Cupid, Texas [1] Love at First Sight (27 page)
“Natalie!”
The voice was coming closer. Was she already gone and hearing dead relatives? Her arms trembled, defeated. This was it. She could just let go and fall into the arms of her mother. Let go and be free.
“Natalie!”
She cocked her head. The voice was almost upon her now, but even though it was familiar, it was not her mother. She was not dead.
It was Zoey!
“Here!” she cried out. “I’m down here.”
Relief gave her the strength to hold on, to pull herself up and over that top boulder. She lay there gasping, thanking God, and trying to wrap her mind around the idea that she’d been saved.
Love at first sight is a rare gift indeed.
—MILLIE GREENWOOD
I
n the emergency room at Cupid General, Natalie refused treatment. There was nothing wrong with her beyond a few scrapes and bruises. She wanted the staff to give all their attention to Dade and Red. She sat with her family and friends packing the waiting room.
Red had been taken into surgery to repair his broken leg and they’d sedated Dade in order to put his dislocated shoulder back into its socket. It had been out of the joint for so long that the muscles had started to stiffen.
Calvin came in while they were waiting, holding his patrol hat in his hands. “They caught Lars and Gizmo trying to cross the border into Mexico at Presidio. Texas Rangers are bringing them back here to face charges.”
“Did they admit what they’d done?”
“We caught them with hundreds of fake IDs on them, so they couldn’t deny it. They even told us the reason they waited until the Fourth of July to cause the cave-in. They didn’t want to hurt any innocent bystanders so they picked a day the caverns would be closed. Plus with the fireworks from the Fourth of July, people wouldn’t notice the explosion. That, and they needed time to get their hands on the dynamite.”
“But they were okay with leaving Red and Dade in the cave to suffer in the meantime?” Natalie shuddered.
“Just for the record, Lars feels really bad that you were in the cave when they imploded it. They’d just meant to seal in Red and Dade. Since you hadn’t left a vehicle in the parking lot of the caverns because Junie Mae gave you a ride, they had no idea that you’d gone inside.”
“Would it have stopped Lars if he had known?”
Calvin shrugged. “Maybe. He did say he was happy that you were alive.”
“So he was brave enough to kill Red and Dade, but not ruthless enough to kill me?” Natalie snorted. “Why? Because I’m the helpless crippled girl?”
“There’s nothing helpless about you, cuz.” Calvin crossed the room to rest a hand on Natalie’s shoulders. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m hanging in there.”
“Thanks to you and Red and Dade, we’ve busted the biggest counterfeit ID operation in southwest Texas.”
“How badly were the caverns damaged?”
“Miraculously, the Cupid stalagmite is intact, although there’s some argument that Cupid’s arrow slipped a bit in the blast.”
Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens for that.”
“But the bootleg room is history.”
Natalie stabbed her fingers through her hair. “There is one thing that’s been bothering me.”
“What’s that?”
“How did Lars even know the secret room was there? I mean we’re Greenwoods and we didn’t know about it.”
“Apparently Jasper Grass told him.”
“How did Jasper know about the room?”
“Jasper’s great-granddaddy was the biggest bootlegger west of the Pecos and he passed that little tidbit of information on to his kinfolk. A family secret.”
“Was Jasper involved in the counterfeiting?”
“No. We checked him out. He’s clean.”
“That’s good.”
“I do have some bad news for Dade. I was thinking maybe you could break it to him for me.”
Natalie’s stomach clenched. “What’s that?”
“Lars and Gizmo admitted that they put his Harley in the secret room just before they blew it up. It’s gone.”
“Oh no. He is going to be heartbroken. He loves that motorcycle.”
A nurse popped her head into the waiting room. “Natalie, you can go in to see Dade now. He’s a little dopey, but asking to see you.”
Natalie hopped up and followed the nurse.
“He’s in behind there.” She pointed to one of the curtained areas.
Natalie pushed back the curtain to find Dade resting on a gurney and covered by a green sheet. He had an IV in his arm.
“Hi.” He gave her a drunken little smile.
“Hey, big guy.” She walked over to the bed.
