The Man Who Came from Nowhere

"I agree. Nick, would you like to be there and meet them? You could probably talk to them in ways that I can't." She had set her final trap, now would be the moment of truth.

He disappointed her when he replied, "Normally, I would love to but I have a meeting in Dallas Thursday morning on the things I mentioned to you. Maybe I can meet with them if they come back for another look."

She was disappointed that her trap had failed but she still felt very confident that she was talking to Drake Nicholson. They were called to their table and the discussion changed back to their usual talk and teasing.

They shared an enjoyable meal of halibut in a dill sauce and several glasses of a white wine that Denise had never heard of and Nick could barely pronounce the German name. Following a piece of cheesecake, she asked, "Ok, big boy what kind of cheap seduction technique are you planning for the rest of the evening?"

He ignored the first part of her question. "When was the last time you went to a musical?"

"Four years ago. The high school drama and music department put on a musical called 'Kiss me, Kate.' I enjoyed it except that the story was about a guy trying to dominate a defenseless woman."

"I hardly think Kate was a defenseless woman. In the original, even Shakespeare called her a shrew."

"Whatever. So, we are going to a musical. Will I like it?"

"Probably. It is about an innocent man being punished throughout his life for being a good man."

"Lead on McDuff. The theater awaits us."

Four hours later, as they walked back to Nick's truck, Denise swatted him. "What is that for?"

"You brought me here to make me cry. Now my makeup is all over my face."

"For what it is worth, I have seen 'Les Miserables' six times and have cried every single time. The story and music just touch your soul."

"I'm going to touch your soul tonight. Better get ready."

"Umm...exactly what do you propose to do with two trucks being here."

"Simple. We are going to drive both of them to the edge of town where I will leave mine for some overdue service work at the dealer we use. Then we will take your truck to your house. You will be stuck with me until you get rid of me tomorrow."

"Stuck isn't the word I would choose to use but then, my goal is to make you happy. If stuck is what you want, so be it."

"Asshole. You know damn well that isn't what I meant."

Nick said nothing but as they finished walking to the truck, he began singing 'Bring Him Home." Denise started crying again.

When they arrived at Nick's house, Denise had him bring her suitcase and put it in his bedroom. Then she told him to pour them each a glass of wine and wait for her. He waited ten minutes before she emerged wearing a black silk kimono with red and gold flowers embroidered on it. All he could do was drop his jaw in wonder at this beautiful sight.

She said, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

He gulped and replied, "Something like that. Do you have anything that doesn't make you look more beautiful than the last time I saw you?"

"Hmmm. Maybe if you come out after I have been out working the cows, you will feel otherwise."

"I doubt that; I serious doubt that."

"Oh good. I have finally got your attention."

"You know damn well that you have had it since we met. I can hardly focus on anything else."

"That is the way it is supposed to be. Finish your wine like a good boy. I have plans for you."

That night was an almost exact duplicate of the previous night except for one small detail. Without saying a word, they each gave up their self-imposed celibacy... several times. Sometime around three in the morning, Denise snuggled against him and whispered, "Nick, I am falling in love with you."

He pulled her close and replied, "I beat you to that by a couple of days." Then they fell asleep together with smiles on their faces.

In the morning, they did a repeat performance of the previous night before breakfast. Nick didn't take her home until noon on Tuesday. And that was mainly because she had an important meeting of the school board to go to.

They stayed at her house Tuesday night and then back at Nicks on Wednesday. When they woke Thursday morning, they had a mix of feelings. They were both excited about the prospect of the two businessmen coming down to look but a little down because Nick was leaving for Dallas for his meeting which might keep him over until Friday. Fortunately, she was able to ride with him since her truck was ready to be picked up. They gave each other a tender kiss as he dropped her off before heading for Downtown Dallas.

Denise put on her business face and met Leroy while he was talking to the foreman about their equipment needs and just as quickly approved the work. She and Leroy had lunch in town and met Krutch at the building at one. At one thirty, her phone rang and she stepped away to answer it since it was Nick.

