Audrey’s Inn

by Aycart, Elle

  “Forget about that. We need to talk, now. You know I’m pregnant? The nurse told me you warned them.”

  Connor nodded. “I saw the pregnancy test.”

  The pregnancy test? Then he’d known for a while. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  He shrugged and averted his gaze. “Why didn’t you?”

  The ball was back in her court. Fine. “At first, I didn’t want to pressure you,” she acknowledged. “I didn’t know if you wanted a baby. And then you dumped me, so I kept quiet because I didn’t want you staying with me out of obligation. I still don’t want that. So, if that’s the only reason you’re here now—”

  “Oh, Jesus,” Connor interrupted her, covering his face and shaking his head. He looked up, his eyes even redder. “I love you. How can you think I don’t want you? The baby is the cherry on top of the sundae.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why did you leave me then? Why did you push me away?”

  He lowered his gaze. “I thought you didn’t want to have a kid with someone like me. I told myself that was the reason why you kept quiet. Then I attacked you, and I figured you both were better off without me.”

  She stared at him, stunned. “Better off without you?”

  He nodded. “I want you and the baby more than anything in the world, but I can’t ask you to have a kid with a nutcase like me. I know I don’t have the right. I know I’m a mess. You deserve so much better than me—but I love you both.”

  “Connor—”

  He stopped her. “Please let me finish, baby. I don’t care if you keep me around out of pity, or just as a fuck boy, but please, please, let me be with you. I promise I will take care of you both. Give me a second chance. I’d do anything for you. I’ll go to all the therapists in the world. I’ll sleep on the couch for the rest of my life if need be. You and the baby will be safe from me, I swear to God.”

  What? Audrey slapped him on the chest. “If you do that, I’ll kick your ass.”

  That caught him off guard, because he blinked. “Uh…what?”

  She tried to keep her tears at bay but didn’t succeed. “Don’t you dare talk about yourself like that ever again. Are we clear? You are not a nutcase, and I could never—ne-ver—find a better father for our baby than you, do you hear me? Safe from you? We’re safe with you, idiot. We couldn’t be safer with anyone else.”

  “Do you mean, in spite of everything, you want me and my baby?” he asked cautiously.

  “Of course I want you both,” she said, throwing herself into his arms. “How could you even doubt it for a second?”

  Throat clogged, he hugged her tightly, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. His chest was shaking. “I love you so much, Audrey.”

  “I know. I love you too.”

  * * *

  “Can’t hear anything,” Greta whispered, her ear on the door, “but it looks like we don’t need to lock them in the room.”

  “Sure?” Rebecca lifted a bunch of keys. “I borrowed these from the cleaner. We have our choice of confinements. We’ll never have it this easy again.”

  True. It was almost a pity Con and Audrey had made up without the OGs’ push.

  “Ladies, what are you doing out of bed?” a nurse asked.

  “Uh…we got lost looking for the bathroom,” Wilma offered. “It’s our age.”

  “Go back to your beds. Now,” the nurse said curtly, pointing in the direction of their rooms. “And the bathroom is in the room.”

  Grumbling, they headed back. Nurses weren’t as easily fooled as ordinary people. The woman even followed them to their doors.

  “I don’t know why they’re keeping us here,” Wilma protested once in their room. “We’re fine.”

  Sighing, Rebecca sat on a chair. “At least you and Greta share a room. I’m alone in mine.”

  “They’re afraid we’ll drop dead soon after this and our grandchildren will sue them,” Greta said. “That’s why they’re keeping us here.”

  It hadn’t helped at all how much Mike and Rachel and even Adrian had been fussing over them. Rachel, poor girl, had been beside herself, crying and hugging the three of them. And yelling at Adrian and Mike for keeping her in the dark. Connor had looked so ashen and distraught, holding Audrey’s hand and waiting for her to wake up, that Rachel had spared him. Thank God they’d convinced Mike and Rachel to go home and rest. And to keep this adventure from family. Really, though, the only person they needed to keep it from was Greta’s son. Life was so full of irony. She’d been an adult for over sixty years and look at her— hiding things like a teenager, but now from her son.

