“What are you doing?” I ask, looking at her then to the phone in her hands.
“Calling Slade,” Holly says as she dials his number.
I walk over and snatch her phone out of her hand. “That’s not necessary. I do not feel like sitting up at the police station tonight as I once again tell an officer my statement while Slade sits in a jail cell because he killed Jeremy.” I don’t know if Slade would actually kill a man for me, but I know he would put a man in the hospital. I don’t want Slade to get in trouble with the law when I can fix this situation.
“What are you going to do, princess, call the cops?” he chides.
“That is a good idea,” I reply with a smile.
He looks up at me and blinks a few times. I can tell the shot is starting to affect him. “Can you imagine what will happen to you once you pass out in a jail cell with several other men?”
“You fucking bitch.” He’s up on his feet in one swift move and starts toward me.
I wait until he’s close enough and lift my leg, this time kicking him in the balls. He falls to the ground howling like a werewolf at the pain.
I dial up the police as he lies on the floor crying in agony. I explain our situation and then hang up. “They are on their way. We have less than forty minutes to get this taken care of before Slade and the guys get here.”
He closes his eyes and I smirk at the effect it’s having on him. “And, oh yeah. You’re fired,” I inform him, remembering when I told him that I would fire him if he ever pushed me.
He looks up, his jaw clenched tightly and eyes narrowed. He glares at me, Holly and then Missy. “You girls are going to be sorry.”
“Threatening my friends?” I arch an eyebrow.
“It’s not a threat. It was a promise.”
I walk back over to him. “Well, I promise you this. Next time you come around, I will let Slade in on what a fucking piece of shit you are, and he won’t be as nice as I was.” I hear the sirens and look to Missy. “Go and let them in the back. We’ll wait here.”
She turns and runs out of the cooler only to return in seconds with two cops.
“Miss Hall,” Officer White greets me and I hold in a sigh. This is the same cop that Slade is pissed at for not informing him when the homeless guy who lied about breaking into our house was released.
“They drugged me,” Jeremy whines as the other officer picks him up off the floor.
Officer White turns to me for an explanation. “He roofied Missy’s drink. When we had our suspicion, we just swapped them,”
“Smart,” he says nodding his head a few times while watching the other officer pat Jeremy down and search his pockets.
“Got something,” he calls out, pulling a little bag of pills out of Jeremy’s back pocket.
“You fucking bitch,” Jeremy growls, referring to me.
“Take him to the car,” Officer White barks. “Anything else you want to add?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “No.”
“You don’t have to come to the station tonight, but if this goes to court, you will have to be present. I will keep in touch.”
“Thank you,” I say, praying that it does not lead to me having to go to court. How could I hide that from Slade?
I walk him out the back door and then slam it shut.
“How much do you think he put in there?” Holly asks, wide-eyed. “It was really affecting him and he is a grown ass man.”
“I don’t know,” I say rubbing my neck. “I know nothing about roofies, and I sure as hell don’t even know what it was. And another thing. What was he going to do with Missy? She would have been out cold within minutes. We wouldn’t have missed that.” Jeremy is a fucking idiot.
“How is your neck?” Missy asks, looking at it.
“It’s fine. Do I have a mark?” That’s all I need, to go through all that trouble and then Slade sees choke marks on my neck.
Missy shakes her head.
“Why didn’t you tell the police that part?” Holly asks.
“That didn’t matter. They caught him red-handed.” He’s going to jail and staying there for a while.
“I’m sorry,” I say sadly, looking to Missy.
“Don’t be sorry. I should be sorry. It was my fault he ended up choking you.”
I pull her in for a hug. “It’s no one’s fault but his. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
I look over at Holly and her brown eyes are filled with tears. “Are you okay?” I ask.
She nods. “I’m sorry, too. I should have believed you when you said you didn’t like him. I can’t believe he drugged you,” she spits out.
“Hey, it’s okay. Nothing happened. I was with Slade.”
“Do you remember much of that night?” Missy asks.
“There are a few spots that are missing. I must have fallen asleep.” I shrug.
“That’s so scary,” Missy says as she hugs herself.
I nod my head, thinking to myself. If I don’t remember much of that night, maybe Jeremy won’t remember what happened to him tonight. “Listen girls. We have to keep this a secret. If Slade finds out he will go insane.” He has been on edge with everything else as it is. I don’t want to add something to it that is in the past and can’t be changed. And although Tate doesn’t like Missy the way she does him, I know he would still have kicked Jeremy’s ass as well.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Missy whispers.
“I won’t either.” I just look up at Holly and she throws her hands up, shaking her head. “I promise. I will not tell anyone this.”
“This is not like the Jessica incident,” I start to explain. “I’m trying to protect Slade from doing something stupid.” I pace as panic sets in. “He can be very protective. If he found out—”
Holly places her hands on my shoulders, bringing me to a stop. “I know.” She nods her head. “And that is why I promise I won’t say anything.”
“Not even to Courtney. She will go straight to Slade.”
