Just Deserts Part 11

"Sure, just bring him back," Karin said, batting her false eyelashes again and smiling. Danielle wasn't sure which of the two the woman enjoyed doing the most-flas.h.i.+ng her smile or batting her eyelashes.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to come and rescue me," Tristan said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"And not let you spend time with Hot Mess Karin? Are you kidding?" she asked.

"Hot Mess Karin?" Tristan burst into a laugh.

"I'm glad I'm able to amuse you. But on a serious note, sweetheart, you do something about her or I will. This is a company picnic where most of the employees bring their families, not a hot-pants contest."

Tristan glanced back over his shoulder at Karin. "Her shorts are kind of out there, aren't they."

"Out there, barely there. Yes, you could say that. And if you haven't noticed, a few of the wives are frowning since their husbands can't seem to keep their eyes off Karin. I've got a feeling a lot of them are going to be sleeping in guest rooms tonight."

Tristan sighed deeply. "I'll talk to her first thing on Monday. Oh, and by the way," he said, steering Danielle in the direction of the bleachers, "I've made all the arrangements. You and I are flying to Dallas on Wednesday."

"That soon?"

"Yes. Are you okay with it?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm okay with it."

Danielle had tried not thinking about Catherine Hodges and what situation she might find in Dallas. She had spoken to Alex and Renee, and both had given their support and suggested she handle the situation as she saw fit. The good thing was that the woman hadn't married Marc, at least.

Tristan took her hand in his. "You still want closure, don't you?"

She looked over at him. "Yes, I still want closure."

Closure.

That was the main thing on Danielle's mind when she and Tristan arrived in Dallas the following week. After checking into the hotel, they decided to wait until the following morning to show up at the school. They had called and Catherine Hodges's secretary made an appointment for them to meet with her.

"Do you think meeting her at the school is the wisest thing?" she asked Tristan that night after they were in bed.

"Not really," he said, pulling her into his arms. "But Chris didn't have her home address and phone number. When we arrive at the school tomorrow, let's play it by ear, since she doesn't know the reason we're meeting with her."

"All right."

That night after they had made love and Tristan had fallen asleep, Danielle cuddled beside him in his arms and smiled. She hadn't mentioned anything to Tristan, but her period was a couple of days late. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but the possibility she was pregnant filled her with more joy than she could ever imagine. If her period still hadn't shown up by the time they got to Atlanta, where they were to meet up with Alex and Hunter and Renee and Chris, then she would purchase one of those pregnancy test kits.

She drifted off to sleep hoping and praying that she was carrying Tristan's child.

"Ms. Hodges will see you now," the older woman said, smiling at them. "Please come with me."

Tristan took Danielle's hand in his as they followed the woman, who'd introduced herself as Sylvia Pinckney, Ms. Hodges's secretary. Upon entering the grounds of Land of Lakes School for the Deaf and Blind, they were impressed with what they saw. Students, some who couldn't hear and others who couldn't see, were partic.i.p.ating in supervised sports of all types; other students were sitting in the cla.s.srooms using computers.

"How long has this school been in existence?" Tristan asked the secretary.

"For about three years now. It's a smaller inst.i.tution than most around the country, but it serves its purpose. Ms. Hodges is doing an excellent job of running the place."

Danielle nodded. It was evident the school was well maintained. There were several separate cla.s.sroom buildings on the property, as well as what appeared to be a gymnasium.

"We used to depend on donations," Ms. Pinckney was saying. "But even that sometimes was a struggle. We would have closed our doors for sure last year if it hadn't been for Mr. Foster."

Danielle almost missed her step and was thankful that Tristan had been holding her hand. "Mr. Foster?"

"Yes, Marc Foster. He was a huge supporter of the school before his untimely death."

Tristan and Danielle looked at each other before he said, "So you know that he's dead?"

The woman turned around and a sad smile touched her lips. "Yes. When he didn't show up at a very important function we knew something had to have happened to him, so we had Jules, one of our deaf students search the Internet. There was an announcement that he had pa.s.sed away."

