I trust her. Fully, unconditionally. I have all of my faith in her. She told me last night there’s no one else for her, and I believe it. We’ll need to have a conversation about everything that happened between her and Nash eventually, but today won’t be that day. Neither of us has to work today, and I want to spend our free time together in our bed. I’ve fucking missed my bed, too.
I clear my throat to get her attention, and Sloane opens one eye, closes it then smiles. She sits up as I place the tray over her lap.
“Hungry?”
She moans as she lifts the coffee to her lips and takes a sip. “Mmm, I’ve missed the way you make coffee. You’re so much better at it than I am. Get your butt in this bed with me.”
She moves over, and I join her under the sheets. We sit in silence as she feeds me bites from her breakfast. When I can no longer handle being next to her naked body, I take the food from her and place it on the nightstand then move over her, and she slinks down, giggling.
“I can get used to this,” she whispers between kisses.
I pepper her bare arms and collarbone with soft nips and kisses. “Used to breakfast in bed?”
“Used to a happy marriage.”
Her words still my entire body, my breathing, and my heart. She’s right. We’ve never had this yet. We’ve been husband and wife for three months and haven’t had a single moment like this one. It pains me because, for the longest time, I wanted to give her everything. She deserves a man that will treat her like the goddess she is, to worship every inch of her daily. The beginning of our marriage was taken from us, along with so much else. This is where we stop letting our life be stolen away.
“Maybe our marriage can start today?”
“What do you mean?”
I lay down beside her, drawing small circles on her hand, near her ring finger. I don’t think she’s taken her wedding ring off since I slipped it onto her finger. “I take you, Sloane, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.”
“Until death do us part.” Her eyes, wide and green, latch onto my soul. She’s burrowed her way deep inside me to the point where she’s part of me, an extension of everything I am.
“Not even then.”
Lying in bed, Sloane hollers at me from downstairs, but I’m too tired to even reply. A few seconds later, she creeps into our room, leans against the dresser and crosses her arms. “Seriously?”
I turn my head to face her but still rest it on her pillow. It smells like her shampoo, like home. “I don’t want to go.”
“Yes, you do.”
“You’re right, I do want to go. But I can’t move. I exhausted myself making love to my sexy-ass wife all day.”
“Well, let me tell you something, your wife is just as tired and is also deliciously sore in all the best places.”
“I can kiss your pain away.”
She picks up a pillow that fell to the floor and tosses it at me. “Get up. You’re the one that told Lach we would come over for dinner.”
“I was just trying to be nice. He was really worried, huh?”
She buzzes around the room and tidies, something she does when she’s thinking too deeply. “I feel so bad. He called my phone so many times last night and this morning to make sure we were okay. The least we can do is go there for dinner. Plus, I miss Noah’s face.”
Those messages on Sloane’s phone had been from Lachlan, and one from Imogen. She told me earlier when I confessed I wanted to peek but didn’t because I trust her. Open and honest is our new motto. “Yeah, I want to see Noah, too.”
“All right, get up and take a shower. I’m going to call Immy and make sure she’s okay to meet me tomorrow to take inventory and a craft store run.”
“Babe, I love the shit out of you, but I’m so glad you’ve found a craft store buddy replacement. I hated going there with you.”
She laughs, and it’s like hearing my favorite song on the radio for the first time in a while. “Sawyer hated it, too. I’m pretty sure Immy hates it just as much, but she doesn’t complain. But that could be because she’s on my payroll.”
Sloane tosses clothes at me and heads out of the bedroom. Normally, a comment or memory about Sawyer would result in one of two responses, either my blood would boil or guilt would paralyze me. Now? I just feel light and happy.
Thirty minutes later, Sloane and I grab keys and cell phones, shut off lights, and slip on our shoes to head over to Lachlan and Noah’s for dinner. It’s been some time since the four of us sat at a table and shared a meal together. I grab Sloane’s hand in mine, bringing it to my mouth for a light kiss as we open the front door to leave. She stops so quickly I literally bump into her.
I’m about to ask her what’s the matter when I follow her line of vision to the box on our front porch. I pull her back into the house a bit then open the screen door to retrieve it. There’s no note or address. It’s just a standard brown box about the size of a pillow.
Sloane follows me into the kitchen where I place the box on the counter. She gets a knife from the block and slices down the front, opening the flaps.
“Are you expecting something to come in the mail?” she questions as she removes handfuls of packing peanuts.
“No. I mean I ordered some parts for my truck, but I had them shipped to the garage, not here.”
There’s a single sheet of paper that she picks up, and when we simultaneously peer past the paper and notice what’s inside her hand trembles.
I take the paper and read it over.
“Is this what I think it is?” Her voice shakes as much as her hands.
I rub her lower back and kiss the side of her head. “Yeah, babe. It’s our wedding album.”
She covers her mouth. Not looking away from the book. “Why is it here now?”
“It’s from Mia. This letter explains she wasn’t sure how to give this to us after…but she wanted us to still have the memories from the good parts of that day.”