She bobs her head again. “We are only going to keep it between the three of us. Right Missy?”
We both turn to look at Missy and she just giggles. “Are you feeling that drink?” I ask pulling away from Holly and looking into her big blue eyes.
“I feel pretty good.” She gives me a half smile.
I sigh shaking my head. “Shit!” I grab her hand and turn around. “She needs to drink a ton of water. The guys will be here any minute.” I start to pull her over toward the bar. “I should have never made you take that shot. I’m sorry, Missy.”
She pulls me to a stop and looks at me with a serious look on her face.
“I would have taken as many as needed to help you out.” Then she giggles again.
“Now I see why you girls drink. I feel so happy.” She smiles brightly.
I look over at Holly and frown. “How are we going to hide this from Tate?”
She shrugs. “Maybe we can tell him the truth and just leave out the Jeremy part?”
“We’ll play it by ear,” I decide, helping Missy onto a bar stool and hoping she doesn’t fall off as I get her a bottle of water and a candy bar out of my purse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SLADE
“Hey, Angel,” I say as I come up to the bar.
She gives me a small smile and hands me a Bud Light. “What are you doing behind the bar?” I frown, looking at Holly.
She shrugs. “You know how stubborn she can be. She wanted to work tonight.”
I nod looking back over to Angel. “Yes, I do.”
Courtney plops down beside me as she looks over at Missy who sits down next to Tate. I have to do a double check when I notice the dreamy smile she has on her face as she stares up at him. “When is your birthday, Missy?” she asks quietly.
“I’ll be twenty-one January eighteenth.” She giggles.
“Oh my gosh,” Holly exclaims. “That is right before we go to Vegas.” She claps her hands together. “You can totally go and party with us.
”
Missy beams brightly. Then she looks over to Tate. “You’re going aren’t you?”
He releases a long breath before he answers. “Yep. It’s going to be a blast,” he says dryly.
Courtney reaches out and elbows him, making him grunt. “It is going to be a blast.”
Angel sets down her bar rag and comes around the bar. She walks off toward the pool table and I jump up to follow after her. I sneak up behind her and spin her around, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Cheer up,” I say, smiling down at her. “I thought you wanted to quit Larry’s?”
She nods. “I did. Do.” She corrects herself. She then pushes her body into mine and wraps her arms around me as well. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says into my shirt.
“I wouldn’t miss your last night, Angel.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She squeezes me tighter. “I love you,” she says quietly.
“I love you too.” I run my hand through her long ponytail.
She leans away and looks up at me. “Hey, do you remember that night that we went down to the bar at our hotel with Courtney and Josh?”
I nod my head. “I left you for five minutes and you went up to the room.” I smile.
“Yeah.” She swallows. “I wasn’t feeling well.”
“I know.” I reach up and push a few stray hairs behind her ear. “I tried to help you get undressed and you said you were going to get sick. So, I carried you to the restroom.”
“I got sick?” she asks, pulling back a little bit from me.
“Yes. You don’t remember that?”
“No, I just remember waking up in the middle of the night looking for some Tylenol, and I finally found my purse in the bathroom.”
I remember placing her purse on the floor when I set her in front of the toilet.
“Did we have sex that night?” she asks, surprising me.
“No,” I respond, slowly. “You were sick. Sex was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to take care of you.” My answer causes a smile to spread across her face. She steps back up to me and wraps her arms around me again.
“Hey. Take that to the bathroom,” Courtney teases, walking by us with Josh and Micah behind her.
Angel giggles as she pulls away from me and follows after them. I try not to think about how awkward that conversation just was. Why does she all of a sudden want to know about that night? Why wait so long to ask about what happened?
“Hey.” Tate gets my attention as he comes to stand next to me. “Is it just me or does Missy seem drunk?”
I haven’t seen her take a drink of anything other than water. “I don’t know if I would call it drunk.” Just as I finish speaking, Missy skips past us heading to the pool tables as well. “She does seem extra happy.” She has always seemed more of the quiet type.
“Hmm,” he says as he looks over at her.
“She’s almost twenty-one. Everyone here can keep an eye on her. We can drive her home if we need to after Angel gets off.”
He shakes his head as he lets out a breath. “I’ll drive her home.”
“Why don’t you just date her?”
He turns to look at me. “That’s not a good idea.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, you already act like a possessive boyfriend. Trust me, I know the signs.”
“I do not want to be her boyfriend. I only want to keep an eye on her,” he protests, not sounding sure.
I laugh. “Keep telling yourself that, Tate.”
He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “How about you? How are you coming along with proposing?”
“Jack ass.” Of course, he turns the conversation to me.
He laughs. “No really. Still planning on Thanksgiving?”
“As of right now. Yes.”
“That’s in four days.”
“Yes, genius. I can count the days.” I’ve been counting them down since she told me she loved me at her mother’s house.
“Well, I wish you luck.” He lifts his beer to take a drink.
“That didn’t sound very sincere.”
