Wicked Liar by Faith Summers
Chapter Forty-Eight
Dominic
Six months later…
Bright sunlight beams down on the lush green grass. I look around and take it all in, committing it to my memory.
Stormy Creek is exactly the way I remember it.
The four of us planned to come here today for a walk down memory lane. I have something else planned, but the point of today was to reflect.
It’s the anniversary of my father’s death. Normally we wouldn’t do anything on this day, having decided to honor him on his birthday instead. Today felt like one of those days where we should.
I’m glad we did now because I can feel him.
Me, Candace, Tristan, and Massimo stand together gazing across the meadow.
Once upon a time, we would have been the kids running around in this very spot. The boys who lived in the house at the bottom of the hill, and the little girl that played with them.
Stormy Creek was a place that held all sorts of memories for each of us. Good, and mostly bad, but the good memories we have are the magical ones that defined us.
Life has passed since, and we’re all grown up now. We’ve had our hearts broken and repaired and broken some more, and repaired. Despite that, we’re still those people we used to be with hopes and dreams.
I’m glad I made it to see today because I know I almost joined my parents on the other side.
I’ve only just fully recovered after months of physio and that extensive stay in the hospital. I got shot in nearly the exact place as Candace, but my bullet was closer to my heart by one millimeter.
Massimo breaks the silence by pulling that letter from his jacket pocket. It's the anonymous letter that took us on a wild journey none of us will ever forget.
“I thought we’d get to find out who send this,” he says.
“Maybe we were never supposed to know,” I answer. “Maybe the person wanted out and didn’t want to get involved.”
We’ll never know.
“Do you think it’s all truly over?” Tristan asks looking at each of us.
“It feels over,” Massimo replies.
Over the last six months, we’ve made sure we looked for any remnants of danger. So far we haven’t found anything.
I’m still looking through Alfonse’s’ files with Aiden but nothing has stood out to us.
“I feel it’s over too,” I agree. “I think it’s safe to say we can continue with our lives the way we should have. Get our dreams.”
Massimo smiles. “I guess that must be our cue to leave then.”
He looks to me and then at Candace who returns his smile, oblivious to what he means.
“Come on Tristan, let’s go walk by the river,” he adds.
“Just Tristan?” Candace asks.
“Just Tristan,” I answer for him, taking her hand and pulling her closer.
My brothers both smile and leave us. Candace looks back to me with a curious expression on her pretty face.
“What is going on, Mister?” she laughs.
I tug her hand and walk a few paces over to the spot I used to sit when we all lived here.
“This is the place,” I declare.
“Where you used to sit?”
“It is. And, you’d be at your window watching. Candace Ricci, we’ve known each other since the dawn of time. You were always mine and I think it's time to make it official."
It's only when I pull out a little velvet box from my back pocket and drop to one knee before her that she realizes what I'm doing.
Her hands fly up to her cheeks and she looks at me with so much love in her eyes I feel I have everything I ever wanted.
"Oh my God Dominic," she breathes.
I smile and snap open the box to reveal the beautiful oval cut diamond ring I got for her. I take her hand and kiss her knuckles first.
"I love you. I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you. So you know that's a really long time. Angel, please marry me and be mine. Be my forever. Be my light in the darkness. Be my wife."
She nods with tear-filled eyes. "Yes, I love you too. Yes I will marry you."
I slip the ring on her finger and as I do, I make another promise to her father.
This time I promise to take care of his daughter for the rest of my life and beyond that.
I stand, and she throws her arms around me.
Finally, she feels like mine.
