I smile and nod, acknowledging the meaning behind his words. This is about us, and from now on, no one else matters.
“Thank you so much, Cole. This means more to me than you will ever know.” I hold out my hand, taking in the beauty of the sparkling diamond. It really is something else.
I couldn’t believe I was the one wearing this man’s ring. I never envisaged that my life would turn out this way. My life, my existence was pathetic at best. I have been through and witnessed things no child should ever see. I’ve been so close the devil, yet here I stand, so far removed from that with this angel of a man who is now my life. I look up at Cole. He’s talking to the women behind the counter who has reappeared. I hadn’t even noticed. I was so engrossed in this amazing moment of clarity.
After a short drive, we arrive back at the apartment. The whole ride home I grip a hold of Cole’s hand, my face beaming as I keep looking at the ring on my finger.
“Oh, I love it, Cole,” I coo. “Almost as much as I love you.” I lean to him, kissing him softly on his stubble covered cheek.
“If you love this, you’re going to be in for a huge surprise when we get inside.”
My eyes go wide as I gape at him. Shit, another surprise? “Really?” I question. “Something else?”
“You betcha,” he sings, jumping out of the truck, and racing around to help me down. He takes both of my hands as he helps me, momentarily stopping to stare at the ring on my finger.
“Damn, that looks good on you! Boy, I did good.” He grins, the sexy ass kind of grin. I hold my breath, taking in every inch of him. The warmth and tingle of excitement stirs within me.
“You did do good!” I reach up, sealing a kiss on his soft and full lips. He lets out the smallest of moans as he kisses me back passionately. His tongue explores my mouth as we connect as one so effortlessly, so beautifully. We break our kiss, and I breathe deeply, trying to catch the breath he has just stolen.
“Ready for surprise number two?” He raises his eyebrows, the green of his eyes appear to lighten as I stare deeply into them, as if looking into the depths of his soul.
“Sure,” I answer nervously, not quite sure what the next surprise is going to be. I suddenly stop in my tracks, remembering the grocery bags in the truck. “What about those bags?” I point back toward the truck.
“Oh, don’t worry about those.” He shrugs, leading me up the steps and into the apartment. I watch, stunned as he turns the handle to the apartment, without using his keys to unlock the door first. I don’t get chance to question before he pulls me through the threshold. I notice several pairs of shoes in the hall. I furrow my brow, confused at who’s here. I don’t recognize the shoes piled up as we walk past and through the living area toward the steps.
“What? What’s going on?” I stutter, totally confused as I search the empty room. I follow him up the stairs, my eyes roaming, searching for some clues, some sort of answers to what is going on. As we reach the top of the stairs, I hear some chatter and small banging sounds coming from the bedroom. Cole stretches his hand out, pushing lightly on the door into the spare room. He stands to the side allowing me a clear view. I gasp loudly, my hands flying to my mouth in disbelief.
The room is full of furniture.
Baby furniture.
The room is full of beautiful crisp, white furniture. I step forward ever so slightly, glancing around at the room. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. A crib, changing station, a huge dresser, a rocking chair, and footstool complete the room. It looks stunning.
I feel Cole’s hand on the bottom of my back, guiding me further inside the room.
“Surprise!” roars Ash, Pete, and Jocelyn in unison, jumping in front of me from behind of the door.
I jump, holding my hand to my chest and letting out a loud laugh. My other hand flies at Ash’s arm. I point around the room, as tears well up in my eyes, shaking my head in utter disbelief.
“You guys did this?” I choke out, looking between the three of them.
They all smile widely as I slowly walk around the room, taking in all they have done.
“Guys, this looks amazing. I can’t believe you got all this furniture up while we were out.” I glance back over at the door, noticing Cole leaning against the frame of the door, the sweetest smile on his face.
I walk back over to him. “You did this? For me and the baby?” I ask a little in shock. “You organized this whole thing?”