“You did it. You got us rescued.”
“But you saved Red. If you hadn’t been so suspicious of Lars, he and Gizmo would have gotten away with it and Red would be dead.”
“How is Red?”
“In surgery. He’s malnourished and dehydrated and he’s got a long road to recovery, but the doctors say he’s going to make it.”
“That’s good.” His words slurred a bit.
She wanted to touch him, to kiss him, but she didn’t know how to begin.
“You know what,” he said cheerily.
“What?”
“That medication is good stuff.”
She smiled. “I’m just happy you’re feeling better, but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”
“What’s that?”
She told him about the motorcycle.
“Hey, it’s just a motorcycle.”
“That represented freedom to you.”
He reached for her hand. “Maybe freedom isn’t so important to me anymore.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Beau Jenkins is trying to selling his Harley. Maybe you could buy his.”
“Maybe we should just take the money and buy a trip to Paris.”
“We?” Her voice went up an octave.
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “As in you and me.”
Natalie gulped, moistened her lip. This was her dream. Paris. And she’d overcome her fear of flying. Why not?
“I was thinking maybe we should make it a very special, once-in-a-lifetime trip,” Dade murmured. “Include a visit to a real Prada store where I buy you your first pair of Prada shoes.”
“What are you saying?” Her heart was a butterfly in her chest.
“I’m thinking boots. For the honeymoon. Black. Thigh-high. Stilettos.”
“What?” She blinked, scarcely able to believe what she was hearing.
“Okay, scratch the boots. That’s my fantasy. You tell me what kind of shoes you want.”
“The boots are fine. But are you sure we should be having this conversation? You’re drugged up. You don’t know what you’re saying.” Her pulse was at a full gallop, and her heart! Oh, her crazy heart was soaring high on the wings of love.
“I’ve been thinking more clearly,” he said. “I should probably wait and do this the right way. Get a ring first. Get down on one knee. But I can’t wait one more minute to ask this question. Natalie McCleary, will you marry me?”
N
atalie’s eyes widened and Dade’s heart stopped as he waited for her answer.
A few hours ago, as they’d carried him from the caves on a stretcher in the wee hours of the morning of July 6, amid the hullabaloo of rescue workers, firefighters, policemen, and medics who had saved him and Red, Dade had been startled to see that the parking lot was slick black from an unseasonal summer rain.
It felt surreal, and he experienced the same dulled, apathetic sensation he’d experienced when he’d been taken prisoner by the Taliban, but as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance, dawn had peeped tentatively through the tunnel of darkness, revealing ghostly wisps of fog skimming above the asphalt.
And then there was Natalie, battered and bruised, rushing up to him. He was fading in and out of consciousness, but he heard her repeat what she’d told him the night they’d made love.
“I’m in love with you, Dade Vega, no matter what. Completely and unconditionally.”
The paramedics carrying the litter paused and let her kiss his cheek. At that very same moment, a double shiny rainbow slowly unveiled itself in the rising light, shifting to reveal shimmering stripes of blue, purple, orange, and yellow, and twin arches straddling the Davis Mountains like a glorious crown.
The truth was there right in front of him, invisible to touch, taste, sound, sight, smell, but as wide and alive as the Chihuahuan Desert.
He loved her, but he had no idea how to express it. How to form those words. He’d never uttered them to anyone. What did love mean except you had so much more to lose?
Salty tears were in his throat. Oh hell no. He wasn’t going to cry. He would not cry. He was a tough Navy SEAL. He hadn’t cried since that night Red had saved him from Tank.
He’d been wrong in believing that never staying in one place was what kept him safe. He wasn’t safe. He was stunted. Arrested development. You couldn’t fully trust a stranger and he
was
that stranger. Flowing in and out of towns and cities alike, no anchor, no home, no place to call his own. He hadn’t saved himself. Instead, he’d cut himself off, left beauty and love for only one reason.
He was terrified.
Afraid of being hurt. Afraid of loss. Afraid of love.
He was a coward.