Ms. Pinckney's eyes widened just a little. "Did you know him?"

It was Danielle who responded. "Yes, we knew him."

Catherine Hodges was not at all what Danielle expected. An attractive woman, she couldn't have been more than twenty-six or twenty-seven. A friendly smile lit her face the moment she heard them enter her office.

Danielle glanced around the room and thought the setup was appropriate. Everything was within reach and all the books were in braille. When introductions were made, Ms. Pinckney mentioned that they'd known Marc.

Danielle watched how Catherine's face lit up. "Truly? He was a very special man who touched the lives of many of the students here."

"How so?" Danielle couldn't help but ask.

"In a number of ways. He's the one who got the computers for our cla.s.srooms and had the gymnasium built."

The woman paused. "You said your name was Danielle. Were you once Danielle Foster?"

Danielle's stomach tightened and she glanced quickly at Tristan. "Yes, I was at one time."

The woman's smile brightened. "Then I'm very happy to meet you. I'm sure Marc probably never mentioned me. He was always the secretive type when it came to his personal life."

Danielle forced a smile to her lips. "Yes, he was."

"He did tell me about all of you. He was proud of his sisters."

Danielle blinked. "His sisters?"

"Yes, you, Renee and Alexandra. He thought the world of you. He also thought a lot of his brother, Chris. I'm well aware that Marc and his siblings didn't share a close relations.h.i.+p. He talked about it sometimes and even admitted he had done some things to cause the rift. But now, with him gone, I hope all of you have forgiven whatever it was that kept the four of you from having a relations.h.i.+p with him. Believe me when I say that Marc was a remarkable man who gave me more than I could ever have given him. When it came to giving, he was one of the most unselfish men I know."

Danielle had to shake her head to make sure she was hearing right. All it took was the look on Tristan's face to know that she was. It was hard to believe that they were talking about the same Marc Foster.

"Are you here about the insurance money?" Catherine asked.

"The insurance money?" Danielle and Tristan said simultaneously.

"Yes. Marc had a number of insurance policies willed to the school, the total sum of which is enough to keep this school open and running for decades. When we learned of Marc's death, we had our attorney contact the insurance firm to collect the funds. Marc had given explicit instructions for us to handle things that way if anything were ever to happen to him."

"The two of you were engaged," Tristan said when he saw how speechless Danielle had become.

The woman glanced in his direction. "Yes, for a short while. He fancied himself in love with me and I loved him, too. In fact, I cared for him too much to let him sacrifice his life for me. We got engaged, but after a few weeks I came to my senses and broke off the engagement. That was about six months ago. I returned his ring, but he sold it and used the money to pay off the balance we had owing on the gym and to purchase some additional land the school needed."

When neither Tristan nor Danielle said anything, Catherine's smile brightened. "I've probably bored you to tears and you've yet to tell me why you're here."

There was a brief moment of silence, then it was Danielle who spoke in a soft voice. "Chris was going through Marc's things and found a receipt for the ring and traced it to here. I wanted to come and meet you, to finally get a chance to meet the one woman Marc undoubtedly loved."

Alex dabbed at her eyes. "I think you did the right thing, Danielle, by not telling Catherine Hodges everything there was to know about Marc. It really wouldn't have served any purpose."

"I agree," Renee said, her eyes misty, as well. "I can't believe what Marc did for that school. For once in his life he was thinking about someone other than himself."

Danielle nodded. As soon as she and Tristan had set foot on the Marc III Marc III, she'd gotten Alex and Renee together for a short meeting, while Tristan told the guys what they'd discovered.

Renee reached out and took Danielle's hand. "Did handling things the way you did bring you closure, Danielle? Alex and I worry that you're still not going to move on with your life."

Danielle nodded. "Yes, it brought me closure. I am happy for Catherine Hodges, and I hate to say this, but I'm grateful that she met Marc and he was able to do so much for her and the school. I don't know what kind of relations.h.i.+p they had, but from the way she spoke about him, it was easy to see she cared a lot for him. She even admitted to being the one to break off the engagement because she felt Marc would make too much of a sacrifice to marry her."

