Unforgettable (28 page)

Rising to his feet, Patrick pulled a huge basket of white roses from behind his desk and walked around it to set them down on the floor next to Marie’s chair. The heads of the roses swayed well above the armrests of her chair. He kneeled down in front of her, took her hand, and looked up at her with soft, apologetic eyes as he spoke.

“Marie, we were once the best of friends. You were like a mother to me after my own mother passed away. I’ve been a thoughtless bully since Caroline left me and I realize that now. These few roses can’t begin to make up for the way I’ve treated you for so long, but I hope you’ll accept them as a very small token of my deepest apologies and most sincere thanks. I know I can never make up for the past 10 years and, if you never speak to me again, I’ll understand. Just, please give me a chance to show you how deeply sorry I am and allow me to atone for my beastly behavior.”

“Well… I… Mr. Day, I…” Marie stammered.

“Patrick. Please call me Patrick again, like you used to. How it ever got be Mr. Day…how I ever allowed it, I’ll never know, but please…from now on, it’s just Patrick, okay?” he insisted gently.

Marie opened and closed her mouth several times in an attempt to answer, before simply nodding her head in accord.

“And you!” Patrick glared, turning his attention to a profoundly bewildered Liam.

“How the hell will I ever be able to thank you enough for sending me to Indiana, for standing by me all these years, for having the guts to actually threaten to take this company away from me, and for making me see what a jackass I’ve been.”

He dropped his gaze and took a deep breath before looking back up with glistening eyes.

“Ah, Liam. How can I thank you for sending me to the only place in the world where I’d find a lady strong enough to tame The Heartless Lion and give me back my heart? There are no words to express the gratitude I feel for you,” Patrick smiled crookedly.

“What’s tha meanin’ o’ all this, boy? An’ what’s with this silly get-up, I’m wantin’ ta know?” Liam demanded, using his cane to point at the little lion on Patrick’s sweatshirt. “Ya have some serious explainin’ ta do and methinks ya should be startin’ right away!”

For the next hour or so, Patrick explained how he’d come to Breezy’s aid when she was stricken by the heat, and then how he’d met Susan at the hospital. He told them about looking up Tom for business reasons only to learn he was married to Susan. He regaled them with stories about the Halloween party, the Christmas ball and everything he’d learned about Breezy. He told them how much he loved her and how she’d managed to change him so dramatically.

Patrick answered all their questions as Liam paced back and forth listening carefully. At first, he thought the boy was just pretending in order to get his company back. But the more he talked, the more convinced he became that Patrick was, in fact, a changed man.

“Saints be praised! Tha Lord has answered me prayers an’ given me back tha Patrick we all know and love. Hallelujah!” Liam sang, breaking into an Irish jig Patrick hadn’t thought him capable of any longer.

“And he sent
me
an angel when I didn’t even know I was praying for one,” Patrick replied.

“I can’t believe you actually went to
two
costume parties. Oh, I would love to have seen you dressed as an angel and a pre-Civil War gentlemen,” Marie giggled.

“Well, I have plenty of photos to prove it,” Patrick laughed, reaching for his briefcase.

Susan was the world’s biggest shutterbug when it came to “her” parties and she’d taken some candid photos that he and Breezy hadn’t been aware of. He handed the stack of photos to Marie, who passed them on to Liam as she looked at each one.

Patrick watched their faces as she and Liam ooh’d and aah’d over the one of him dancing with Breezy at the Halloween party, and another of them sitting together talking among other party guests. But his favorite was the photo of Breezy singing to him.

“There wasn’t time to get the photos from the Christmas ball printed,” Patrick explained.

“Why, she’s a living doll!” Marie exclaimed.

“Very beautiful indeed,” Liam said, looking at a photo of Breezy that Susan had taken before the party. She had been sitting at the kitchen table, unaware that the sunlight streaming in through the window fell about her head and shoulders like a halo.

“She’s even more beautiful on the inside, Liam. You’re going to love and her she’s dying to meet you both.”

