The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (38 page)

In other words, he was going to pull out all the stops. Women loved romance and Madison was no different. Looking back over their history, he knew the lock he’d given her at the shelter had somehow become symbolic of their relationship. He understood that, it had become meaningful to him also. In a way, both of them had locked their feelings away.

Afraid to trust.

Afraid to open up.

Afraid to make themselves vulnerable again.

But somehow, fate had brought them together at the one place where Micah let his guard down. That one night out of the year, Micah let his true feelings hover near the surface. He left the door to his heart open just a crack–and, lo and behold, as the fairy tales read–Madison appeared and nothing had been the same since.

He could still remember the look on her face as they’d fastened that old lock on the fence at the bridge in Paris. If she tried to deny that she loved him, he wouldn’t believe it. She’d shown him how she felt in countless ways.

Now it was his turn to show her how he much he loved her.

Driving up to his ranch, he hopped out, knowing he couldn’t waste any time. He didn’t ignore Thunderpunch, he wouldn’t allow that. But he did feed him in record time and hit the showers to make himself presentable. When he emerged to get dressed, his eyes cut to the bed. When he’d been in here earlier, he hadn’t noticed the old lock lying on top of the suitcase.

“Damn,” he breathed.

She’d found it.

He didn’t know what she’d made of it, but he would bet his life it wasn’t good.

No matter, he’d fix this.

Dressing quickly, he took the lock in hand and headed back to Austin. He had some shopping to do.

At Seton Center, Madison was feeling better. No one could feel down around Hannah. She was a hoot and a half. Even the Governor had been by to check on his wife and ‘their patient’ as he called it. Neither one could give her any information on Micah, other than he was taking care of business concerning her accident. She hoped he wouldn’t try to get her old car fixed again. Madison hadn’t seen it, of course, but she doubted if anything on the old rattletrap was salvageable.

What the First Couple had told her of Micah was enlightening. Tale after tale of the Equalizer’s adventures, funny stories, and sad stories from the war – all designed to convince her that Micah Albert Wolfe was a good man.

Well, she had news for them. Madison already knew he was a good man.

She loved him with her whole heart. There was no denying that fact.

She just wasn’t convinced she was the right woman for Micah.

The very people he’d asked to watch after her was fairly good proof she was playing out of her league.

What other patient could boast of the Governor and his wife playing nursemaid for them?

“Really, you two need to go on home. I’m fine,” she told them for the third time.

Kyle checked his phone. “Soon. The Wolfe’s on his way. He just has another stop to make.”

Kyle didn’t let the cat out of the bag. Micah was at a jewelry store making an important purchase. The Wolfe said he’d called eight different jewelers before finding exactly what he wanted.

“We promised him we’d take care of you. Paulo’s already in bed and we’ve got nothing to do, old married couple that we are.” Hannah fluffed her pillow.

“Paulo is a doll. Micah showed me the photos from his birthday party. You must be so proud.”

They made small talk for a few more minutes, until Madison saw the door move. Her heart began to pound.

“Look who’s here.” Kyle rose. “How’d things go?” Kyle asked evasively.

“I took out the trash and cleaned myself up. Thanks for staying with my girl.”

“It was our pleasure.”

“Thank you two for taking care of me. I enjoyed getting to know you.” Madison was sincere, giving Hannah a hug.

Once they’d gone, she felt shy. Micah kept giving her heated glances as the night nurse came in to check her vitals. He was carrying a brightly colored bag. She hoped he hadn’t spent too much at the gift shop.

“You’re back,” she said inanely once they were alone. “It’s late. You should have rested. You must be exhausted.”

“I feel fine. Now that I’m back with you.”

Damn the torpedoes.

Full steam ahead.

Moving to the bed, he invaded her space, framing her face and feasting on her lips. He was relentless, pouring every bit of the love and devotion he felt for her into the embrace.

