by Amber Lynn
“Why’s something got to be wrong for a mother to call her son?”
As if the question didn’t throw him off, Evelyn Ritchie was actually whispering. Brayden couldn’t remember the last time his mom didn’t boom out whatever she wanted to say. He’d heard his name yelled a few too many times as a kid with her loud voice to not realize something off.
“Because I know you, Mom. Now what’s going on? I’m getting ready to get on a plane, and evidently I have a mess waiting for me when I get home.”
Brayden had never hidden anything from his parents. When Megan turned out to be a bitch, he immediately let them know. He felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner, but he figured they had a right to know in case she started anything. With the phone calls he’d ignored from her, he was afraid that time had finally come.
“Yeah, maybe you want to head this way before getting too involved with whatever mess is there. There’s a young woman and her son in your house. She claims you gave her the gate code and told her where the spare key was. I called Suzy and asked if she knew anything about it, and she told me I should call you.”
Never had a bigger sigh of relief spread through Brayden. Someone was clearly messing with him to wind him up so tight and pull the spring so soon. His body felt like trembles raked through it.
“Willow and Connor are there? Can I talk to her real quick?”
Nothing but her voice would make all the anxiety dissipate. He needed to hear her and then maybe he could breathe again.
“Brayden?” Willow’s voice asked hesitantly.
An avalanche started at Brayden’s head and worked its way down his body. It was really Willow, and for some reason she was in his house. The whys of that wasn’t important to him at that moment. Just knowing that she was would get him through until he could get there.
“I’m getting on a plane right now. I’ll be there in less than three hours.”
He hoped he could find a private plane that would take him from D.C. to Martinsburg. Otherwise, it would take him another hour. He’d sprout wings and fly himself if he had to in order to get to her as fast as humanly possible.
“Okay, see you then.”
He thought he heard a smile in her tone. She sounded happy to hear from him, and clearly didn’t realize the turmoil he’d experienced in a short amount of time.
“Can you put my mom back on the phone, sweetheart?”
Sitting there and talking to her all day would have been fine, but his time was running out and he needed to verify a few things. The most important thing, that Willow and Connor were safe, made everything else trivial in a way, but he needed to make sure they stayed that way.
“Sure, here she is.”
“Brayden?” his mom asked half a second later. Her voice wasn’t quite back to usual, but it didn’t sound like she was telling him a big secret anymore.
“Yeah, Mom. Before you say anything, I’ve only got a second here. That woman and kid are the most important things in my life, so I’m going to need you to stay with them until I get there. If Dad’s not busy, I’d like him there too. People are looking for them in D.C., so I imagine soon enough they’ll show up there. I’ll call Chris and get him up-to-date on things and have him verify there are no legal issues here.”
“Legal issues? Why would there be legal issues?”
Her voice hit her usual volume with those questions. Brayden shook his head, not that she could see it.
“I’ve got to go. Just keep them there for as long as she wants to be.”
Chapter 37
As the hours ticked by, Willow grew anxious. The sideways glances she caught from Mrs. Ritchie didn’t help. She’d been instructed to call her Evelyn, but the woman scared her a little. Being on a first-name basis seemed like something she’d have to grow into.
When the woman and her husband had shown up, not bothering to knock, Willow had stood in the living room like a statue staring at them. Her fight or flight response clearly still needed work. Connor had been just as bad, running to grab onto her leg and using it as a barrier.
After things were sorted out with Brayden, she’d explained that they were fine waiting for him on their own. Mrs. Ritchie had stared at her for several seconds before shaking her head and explaining that Brayden asked them to stay.
Of course he would. She knew it had to have been a surprise to hear they were there in the first place.
“So, why does my son claim you and your son are the most important people in his life?”
Willow’s hand paused from where it smoothed out Connor’s hair. His head was in her lap, as he’d fallen asleep waiting for Brayden to show up. He’d been tired before the minor chaos, but after learning Brayden was on his way, he’d boldly claimed he’d stay up and wait for him. The poor kid only made it about an hour. Two hours later, and he was still fast asleep.
“Actually, he said you were the most important things in his life. I guess qualifying it to just people is too limiting. When did you guys meet?”
The woman had been sitting on the question for a while. Willow wondered why, since she didn’t think she could wait two hours to ask something she needed and answer to, but she just shrugged.
“A couple weeks ago. You were on a cruise.”
Willow remembered Brayden said something about buying the tickets for it. They’d talked about his parents at length. She knew they were both retired. His mom was once a school teacher and his dad fixed cars. Willow didn’t trust teachers much, not only because of her obvious life experience, but because they never really challenged her. She always thought a teacher should be able to put a test in front of her that at least gave her pause.
“Yes, we were,” Mrs. Ritchie responded. “I know my son didn’t cause that bruise on your face. Care to tell us who did?”
Reaching up, Willow rubbed the fading bruise. It had turned a light shade of yellow. Her stitches had dissolved and just a small cut remained on her lip. In another day or two, the evidence of the assault would be gone.