“I think I’m going to have this one blown up to life-size and put it in my office for everyone to see,” Marie teased, tapping her finger on a photo of Patrick standing alone in his angel costume, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, no you don’t! It might leak to the press,” he protested.

“I hope you’ll both be willing to help me do a few things over the next few days,” Patrick said, diverting their attention away from the photos.

“Whate’r ya need, lad. We’re here fer ya.” Liam said.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. I do need a few things for the store, but that shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours, at most. However, if I’m going to get Breezy’s wedding present done in time, I’m going to need a lot of help,” he mentioned casually.

“
What?”
they both shrieked in unison.

For the next few minutes, Patrick couldn’t get a word in edgewise for all the laughter, praising of all the saints, and congratulations.

“Hold it! Hold everything! I haven’t even asked her, yet. However, I have made some plans, and I’ll wait a lifetime for her to accept, but there’s no guarantee she will.”

“But…I thought ya said she loved ya, lad. What else do ya need ta do before ya ask her ta marry ya?” Liam exclaimed in disbelief.

“She does love me, Liam. Believe me, I know that she does. Unfortunately, like me, she’s had a bad experience…much, much worse than mine, actually. So, it may take her a while to get used to the fact that I’m not going to use or hurt her. She’s been on her own since she was a kid and still managed to make a career for herself without any kind of help. She had no college degree, no financial assistance, or any of the advantages that I’ve had.

“It’s been a long, hard struggle for her to get where she is now. And, along the way, she’d learned not to trust anyone who wasn’t already a part of her life. Hell, she’s just now learning to trust me…up to a point. I still have a feeling she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. It’s like she’s waiting for me to say or do something to hurt her, even though she’s hoping I won’t.”

“Patrick, if she’s the one responsible for the change in you, then she’s well worth waiting for. You just let us know what we can do to help, and we’ll see it done,” Marie stated emphatically.

“Thank you, Marie. I’m pleased to hear you say that because I’m counting on you both,” Patrick replied.

“First of all, I’m having a ring custom made for her, but it won’t be ready until after I’ve gone back to Indiana. Marie, could I ask you to stay in touch with the jeweler for me on that?” he asked.

“Of course, Patrick. It would be my pleasure,” she smiled.

“Now, we have until Friday to get everything else organized and in place, so here’s what we’re going to need…”

Patrick went on to explain in detail just exactly what he wanted to do for his Breezy. Then the three of them spent the rest of the day outlining plans, making phone calls, setting appointments and securing the resources he needed. By the time Patrick left for the airport Friday morning, everything had been organized and his plans were well underway. With any luck, they’d be ready just in time, maybe even a week ahead of schedule.

***

Susan and Breezy had finally managed to buy all the Christmas presents for the children at the hospital, and had delivered them earlier today. They’d also been able to make a considerable financial donation to the hospital with the remaining proceeds from the ball. Breezy had a feeling that was largely due to Patrick’s contribution to the fund raiser.

He was coming home today and she was now on her way back from the grocery store with enough food to see them through the holidays. It was hard to believe he’d only been gone for three days. It seemed more like three months to her. He’d taken up so much room in her heart so quickly she felt empty and anxious without him.

Breezy had never been afraid of being alone before, but ever since Patrick left for New York, strange things had been happening. The phone often rang persistently but, when she picked up the receiver, no one spoke, although someone was definitely on the other end listening. Sometimes, she would hear shuffling and faint breathing. Even when she let the answering machine pick up the call, there were no messages, just a long stretch of heavy silence. It was very creepy listening to these empty messages. It felt as if someone was in her home…watching…waiting.

Now, for the third time in as many days, a small blue car seemed to be following her. It always turned off about three blocks from her street or sped past her so dangerously fast she could never get a look at the driver, or make a note of the license plate number. No matter how many times she told herself she was just being silly or paranoid, the fear kept growing in her chest. By now, she was convinced the driver was trying to make her panic or do something to endanger her own life.

This time, the blue car sped by so fast, cutting in front of her so close, she had to swerve to the side of the road to keep from being side-swiped. She couldn’t wait to get home now. Even though the car was no longer following her, she still had an eerie feeling that, at any moment, someone was going to reach out and grab her.

