by Laura Pavlov
“Hey, Crew. What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m on my way to your office. We need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Maura
Ivy, Coco, Addy, and Gigi had gotten in their cars yesterday and driven here to be with me. Even though they were graduating tomorrow, they’d come home for the night. They were all leaving in a few hours, but here they were sprawled out on my bed with a box of our favorite cookies from the bakery in town.
My father had entered rehab as his drinking had apparently been at the root of his undoing. He’d suffered a mental breakdown and had finally admitted that he had a problem. Maybe he’d done so because Mom had forced his hand, but either way, he needed help. Apparently, Dad had started abusing alcohol a few months ago. I hadn’t realized it because I’d been at school, and he’d been ignoring me. Mom and I figured out the timeline, and the revelation that he had another daughter had most likely been the reason he’d decided to numb himself more than usual.
It wasn’t an excuse, but it was his reality. He and I hadn’t talked yet. Mom had gone to the house and basically told him he would lose his family if he didn’t seek help. He’d surprised everyone by agreeing. My brothers didn’t think he’d ever admit that he needed help, so maybe this was the first step. My mother was still processing the fact that my father had another child. I talked to her about Piper as she’d wanted to know more about her family, and we’d both cried for hours. The secrets and the lies hurt terribly, but she certainly didn’t blame Piper for my father’s actions.
The devastation that he’d struck me was still painful to wrap my head around. My father had never laid a hand on me. Mom wanted me to speak to someone about it, a therapist of sorts, but I wasn’t ready. Everything hurt. Both physically and emotionally. My face still throbbed even days after the night from hell.
Most of all, my heart was not okay. I’d never hurt like this before. My father had broken a piece of it, but I ached for Crew. Everything was better when I was with him, and right now I needed to stay away. His attorneys had basically told me that I’d sink the company if I came around. They’d asked us both to refrain from calling, talking, or seeing one another right now. Staying in Willow Springs and keeping my distance was the best I could do for Crew at the moment. But it hurt like hell. I needed him more than I’d ever needed anyone.
“If I eat one more cookie, I will not fit in my graduation dress,” Addy said as she popped one more mini chocolate chip cookie in her mouth.
“Oh gosh. We know how well your mama handles weight fluctuations.” Coco barked out a laugh.
Gigi chuckled. “We have the gowns we can wear over our dresses. I vote for eating more cookies.”
“You sure you don’t want to come back with me? We could walk together tomorrow? I can cover up the bruising with makeup,” Ivy said.
Tomorrow was my college graduation. It was supposed to be this big celebration, but I wasn’t even attending now. The bruises on my face were a reminder that everything in my life was just as tattered and bruised. I didn’t know what the future held at this point. I’d never felt more lost. More alone. Even with my best friends here and my brothers and my mother—I was broken.
“I can’t go. My father is in treatment. My mother doesn’t know what’s going to happen with their marriage. She says she could have forgiven everything up until he slapped me. But she doesn’t know how to unsee that whole scene. Maybe time will heal. I sure hope so. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking up my family.” I swiped at the tears running down my cheek. I couldn’t imagine there were many more tears left to fall. I’d cried nonstop these past few days.
“You didn’t break up your family, Maur. Your father did that all on his own. It’s ironic really… your mother is willing to forgive his love child, yet he didn’t trust her enough to tell her and destroyed his marriage anyway.” Coco popped a cookie in her mouth and fell back on the bed.
“I guess she found out about the affair back then. I was only two years old, so I don’t remember any of it. Wes and Lyle remembered Dad moving out for a while. Mom gave him an ultimatum and he chose her. He chose us. Obviously she didn’t know that Sarah had gotten pregnant. They’d gone to therapy and found their way back to one another. She said if he’d just come to her and said that he didn’t know about Piper, they could have worked through it. But forcing me to keep the secret, ignoring his other child, and obviously the icing on the cake was the slap from hell.”
“He’s such a fucker. I never liked your dad.” Coco sat back up and shook her head.
“He’s not dead, you fool, he’s in treatment. And I’m fairly certain Mr. Benson isn’t a huge fan of yours,” Ivy said, and even I couldn’t help but laugh, because it was true.
“That’s right. All because I helped Maura climb out her window and go skinny dipping junior year. The man acts like we were turning tricks.” Coco rolled her eyes, and everyone fell back in a fit of giggles.
I needed my girls.
But I needed Crew more.
“What are you going to do about Crew?” Gigi asked.
“I don’t know. I miss him so much. The press has painted such a torrid picture. And that’s all thanks to my dad. Maybe Crew will figure out that I’m just not worth all this drama. I don’t know. We’ve cut all communication over the past two days.” I shrugged.
“Trust me when I tell you that you are worth it all, Maura Benson. You are good to the core, and he loves you.” Addy wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close.
“I’m sure his family hates me. Look at all the trouble my father caused. I still can’t believe how spiteful he was.” I reached for a tissue and dabbed at my face again.