"Hi, how is it going?"

"Good news and bad news. The good news is that everything is moving forward very nicely. I am thrilled. The bad news is that I have to go to St Louis probably for the week. I will be back late Saturday night or early next Sunday. Honey, this meeting could be a serious game changer. I love you and will miss you terribly but if things work, you will also be very happy too."

"Dammit, Nick. I love you too and will miss you every minute you are gone. Have a good trip and call me when you can."

"I will."

For the next week, they both were busy but as promised, Nick called daily. In fact, he called in the morning to wake her up and in the evening to wish her good night. Even though she slept alone, she slept well knowing that her lover was one day closer to being home.

Finally, Saturday came and she prayed that he would be home late that night. She was busy again at a meeting until her life was almost destroyed. She left her meeting and was driving through town towards her house when she thought she saw Nick's truck. It was and her heart tingled until she saw that sitting next to him was a beautiful young woman. They were both smiling and laughing as her hand was on his shoulder. The tears started and continued all of the way home. Then the serious crying began followed shortly afterwards by anger at being used and lied to again. Her phone rang a number of times but she refused to answer it when she realized that it was Nick. She wasn't ready to talk to him or face him in her anger and hurt. She did something that she hadn't done in years. She opened a bottle of vodka and got herself unpleasantly drunk. She passed out on her sofa before the last call from Nick rang.

In the morning, she felt like death warmed over and it was all she could do to make coffee. She remembered everything that had happened and swore to herself that no man was worth getting drunk over. Then she cried again. Finally, at noon, she calmed down enough to make a decision. He was expecting her at six for dinner. She was going over at three to confront him and find out what was going on. She cleaned herself up and dressed simply. At two thirty, she left to drive to his house. With each mile, she changed her mind about how to approach him and what she was going to say.

She was so focused on what she was going to say that she failed to notice his truck leaving going towards town just before she got to his gate. She parked in front of his house still feeling very insecure about what to say or do. Each step up to the door scared her even more. Finally, she sucked in her breath and knocked loudly. A moment later, the door opened and she was face-to-face with the beautiful young woman who was with him in the truck. It was all she could do to hold back her tears again.

The two women stared out each other for a moment and then the young woman broke into a smile. Finally, the young woman said, "Hi. Nick said that you were coming for dinner but he was so nervous that he forgot to take the steaks out to thaw. He is such a guy. He went to the store to get some more. Come on in; we can start getting to know each other before he gets back. By the way, you are much more beautiful than he told me."

Denise stepped inside but was totally confused and stuttered, "Who...who are you?"

The young woman blushed, "Sorry, I am Emma, Nick's daughter." That did bring out the tears of relief. Emma led her to the couch and sat her down before she brought her a glass of wine. "Daddy says that this is your favorite cure-all."

Denise finally replied, "After last night, I probably shouldn't but..." She took a drink and made a face. "He told me that he had a daughter but I was expecting maybe an eight or ten-year-old. I was totally unprepared to find that you are...are.. a"

"I see." Emma smiled. "Nick isn't my biological father. My mother had an indiscrete relationship when she was twenty and I was the result. I don't know my real father and have never seen him. When mother married Nick, I was six and he adopted me, thank God. I don't know how my life would have turned out if he hadn't been there. Mother falls in and out of love frequently but Nick has always been there for me. He tried to hide mother's things from me but I knew. Whatever happens, just know that he is and will always be my one and only daddy. By the way, he has told me a lot about you and I am thrilled that he has found someone who loves him as much as he loves you."

Denise took another sip of wine and then told her about the past twenty-four hours and that she now felt very embarrassed that she hadn't trusted him more. Emma replied that she could understand but that Nick had some responsibility too since he always tried to protect the people he cared about by not telling them more than he felt they should know. A half an hour later, the two women were laughing and sharing Nick stories as well as some of their own. Emma told Denise that Nick had told her about their constant back and forth teasing and bickering. She loved that.