Madison couldn’t help it, she kissed him back. Sensing her surrender, Micah deepened the kiss, ending it only when they needed to breathe.

“God, I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, but then you knew that.” Madison sighed. “I think we need to talk.”

“Okay. Actions speak louder than words, but I’ll have the rest of my life to prove to you how I feel.” He caressed the soft skin of her neck. “When I get you home, we’ll play show and tell. I’ll show you how much I adore you and you can tell me how good it feels.”

“Micah, please,” she fought her own desire. “You’re not playing fair. I want to discuss what I heard you and Saxon talking about.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Micah assured her. “Saxon was wrong and I was too slow on the uptake to defend you like you deserved. Like I said, if you’d waited just a few more moments, you would’ve heard me challenge the stupid things he accused you of.”

“But I don’t know where those charges came from, all I can tell you is that they didn’t happen.” She felt helpless, afraid something else she didn’t expect would crop up.

“Well, I know where they came from.” Micah sat down on the edge of the bed. “I wanted to prove to Saxon that you were as innocent and wonderful as I knew you to be. I went to the Detective who filed those reports and talked to him. I showed him your photo and after a few minutes, the truth came out.”

“What?” Madison’s worry showed all over her face. “Tell me.”

Micah took her hand. “This may hurt you. The only thing I can promise you is that I won’t give them the chance to ever hurt you again.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your mother was picked up several times off the streets for one thing or the other.” He refused to say the word ‘prostitution’. There was no use rubbing salt in her already wounded heart. “And to protect herself, she used your name.”

Madison gasped. “My mother gave my name to the police?”

Micah had no trouble defining the emotions crashing through Madison. Realizing a mother was willing to jeopardize her own child to save herself was a bitter pill to swallow.

“Your mother has led a hard life.” Micah could think of no kinder thing to say.

“You believed in me?” she asked, finally comprehending that Micah hadn’t rested until he’d uncovered the truth.

“Yes, I absolutely do. We’re going to try and get your mother some help and Rudy has been arrested for attempted murder and will be investigated for the death in Fort Worth, not to mention the other rock-throwing incidents here in Austin. He won’t be around to threaten you anymore.”

Madison’s body went limp with relief. “I guess I was lucky.”

A chill swept over Micah. “When I think how it could’ve turned out, I can’t breathe.” Taking Madison’s hand in his, he turned it over in his, kissing the palm. “I have a question to ask you.”

Madison began to shiver. “You’re making me nervous.”

“Don’t be.” He gave her a big smile. “It’s all good.” Reaching into the bag, he took out a box. “Here, open this.”

The box bore the name of an area jeweler, but it was far too big to be a ring box. Opening it slowly, she saw a mound of tissue paper.

Delving beneath the fragile pink paper, she gasped. “Our lock.” She held it tightly in her hand. “I found this in your suitcase. I was going to ask you about it, but then I heard you and Saxon talking. I thought you’d taken it down before we left Paris because you didn’t…love me. I thought you just let me put up the lovelock because you couldn’t tell me no.”

Micah laughed. “I’ll probably always have a hard time telling you no. But this lock means a lot to both of us. And since it’s broken and we don’t have the key...” He pulled out another one. “I bought you this one to replace it.”

He gently laid a beautiful lock in her hand, it was no ordinary padlock. This one was sterling silver and engraved with their names.
Micah Wolfe loves Madison Fellows
. Below it was a small etching of the Eiffel Tower. “Oh, Micah. It’s beautiful.”

“We’ll put it in a glass box like I kept Colton’s notebook in.”

She smiled, placing it against her heart. “That makes it precious.”

“No. The lock only represents how precious you are to me.”

“Oh, Micah!” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you so much. I’ve loved you for so long.”

“As long as you love me forever.” He kissed the tears from her cheeks. “Dig deeper in the box, there’s something else.” She sniffed and set to digging in the paper, pieces of the confetti like tissue raining every which a way. “Easy there. You aren’t digging to China.” 

