When Hell Freezes Over (35 page)

Laughing, he said, “That's even better.”

“I look a mess,” she said as she tried to smooth down her braids.

Caressing the scar on her abdomen, he said, “You look beautiful, as always.”

They stared at themselves in the mirror in silence. Keaton continued to caress her abdomen with a smile on his face.

“What are you grinning about?”

He kissed her cheek. “We've been making love most of the night and I still haven't had my fill of you. There's also another chance that I've knocked you up.”

She looked away. “Is that what you want?”

“I wouldn't mind,” he admitted.

She turned to him and asked seriously, “Well, do you or don't you want children? It's a simple question, Keaton. Can't you answer it?”

“Are you getting angry with me?” he asked curiously.

She closed her eyes and said, “I just need to know.”

“Well, regardless of what I want, it's probably too late anyway, since we haven't used any protection at all tonight.”

Meridan gave him a frustrated look and before she could speak he threw up his hands and said, “Meridan, listen to me. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I never planned on falling in love with anyone so I never really gave the subject of having children much thought. That was until I met you. It's you I want to marry. If you want children, we'll have children. If you don't want children, that's fine with me, too. But I will tell you this. I'll never want children with anyone except you.”

Without commenting, she tried to walk away.

He pulled her back into his arms and asked, “What's wrong, Meridan? Why are you always trying to run away from me? Was it something I said?”

She couldn't look at him, but she could feel her eyes filling with tears.

He tilted her chin upward so he could see her warm eyes. He immediately noticed the tears.

“Meridan, please. For the last time, talk to me,” he pleaded.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly said, “Because of what Sam did to me, I can't have children, Keaton, and I want children so bad. I want your babies.”

Meridan had to see his reaction when she finally broke the news to him so she didn't break eye contact. The funny thing was that Keaton didn't even blink when she told him. He just continued to hold her.

Seconds later, he smiled. “Is that the real reason you've been acting so strange?”

“Yes,” she admitted with sadness.

Kissing her, he said, “Well, you've wasted a lot of time and energy over nothing. I love you, Meridan, and it doesn't matter to me. If we can't have children, we can't have children. If you want a family, we can adopt. All I want is for you…no, I want
us
to be happy together. Do you understand where I'm coming from?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts, Meridan. I need to know if you want to be my wife because I'm not planning on taking your ring back to the jewelry store, and I'm tired of carrying it around in my pocket.”

Feeling somewhat relieved, she asked, “You got me a ring?”

“Stay right here.”

Meridan nervously watched Keaton go back into the bedroom. He was so handsome and sexy. Walking around naked didn't seem to bother him at all; even though she was still a little self-conscious.

Keaton returned to the bathroom with a small gray velvet box. “Meridan, I've been carrying this around with me for quite sometime. I've been trying to find the right moment to propose to you. I had planned to do it on my yacht, but you changed my mind.”

“Wait a minute. You mean you own that yacht?”

Grinning, he said, “Sort of. Gerald and I bought it together. I guess I'm busted, huh?”

“Why didn't you want me to know?”

“I planned to tell you, but it seemed like something kept interrupting me. Anyway, I bought this ring for you before I left Philly. When I saw it, I knew it was the one for you.”

Meridan swallowed hard. “Well, can I see it?”

Keaton opened the box and Meridan gasped at the sparkling diamonds shining before her. She was frozen in her spot because she had never seen anything so beautiful and he had chosen it for her. Fighting back her emotions, she watched as he took it out of the box and reached for her hand.

Looking her in the eyes, he asked, “Meridan Gabrielle St. John, will you please marry me?”

He slid the ring onto her left hand and she said, “Perfect! Now…kiss!”

Keaton pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeper, touching her soul.

“Keaton, there's one more thing I need to tell you about my past,” she said after taking a deep breath.

Confused he asked, “Talk to me! What is it, babe?”

She buried her head against his warm neck. “Keaton, remember when I told you Sam sexually assaulted me in college?”

“Yes.”

She looked up into his eyes and said, “Keaton, Sam is short for Samantha. I was sexually assaulted by a woman and she can't seem to understand that I'm not gay. She had everyone on campus believing I was part of their gay lifestyle. Now she's threatening to hurt you if I continue a relationship with you.”

He shook his head. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I was afraid you would look at me differently. That you might think I really was gay; just like everyone did on campus.”

“Meridan, you should've told me all of this weeks ago,” he argued.

She held onto him tightly and sobbed.

“I just want this to be over, Keaton. I want Sam to stop hurting the people I love and leave me alone.”

Keaton kissed her tenderly on the lips. “Meridan, I will make sure that woman never lays another hand on you. Do you understand?”