Her fingers trace over the golden letters spelling out Mr. and Mrs. Matthews then she grips the book and picks it up, bringing it to her chest.
“You okay?”
When her red, watery eyes meet mine, I know she’s not okay. “These are the last photos of her.”
My wife holds an album containing the last pictures ever taken of my sister. It’s surreal. I want to see them and remember any resemblance of good from that day. It’s difficult to think of how it started when I can’t see past how it ended.
“We should bring these to Lachlan’s tonight. We’ll all look at them together.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” The last thing I want is for any of us to have setbacks. We just agreed to move forward with what happened, and now, not even twenty-four hours later, we’re going to look at pictures from the worst day of all of our lives?
“If nothing else, Noah should remember his mom for the beautiful woman she was.” And not a lifeless body lying on the floor. She didn’t have to voice the last part. I understood all too well.
“You’re right. Are you ready to go, then? We can call them and say we’re running a bit behind if you need a few more minutes.”
She swipes her fingers under her eyes and sniffles once. “No, let’s go now. I’m ready.”
“Dad, Uncle O and Aunt Sloane are here,” Noah hollers over his shoulder as he swings open the front door of his home.
I still haven’t gotten used to hearing Noah say that word—dad. For the longest time, he didn’t have a father. Sawyer always said that when he was old enough, she would sit down and have the talk about Lachlan. She never wanted to keep him a secret from her child, but she never did get to share her side of the story. Noah found out Lachlan is his biological father when he laid in a hospital bed after learning his mother had died. He thought he was going to be an orphan, that he would be all alone. It killed me when Sloane told me this while I was stuck in my own hospital bed. I wasn’t even there when they told Noah about Sawyer, or about Lachlan.
L
ook at him now. Beautifully resilient.
Sloane puts the wedding album on a chair and picks Noah up, squeezing him hard. “You look so much better than the last time I saw your face, buddy!”
“I wouldn’t hold him too tight if I were you. You don’t want him puking all over.” Lachlan approaches from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. “Dinner won’t be for another fifteen minutes if that’s okay. The potatoes are taking forever.”
Sloane steps forward and gives Lachlan a small hug. “We’re in no rush, Lach.” It didn’t hit me until now just how close they must have gotten in the last few months. I’m thankful Lachlan was able to step up and be the man I should have been during her most difficult time. I really do owe Lachlan my life. He might not be blood, and I might have hated him profusely for a very long time, but he’s my brother now.
I step forward and we do our handshake, one arm hug guy thing. “What’s going on, Lach?”
His focus shifts to the book. “What’s that?”
Sloane sighs, picking up the book and hugging it to her chest once more. With the exception of hugging Noah, she hasn’t let that thing out of her clutches. “Mia, the photographer from the wedding, sent this to us. It arrived just before we left. Owen and I thought we could all look at the pictures together after dinner. If that’s okay with you.”
Lachlan works his jaw back and forth as a small tremble rocks him. “I’d like that. I’m sure Noah would love to see those photos as well.”
Looking at the pictures of Sloane in her wedding dress, Sawyer in her maid of honor dress, and Noah and I in our suits, brought smiles to our faces.
We didn’t view the photos as her last day with us. We saw the photos for what they were.
Our wedding day.
TWENTY-FIVE
Sloane
It’s been two months since Owen and I decided to finally move on. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have a few hiccups, but instead of holding our breath and praying the problems would pass, we worked them out together and came out the other side tougher. We’re still going strong, and it’s hard to envision us any other way now.
It’s also been two months since I last saw Nash Hudson. He hasn’t tried to contact me by text or come into the shop. I haven’t seen him anywhere around town either. I’d think he left altogether, but Immy’s still dating his partner, Jaxson, so I know he’s still here. Around somewhere, saving lives.
“I just don’t understand the big deal, Immy. You’ve been dating for a while now. Of course, your parents are going to want to meet him.”
She groans as she adds another coat of varnish to the table in front of her. Not only is Immy the best employee I could have ever hired, she has some serious skills in the crafting department as well.
During one of our weekly trips to the craft store, she picked up some of her own supplies to mess around with. She began asking a lot of questions, and I was more than happy to show her some of the ropes I’ve learned.
Closing time came and went hours ago, and we’ve both stayed late to finish up some work.
“Is it really not obvious? I mean, do I really have to spell this out for you? My parents are from the south. Deep South.”
“And?”
“Oh my God, and Jaxson is half black, Sloane!”
“He is?”
She throws her water bottle at me, but it only makes me laugh harder. “I’m teasing. Obviously, I can see that. I do have eyes. But come on, do you know what century it is? You think your parents are really going to disapprove because of the color of his skin?”
She chews her bottom lip, her focus trained on her work. “I don’t know. I’m just terrified they will. I love him, Sloane. I’ve never loved a man before. And he’s so good to me.”
“Hey.”
Immy places the paintbrush across the can and reluctantly shifts her gaze to me.
“If he’s good to you, then they’ll see that, too. They’re your parents. I’m sure they just want you to be happy.”
