The Heart Knows What the Heart Wants (20 page)

Shane was asleep with his head on Star's bed when she regained consciousness early Tuesday morning. He would have crawled beneath the covers with her, just to feel her body heat against his, if he thought he could've gotten away with it. She was only able to see through one eye, and that was iffy, at best.

His hand was still loosely folded around hers, and she gave him a faint squeeze to let him know she knew he was there. He sat up and blinked at her. Even with all the cuts and bruises, she was still the most amazingly beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He smiled at her.

She wrinkled her nose and pointed at the tube in her mouth. Shane nodded, stood, and kissed her tenderly on her forehead. "I'll let the nurse know you're awake," he said quietly.

He stepped outside the room and the uniformed officer, who had been sitting, stood when he came out.

"She's awake," Shane said. "Are you going to question her?"

"No, sir, I'll call it in, and they'll send over one of the detectives for that."

Shane walked down to the nurse's station and found Star's attending nurse. "She's conscious," he said.

She gave him a thin smile and said, "Why don't you go down and get yourself something from the cafeteria. Give us some time to get her situated."

Shane begrudgingly agreed to go grab a cup of coffee while they further assessed her injuries. He shuffled down the empty hallway toward the bank of elevators.

After several cups of coffee, Shane went back up to sit with Star. She looked at him through swollen eyes and wiggled her fingers in a half-hearted wave.

"Did you talk to the detective yet?" he asked, sitting beside her.

She nodded slowly. "Yes," she said. Her jaw had been broken and was wired shut, so it was difficult for her to talk.

"I hope they're on their way to arrest the bastard right now," Shane said.

"Me too," Star agreed.

***

On the other side of town, Derek was in the middle of his afternoon coffee break at work when they came for him. He didn't resist arrest. He didn't even seem too concerned that he was being cuffed and taken away. He stood while they read him his rights and patiently cooperated as they led him away. He was held in the Crittenden County Jail.

Wednesday morning, Derek
was released on
bond after
agreeing not to leave Crittenden County. He was ordered to stay away from
Star.

Thursday morning,
Derek closed the front door behind him on his way to work. An overnight winter storm had passed through the area, leaving the city buried under several inches of wet, heavy snow.

Everything was eerily calm as he shoveled a path from the house to the street where his truck was parked. If there was anything out of the ordinary, he didn't notice, probably because of the massive quantity of alcohol he'd consumed the night before. The pain in his head felt like two ice picks were being driven into his eye sockets.

Derek unlocked the pickup and leaned inside. He stuck the key in the ignition and cranked the engine to let it warm up while he finished shoveling the sidewalks. After he brushed the snow from the top of the vehicle and shoveled a path around it, he threw the snow shovel into the bed of the truck.

He opened the driver's door and slid behind the steering wheel. He turned the heater up on high and flipped on the wipers to clear windshield. He glanced in the rearview mirror and pulled onto the street.

As he moved away from the curb, so did another car. One block up the street, Sandy Crow made a right turn at the stop sign, switched on his headlights, and sped up. He'd planned to go over two blocks and then cut back, and make it to the four-way stop before Derek did.

Driving was tricky since the snow was deep, and the plows hadn't yet been out to clear the side streets. As luck would have it, Sandy did get to the intersection first. The twin beams of Derek's headlights pierced the pre-dawn darkness as Sandy pulled his tank-sized Buick into the middle of the crossroads and put the car in park. Turning on the hazard flashers, he got out of his car and waited.

Derek eased to a stop and frowned at the vehicle blocking the way. "What the fuck is this idiot doing just stopping in the middle of the intersection?" he muttered to himself. He put the truck in park and got out to see what the problem was. Sandy stuck his gloved hand into his coat pocket, and waited for Derek to get closer.

As soon as Derek realized who it was, he narrowed his eyes and growled, "
You
? What the hell are you doing here?"

Sandy sneered and drew his gun. He fired two bullets point-blank: one in the middle of Derek's forehead, the other into his chest.

As Derek fell dead to the snow covered street, Sandy said, "One bullet for Estelle. One bullet for Roxy."

Sandy climbed back into his old beat-up Chevy and dialed nine-one-one on his cell phone. "You better come to the intersection of Grand and State Street," Sandy told the dispatcher. "There's been a shooting."