His teasing didn’t slow her down. And when she found the ring box, she cried. “Oh, Micah. Is this what I think it is?”

His answer was to go down on one knee.

“Oh, no.” She looked at herself. “I’m in a hospital gown with no makeup. Don’t ask me now!”

Micah shook his head. “Yes, now. I’m not letting one more day go by before I make sure I have my ring on your finger. I want to lock this deal up air tight.”

He took the box from her and opened it.

Madison couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh, how gorgeous!”

A beautiful white gold ring with a setting of diamonds twinkled up at her. The jewels were set so there was a tiny keyhole in the middle and a small key charm hung off to one side.

“If you don’t like it, we’ll get you anything you want.” He stared at her face. She was going to cry again. “I promise.”

“Oh, no. I love it.” She held out her hand. “Put it on me.”

“Madison Alicia Fellows, I give you the key to my heart. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”

He slipped the ring on her finger and then she propelled herself into his arms, coming off the bed.

As soon as he held her close, Micah felt a sense of peace envelop him. This was right.

This was home.

A Long Time Coming…

“Keep me informed, Micah. I want to know everything. My mother’s home, but this won’t be over for either one of us until the men responsible for those women’s death are brought to justice.” Noah sat in Aron’s study sipping on a shot of tequila. The drink seemed appropriate after all the Mexican food they’d been eating.

“We won’t let up, Noah.” Micah assured him. “I can promise you that much. There’s a trap being set to catch them as we speak. Kyle doesn’t give up on those things, you know that.”

“Yes, the Equalizers saved my brother and my mother. I have every reason in the world to trust you. I hear congratulations are in order?”

“They are. Madison is wearing my ring. I’m going to be joining the ranks of the happily married in just a few days.”

Noah smiled broadly, not only because he was happy for his friend, he smiled because his mother had just walked into the room. “I’m thrilled for you. I’ll have Skye call Madison and we’ll set up a day to go out to dinner when you come back from your honeymoon.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. My mother needs to speak to me.”

Micah laughed. “I like the sound of that, McCoy. Tell your mother hello for me.”

“I will.” Noah laid his phone down after ending the call. “You look beautiful tonight, Mother.”

“Thank you.” She sat down in front of him. “Being free of worry has done amazing things for my complexion.”

Noah grinned. “I bet.”

“Any news?”

“Not specifically, but the Equalizers are getting closer. It will just be a matter of time.”

Sofia nodded, accepting her son at his word. “I would like Mateo to go to school.”

“College? Of course.” Noah sat up and folded his hands in front of him. “I’ll make a few calls. We can set him up with a tutor and get him ready for the SAT’s.”

“He’s a smart boy. I want him to make something of himself.”

Noah waved his hand. “He might not bear the name, but he’s a McCoy now. Just like the rest of us.”

Sofia met Noah’s gaze. “I want to tell you about your father.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “What about him?” He’d grown up with Sebastian, it was his mother he was just getting to know.

“Yes,” Sofia gave him a tranquil smile. “It’s time you knew the truth.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that.” Noah didn’t know if he could handle learning something else wasn’t what it seemed.

“I think Mateo told you I made friends with your mother…with the woman who raised you.”

“Yes,” Noah acknowledged that fact. “She was a good woman. The fact she took me in when Dad brought me home says it all. Most women would have thrown us both out.”

“I’m sure she wanted to, in the beginning.” Sofia sought for the right words. “The day I first called her she hung up on me.”   

Noah chuckled. “She could be feisty. You have to understand–there wasn’t a single day of her life that I ever doubted for one moment that she gave birth to me. When I first learned about you and the circumstances of my birth, I didn’t know whether to be grateful to her or angry. Angry that she hid the truth or grateful because she loved me just as much as she did the rest of my brothers.”

“She did love you. She told me so several times.” Sofia could afford to be generous now. “As I loved you.”