To which Denise replied, "You will be able to witness some first hand when he gets back; I am going to give him a full ration of shit."

Emma replied, "Damn; If I had time, I would sell tickets." They both laughed loudly until they heard Nick's truck pull in behind Denise'. Emma settled back to watch while Denise put on the straightest face she could muster.

Nick quickly came through the door and saw Emma smiling and a very stern Denise sitting straight upright looking daggers at him. He looked back and forth between them before he said in a timid voice, "How much trouble am I in?"

Denise replied coldly, "I came over today with the firm conviction to really and genuinely kick your ass, probably several times. What do you mean parading around town with a beautiful younger woman in front of everyone we know on the day before you were coming home to see me?"

"But..."

"Yes, exactly. I was going to kick that butt until you begged forgiveness. Then I was going to laugh in your face and walk out of your life forever."

"Oh, crap. I guess I screwed up."

Denise got up and walked straight up to him and looked him in the eye, "After we are married, you will never, ever keep any secrets or surprises from me ever again or I will do what I just described. Got it?"

Before he could reply, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him feverishly. From the love seat, Emma said, "Daddy, put your arms around her and return her kiss. You are such a guy."

Like a dutiful father, he did exactly what his daughter told him to do. Then he too began to cry. When he finished, he looked at Denise and started to apologize. She stopped him cold by saying, "No apologies are accepted. Come sit with me and tell me what I need to know."

"I need to start dinner first."

Emma stood up and said, "Daddy, you always told me to take care of first things first. You sit and talk to Deni; I'll start dinner."

Nick looked nervous but handed the sack to Emma as Denise led him to the love seat. This time she sat on his lap and said, "Start talking, lover."

He sighed and said, "There are a couple of things that I won't talk about until later. I..."

Emma cut in, "Daddy, if you are talking about mother's boyfriends, just tell her. I know about them even though you tried your best to keep it from me."

"Really?"

"Yes. Daddy, I was listening the night she told you that she was taking her boyfriend to Europe for a month. When you told her that you wouldn't be there when she got beck, she laughed at you and said that you would never leave the company or me. I was listening when you told granddad and that you were leaving. He got mad and told you to go try to find someone to buy the company. When she got back, he told her that since she ran you off, she could run it herself until he sold it. That was when she shacked up with that lawyer and they made up all those stories and got the restraining order. Deni needs to know it all."

Nick sat stunned at what Emma knew. Denise sat in his arms stroking his cheek with tears in her eyes as she discovered the source of his recent past. He proved to her then that he was every bit as strong and compassionate as she hoped.

Nick finally found his voice, "Emmy, I..I had no idea that you knew all of this."

"I know. I didn't say anything because I knew that you were trying to protect me. Now, get on with the new business. I think that Denise will be as excited as I am. Go on. I'm a big girl and can burn dinner just as well as you can."

"Emmy, you will never be a big girl as far as I am concerned. And as for you, I love you. Are you sure you want to hear the rest of this tonight?"

"I want to hear it all, every single word, thought, and fart you have done since you left."

Emma laughed and said, "You go, girl."

"That will take a week. I'll tell you the short version. First, I went to Dallas to see my lawyer about two things. The most important one was about Emma. She turns eighteen next month and the restraining order would have been meaningless anyway but there is still a record of the charges they made about me and he has been trying to get all of that expunged. It turned out that the judge was already in jail for corruption and he admitted that he had been paid off to file the order. So, the current judge ordered the records to be wiped clean. I can't tell you how relieved that this is gone. I worried that if you ever found out about that, you would not want to have anything to do with me." He paused.

"It would have been a shock but I have been learning that you are always honest and truthful...well except when you are teasing me. Go on."

"The other thing that we have been working on is that I found a prospective buyer for the company and we have been working on it for a year. I have been totally in the background on this so far. Anyway, the company in St Louis finally pulled the trigger and the deal is done. I went to St Louis to talk to them about me coming back in to run it. So, it looks like I am gainfully employed again and not a total derelict. We finally worked out a final plan on Friday. That day Emmy called and said, 'Come and get me.' I told her that I would be there yesterday and to have her things packed. I tried to call you Friday night to tell you and all day yesterday but you didn't answer."

