Zenith Rising (43 page)
“How did you know? To wait for me?”
“I know him.”
He gently touched her arm. “I don’t think
you’ll need me again.”
Erica smiled. “I don’t either. You’re a good
friend.”
“It’s not a chore. I owe Spencer for saving
my life.”
“I meant, to me, Rob. You’re a good friend to
me.”
Rob looked at Erica, unconcealed surprise on
his face. “Thank you for that. I can’t imagine how that happened
after our first introduction.”
“Things change. People change. Look at
Spencer. Look at you. Hell, look at me.”
“I’m sorry about this.” Rob indicated her
injuries.
“Me too. But I’m going to be okay and it
brought Spencer to me in a way nothing else would have.”
Rob kissed her on the cheek and Erica lay
back, succumbing to her exhaustion and falling sound asleep.
****
Spencer stopped in the doorway, seeing
Erica’s face was pale again. Her eyes were closed and her blond
hair was messy around her face. His heart skipped a beat. Erica
almost died tonight, and such a violent death by stabbing. His
actions had a hand in it although he knew he hadn’t caused it. He
didn’t tell Tamira’s dad to hurt Erica, but his negligence didn’t
help her either.
And it was all because he never worried about
how his actions or words affected anyone. Even Rob. Now suddenly,
he cared. A lot. He’d been wrong for a lot of years. Rude, crude,
and dissociating with everyone who tried to get to know him. Until
Erica Heathersby. She, for some reason, bothered to take a longer,
deeper look at him. She reminded him of who he could be, and what
he should be. Suddenly being rude, inconsiderate, and difficult
didn’t seem cool anymore, but stupid, and pointless. And he was
done. Totally done with it.
Erica’s eyelashes fluttered open and her gaze
found his and held it. When she smiled eventually, she said softly,
“Take me home, Spencer.”
“You can’t.”
“I’m the doctor. I know what’s best for me. I
want you to take me home. Then I want you to stay there with me
tonight. Tomorrow. Forever.”
“Erica…”
“Please, Spencer?”
As usual, he was lost when her green eyes
widened and became so vulnerable and innocent. “Okay, Erica, we’ll
go home.”
“We? As in, for good?”
With a smile, he answered, “Yeah. We as in
for good.”
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Spencer glanced up at Erica when she walked
into their condo with her arms full, and her keys hanging from her
teeth. She threw all the stuff down, including the mail. Except for
one envelope, which she held, and brought over to him. Spencer was
watching the evening news. He slid his feet off the coffee table
and sat up straighter.
“Open it,” she said without preamble, her
mouth already grinning eagerly.
He took the envelope and glanced at the
return address. “Did you open it?”
“I couldn’t wait.”
“You couldn’t wait for the five minutes it
takes to get from the mailboxes, up the elevator, and into
here?”
“No, I couldn’t wait,” she repeated. He
smiled. She couldn’t wait. Erica could never wait. She always
opened his mail, listened to his messages, looked through anything
he left sitting around, whether it was the music he wrote, or his
homework. She thought anything that was his was hers. She never did
it out of distrust, but rather, curiosity. She wanted to know
everything she could about him. And damn if he wasn’t getting used
to it. And liking it. He didn’t even consider it a lack of privacy
anymore.
She never did anything after reading all of
his correspondence, she just had to know. He knew it was because
she cared about him so damn much, he sometimes had to pinch himself
and wonder why. He only knew how lucky he felt that she did.
He tossed the envelope onto the coffee table,
sat back, and raised his eyebrows. “Why don’t you just tell me
then?”
“You did it!”
“I did what?”
“You’re in. You can start next fall at the
University of Washington, if you want to. You did it, Spencer! God,
I knew you could. You would. And you did.” She suddenly threw her
arms around him, and climbed onto his lap. He laughed at her
unrepressed joy, her sudden exuberance, and her obvious pride in
him.
“You know everything, huh?”
“About what you can do? Yes, I know
everything. God, I love you,” she said, smiling, and kissing
him.
Nine months ago, he completed his GED at
Erica’s insistence. She kept him focused on it, despite how often
he tried to quit so he could be with her for the first weeks after
the attack. And when he finished studying for it, he completed it.
He then took all the pre-college entrance exams and surprisingly
scored almost off the charts. He felt like he’d grown a few inches
taller, and was suddenly stronger and so much more confident and
proud. He was surprisingly better at the school work then he ever
knew he could be. He was almost man enough to deserve being
introduced as Dr. Erica Heathersby’s boyfriend. Something she did
at every opportunity possible. She also said she would help get him
a job, one that he liked. And damn if she didn’t do it! She
inspired him and made him feel like playing the piano again. She
insisted that he start writing songs again, which was something he
loved. She spent hours just listening to him, encouraging him, and
bragging about him. It was a becoming difficult for Spencer to
remain so stoic, and indifferent when confronted by her unflagging
loyalty and faith in him. He didn’t understand it, but was learning
to get used to it, and even growing to like it. Okay, maybe love
it. Hell, he could count on it, just as he counted on her now.
“Think I should do it?”
“Are you crazy? Of course, you should do it.
Then everyone will see and hear how brilliant you are. How
important your music, and you are.”
He smiled and ran a hand through her soft,
blond hair. She was so happy for him. About him. He couldn’t help
but feel the spark of her excitement and her pride. “All right. I
guess I could.”
He had been living with Erica for nine
months. The night they came home from the hospital, he stayed and
never left. She recuperated slowly, and took a few weeks off work.
He did too.