  “Girls, pay up,” Greta said, changing the subject. “I won the bet. I was right and Audrey is pregnant. I’m going to be a great-grandmother. Audrey is going to be a fantastic granddaughter-in-law.”

  Both her friends nodded. “Should we start calling her Nicky?” Wilma asked.

  They looked at each other. “Nah,” they all said at the same time.

  “What do you think is going to happen to her?” Rebecca wondered.

  “I heard Adrian talking with the police,” Greta said. “She might avoid jail. In a way, it’s thanks to her that they caught that nasty man, Andy, and the ones who killed the real Audrey. By the way, Wilma, where did you hide that cell phone?” The recorded call with the dispatcher was going to be instrumental in keeping Audrey out of trouble. Well, Audrey and the boys, because Connor, Mike and Adrian had been in hot water too, at first.

  “My bosom. I figured no one would look in there. There are advantages to being ancient and invisible, no?”

  There was a knock, and the door opened. Grady and his wife, Hope, walked in. So much for keeping anything from him.

  “Oh, if it isn’t my son,” Greta said. She looked behind him. “You came alone? Without lawyers? No male nurse with a straitjacket?”

  Hope smiled and kissed her. “I see you’re in top shape.” How Grady had caught such a lovely wife, Greta didn’t know.

  Grady looked like he might speak, so Greta jumped in. “Are you going to blame me for getting kidnapped?”

  “I was going to say that I’m glad you’re okay,” he grumbled.

  “Thank you.” It was so strange not to be reprimanded by him.

  Hope was very easygoing and chitchat flowed, thanks to her.

  When they were ready to leave, Grady looked at Greta and shook his head. “This wouldn’t have happened if Dad were alive. You would have been at home instead of being out with your friends.”

  True. Sad but true. Still. “Grady, do you know what is the absolute worst thing that has happened to me during my eighty-plus years of life? Keep in mind I’m a child of the Great Depression and I’ve lived through a world war.”

  Grady shrugged. “No. What was the absolute worst thing that ever happened to you?”

  “Your dad going into early retirement.” Overnight there had been a man on her case 24/7.

  Grady opened his mouth, ready to lecture, but his wife shoved him out of the room. “Ladies,” she said, winking.

  “Thank you, dear,” Greta mouthed to her.

  Left to themselves again, she turned to her friends. “Hope forced him to come, I’m sure.”

  Kudos to her friends, they immediately changed the subject. “Let’s take a picture to immortalize this,” Rebecca suggested. “We’re hospitalized after being kidnapped. We helped the cops catch the criminal gang that killed the granddaughter of our dear friend. It’s a hell of an adventure. I think with this one we can conclude our bucket list.”

  Greta and Wilma assented.

  “I don’t have my cell. That mean shorty stepped on it,” Wilma said. Then her eyes opened wide, excited. “Wait. Does this mean we got rid of Alfred, the horny old man living inside my phone?”

  Rebecca and Greta pondered a while. “I think so,” Greta mused. “I don’t have my cell either. Adrian took it.”

  Rebecca reached for her bag and produced hers. “Ta-da!”

  Yay.r />
  The three friends sat side by side on a bed. Wilma said, “Greta, this is going to be your first picture in decades without a turban. No, the second. The first was after the hot-air balloon.”

  “That’s right. Let’s ask Audrey to hang it at the inn along with the other pictures.” Greta patted her friends’ hands. “I’m very happy we’re still together after so many years.” Growing old was hard enough. She couldn’t imagine doing it alone, without her dear friends by her side.

  Wilma and Rebecca squeezed her hands, smiling. “I am too,” Wilma said.

  “Same here,” Rebecca added. “Come on. Let’s do it.” Rebecca lifted her cell and pointed it at them. “Ladies, get your duck faces on.”