“I asked you to hang out, not interrogate her, Mom.”
Brayden’s voice cut through every other noise in the room. Not that there was a lot, but Willow had been zeroed in on everyone’s breathing. It was a technique she’d learned over the years to tell when Greg was in one of his moods.
Willow found herself on her feet before she realized she moved. Connor’s small whimper alerted her he wasn’t still in her lap. She looked down to make sure she hadn’t just thrown him off her and saw he’d curled in a ball but otherwise didn’t seem disturbed.
“I heard the car doors, Brayden, so I thought I should at least try to get some answers before you threw us out.”
While Willow’s eyes couldn’t move away from Brayden to see if his mom was serious, her brow furrowed. She’d been listening for any sign of him being home and hadn’t heard a thing. That wasn’t what confused her, though. Willow knew how excited Brayden was to have his parents home.
“You’re his parents. He wouldn’t kick you out.”
Mrs. Ritchie laughed, loudly. Willow heard her husband chuckle a little, but it was drowned out by hers. The raucous noise almost got Willow to turn away from Brayden, but his eyes rolling up kept hers glued to him.
“Ignore them,” Brayden said and opened his arms.
Willow smiled as she ran forward and let those arms wrap around her. She’d been so scared the last few days that her parents would sweep her away, but now that Brayden was back, the fear vanished.
“Your mom called just before mine did. You took about ten years off my life, Willow. Why didn’t you tell me you were running?”
As soon as Brayden spoke, the laughs in the room went silent. Willow was surprised it had taken her mom that long to call. She and Connor had been gone for over twenty-four hours at that point.
“We had to act fast. Our plane was going to leave in a couple hours. Connor and I didn’t want to go, but they said we had to. I tried to say no, but she said the decorators were coming an
d some caterers or something.”
Willow could’ve gone on with her babbling, but Brayden raised a finger up to her lips and hushed her. Her anxiety of hearing all the plans ahead for her had ticked into full gear. She’d dealt with the idea that every day could be her last for years, but it didn’t terrify her as much as being away from Brayden and dealing with her mother’s idea of how her life should be.
“Sweetheart, I told you I would’ve come and got you. You were supposed to say safe until I did. I guess you got on a bus or train or something to get here?” Brayden asked.
She nodded in response. Willow had already explained why she couldn’t stay. He said he’d come and get her, but she was scared he’d be too busy. They’d gone over his schedule and he had two games at home this week before having to leave again. That didn’t leave him much time to drive across the country to find her.
“I know you’re an adult, Willow, but there is one thing I agree with your parents on. You shouldn’t be out in public without someone with you. Your face has been all over the news, even up in Canada. People know who you are, and sadly too many of them will try to hurt you.”
It wasn’t like Willow didn’t consider that. Both she and Connor had worn hats while they traveled, and she hated looking anyone other than Brayden in the eye, so they got around easy enough.
“We were careful. I have an ID now, so I can buy the tickets myself.”
She reached down to her back pocket and pulled out the small card. Brayden smiled when he saw it, but his lips turned down a little when he saw the money she also pulled out.
“Did you leave your parents five hundred dollars to pay for stuff they bought you?” he asked.
Her mom must have mentioned the money. Willow sighed, she knew it wasn’t enough, but it was the most she could part with at the time.
“I’ll pay them the rest back. Now that I have the ID, I can see if there are any jobs that pay more than the diner. They spent a lot, and even though we didn’t ask for it, I’m going to pay it back.”
A gasp from behind her made Willow turn around. She expected the room to be on fire or something, but Mrs. Ritchie merely stared at her with tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I know I’m supposed to be a fly on the wall right now, but I just realized why you look so familiar. You’re the little girl.”
Willow looked down at her very adult body and sighed. She had a feeling she’d always be known as the little girl who’d been kidnapped. For most people, she didn’t care how they saw her, but she didn’t want Brayden to think of her as that little girl. She hoped after what they’d done together he didn’t.
He nudged her head up and leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. The smile on his face made her lips turn up a little.
“As you can see, Mom, Willow is very much an adult. But, like most women, she once was a girl, and this particular girl has been locked away from the world for way too long. Sadly, for the world, as long as she allows it, I’m going to insist on keeping her protected from all the idiots out there, which apparently includes her own parents.”
“So I gathered. I’m guessing that’s the legal issues you mentioned on the phone?” Mrs. Ritchie asked.
Brayden nodded. “Yeah, Chris says unless they file for guardianship of Willow, claiming she can’t take care of herself or Connor, there’s nothing they can do.”
The grin on Brayden’s face seemed to say that was good news, but Willow wasn’t sure. He’d talked about guardianship when they didn’t know Connor was her son, but she thought that was only for a child.
“They can do that?” Willow asked.
She’d waited a second to see if anyone wondered the same thing, but Mrs. Ritchie didn’t speak up. Mr. Ritchie seemed to defer to her, but Willow didn’t think it was the same as her own parents. There was something about the way they could sit in comfortable silence that felt different.