She nodded in agreement.

Minutes later, Deacon and Nichole arrived and they all met in the living room to talk about the situation and how they were going to handle it. Keaton wanted Meridan to go back to Texas with him so he could protect her.

“Keaton, I'm not going to let Sam follow me right to your house so she can hurt you. It's me she wants and it's only a matter of time before she makes a mistake. It's best I stay here,” Meridan explained.

Keaton disagreed, but saw that she was not going to budge. Nichole explained how scary her ordeal was with Sam, but agreed with Meridan. They were not going to let Sam run them out of town.

Deacon calmed everyone down and told them he had a plan that would allow him to bring Sam in. Keaton reluctantly agreed to hear him out. Once they finished discussing the plan, Keaton announced that he was not going to hang around town for a few days. His hope was to bring this situation to a close for once and for all.

Keaton and Meridan made it a point to spend several days together in seclusion. They enjoyed intimate dinners out on the town and quality time around the city under very watchful eyes.

One afternoon, they even took in one of the local high school basketball games. Keaton was amazed at the number of kids who recognized him and asked for his autograph.

After they left the gymnasium, one child in particular was stopped in the hallway by a stranger.

“Hey, kid!”

The young boy looked up and said, “Yes?”

“May I see that autograph you have there?”

The young man held the piece of paper out to show the stranger.

“Thank you, Lil Man. You can go on back inside and enjoy the game now.” As the young man walked off, Samantha turned and mumbled, “Well, well, well, Meridan. Now I see why you're fighting me so hard. It's too bad you won't be able to enjoy Mr. Keaton ‘The Chief' Lapahie much longer.”

The next day, Keaton and Meridan said their regretful goodbyes. It hurt him deeply to go back to Texas without her, after vowing their love for each other. This trip was the turning point in their relationship. He would continue to worry about her safety until Sam was arrested, but one thing comforted him on his journey: the fact that Meridan was his and Deacon was close to catching Sam. He boarded the plane to Texas, leaving all his trust in Deacon to protect the love of his life.

 

A
week had passed since Keaton had reluctantly returned to Texas alone and Sam was still on the loose. As he gave the evening crew at his restaurant their instructions, he said goodnight to Trenton, then walked out into the warm evening air to his car. Keaton loved his car, but not as much as he loved Meridan. He had recently had his Mercedes detailed and it looked good.

Today, he decided to go by his yacht to make preparations to stay there the night of the fund-raiser. In the morning, he would call Winston and let him know that he would go ahead and sign the deed for their new summer home after all. First, he would go by his house to get a change of clothes. He might just stay on the yacht tonight instead of returning home because he needed some time to reflect on the recent changes in his life.

Daydreaming, he drove toward his house with a slight smile on his face when “Reasons” by Earth, Wind and Fire boomed through the speakers. That was the song he had danced with Meridan on at her father's birthday celebration. He recalled how heavenly it felt holding her and he missed that feeling.

As he crested a large hill and descended, he noticed something different about his car. Pressing on the brakes, the car seemed to accelerate even more. He tried pumping the pedal, then realized he didn't have any brakes. His stomach turned upside-down as he tried to concentrate on steering the vehicle. Maneuvering the car wasn't easy; especially at this high rate of speed. Cars blasted their horns at him as he crossed the center line to maintain
control. Coming up was a three-way intersection and he prayed he would escape death as he neared it. He finally saw something up ahead that could possibly save his life. All he had to do was get to it without getting broadsided.

Keaton pressed his horn, hopefully to alert drivers that he was coming through. After saying a short prayer he barreled through the intersection. A pickup truck narrowly missed him as his Mercedes plowed into a large row of neatly rolled hay. The force of the crash immediately released the airbags. Keaton sat stunned and dazed from his ordeal. He opened the door and slowly got out of the car, shaken, but okay.

An hour or so later, he watched as the tow truck pulled his car out of the field. Paramedics were called to the scene by witnesses to his crash, but he refused to go to the hospital. Instead he was treated for a small bump on the head, which could've been worse had it not been for the airbags.

Turning toward the tow truck driver, he said, “Bobby, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you could drop me off at my house down the road.”

“No problem, Mr. Lapahie.”

Keaton climbed into the tow truck and pulled out his cell phone. He called the car dealership that would be working on his car. He explained to them what happened and told them if anything showed up suspicious to call him immediately. Keaton hung up the telephone and gazed out the window of the truck. His head was throbbing so under the instructions of the paramedics, he would take some pain medicine and call it a night. He didn't want to worry his parents or Meridan until he knew what was wrong with his car. Until then, he would only tell him the vehicle was being serviced.