“Did your parents approve of Owen right away?”
I scrunch up my face. “Well, yeah, but only because they already loved Sawyer and he’s the older brother that busted his ass every day to take care of her when they didn’t really have parent’s soo...”
“Argh!” she squeals, pushing away from her workstation. “I don’t want to think about my crap anymore. Tell me about you. You and your hubs seem to be doing great. You’re happy, like, all the freaking time now.”
I can’t contain the smile taking over my face. “He’s great. We’re both great. I’m actually meeting with him as soon as we’re done here.”
“You and Lachlan finally ready to show him?”
“Yes! I couldn’t be happier about it. I hate keeping things from him.”
“I’m so happy for you two… So, not to bring up history but whatever happened with you and Nash Hudson pissed off Jaxson. I mean, I know you told me a little bit, and I swear I never told Jaxson, but he complained all the time about how miserable Nash was. It was annoying.”
“How miserable he was?”
Immy clears her throat and turns to start gathering up supplies. “So, you wanna get going since you have plans for tonight?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re not going anywhere. Sit and spill.”
She plops down and huffs, leaning forward to rest her chin on the heel of her palm. “Jaxson may have mentioned that Nash started seeing someone.”
“Why didn’t you want to tell me? Nothing happened between me and him.” I couldn’t be more thankful I stopped whatever was brewing before it had a chance to get too far. I would have never been able to live with myself if I had crossed a line. Although, the emotional affair wasn’t something I’d been proud of either. Telling Owen every detail of what happened between Nash and I was painful, but again, we made it through.
“Well…I don’t know. Like I said, you never really told me the details of what went on. So I just assumed…”
“What? That I slept with him?”
Her silence is confirmation enough.
I shake my head, rubbing my hands up and down my jeans. “I’d never do that to Owen. Nash just possessed this…ability to calm me down. He made me feel safe during a really scary part of my life. One night he told me he could fall in love with me if I let him. That was the last night I spoke with him.”
“I’m sorry, Sloane. I didn’t mean to insinuate.”
“I know. It’s fine. I should have never been in that situation to begin with. It’s just scary to think someone almost came between Owen and me.”
“I really can’t see anything standing in the way of what you two have.”
I can’t either.
“No peeking!” I giggle from behind Owen, my hands shielding his view. Lachlan leads the way into the building, telling Owen to follow the sound of his voice.
“How can I possibly peek? Your hands are like tiny little death grips on me. Seriously, where the hell are you two bringing me? You’ve been so sneaky lately.”
Lachlan and I have been talking about this for a while but have been seriously planning it for the past few weeks. I wanted everything to be in place and perfect before we brought Owen in on this, though. We felt it would better to make sure this was a for-sure thing. It’s big. I can’t wait to see his reaction when we tell him what we’ve done, or rather, what Lachlan has done and will continue to do.
“I know, I know, but it was for something…pretty exciting, I promise. Are you ready?”
Standing in the center of the open space, Lachlan steps to the side and I drop my arms from Owen’s face.
“Ta-da!”
Open mouthed, Owen twists around to take in the size of the area and the other rooms leading off of this one. “What is this place? Someone’s house?”
Lachlan crosses the room, arms outstretched as if to show off the open space, then drops his hands with a slap on his thighs. He can barely contain his laughter. The only other time I saw Lachlan this happy wa
s when he danced with Sawyer at my wedding. “Hopefully, this will be the home for several people.”
Awestruck, Owen glances between Lachlan and me. “What does that mean? What’s going on?”
Enthusiasm bubbles to the surface, and I let out a tiny squeal and grab onto Owen’s arms as I jump up and down. “This was all Lachlan’s idea!”
“No way, I can’t take credit for all this. Sloane found this site.”
“True, I did find this place, and I am totally going to decorate the crap out of it. However, you had the idea and started the business side with the fancy-schmancy degree you earned. Plus, you’re funding it.”
“Guys, what the hell is this place?”
I glide my fingers down his arm to hold his hand. “This, my love, is the future site of Alternative Housing for Single Teenage Mothers.”
All humor leaves Owen’s face, and he stills beside me. “Seriously?”
Lachlan clears his throat, still looking all around as if envisioning what this shelter will look like a few months from now. “I’ll never forgive myself for not being there for Sawyer when she was pregnant with Noah. Even though I had no idea what she was going through while I was gone, I still can’t stop picturing her, young and pregnant, scared enough she had to take hush money from my family. If I can stop just one girl from being scared, if I can help one new mother confidently raise her baby, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“You’re doing this because of Sawyer?”
“She told me her plans of going back to school so she could help other girls in the position she was in, with the drugs and then the pregnancy. She’ll never get to accomplish her goals. Some part of me always knew there was a purpose that kept me in Australia, fighting for my father’s inheritance. That money was meant for me to do great things. If Sawyer can’t be here to help people, then I’ll fulfill that dream for her.”
Edges of Gone (The Gone Series Book 2) Page 18