“No,” Brayden said as he shook his head. “I mean, technically, they could, but it’s not something they can prove in court. You’ve already shown you can take care of each other.”
Brayden raised his hand to caress the cheek that still held the scars of her most-recent ordeal. She’d never be rid of all the scars, but she hoped with Brayden’s help she could at least get rid of the ones that hid beneath the surface.
“You don’t have anything to worry about.” Brayden swore. “It’s time for you to start living your life, sweetheart. Are you ready?”
Willow wasn’t sure her parents were out of the picture, especially her mother She’d forgotten how horrifying the woman could be. But to answer whether she was ready to start living, Willow knew her answer.
“I’ve never been more ready for anything before in my life.” Willow bit her lip as she thought about that meant. “We can stay with you while I figure out exactly what that means, right? I found out this morning that I’m not pregnant, but we can try again in a few weeks.”
A throat cleared behind her, Mr. Ritchie’s this time. Willow didn’t bother looking. She wanted to see if Brayden was disappointed by her news.
“I think that is definitely our key to head out,” his mom said. “Before we let you to continue your talk, I should probably mention why we came over. Megan called us earlier today asking for some money. I told her she lost the privilege of calling us and asking for money when she put her needs over Suzy’s. We wanted to make sure she didn’t show up here trying to take something.”
Brayden cursed but quickly bit his tongue after a gaze in Connor’s direction. He’d mentioned he needed to work on his language. Willow didn’t understand why, but she deferred to what he thought was best on that subject.
“She’s tried to get in, but we’ve kept her away. I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you again.”
“It’s not a bother, Brayden. You know how much I love giving that woman a piece of my mind.”
The voice was closer. Willow heard the movement behind her as they shifted around her to the door, but her focus was on Brayden. He hadn’t answered her question.
“I’ll still make sure she understands her problems aren’t ours anymore,” he said. “Thanks for coming by and sticking around until I could get here. We’ll be over tomorrow to look at pictures.”
“If you find yourself too busy working on giving me more grandchildren, you won’t hear me complaining,” she replied.
Willow opened her mouth to say it would be weeks before they could try for a baby, but Brayden shook his head. He turned for a second to wrap his mom up in a quick hug and then shook his dad’s hand.
“Thanks for waiting to ask questions. We’ve got some stuff to figure out.”
Whatever emotion crossed his parents’ faces was lost on Willow. She watched them walk out and waited for Brayden to turn back. When he did, she wasn’t prepared for his lips to crush against hers. The kiss was quick, but it took her breath away.
“To answer your question, Willow, you can stay with me forever if you want. You can have the room you had before or move upstairs with me. If you want some time not under my roof, I’ll find you a place close by. If you insist on working, I’ll help you there too. I’m serious, Willow, you are the smartest woman I have ever met, but it’s time for you to learn how to live your life and what you want in it.”
As Brayden pulled her in for a hug, Willow thought about that. He’d mentioned wanting a relationship, so along with learning all this stuff about what she wanted in life, she had to learn how something like a relationship worked. There was one word that kept coming to her mind when she thought about it. Every time she watched something with a boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife, the word love came up.
While she knew the dictionary definition, and thought she felt that way about Connor, she wondered what it meant for a relationship between a man and woman who aren’t related. It had to be different, but she wasn’t sure how.
“Can you describe love to me, Brayden? Is it important for relationships?”
Brayden’
s eyes widened as he took a step back. She instantly thought she said something wrong, but he reached down and grabbed her hand, squeezing gently.
“Out of all the things you’ve asked me, that’s got to be the hardest to answer.”
He paused and ran his free hand through his hair. His cheeks puffed out for a second before he let out a slow breath.
“Is it required for a relationship? No. I can say that without a question it is not required. Some people base their relationships on sex alone, and it can work for them. I haven’t seen your mom and dad together in person, but from what you’ve told me, that relationship isn’t based on love, and I doubt it’s based on sex either. That would be power relationship. There are different kinds of relationships based on every possible need.”
“What about your parents?”
Willow hadn’t spent much time with them, but it was clear there was some affection there. At times, they looked at each other and seemed to have whole conversations without even speaking.
“That’s the kind of relationship I’ve always hoped to find. Those two love each other so much it makes my stomach turn sometimes. You’ll understand what I mean after you spend more time with them. I thought I’d found that before, but meeting you made it clear I hadn’t.”
“What?”
Willow wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Her eyes darted up to his to try to get a read on him. She’d let her mind wander to every interaction she’d observed between his parents, trying to determine what part showed they loved each other.
The smile on his face didn’t reveal whether she’d misheard. Not even his leaning down to kiss her cheek softly gave her a real clue.
“Let’s move back to when you asked me to describe love. It’s different for everyone, but for me, I knew I was in love with you when Connor told me you were gone, and I thought my world was over. I have been hit by two-hundred-and-fifty-pound guys into boards that aren’t forgiving and been sliced open by skates, and not one of my injuries felt as bad as the pain that took over my body in that moment.”