"Friday, I was at the school board meeting and yesterday I was getting myself drunk after seeing you with a cute young chick."

"Shit! I really did screw up."

"Shut up and finish. I think that you are about to tell me that you are moving back to Fort Worth or St Louis or something."

"One of these days, you need to learn patience rather than shooting from the hip. Shut up and let me finish." Emma giggled. "The deal we worked out is really pretty simple. They are going to keep the Fort Worth office as a sales showroom and parts distribution center and I am going to run their manufacturing plant. However, we are going to have to build a new and bigger plant, ta-da, right here. All I have to do is negotiate with my lawyer's old maid sister about some property next to the big plant that Leroy and Krutch are moving into. Her name is Denise Chambers. Do you know her."

Denise stood up fuming and muttering, "Old maid sister, my ass. First I am going to kill my little brother and then I am going to kick your ass until you can't sit down." She stopped and then turned to Nick and said seriously, 'Nick, this is important to me. How long have you known about me and who I was?"

He saw the seriousness of her question and replied softly, "I didn't know until the day you went to Fort Worth. While you were gone, it dawned on me that if your family has been here that long with that big of a ranch, there had to be some records about you somewhere. Did you know that the county newspaper has an on-line archive of their paper and that you are prominently pictured in there almost weekly? My, my, my; you have a busy girl. Before you say it, that night I figured out that you found out that I am Drake Nicholson. Your questions were too pointed. We had decided to meet tonight to let it all out; so, I just decided to wait to tell you everything. By the way, it was hard not to laugh when you were telling me about the company. You were working so hard trying to get me to give myself away."

"I ought to kick your ass for that. I wasn't positive but there were too many coincidences. I suspected it. So now, what am I supposed to call you?"

"Anything you want. Emmy has always called me Nick, so that is fine. Drake is fine too although Sir has a nice ring to it too. Your choice."

"That last one isn't going to happen in my lifetime! Emmy, why did you call him Nick?"

It was time for Emma to blush. "When we first met and got to know each other, there was a boy at school named Drake and he pestered me to death. I asked if I could call him Nick so I wasn't reminded of that jerk. He said to call him whatever I wanted. Now it is your turn; what is the deal with Neecy, Nessa, and Deni?"

"It is fairly simple; my mother wanted me to be Vanessa but my father wanted Denise. My full name is Vanessa Denise Chambers. My mother called me Nessa around her friends and dad called me Denise. My mom died when I was eight, so most of the people at school called me Denise. I was sort of a tomboy and I got teased about being a boy instead of a girl. They started calling me Denny. I actually kind of liked that but after I went through puberty, I changed it to Deni because by then I wanted to be a girl. My brother's daughter couldn't say Denise and she calls me Neecy. When I met Nick and he demanded my name, I threw out Neecy. Then one of mother's old friends called me Nessa in front of him. I left it like that just to keep him on his toes."

Emma replied, "That's funny. Maybe I can come up with a couple of names to keep the boys at college confused."

Nick spoke up, "Emma is just fine and as for the boys at college, we are going to have a talk about that."

"Deni, save me."

"Nick, honey, sweetheart, love of my life, I think that Emma is old enough to think for herself, don't you agree?"

"No. And I probably never will either."

"You sound just like my father. Emma, don't listen to him; I'll cover for you. I have my ways with him."

"I'll just bet you do too."

Nick decided to take the reins beck before he lost any more control. He turned to Deni and said, "Now about this bold statement you made earlier."

"Which one is that, my love?"

"The one which went something like, 'after we are married.'"

"Oh, that one. Well I figure that since you love me that much and I love you even more that one day soon you will be asking me to marry you. That's all."

"I see; at least I still have some time to change my mind. I guess that it is premature to tell you that I asked your brother's permission to ask you last week."

"That rat. He never said a word when he was here. What did he say?"