He shrugs. “Take it as you want.” He faces me. “Everyone needs some luck.” He then turns to look over at Missy as he releases a sigh. I have a feeling he needs more luck than I do when it comes to whatever he feels for her.
I plan on making this the best week of our life. I only have to work for two days this week. I want to spend the rest of it in our home showing Angel just how much I love her.
*****
I sit in my parents’ living room as I watch Angel amble in with a Bud Light in one hand and a scotch on ice in the other. She walks over to my dad first, handing him his drink. They share a few words, but I’m not listening. All I can think about is how nervous I am. I’m going to ask her to marry me. I have the ring in my pocket. I have thought of nothing else all week and now I’m nervous as fuck. What if she hates me for ruining her mother’s ring? What if she doesn’t feel that we are ready and it fucks up everything, causing her to run again?
“Here you go, baby.” I look up, take the Bud Light from her hand, and pull her down onto my lap. She laughs as she tries to get up.
“I have to help your mother finish cooking.”
I let her get up but pull her face down to mine as I lift up to meet her lips. “Thanks, Angel. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she mumbles against my mouth. Then she pulls away and grabs my beer out of my hand. She looks up to the big screen as she takes a sip. “Wow!” she says excitedly. “They’re actually winning.” She nods her head to herself as she hands me back my beer and walks out of the room.
I bounce my knee a few times as I take a sip of my beer. I don’t know where I’m going to propose just yet. If I’m going to do it like Micah in front of everyone, or take her out back by the pond where I had given her my necklace.
“Son?”
I look over to my father’s smiling face. “Hmm?” I take a bigger swig of my beer.
He smirks. “Why are you so nervous?” He arches an eyebrow.
I look around the living room, and when I know we are alone, I lean toward him, placing my elbows on my knees. “I’m going to propose,” I whisper so quietly I can barely hear it.
He laughs as he shakes his head. I instantly feel sick. “What?” I question, he just laughs harder as he clearly heard the desperation in my voice. I told him a while ago that I plan to propose, just not when exactly. “Think it’s too soon?” I nod to myself. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I stand up but he pushes me back into my seat.
“Calm down,” he begs through his laughter. He clears his throat and once he’s caught his breath, he looks at me seriously. “It’s not too soon. You and Samantha were made for each other. You have nothing to be afraid about, she will say yes!”
I nod my head, although I’m extremely skeptical. “But, I would wait until you hear what your mom and I have to tell you kids.” He winks then sits back in his chair.
What he and Mom have to tell us? Is he retiring? No, that can’t be it. He’s too young to retire and the man loves his job. I know it’s not a divorce; they are just as much in love as Samantha and I are. Then a thought hits me.
“Are you guys pregnant?” I ask in horror. I mean it’s not uncommon for couples that already have grown children to get pregnant.
My dad chokes a bit as he shakes his head really fast. “Are you fucking crazy?” He laughs. “Because we sure as hell aren’t.”
I start laughing, too.
“There’s no way in hell I could go through all the stress you put me through again without having a heart attack at my age.”
“Stress?” I frown.
“Yes, your mom and I worried about you all the time. We would stay up until you came home from every party you guys went to. Then when you went off to college.” He shakes his head. “I worried about you, but your mother was a wreck for months.”
I sit there staring at him wide-eyed. They always let us do wh
atever we wanted. They were not the type of parents that would call a hundred times or come out looking for us.
“Don’t act so surprised.” He laughs again. “Just wait until you guys have kids. And all the payback you will get for the way you acted.” He laughs as he leans back in his chair and watches the football game on the screen.
“Hey guys,” Micah says as he walks in and sits down on the couch next to me. He and Dad strike up a conversation about the football game as I imagine Angel having our child.
I have never thought of myself with a child, but I know she would be a wonderful mother. She has so much love to give; I would give her as many kids as she wants. I would never not give her the chance to be a mother.
“Hey guys, the table is set.” Angel pops her head in and announces.
Micah stands up and walks out first. I look over to Dad as he grabs my arm to stop me from leaving the room. “Were you going to do it after dinner?’
“Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair nervously.
He shakes his head. “Wait.” He pauses as if he is debating on how to tell me something. “Your mom and I have a gift to give all of you guys, and you might find it even more beneficial for what you have in mind.” He smiles as he lets go of my arm and walks out of the room.
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? How is a gift beneficial to me proposing? I’m so confused.
We all gather around the dining room table and my mother starts clapping her hands to get our attention.
“So, we have a surprise for all of you before we have Thanksgiving dinner,” she says excitedly.
Dad gets up from the table and walks over to her. He stands behind her as he places his hands on her shoulder. I look around the table and see everyone has the same confused look on their faces as I do.
“We are taking you all on vacation for your Christmas present,” my dad announces happily.
“Vacation?” I repeat.
My mom nods. “Everyone here. Even Josh and Courtney.” She smiles over to them.
“Oh, we couldn’t….” Courtney shakes her head.
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