“I don’t know if I should punch you or kiss you, Erasmus Cress. I know what you did for my dad, and I’m grateful. But I was just fake arrested, and I demand answers,” she belted, choosing the not-so-much route.
“Will you excuse us, Connolly? I have some things I need to say to your daughter.”
“Of course,” her father answered as her brothers came to the man’s side.
“Walk with me, Libby,” Raz said, glancing at a screen with a number that seemed to be ticking up incrementally. “We’ve got a little time.”
“A little time before what?” She looked over her shoulder at her brothers and her father, trying to get a read on this situation, but the men simply smiled at her.
“I haven’t been drugged, have I?”
“No,” Raz answered.
“We’re still in Denver?”
“Yes.”
“Am I still mad at you?” she pressed.
Next, she’d be asking if the sky was blue and the grass was green because nothing was adding up.
“Come on,” Raz said, taking her hand.
She was too discombobulated to pull away, and truth be told, the warmth of his touch sent another round of tingles through her body.
“Did you get here all right?” he asked gently.
“You sent the police to bring me here?”
“There are a lot of people rooting for us.”
“Us?”
“Look around, Libby. What do you see?”
“There are a ridiculous amount of people staring our way.”
“Look beyond that,” he nudged.
She studied the park. Indigo-colored tents dotted the lawn, and each tent sported a sign. Helping Hands Community Center, animal rescue shelters, community gardens, after-school activities, senior fitness programs, food banks, Rickety Rock Donkey Rescue, and a myriad of other community organizations and charities were represented. People lined up at tables, chatting and gathering pamphlets.
“Is it a volunteer drive?” she asked.
“Yes, and we’re also raising money for charity. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Cress Family Foundation.”
“Did you do this?”
“With a lot of help from my family and our friends,” he answered with a wide, easy grin.
Who was this alternate beefcake?
“Briggsy might be on the verge of a mental breakdown, but we got him a plate of bull testicles to calm him down,” he said, staring at her like she made up the entirety of his universe.
She laughed. She couldn’t help it, and she still wasn’t a hundred percent sure she hadn’t fallen over at the petting zoo, bonked her head, and was now lying in a hospital bed, happily hallucinating.
She zeroed in on indigo-colored flags printed with the words Cress Family Foundation, then gestured to the jovial volunteer festival. “Why did you say that this is for me?”
He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I hear you’ve been dodging the news and social media. You might have missed this.”
PRESS RELEASE
Cress Family Foundation Festival and Charity Drive.
Sign up to help your community and donate to local causes.
Heavyweight champion Erasmus Cress will be in attendance.
Find out if he trades in his belt for a ring.
She stared at the page. “Why would you trade a belt for a ring? And why are you here? Shouldn’t you be preparing for the fight? It’s scheduled to start in a few hours.”
“This is the fight that matters, and it’s the fight for your heart, Libby,” he said as an earnest expression overtook his beefcake demeanor.
“The fight for my heart,” she whispered.
He cupped her face in his hands. “I missed you so much, plum, and yesterday at the weigh-in, I finally figured it out.”
She melted into his touch. “What did you figure out?”
“Aug asked me what I was fighting for. I thought I knew the answer to that question, but I didn’t. The answer came to me at the weigh-in when I was staring in Silas Scott’s eyes.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “What answer?”
He released a slow, steady breath. “I’m a fighter, plum. I’ll always be a fighter. But now I know what I’m fighting for.”
She stared into his gray eyes, breathless.
He took her hands and led her onto the stage, situated in the center of the park. Surrounded by a sea of indigo, she looked past the media crowding around the stage, and found her friends. Penny and Charlotte waved as they stood by Rowen and Mitch, who had Phoebe and Oscar on their shoulders while Landon and Harper looked on. Her dad stood with Madelyn, not far from Finola, Bob, Maud, Luanne, and Ida. Augie tossed her a wink as Alec and Anders joined Callista and Calliope, rounding out the group.
She turned her attention back to her beefcake. “What are you fighting for?” she asked as the crowd melted away and all she could see was Raz.
“I’m fighting for you and for Sebastian. I’m fighting to make this world a better place. That’s what Meredith would want. She started the Cress Family Foundation. She wanted to help people live better lives like you want to help people through fitness and yoga.”
“Mibby!” Sebastian called, running onto the stage.
She fell to her knees and embraced the boy. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too. Did you hear the ‘Chicken Dance’ song?” he asked.
“I did,” she said, blinking away tears.
“That was my idea. Dad didn’t get to do it at my donkey birthday party, so we’re doing it here, with everybody in Denver and my new friends on the International Space Station.”
“It’s a catchy tune,” she answered through a teary chuckle.
“Every time we get a thousand donations, the band plays the song, and we dance. We’ve done it five times already. We’re doing this because of my mum and because of you. Because you both like making people happy and because my dad loves you like Beefcake loves Plum.” Sebastian glanced up at his dad. “Have you gotten to the good part?”
“I’m getting there, lad, but you’re stealing a bit of my thunder with your thoughtful words,” he teased.
“Mibby,” Sebastian whispered, waving her in.
“Yes.”
“You’re lucky my dad doesn’t fart like Beefcake.”
“I certainly am,” she answered, not sure if to laugh or to cry.
“Enough of that,” Raz said, taking her hands and helping her to her feet. He turned to his son. “You mind if I keep talking to Libby.”
The boy beamed. “Go on, Dad. That’s why we’re here.”
Raz gazed into her eyes. “I owe you an apology, and I want everyone we love and the entire world to hear it. I thought that winning belts and titles was the way to honor Meredith’s memory. But that’s not what mattered to her. I lost my way. I let pain cloud my mind. When I stood on the stage weighing in for the fight, I realized that I was going at it wrong. I’m a lucky man. Lightning has struck twice two times in my life. First, when I met Mere, and then here, in Colorado, with you.”
“What are you saying, Raz?” she asked, her heart swelling in her chest.