“That has nothing to do with you. That is all on your father. I think he was panicked about being caught. Clearly numbing himself. I know a lot about this from Gray’s father’s struggles,” Gigi said.
I nodded. There was no doubt about it. My father had never been the most sensitive man, but I’d never been afraid of him. And I was afraid of him that night. He wasn’t recognizable.
A monster.
And to make that call to the press just to hurt Crew. He couldn’t have hurt me more. The slap. The fall. The banged-up face. None of it hurt as much as what he’d done to Crew.
Maybe this was my punishment for calling him out about Piper.
Now we were both alone and unhappy.
Piper had been checking in on me daily, and she felt horrible for the way everything had blown up in my face. Literally and figuratively.
“I agree. And your parents weren’t perfect before this. There have been rumors for a long time about your dad, and I’m sure your mother hears them. So, none of this is on you,” Ivy said.
I nodded. “I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t agree to meet with Piper a few months ago. And then I feel guilty about thinking about that because I’ve gotten so close to her. But I wonder sometimes, if I’d just ignored the message would my family be okay today?”
More tears.
“Oh, please. The man has a child. He’s had affairs. He had a mental breakdown because of it. This was not going away. This was all going to come out whether you met with Piper or not. Your dad has too many skeletons to sweep under the carpet. He’s such a pretentious prick,” Coco huffed.
“Can we stop with the names? She’s already upset.” Ivy chuckled and everyone did their best not to laugh. Coco was right. My dad was a pretentious prick.
But he was still my dad.
“And what about Crew? You told your mom everything, right? That had to feel good to get to tell her that you’re in love. I know it’s been hard to keep it a secret,” Gigi asked.
“She and I sat up all night the night that everything happened. I told her everything. She cried that I’d had to keep it all a secret. She was disappointed that I hadn’t come to her, hadn’t trusted her
enough. She said that life has a way of working out and she’s genuinely happy for me.”
“Oh. Lucky you. What’s that like? My mom still makes little digs at Jett.” Addy shook her head. “And he just takes it all in stride.”
They were such an amazing couple. I was happy for Addy and Gigi. They’d both found their soul mates and I’d always envied it. Until I found mine. And the universe was playing a cruel joke on me by giving us so many obstacles to jump over just to be together.
At some point Crew might just get tired of jumping.
I never would.
He was it for me, and I knew it. Which was why everything hurt so much right now. Because I didn’t know what would happen.
“Tell him not to take it personal. Your mother makes her little digs at me too. If she makes one more comment about my combat boots, I just might kick her where the sun don’t shine. Taking a combat boot to the ass might be exactly what Savannah Edington needs.” Coco wriggled her brows.
Now it was my turn to fall back in laughter with the girls.
This was exactly what I needed.
“I love you guys so much,” I said.
“It’s all going to be all right, Maur. I promise. What did Crew’s legal team say? How long do you need to keep your distance?” Gigi asked.
“A couple weeks. And Crew did this interview with Dallas Life. He had to pretend we weren’t together at the time of the interview because I was still interning at the company. He’d told me how bad he felt saying he was single when he wasn’t. So, I suppose when that comes out it will all look like my father was just spreading a rumor. And what really gets me is that Crew could be throwing my father under the bus in the press. He could go public about Piper, about my father striking me. But he hasn’t retaliated at all.”
“Because he loves you so much,” Ivy said, squeezing my hand.
I hoped she was right.
“Okay. You guys need to get on the road. Graduation is tomorrow. Get your butts back to school. FaceTime me if you can. I love you.” I pushed to my feet.
It was time for them to get back. There were tassels to turn and caps to throw up in the air.
“I can’t believe I have to do the party alone,” Ivy groaned. “Your father made it so bougie and now you aren’t even going to be there.”
“Hey. You do not get to complain, Ive. I have to celebrate with Cricket Radcliff. She bought me a dress that looks like the same dress Mary wore in the nursery rhyme!” Coco paced around the room.
“Mary?” Addy asked.
“Ummm… Mary had a freaking little lamb. Do you remember the sleeves on that thing? I told her I bought my own dress. It’s a white slip dress. It could be mistaken for a sexy nightgown so I’m sure it will send her sideways.”
“And will you be wearing the boots?” I asked, pushing to stand so I could hug them.
“But of course. Combat boots are my jam. And with the future Whitney Gitney being there in her red-heeled Manolos, I need to keep balance in the force, right?”
We all burst out in laughter as we said our goodbyes. “I love you guys so much. Thanks for being here.”
One by one they hugged me tight one more time before heading out the door.
I dropped to sit on my bed and exhaustion took over. I fell asleep thinking about emerald green eyes that always made me feel like everything would be okay.
And I hoped it would be.
“Hey, sweetheart. You’ve been asleep for hours. There’s someone here to see you,” my mother said, stroking the hair away from my face.
“What time is it?” I asked. Not that it mattered. I had nowhere to be. No plan for anything beyond today. The companies I had interviewed with had given me two weeks to make a decision. I had a lot of thinking to do. I doubted the offer to work at Carlisle was still even on the table after this whole mess, but now I had to decide whether I stayed in Willow Springs or went back to Dallas. And that all depended on where I stood with Crew.