He nods, pulling me to him with one strong movement, my bump resting against him as he holds me tightly. I step on my toes, reaching, and kissing him quickly before breaking the hold to look around some more and chat with Ash, Pete, and Jocelyn.
This room is going to be my little slice of heaven. I slip into the rocking chair, trying it out as Jocelyn chats to me about the super cute baby bedding she’s adding into the crib. I get up to help her, everything perfectly in its place. A huge mural on the wall behind the crib.
We stand chatting while I look at all of the beautiful things in the room. The three guys head downstairs to get the groceries out of the truck.
“Thank you so much for this.” I gesture with my hands out. “This is beyond beautiful.”
“Yep, he really did well, didn’t he?”
I nod as I close the closet door.
“I really need to speak to you about something, Kennedy,” she says tentatively.
“Sure,” I answer.
“It’s nothing to worry about.” She holds out her hand for me to take. “We just need to make arrangements for you to be interviewed again by the police. They’ve finally charged Christopher, along with a few of the other senior members, with additional crimes. They need the rest of your statement sooner than later at this point. I’m not going to lie to you, Kennedy; this is one hell of a complicated case. The members of the commune involved have been charged with several different offences, some relating to you, others based on evidence they saw at the property.”
“Anytime. I’m free anytime. Just let me know when you need me to come with you and I’m there.” I smile sadly. Knowing I have to speak to the police fills me with mixed emotions. I’m happy the bastard will get what’s coming to him, but on the other hand, I have to relive the whole damn thing by telling them what happened to me over the course of my life. I have to prove what he did to me was real. I know it’s just part of the process in getting him behind bars for a long time, but it’s not something I’m looking forward to. It’s been weeks since everything happened. I knew I couldn’t go on forever, ignoring.
“I know this can’t be easy for you, sweetie. Especially, with everything else that is going on, but we have to get him locked up for good. That way he can’t hurt anymore innocent children.
“I know. It’s just the thought of reliving the whole thing, you know?”
“It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll be there for you, every step of the way. Make no mistake about that!”
I let out a quiet puff of laughter. I love this amazing woman deeply. She’s the only mother like figure I’ve ever had and the only one I will ever need. I do sometimes wonder what happened to my own parents. Were they out there somewhere? I feared that was something I would never find out. Christopher had always said I had no parents, that they died just after I was born, but that was the only bit of information I ever got from him, or at least the only bit I remember.
Jocelyn and I talk some more about the police interviews and how Mr. Peterson will be there to help me. He doesn’t normally do that type of thing, but he has a vested interest where I’m concerned.
She explains to me how he has worked with the police to help gather evidence and witness statements for the prosecution. I know from what she’d told me before he’d been away from home a lot, but I didn’t realize just how involved he has been until now.
We make our way downstairs, the raucous sound of laughter filling the apartment is like music to my ears. As we approach the bottom step, I look across the living area and into the small ki
tchen. The boys have food piled up all over that they can barely move.
“What on earth?” I laugh trying to work out what the hell the three of them are doing. I look up, through my laughter, and Pete’s hazel eyes lock on mine. I try to avoid the magnetism toward him and continue as if all’s okay… Who am I kidding?
I stand there gazing into space wondering if this will ever change. Will the spark between us will ever die? I love Cole and don’t want to feel this way toward Pete. I shake my head and walk into the kitchen area, bumping hips with Ash.
“Hey, Barbie.” He quickly kisses my cheek before reaching and putting some of the groceries in the cupboard.
“I knew we’d make a housewife of you!” I tease, sticking the tip of my tongue out at him.
“Girl! My skills in the kitchen are off the chart!” he sings.
I laugh a little, leaning back against the countertop, wondering if there’s anything I can do.
I look over to Cole who nods his head at me. “Here, catch this, baby.”