Nick turned up evidence on Tamira’s father:
child porn and pictures of his own daughter as well as other girls.
Little girls. How Nick obtained the evidence and tied it to Tobison
was never questioned by the police. It only mattered that Nick got
it. The police eventually were able to get a search warrant and
found hundreds of pictures and chat rooms on Tobison’s laptop. They
had the proof that he molested his own daughter, his neighbors’,
and his friends’ kids. He was a monster who walked amongst them. He
never confessed to stabbing Erica, but they all knew. He was
awaiting trial for the rape of several girls, some now grown women,
who finally mustered the courage to come forward. He was off the
streets for good, and out of their lives. It wasn’t the justice
Spencer would have liked for Erica, but it was justice for Tamira
and the other young victims. The ones that Erica cared so much
about.
Spencer quit his job with Erica, and was
working at a restaurant, playing background music. It was low pay,
and crappy hours for a crappy job. But at least, he was playing
music again. All the while, he searched for more. He wanted so much
more, it often made him dizzy. He wanted Erica, but he had to be
worthy of her. He also wanted to like his job, and himself as much
as Erica said he should.
Finally… this news today, gave him a glimmer
of hope that he was getting closer to his goal of being good enough
for Erica by pursuing his professional life. Maybe at last, he was
there.
He pushed her back and looked into her eyes.
“Will you marry me?”
Her mouth fell open, and her eyes went round,
as she struggled to reply. He shocked her, which was something he
hadn’t done in a while.
“You want to marry me?”
“That’s usually why someone asks.”
Her arms were suddenly around him, and she
held him tightly for a long time. Her tears made his shirt wet, but
he smiled and patted her. Finally, she pulled back, and cupped his
face in her hands before kissing him. “Of course, I’ll marry you. I
just didn’t think you ever wanted to.”
“I’ve wanted you since the first time I ever
saw you, Erica.”
“But marriage? It’s permanent. Forever.”
“I’m aware of what I asked you.”
“So you mean it? You want this?”
“I want this. I want you. I love you.”
She smiled. “You don’t say it very often, you
know. I know you do, but you could say it more.”
He wiggled to get her off him, and walked
over to the bookshelf, where he flipped over a vase. He brought out
the box with the ring he had hidden inside there. Her eyes grew
rounder still. “You planned this?”
“Not the exact moment. Or the words. But,
yeah, of course! I intended to ask you. I didn’t just propose
because the thought occurred to me.”
Her arms were around him again.
“Don’t you want to look inside it?” he asked,
laughing, as he shook her off a little.
“I don’t care what’s inside. I just care that
you proposed to me. You want to marry me.”
“Look inside anyway.”
She did. Taking the box, she gasped and hot
tears refilled her eyes. She looked happy and also a little sad.
She gently touched the ring. “How did you…?”
“Get your mother’s ring? I asked your dad. As
crazy and disorganized as he is, it took him about a month to find
it, but he finally did.”
“But... how did you even know about it?”
He shrugged. “I figured there had to be a
ring. And that your dad wasn’t a total idiot; he wouldn’t have
given it to Cora Lynn. I knew you didn’t need a huge diamond. You
just needed your mother’s ring.”
“You do love me,” she said softly, feeling
awed.
“I do, Erica. I love you.”
She threw her arms around him. It was for
good now. For always. He couldn’t imagine spending a single day
without Erica Heathersby; he needed her touching him, hugging him,
and caring about him. He was aware that she was changing him, now,
still, always… and for the better.
###
Thank you for reading!
I would be so grateful if you took a few
moments to leave a review of
Zenith Rising
. Reviews are
always welcome and help expand an author’s audience. Many readers
are surprised how appreciative we authors are for them!
If you enjoyed,
Zenith Rising
, then
read on for chapter one of the last book to this series:
Zenith
Fulfilled
, featuring Rob Williams and Rebecca Randall.
If you would like to keep up on my new
releases please go to my
website
and sign up for my
email distribution list or contact me directly at
mailto:[email protected]
Sincerely,
Leanne Davis
My Other
Titles
:
The Zenith Trilogy—For purchasing options
click
here
.
Zenith Falling (
Zenith
Trilogy,
#1)
The Zenith Trilogy: the fall, rise and
ultimate success of the rock band Zenith.
Along the way, lives are destroyed in
addiction, betrayal and rejection. Redemption and love is both lost
and found, as the destiny of this band rules the lives of those who
most believe in it…
Joelle married Rob Williams, lead singer of
the rock band
Zenith
, before she was old enough to know
better. She has spent years following
Zenith
around, while
they struggle to become rock stars. Only now, alcoholism has
replaced the talent that once was going to make Rob a legend…
leaving Joelle’s life spiraling out of control. The problem is
there isn’t a soul in the world that cares, including her
husband.
Nick Lassiter is a powerful business magnate
in Seattle, Washington and was acquainted with Joelle long ago,
before she became Joelle Williams. Nick’s return to Joelle’s life
gives her a link to a world outside of
Zenith
. A world that
starts to become far more appealing than the crazy, alcohol-soaked
one she lives in. Until the fateful night when her entire life
implodes and Nick is the only person she has to run to. Joelle soon
sees only one thing clearly: Nick Lassiter has become so much more
than just a friend who can save her.
When
Zenith
disbands and Rob tries to
get sober, Joelle begins to discover her own identity outside of
Zenith
, and the person she finds is nothing like the young,
fragile girl who needed rescuing when Nick first met her. Who she
discovers just might be a woman worth loving.