  * * *

  Connor woke up in the geri chair in Audrey’s hospital room in the middle of the night and found Audrey wrapped around him, soundly sleeping. He hugged her, kissing the top of her head. It had taken forever to get her to fall asleep in the bed, but apparently it hadn’t stuck, because as soon as he’d dozed off, she’d sneaked into the chair with him, IV drip included.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face was bruised from her fight with that motherfucker, and the bump on her head hadn’t been at all little. It wasn’t even a bump, but an open wound that had needed several stitches.

  Audrey opened her eyes and saw him watching her. “Hi.”

  “What are you doing crammed in here with me?” he whispered.

  She shrugged. “I like sleeping with you.” She traced his forehead, then cupped his face. “What’s wrong, house elf? Why do you look so worn out?”

  Worn out? Please. When he’d seen her on the floor under Andy, unresponsive and covered in blood, he’d lost ten years off his life. The motherfucker had been lucky to bleed to death there on the floor, while no one had paid attention. Connor would have preferred him to suffer more but, all and all, he was glad Andy was dead. Audrey wouldn’t have ever been truly safe otherwise.

  Con squeezed her tighter. “I told you to sit tight and wait for me to rescue you, remember? Instead, when I get there, I found you goading his ass and threatening him with a knife.”

  “We ran out of time. The guards had found Wilma’s cell, and we had to do something before Andy discovered their hideout was compromised. I’m truly sorry. That said, you should be proud of me; I did dodge his blow and disarm him quite efficiently. I took out the guards before him too. Well, guard. The OGs got the other. They’re good as a team.”

  Con smiled. Mike’s doing, he was sure.

  “I’m going to need more of your lessons, though,” she continued. “If you hadn’t come to my rescue…”

  “As many lessons as you want, baby.” He touched a scratch on her chin and couldn’t stifle his own wince. “This is my fault. It would never have happened if I’d stayed with you as I should have. They would never have gotten their hands on you. Sorry I wasn’t there to protect you when you needed it.”

  “Not your fault,” she stated, cuddling against him.

  “Yeah, right.” Andy was lucky he was dead. Otherwise Connor would have slit his throat for daring to lay a hand on his woman.

  As if she could read his mind, she rolled her eyes. “Okay. It’s your fault. From now on, you’re not allowed to leave my side. Ever. Understood?”

  He chuckled and kissed her. “Perfectly.” Now that he was on a roll with the apologizing, he figured he should continue. “Sorry I freaked out and dumped you. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  She sobered up. “At some point you might have another episode.”

  True, and he was dead scared about that, but he wouldn’t walk out on her because of it. “I will handle it differently. I won’t leave you. You can be sure of that. You know, when I realized you were in danger, I couldn’t even think straight. I was so fucking scared I wouldn’t get to you in time and I’d lose you forever.” There had been nothing more important than getting her back unharmed and having her in his arms, safe.

  She kissed him on his lips tenderly. “And you got to me in time. You saved me.”

  Yeah, well, he was going to have nightmares about that for fucking ever.

  He caressed her back and she rested her head on him. For a long while they stayed quiet, enjoying each other.

  “Con, if I go to jail—”

  “You are not going to jail,” he stated. “Adrian is on our side and will get you a deal. You called the cops twice on those criminals. They’re in prison because of you.” That had to count for something.

  “Okay, but if I go—”

  “You won’t,” he interrupted again. It wasn’t up for discussion. She looked scared enough; he didn’t want to scare her more. And if push came to shove, he was going to say he’d forced her into lying about her identity.

  Harrumphing, she covered his mouth with her hand. “But if I do—”

  “I’ll wait for you,” he said over her hand. “For as long as it’s needed.”

  “And the baby… Even if I end up in a prison with nursery, I don’t want him or her to be raised there.”

  “I’ll take care of the baby. We will both wait for you.”

  She smiled, her eyes overflowing with tears, and hugged him tight. “Thank you, my love. I’m not afraid of the consequences, I knew they were coming. Now that everything is out in the open, it’s a relief, in a way.”

  “You may have to give up the inn.” Connor wasn’t an expert, but he couldn’t imagine a scenario in which she could keep a business she opened under a fake identity with… purloined assets.