Dade realized that he had two choices open to him. He could face forward and keep moving, or he could take the biggest gamble of his life, but that meant taking a giant leap of faith. That meant believing in this love that he’d felt for Natalie the second he’d first laid eyes on her.
Trust that it was real and solid. Something that they could build a future on.
The fog evaporated in the sunrise and he could see the village nestled in the valley, quiet and welcoming. The vineyards shone green as emeralds. Orange tile roofs glistening bronze in the dawn. The church steeple rose tall and majestic into the sky. Streetlamps flickering off one by one, letting the morning take over. The town yawned, stretched, awoke.
Home.
This place could be his home. He could be loved. All he had to do was reach out and accept it, but before he could do it, he’d been loaded into the ambulance and whisked away.
He squeezed her hand. “How long are you gonna leave me hanging here, Natty?”
She smiled.
Love.
It was all over her for anyone to read.
She truly loved him.
Just one look one summer dawn was all it had taken, and they’d fallen in love at first sight.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I can see that,” she said. “You’re strapped to a gurney.”
He reached up to cup her face with his palm. “As crazy as this love-at-first-sight thing sounds, I’m a believer. I love you, Natalie McCleary. I don’t want to live another day without you and this nutty town.”
Her eyes shone with joy. She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
“I’m in love with you but I’m so scared I’m going to screw this up. I don’t know how to stay in one place. I don’t know how to be part of a community. Will you teach me? Will you show you me how to trust?”
“Dade,” she whispered. “You just showed yourself.”
“No,” he said. “It’s all you. You lift me up. Cleanse me. Make me a better man, and I want to spend the rest of my days living up to your expectations of me.”
“You will,” she whispered. “You’ve been in my blood since the beginning of time.”
“You never did answer my question. Will you marry me, Natalie McCleary?”
“Dade Vega,” she said. “There never has been and never will be another man for me. Yes. Yes. Of course I will marry you.”
He tugged her down on the gurney beside him, kissed her with every ounce of love he had in him. He’d come to Cupid to find a friend but he’d found much more than that. He’d also discovered his one true love and a whole new life.
“L
et’s have it,” Aunt Carol Ann said the following Monday when Natalie walked into the community center. “Your time is up. You do have an answer, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Natalie said. Grinning, she pulled the letter from her pocket and passed it to her aunt.
Dear Shot Through the Heart,
Love at first sight is indeed a rare gift. Cherish it because you and your beloved have something special that many people will never know. And while love at first sight is thrilling, it can also be a bit disorienting.
If you know it in your heart that this love is strong and true, then you have nothing to fear. His love will not waver and neither will yours. You can go to Oxford and his love will be with you whether he is near or far away. His thoughts will always be on you, and yours on him.
He is in your heart, your mind, your soul, your blood, and you are in his. Together you are stronger, better, richer because of your love. Trust it. Love never diminishes you, but always lifts you up. Let love guide you. Love will find a way. Have no worries because love is always enough.
Yours in love,
Cupid
T
he Marfa Lights are a mysterious phenomenon that has baffled scientists for centuries. Often dubbed “ghost lights,” these mischievous nocturnal illuminations appear unpredictably in the night sky, mostly east of Marfa, Texas, in a region known as Mitchell Flats. This location is also the site of an old army airfield where, during WWII, tens of thousands of pilots were trained. The lights pulse and shine, dance and change colors, and the patterns are different with every sighting. The lights can last from a few minutes to several hours.
Believers in paranormal activities have attributed the lights to everything from otherworldly spirits to space aliens, while cynics say it’s nothing more than atmospheric reflections of car lights or campfires. Still others claim that the lights are a mirage caused by sharp temperature gradients between layers of hot and cold air. While Marfa is in the Chihuahuan Desert plateau, it is also at an elevation of 4,688 feet above sea level, so rapid shifts in temperature are quite common.
But in spite of the Marfa Lights having been heavily investigated by scientists and ghost hunters alike, no consensus on the cause of the phenomenon has been reached. The site is so popular that the State of Texas has created a viewing park for visitors who are hoping to catch a glimpse of the mysterious Marfa Lights.