“Yes, I know now that you gave me away to save my life and I wish you had come forward years ago. When I became a man, my father should have set me straight. He owed me. He owed you. He owed his wife. The whole situation was his mistake.”

Sofia grew stern. “You are not a mistake. And this was not his fault. It was mine. I was seeking a way out. I didn’t know your father was married. He didn’t wear a ring and I misinterpreted his kindness to me as flirtation. Knowing what I do now, I can see it wasn’t. But my circumstances were so dire…I felt so trapped that I manipulated him. I gave him doubles instead of singles at the bar. When he became too inebriated to drive, I took him home. Your father thought I was your mother. He called me by her name, but only after I’d been in his bed. If I had known of his family, I wouldn’t have seduced him.”

Noah felt conflicted. “This is ancient history. History we can’t change. We just need to make the best of things now.” He didn’t want to feel angry at his mother.

“I had hoped to escape my troubles by making another man fall in love with me. I had no intention of getting pregnant.” She bowed her head. “I know you wonder why I didn’t just walk away. Why didn’t I tell someone? Why did I jeopardize another man’s happiness so selfishly?”

Feelings of remorse consumed Noah. “No, mother. I don’t blame you. A woman who endures abuse is sometimes faced with hard choices. Someday, I’ll tell you Skye’s story.” 

“I would be honored to know.”

Noah took his mother’s hand. “We’ve been through a lot. There’s no room for regrets now.”

“I have none.” Sofia smiled. “How can I regret having a son like you?”

Happily Ever After…

“What are you writing?” Micah pushed her hair aside, taking the opportunity to nibble on her neck.

His bride.

His beautiful bride.

“My name.” She showed him the paper. “You once accused me of doing this, I haven’t forgotten. I just waited until it was true. Look.”

Mrs. Micah Wolfe.

Mrs. Madison Wolfe.

Mr. & Mrs. Micah Wolfe.

Madison Alicia Wolfe.

Micah and Madison Wolfe.

Seeing their names intertwined did something to him. He still couldn’t get over how protective he was of her. He’d found out only last week the real reason Rudy had been trying to kill her. He’d talked Sunny into taking out a life insurance policy on Madison. It hadn’t cost much, because they hadn’t had much. But for nine dollars and eighty-four cents a month, Sunny had purchased one hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of coverage. Enough to give Rudy a reason to end her life.

Micah shook his head, dispelling the unpleasant memory. Instead, he asked Madison a question that had been bothering him since the ceremony. “Do you regret not having a big wedding?”

“Not at all. I just wanted to be your wife.” She playfully bit him on the neck. “I wanted you anyway I could get you.”

Micah shivered. He was helpless when she turned on the sensuality. “You were a beautiful bride.” He took the pen from her fingers. “But I’m ready to start the honeymoon.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She held her arms up, inviting him to pull her close. “I can’t believe you brought me back to Paris.”

“I hope you looked at the city closely as we drove from the airport.”

“Why?” she asked, her fingers busy unzipping his pants.

“Because that’s all you’re going to see of it,” he teased. “I plan on spending the rest of our honeymoon in bed.”

“No sightseeing?” she pouted. “No tours?”

He pushed her playfully back on the bed, crawling toward her with a gleam in his eye. Spreading her legs, he made himself at home in his favorite position.

Kissing the inside of her thigh, he gave her a sly wink. “Maybe a little, if you’re good.” He kissed a tiny pink bow that adorned the front of her panties. “But the only place I intend to spend a lot of time is right here.” 

Madison closed her eyes and gasped as Micah demonstrated one of his many talents. “You are so good at this.”

“Practice makes perfect.” He whispered against the inside of her thigh.

Madison didn’t respond, she couldn’t. Her husband was stealing her breath away.

The last coherent thought she had before the first orgasm of her honeymoon hit…

Who needs Paris when your husband could take you to paradise every night.

Watch for
LONG WAY DOWN
, a Micah Wolfe mystery coming in 2016.