  “It’s okay,” she said with a shrug, wiping her tears. “It was never mine to begin with. And I never intended to keep it. It belonged to Audrey.”

  He begged to differ. It was her blood and sweat in the inn. It was her life’s savings that she had used and it was her who was in debt up to her ears. But he remained silent. He knew his woman. She was loyal to a fault.

  She looked at him and smirked. “Let’s be positive. Without the inn, I’ll have more time to train with you. The extra muscle will come in handy when I have to fight for supremacy in the yard or the showers.”

  He chuckled. “You’re nuts. Fuck, I missed you.”

  “I missed you too, house elf,” she said. “What have you been doing? Aside from avoiding me, of course.”

  “I did nothing but sulk, beat myself up, and miss you.” And drive Greta crazy, of course. “Oh, they called from the shelter. They’d found a stray. He’s badly injured and needs to spend some time at the veterinary clinic. If he survives, they’ll need a foster home for him until he’s fit to be adopted. I agreed to take him. I hope you’re cool with that.”

  She pondered for a second and then winked at him. “We’re getting the kid; we might as well get the dog.”

  He loved how she rolled with everything. “Just out of curiosity, how did we get pregnant? Weren’t you on the pill?”

  “Remember the storm? I got the flu afterward and was throwing up.” She grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t think anything of it. I kept taking the pills without realizing they were ineffective for that month.”

  “It’s okay with me, baby girl. I’m not complaining.” Not by a long shot. When he’d arrived at the inn to help her that evening, she’d said that an act of nature had been required to get him to come there. So yeah, an act of nature. Who was he to mess with that? “You know I love you more than anything in the world, right?”

  “You’ve told me several times.” She grinned. “The first time was while we were having sex, then when I was kidnapped, and the third was when I woke up in this hospital. We do like strong emotions. They say relationships based on adrenaline are bound to crash and burn.”

  “This one won’t. I promise.”

  “Now, there’s one thing more we need to talk about,” she said, sounding resolute.

  “What?”

  “‘Phenomenal lay?’”

  He grimaced. “Sorry about that.”

  “Why? Didn’t you mean it?” she asked,
narrowing her eyes on him.

  “Of course I meant that. What I didn’t mean was the rest of what I said that day. I meant—”

  She chuckled, nuzzling his throat. “Don’t sweat it. I know what you mean. Just tell me, on a scale of one to ten, how good of a lay am I?”

  “Off the charts. You know that, baby.”

  “I missed you inside me. Fuck me,” she whispered.

  “I can’t. Not now. Not here. You’re still recovering.”

  She rubbed herself against his hard-on. “Yes, you can.”

  “They’ll discharge you soon. I’ll fuck you as much as you want then.”

  She snorted, climbing on top of him. “Do you know how horny I am? It must be the pregnancy. You cut me off over a week ago. You need to fuck me or I’ll combust before I’m discharged.”

  He wanted to resist, really, but he couldn’t deny anything to Audrey. Not a thing.

  He kissed her. “Just so you know, and to keep up our tradition—when my dick is deep inside, fully engaged in fucking you, I will ask you to marry me. And I will mean it.”

  She smiled against his lips. “And so you know, I will say yes. And I will mean it too.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  One month later…

  “She’s going to love it here,” Nicky said, placing Audrey’s ashes on her friend’s grandmother’s tombstone and sniffing. “She’s back home.”

  Connor placed his arm around his woman, comforting her. They had just flown back from Houston and driven straight to the cemetery, where the OGs and Mike were waiting.

  “Audrey, your granddaughter is here with you,” Wilma said, talking to the marble. “Our Audrey brought her to you. And sent the killers to prison.”

  It had been a month since the kidnapping. Everything was now in the open. Nicky had regained her identity, but the OGs still called her Audrey. Even Con sometimes slipped.

  “So?” Mike asked, taking Con aside once the grannies had gathered around Nicky and started talking. “How did it go in Texas?”

  It had taken two full weeks in Houston to sort all the shit out. “A hefty fine and five years’ probation,” Con stated.