“Stop it, Breezy! You’re making yourself a nervous wreck!” she scolded herself out loud.

When she finally pulled into the driveway, she forced herself to take a couple of bags of groceries from the back seat and walk calmly to her front door instead of running inside and locking it behind her, which was what she really wanted to do. Once inside, she quickly shut and locked the door, falling against it with a sigh of relief. She’d get the rest of the groceries from the car later but, for now, she was safe.

Breezy put the bags down to hang her coat up before picking them back up and heading for the kitchen. Halfway across the living room, someone grabbed her from behind.

Without thinking, she instantly dropped the bags, elbowed her attacker in the stomach, grabbed his arm from around her shoulders and flung him over her shoulder onto the floor. Still holding his arm by the wrist, Breezy twisted it around so it was immobilized and put her foot firmly against his throat. She was prepared to crush the man’s throat, if necessary, and was in a perfect position to break his arm with a well-placed kick to the elbow.

The whole thing took only a matter of seconds and the man never had a chance to fight back. Finally getting a good look at her attacker, Breezy very nearly fainted.

“Patrick! Oh, my God! I’m so sorry!” she cried, releasing her grip on his arm and quickly dropping to her knees to help him sit up.

A very stunned Patrick sat coughing and gasping for the air she’d knocked from his lungs while Breezy patted his back firmly, rubbing circles just beneath his shoulder blades.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Oh, God! I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!”

“I’m fine,” he croaked, once he was finally able to breathe again. “What’s the big idea of slam-dunking me like one of Michael Jordan’s basketballs? And where in the hell did you learn to do that?” Patrick sputtered.

“I’m sorry, Patrick. You scared me half to death. What do you mean by grabbing me from behind? What did you expect me to do?” she asked, helping him to the sofa.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to get mangled, that’s for sure. It looks like you’ve developed a mean streak, angel,” he teased.

He found it hard to believe that a woman as tiny and delicate as Breezy could have knocked him senseless so effortlessly. He was 6 foot one and weighed 250 pounds, for God’s sake! She was only 5 foot seven and possibly 105 pounds, if that! Patrick remembered when, a few months ago, a punk kid had tried to mug him and he had smashed his face in with extreme violence. Now, little Breezy Spring had just taken him down like a ninja! It was actually kinda funny.

“No, Patrick, not mean…protective. After Frank tried to rape me that night, I took a self-defense course and learned to protect myself by any means necessary. I swore I’d never let him hurt me again. I knew that, if he ever returned, the only way he’d take no for an answer was if I’d learned to protect and defend myself, both mentally and physically.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Frank is back? That he’s been here?” he growled, grasping her by the shoulders.

Anger and fear for Breezy suddenly slammed into his heart. He knew she wouldn’t go around throwing people to the ground, even if they did startle her, unless she had good reason to be frightened.

“No, not at all. But weird things have certainly been happening while you’ve been gone,” she replied, going on to tell him all about the phone calls, and the blue car that had been following her.

“It followed me again today, but I can never see the driver clearly enough to tell what they look like. That’s why you scared the living daylights out of me, and why I reacted the way I did,” she said contritely.

“But, do you think it might be Frank?” he wondered.

“I don’t know. Why would he come after me now, after all these years? It could all be my imagination, for all I know, but I don’t think so. Frank’s the only person I know who hates me enough to want to scare me like that, let alone hurt me.”

“Have you gone to the police about all of this?” Patrick asked.

“Sort of. You remember Paul, the DJ, don’t you? Well, his brother, Carl, is a police officer and a good friend of mine. I talked to Carl and he said there’s nothing they can do until something actually happens or if I can identify the driver of the car.

“He also told me that there’s already an arrest warrant out for Frank on other charges. But, he wouldn’t tell me what the other charges were…I think he was afraid it would scare me. Anyway, if I can verify that it’s him, they can use those other charges as an excuse to pick him up. Carl drives by the house several times a day now, just to check. But that’s all he can do. I know that, if there was anything he could do legally, he would. He hates Frank almost as much as I do,” Breezy explained.