Samuel "Sandy" Crow turned himself in for the murder of Derek Baldwin, just a few hours before Star was discharged from the hospital.

It was over. Derek would never lay a hand on another woman again.

"Girl, you look a little green. Are you going to be sick?" Ami asked, pressing her hand against Star's forehead. "If you're going to throw up, you get to that bathroom right now. I don't think you want to walk down the aisle wearing a puke-covered wedding gown."

Star slapped her hand over her mouth and made it as far as the trashcan in the church dressing room before heaving. Ami scrambled to her side, making sure her dress didn't get splattered.

"I'm pretty sure I'm dying," Star groaned, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Nerves can do that to a person." Ami gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "Do you think you'll be okay now?"

"It's not nerves. Ami," Star groaned and buried her face in her hands, "this is much worse than a case of wedding day jitters nerves."

Ami's eyes went from narrow confusion to round with realization. "Oh, my God.
You're pregnant
?"

Star rinsed her mouth out with some mouthwash and dabbed her lips carefully with a paper towel. "Yes."

"That's wonderful! Oh, my God, how long have you known?" Ami grinned.

"For sure? Just a few days," Star said, tears welling up in her eyes. "What am I going to do?"

"What do you mean, what are you going to do?" Ami frowned and handed Star a tissue.

Star stared at Ami like she was missing the whole point. "Ami, you told me yourself. Shane doesn't like kids. I didn't think...well, when I miscarried...the doctors had said I'd probably never be able to have children."

There was a knock on the door and Neona stuck her head into the room and told them. "Come on, Ami, they're ready."

Ami kissed Star on the cheek and leaned close to whisper, "Stop worrying. Shane just hates other people's kids. He'll make an amazing daddy. You'll see."

Star chewed on her lower lip and tried to quell the nausea threatening to overtake her again. "I hope you're right."

The wedding was beautiful. Star hoped she looked better than she felt, and Shane declared himself the luckiest, happiest man on Earth.

After the ceremony, during the traditional bride and groom's first dance, Star whispered in Shane's ear, "I love you, and I need to tell you something."

Shane drew back and tilted his head at his new wife. "What are you talking about Mrs. Harper?"

"Saturn, Pluto, and Mars. There is just no easy way to say this," she muttered nervously.

"Blue?" Shane cupped her face in his hands. "What is it?"

"I'm going to have a baby," she blurted.

Shane's mouth dropped open, and a smile spread across his face. "That's the second best thing I've heard all day!" He pulled her against his chest and hugged her tightly.

"What was the first?" she asked.

"When you uttered those two little words. I, and do."

"Are you sure you're not mad?"

"Crazy woman," he said shaking his head, "why would I be mad?"

Star rested her head against his firm chest and inhaled his comforting, familiar scent. "Because you don't like kids?"

Shane shook his head and laughed heartily. "I don't like
brats
. We won't raise brats. Our kids will be perfect because they are a product of you and me."

***

Before the baby came, Shane and Star bought, and moved into, a small two bedroom house in downtown Red Vale. Shane continued to help coach the high school basketball team while also taking part time Exercise and Sports Science classes in Hannibal.

Star worked for Piper at Everything Under the Sun, doing astrology readings and selling her jewelry creations. She also sold her custom designs online and often had to enlist Shane's help just to keep up with the thriving business.

Star's pregnancy went off with few complications, once she made it through her brief bout of morning sickness. She carried to full term and delivered a healthy baby girl on April tenth. They named her Aries April Harper.

"I love you Star Harper," Shane said. He beamed at his wife, as she held their newborn daughter in her ar
m
s.

"I love you, too, Shane Harper."

These are in no particular order.

I have met so many amazing people in all of the different book communities in which I've become a part of. I would like to thank everyone for all of your tireless help, patience, and support while I learn the ropes.

Ami Johnson - Your guidance and editing skills helped shape this book into what it is today.

Stephanie Biedlingmaier of
[email protected]
-- Your phenomenal skills are second to none!

A.L. Parks - Thank you for your feedback and pep talks and for allowing me to rant unchecked from time to time.

Jean Maurie Puhlman - Your willingness to read my stuff, one chapter at a time.

My co-bloggers at
www.shereadsnewadult.com

My ARC readers

The countless book bloggers and book tour organizers who have crossed my path and touched my life in some way.

Last but not least: to my family. Even though miles separate us, you are never too far away.