I hold out my hands, catching a can. “Go take a load off. We’ll be out in a sec. Here, mom,” He passes her a drink and together we make our way outside. I squint as we walk through the doors, the sun so bright it’s blinding. I fall back onto the lounger, the weight off my feet feeling like heaven. I’m so exhausted. The excitement of today mixed with the lack of sleep is knocking the shit out of me. I rest my head against the back of the chair, the warmth of the sun against my face is heavenly.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful out here.” Jocelyn walks out onto the lawn area admiring the few plants that are in bloom. “You must make sure you water these, Kennedy. They’re so beautiful, we wouldn’t want them to die.” I look up to see her bent down in front of the small section of flowers.
“Sure thing.” I smile over to her. I feel a gentle hand squeeze my shoulder. I place mine over it, turning to see who it is. The sun so bright I can barely make out who it is. I lift my free hand up to my brows, hoping to block out some of the light. As soon as I realize it’s Pete, I remove my hand from his and pick up my drink with both hands, sipping it slowly. I daren’t look up at him. Before I know it, he’s kneeling in front of me, pulling my left hand away from my drink.
“What’s this?” he whispers. My eyes flit over to Jocelyn, who is still doing something in the flower bed. I snap my hand away, tearing my eyes away from his.
“What do you want, Pete?” I whisper so quietly.
“Just asking a simple question, not breaking any rules here, am I? Friends aren’t we?” He cocks his head to the side, his eyes boring into me.
“If you really want to know,” I continue to whisper, “this is my birthday present. It’s a precious ring.”
Pete just looks at me with a confused look across his face. “You mean a promise ring?” he sniggers.
“You know what I mean, Pete,” I snap. I feel the embarrassment heating my face. I’m pretty sure my cheeks are bright red. I stand quickly, pushing back on his shoulder as I storm past. He loses the balance he had in his squat position and drops straight onto his ass. I turn around, a smug look on my face. I giggle as I walk toward Jocelyn, handing her the can she left on the table.
Once I’m away from Pete, I turn back to see him jumping to his feet. A grin spreads widely on his face as he walks back into the apartment.
The time seems to fly by and before I know it, its late afternoon and I’m beat. Hours of unpacking and trying to get everything sorted in the apartment has taken its toll on me. I collapse into the armchair, an exaggerated breath exhaling as I sit back against the soft comfort of the seat. Dammit. It feels so good to take the weight off my feet. I look over at Cole in the kitchen. He’s waving his arms around in some sort of flummoxed tantrum.
“Fuck it.” He pinches his finger over the lid of his eyes. “I have no idea where the hell I’m gonna put all of this shit.”
A shake my head to myself. “Well you did buy enough food to feed an army,” I chortle.
“We need all this food.” he pouts. “We just have nowhere to put it all.” He kicks out in anger, knocking over a bottle of something I can’t see behind the counter. “By the way,” he continues, “did Pete seem a little weird today? I just felt like he was really off.”
“No, uh, not that I noticed,” I lie.
Shit. This is the last thing I wanted to happen, for this whole shitty thing between me and Pete to affect his relationship with Cole. I feel real shitty about myself without adding this into the mix. I swallow down hard, tearing my focus away from Cole, resting my head against the chair. Closing my eyes tightly, I block out the bright afternoon sunlight.
Cole
I walk over to where Kennedy is sitting, mouth wide open, catching flies as she snoozes soundly. I feel fucking shitty about waking her, but I’d arranged to take her to visit Hope and I’m all too aware that it’s getting late and Hope’s foster parents are routine freaks. They want us to visit before Hope needs to get ready for bedtime. I extend my arm, touching her softly on the hand. She jumps out of her skin, despite my gentle attempts at waking her as to not scare her. I look at her face; her eyes are bloodshot and her hand presses against her chest. She frantically searches the room, as if to figure out where she is.
I kneel down in front of her. “It’s just me, baby,” I soothe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you, it’s just we’ve somewhere we need to be.” I catch as her eyes adjust and her body language softens.
“I’m just so tired,” she croaks. “I feel like that’s the first time I’ve had any real sleep in such a long time.”