After a brief pause it was Alex who asked, "So now that you've found closure, what will you do with your life?"

"Continue to love Tristan." At the looks of surprise on Alex's and Renee's faces, she smiled. "Yes, I've finally realized just how much I love him, and he has admitted to being in love with me. I hate to say it, but the two of you were right. There was more than friends.h.i.+p between me and Tristan, but I just couldn't see it. It took us spending time together, him being there for me when I needed him most, for me to realize just what a special man he is."

She glanced around before leaning in closer to them. "And I haven't told Tristan yet, since I just found out last night, but...I'm pregnant."

Both Alex and Renee let out whoops of joy. "Oh, Danielle, we are so happy for you!" Alex and Renee said simultaneously as they rushed from their seats to hug her.

"When will you tell Tristan?" Alex asked.

A huge smile covered Danielle's face. "Tonight. So don't either of you be surprised if we don't join you guys on deck for breakfast in the morning."

Later that night, after they'd taken a shower together and made love, Danielle was wrapped in the warmth of Tristan's arms. The night was perfect.

"What did Alex and Renee think about the way you handled things with Catherine Hodges?" Tristan asked her.

Danielle looked at him. "They agreed it was for the best. There was no need to tell Catherine our thoughts on the type of man Marc was, or to fill her in on all his bad deeds. The Marc Foster she knew and loved was a totally different man from the one we knew. He was unselfish and giving. I truly believe he loved her."

"So now have you found closure, Danielle?"

She s.h.i.+fted positions in the cabin bed and smiled at him. "Yes, but from all this I found so much more. I found a man who loves me and I love back."

She paused a moment and then said, "From the first, you were there with me, Tris, to hold my hand, wipe my tears and be by side. You let me know that no matter what I had to go through, I was never alone. I appreciate that. You have been so free in your giving, so unselfish in your love."

"I'll give you anything that's in my power to give, Dani," Tristan said softly, reaching out and touching her cheeks and noticing the wetness there. He cupped her face and brushed a kiss across her lips. "Why are you crying, sweetheart?"

She reached out and touched the hand he held to her face. "I'm crying because you, the man I love, my very best friend, will be wearing another t.i.tle in about nine months. You will be the father of our baby."

Tristan went still. He stared deep into her eyes and then a smile touched his lips. "Are you saying that you're pregnant?"

Danielle laughed. "Yes, father-to-be. That's exactly what I'm saying. You made my dream come true, Tris. You gave me the one thing that I wanted in life. I love you."

"And I love you," he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. "And now I'm asking you to give me yet another t.i.tle, one that I will wear just as proudly as the others. Your husband."

He pulled back and gazed into her face. "Will you marry me, Danielle? Will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

Danielle smiled as tears glistened in her eyes. "Yes! I would be honored to be the one you call wife."

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, putting everything she felt and more into that kiss, knowing this was the start of the rest of their lives together.

Epilogue.

Alex and Renee shared tears of happiness as they watched Danielle and Tristan exchange their wedding vows. It was a beautiful September day in Port St. Lucie, and it seemed the entire town was present at the Forest Grove Baptist Church for the occasion.

"I just knew it would end this way for all three of us," Alex said happily. "I just knew it."

Renee glanced over at her. "And how did you know?"

"Because I felt it. Marc's dying was not in vain. I may have lost a husband-or someone I thought was my husband-but I gained a lot more in return. I got you and Danielle for life."

Renee laughed. "Yes, for life."

Their attention was pulled back to the wedding when a cheer went up. The pastor had just p.r.o.nounced Tristan and Danielle husband and wife.

A few minutes later, after Tristan picked up his bride to carry her out of the church, Alex and Renee were joined by their husbands.

"We tried to tell Danielle that Tristan was in love with her," Alex said matter-of-factly. "But she refused to believe us."