Rescue Me Please (52 page)

Peyton
just sat there. 
Every once in a while
something triggered in his brain and
the sights, sounds and scents of the dungeon burst to the forefront of his senses and bile rose uncontrollably in his throat.  Panic would set in and the loss of control and an unexplainable fear would surface at the most unpropitious times. 
How could he explain t
hese reactions to his brother?

The man who
was the rock of their family.

The man who now had a family of his own to care for? 

Even now, Parker
wasn’t supposed to know what he was doing.  He leaned forward and lifted his tumbler
full of some of
Hawksley’s
whiskey.  He gripped the thick cut-glass tightly in his hand so that Parker couldn’t see it shake, but he couldn’t hide the whitening of his knuckles.
  It was od
d
how disembodied he felt and how he was existing without even truly living.  He felt as if he was
surviving
in someone else’s body. 

“Bloody hell, Peyton.”
Parker squeezed the bridge of his nose, attempting to ease his frustration.

Peyton saw the frustration in his brother’s eyes
and inwardly cringed.
 
He knew it didn’t make any sense. 
He clos
ed his eyes and breathed out
,
his shoulders sagging under the burden of his emotions
. 

Both men turned when the study door opened and Rockwell and
Hawksley
stepp
e
d into the room, bo
t
h
hesitat
ing
when th
ey saw the looks on the brother
s
’
faces. 

Hawksley
spoke first.  “It’s time.”

Parker pushed up from the chair and stared down at his brother.  “I won’t push you further today.” 

Relief flared in Peyton’s eyes at the comment.  “It’s a day of cele
bration, B
rother.”
  It was too important of a
day for Parker
, to reveal the darkness that lurked in his soul
. 

“This isn’t over.”  Parker held out his hand and helped his brother to stand. 
“You don’t have to carry this burden alone.”

Peyton
raised his gaze to fully meet Parker’s
for the first time that morning and
lifted his hand to
squeeze
his
shoulder
fighting back the tears that burned at the back of his eyes
.  “I know.”

Day is done, gone the sun

From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky

All is well, safely rest;

God is nigh.

P
arker stood
at
the front of the little rock church situated
deep
in the trees at
Allingham
P
ark
.
  A small fire was lit to heat the
cavernous
room
and ward off some of the chill in the air.  On
ce again they waited for the arrival of the ladies
just as they had when Poppy married
at the ruins at
Rosebriar
and
when Piper married
in the library of Rockwell’s townhouse in London
.

Parker
patted the front of his coat where he had tucked the
special license
, reassuring himself that it was still securely housed in his top pocket. 
He was n
ever
more grateful than now that
he
had been prepared for just such an occasion.  It had been
l
ocked in his desk drawer since the incident with Poppy almos
t two years before
.
 
He had
packed it in his trunk when they decided to journey to
Allingham
Park
for the holiday
thinking that
a
Christmas wedding sounded nice
.  To make it even more special,
the who
le
family would be there to witness
as he and Persephone exchanged their vows.

Parker
’
s breath caught as he glanced to his right and stared as Persephone walked towards him on the arm of his brother
, looking directly
at
him.  Her steps slow, but sure
.  H
e leaned forward, squinting to get a better look. 

Persephone watched as he turned to the minister, the minister shrugged. 

She smiled
,
cradling firmly in the crook of her arm a
tiny bundle of fur with a
cheery blue ribbon tied jauntily around
its neck
.

Parker
stared in wonder, his gut so knotted up that he could
n’t
even swallow.  He’d never seen such a beautiful sight in his entire life, then she smiled and
he knew he had been wrong.  Her smile made
everything right
in the world
.
 

She stopped beside him and he looked into her eyes.  “What is this?”  He couldn’t stop the grin that emerg
ed when he looked into the big
b
rown eyes that stared
up
at him. 

“He is your wedding present.”  She return
ed
his grin with one of her own. 

Reaching over, he ruffle
d
the soft brown fur on the top of the shaggy dogs head.  “What breed is he?”

Persephone shrugged.  “Ours?”
  She buried her face in the puppy’s soft fur, trying to stifle the tears that threatened to fall.

He lifte
d the puppy from her arms and held him out to Peyton
, but not before the puppy bounced and licked him wetly across the chin
. 
“I like that.” 
He swiped at his chin with his gloved hand.

He
barely hear
d the words spoken by the minister, but based on the reaction by their friends
and family he must have responded
correctly.

He leaned in
gathering
her in his arms and kissed her.  Her lips melted
under his
in the sweetest of touches as
she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
 

She was free.  Finally free.

“I love you, Persephone.”
 

She pu
lled away her eyes sparkling with relief,
happiness,
and joy engulfing
her. 
“You have imprisoned me in your heart.”
 

Parker
cupped her chin.  “Never,
my love,
” he said softly.  “You have freed me.”

Nichole Matthews resides in Tennessee with her husband, their two dogs, two parakeets, two turtles, a rabbit, and a beta fish.  A devoted reader of romance novels since she was a teenager, she is happy to make her passion for reading a career. 

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