“Baby, I’m sorry.” I lean in, kissing her gently on the forehead. Shit, I feel bad, but I know she wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing Hope.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t something so important, I never would have woken you.”
“Something important?” she quizzes.
“Well someone,” I correct her.
I see her shift quickly in the seat, her eyes widening with anticipation. “Well, who then?” she asks excitedly.
“That would be telling.” I tap the side of my nose. She puts her hands on the arms of the chair, pushing herself up like an old lady before teetering off toward the stairs. She looks back at me, her eyes narrowed, and her lips together, pouting ever so slightly. She points at me before disappearing up the staircase. I move over to the breakfast bar that separates the kitchen from the living area, hopping onto one of the barstools, patiently waiting for her.
Fifteen goddamn minutes I wait, and when she finally reappears she doesn’t look any different. Her hair is the same and I’m pretty sure she has the same clothes on. I shake my head, confused at what she’s been doing up there.
We finally make our way out of the apartment and jump into the truck. Hope’s foster home is around a thirty-minute drive from our new apartment. I catch Kennedy searching out the window, trying to figure out where I’m taking her.
Eventually, she looks directly at me, the most beautiful smile adorning her face. I know she has worked it out. She turns a little in her seat, her body facing me. “We are going to see Hope,” she sings.
I shoot her a sideways smile, letting her know she’s right. I look at her and it’s like someone has ignited a fire in her. She’s totally buzzing about seeing little Hope. I can’t even begin to understand what it must be like to have that kind of bond; especially after the fucked up shit they both went through, but I’m glad something positive came out of what can only be described as the most jacked up thing I’ve ever known.
The rest of the trip there Kennedy chatters about all things Hope. Wondering whether she has settled and started school. I know that arranging this trip was the best thing possible for Kennedy. Becca and Simon, Hope’s foster parents, were so thrilled when I called to arrange our visit. I know from what mom said that she really is in safe hands.
I turn into the street where Hope is staying, leaning over the steering wheel, searching for the correct house num
ber. I slow down the truck as I notice the house just on my left. I pull into the driveway of the small, but homely looking house.
“Oh yeah, this is the house.” Kennedy points as I park the car.
“Better late than never, yeah?” I chuckle as I hop out of the truck, racing around to help Kennedy get out. I open the door, offering my hand to her.
She looks down at me, the sweetest smile lighting her eyes as she takes my hand. “Why thank you, sir,” she sweetly chuckles.
Once down, she releases the hold on my hand, rushing to the front door. She knocks light, holding her hands behind her back, as she rocks back and forth, anxiously waiting for someone to answer the door. We hear the clicking of the bolt unlocking and the door slowly opens. Hope stands there with Becca behind her.
A loud squeal of excitement echoes through the street as Hope runs out toward Kennedy. Kennedy drops to one knee, taking Hope in a huge embrace. The sound of excitement from both of them is heartwarming and somewhat exhilarating. I look up to Becca who stands there watching and admiring the embrace between the two of them. I shuffle forward a little, extending out my arm, offering my hand to her.
“So nice to finally meet you, Cole. Come in.” Becca gestures with her hands, waving for us to enter.
I look back at the two girls. They’re chatting quietly between themselves. I try to catch Kennedy’s attention, but she’s too engrossed in her conversation with Hope. I walk over, casually placing my hand on her shoulder. She looks up to me, her face filled with happiness and adoration.
“Let’s go inside,” I offer. She smiles, as she gets back on her feet and guides Hope inside. The two of them lock hands as they bounce back into the house. I shut the door behind us, following them through the small hall and into the bright family room. Hope turns to me, stops, and studies my face for a moment.
“Hey, Cole,” she speaks loudly, holding out her hand, rolled into a fist.
“Hey, yourself,” I reply, bumping fists with her. She exaggerates the contact by making a firework sound and action with her hand. She winks at me, giggling as she turns her attention back to Kennedy.
Keeping Hope (Broken Girl Series) Page 19