“It’s almost nine o’clock. You slept through dinner. Are you up for seeing a visitor?” she asked. The room was dark aside from the light coming in through the window from the moon.
“It depends who it is.” I pushed to sit up, still feeling disoriented.
“I think you’ll be happy.” She moved to her feet and flipped on the bathroom light to brighten the room a bit. My eyes took a minute to adjust when she left the room.
“Hey,” Crew said when he walked through the door.
I was on my feet and lunging for him before any words left my mouth. He wrapped his arms around me, and I broke down. I sobbed and cried and no words were said for the first few minutes. He just held me like he always did.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he whispered.
When I finally pulled myself together, I led him over to the bed to sit and he pulled me onto his lap.
“How are you here? Is this smart? Aren’t we supposed to keep our distance?” I swiped at my cheeks.
“I just don’t give a shit anymore.” He laughed as his fingers stroked my hair. “I’d walk away from all of it for you. So, if anyone has a problem with us being together, they can give it their best shot.”
“I can’t believe you came to my house. Never thought I’d see the day.” I shrugged.
“Wes came to see me. We have no beef. I will love your family because you love them. Your father, on the other hand… we have work to do. Not because of the past. I’m ready to bury all that shit, Maura. But I swear to God if he ever puts a hand on you again, it will be the last time.” He placed his fingers beneath my chin and turned my face so he could assess the two bruises. He cursed under his breath and pulled me back against his chest.
“What does your family have to say about all of this? I’m sure your grandfather isn’t happy with me.”
“Baby, no one blames you for this. Your father clearly has some issues, but my concern is you. This was supposed to be the happiest time of your life. I don’t want you to let anyone take that from you. Especially not the drama in the press. You worked hard to get here. Don’t lose sight of that.”
“I can’t go to graduation. My father isn’t here. Everything is a mess. And look at me,” I said, using my hands to call attention to the discoloring.
“Please. You’re Maura fucking Benson. This is nothing. And I have a solution for that.” He set me on the bed and pushed to his feet, yanking something from his back pocket. He flipped the light on in the room and held up the T-shirt in his hands with words written across the front of it.
You should see the other guy!
“You did not get me that shirt.” I burst out in laughter, shaking my head with disbelief.
He moved to sit back down beside me. “Baby, life is going to knock you down sometimes. But you just have to keep getting back up. I will always be here to lift you up. And I’ll be dammed if you are going to miss your college graduation because of any of this shit.”
I reached for the T-shirt. “The other guy looks fine.”
“The other guy is in a facility because he can’t handle himself. He’s also twice your size. You’re the warrior here. I will be there with you.”
“And what if you’re seen with me? Are you really going to stoke the fire?”
“A. Do not use words like stoke when you haven’t been in my bed for several days. It rhymes with stroke.” He raised a brow and my head fell back in laughter. “B. Like I said, I don’t give a shit. My family, my grandfather, hell, even our chief legal is on board. Instead of hiding, we can show everyone just how in love we are. And if anyone has a problem with it, they can fuck off.”
“Charmed, Crew Carlisle.”
“Hey, what can I say? The only one I care to charm is you.”
I pushed up on my knees and wrapped my arms around him. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.
You’re it for me, Maura Benson. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said over my sobs, and he pulled me back on his lap and wrapped his arms around me.
“So from here on out, it’s you and me,” he whispered against my ear.
“You and me.”
Always.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Crew
Maura and I left for Dallas last night after I convinced her to come home with me. She was still hesitant about attending her graduation ceremony today, and she didn’t know all that I had planned for her just yet. Her mom and I had worked out all the details, and I’d been texting with Wes, Lyle, and Ivy about the party.
We were moving forward as planned.
Her father had taken enough from her. He wasn’t getting this too.
We’d taken the helicopter back late last night, and she’d crashed on the car ride home. I’d carried her up and put her to bed. Diane Batone had called to let me know that they felt the article would do best if they released it now, considering the firestorm that had happened over the past few days. They had shifted things around and the article would go to print on Monday. I was fine with it. The sooner, the better in my mind. It would most definitely stop all the gossip and hearsay.
And if people didn’t like it and it hurt the company, so be it. I’d work my ass off to rebuild and work through it. But I was not losing Maura. It took me a long time to realize that I’d been going through the motions for a long time. Belle’s death had affected me in ways I hadn’t understood before now.
And now I’d found what had been missing from my life and I wasn’t giving it up for anything.
Not even for a company that I loved.
Because I loved Maura more.
I sat on the edge of the bed, not wanting to wake her, but if she wanted to make it there on time, I needed to get her up and moving.
Her head lay on the black satin pillow with her brown hair sprawled all around. I brushed her hair away from her face, gently grazing the bruise that still colored her cheek. I had to push the anger away every time I thought about what happened. But I’d wasted too many years being angry. I wanted to focus on my girl today.