’s your name?” I knew it, it was right on the license in full display.

“I’m Bob. Well, Robert, as it’s wrote in the family Bible, but nobody calls me that ‘cept the preacher on Sundays.”

“Well, then Bob, Robert on Sundays, you’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll take the pictures and give you a disk, but the prints are on you.”

He grinned broadly as he pulled up to a curb and stopped. “Ya got a deal. Ride’s on me.”

Surprised, I looked out and saw we had stopped before a very seedy apartment building. There wasn’t a blade of grass to be seen and the dirt was littered with broken bicycles, empty wine bottles, and a few piles of something brown upon which I didn’t want to speculate. “This is it?” I asked, feeling depressed suddenly.

“Yep. Want some help with the luggage?” he offered.

“No, I can handle it.” I put my hand on the door handle and hesitated.

“What’s the matter? Not look like the right place?” he asked, a frown of concern on his face.

“I’ve never been here. Don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Well, Bob, it appears we’re to be in a one-day business together. When and where is the wedding?”

He nodded and seemed satisfied. “It’s on Saturday and I’ll stop by at noon to get ya. Don’t worry ‘bout dressin’ up; we’re havin’ it real casual like. Oh, and what’s your name?” he asked, realizing he had no idea.

“I’m Meli; that’s short for Melissa Christian,” I said over my shoulder as I proceeded to get out.

“Well, Meli, nice name. I’ll see ya on Saturday at noon.”

“See you, Bob,” I agreed and stood on the sidewalk with dismay as his cab pulled away.