Beginning of Forever (Heaven Hill #7)

by Laramie Briscoe

  “You’re lucky it was me that pulled up here and gave you all kinds of time to get your shit together and not your mom.” Liam pointed at him before having a seat across from him.

  Drew at least had the decency to look down at his hands, properly reprimanded. “Sorry,” he whispered.

  “Dude, not that I begrudge you doing what you’re doing. It’s normal and natural, but you have got to clean up after yourself.”

  “I do, Dad, she’s been here lots of times while y’all weren’t here, and nobody knew until today,” he blurted.

  “You sure as hell don’t do as well in the truck.” Liam pulled the condom wrapper from his pocket and passed it over to him.

  “Fuck,” Drew cursed.

  “Yeah, fuck. You’re mom found it and accused me of cheatin’ on her.”

  Drew was shocked; he didn’t know what to say to his dad. That wasn’t what he had wanted to happen. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d cleaned up after myself better than that.”

  “It’s okay, but we have to talk about some shit here. Neither your mom nor I want to be grandparents right now. Are you serious about Charity?” he asked, looking him square in the face.

  “I care about her, yeah. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with her if that’s what you’re asking. I’m just havin’ a good time right now. You and I both know she’s going off to college in a few months. I’m trying not to get too attached.”

  Liam had figured these would be the words out of Drew’s mouth. “Then you need to make sure you’ve got this under control. You don’t want any surprises.”

  “I know,” he whispered.

  It was then that Liam took note of how deep Drew’s voice had gotten, and for the first time, he looked at him like he hadn’t seen him in years. He was almost as tall as Liam now, a beard showed on his face, and Tyler had been correct, he was almost as big as him.

  “Look, let’s just be honest with each other here. You’re a man, and we need to start treating you like it, but you’ve also gotta be honest with us. If you’re out with her, we want to know it. Don’t be sneaking her in here either. You want her over, you ask. Got it?”

  “I got it.”

  “Two more things,” Liam finished as Drew started to get up. “Don’t flaunt the fact that you’re having sex in front of your mom. She’s not having an easy time of it. You’re still her little man; she’s not used to you being old enough to do this.”

  “I understand. It’s not like I wanted my mom to know I was bangin’ a chick…ya know? I’ve kept it quiet for a while; I hoped to keep it quiet until I moved out.”

  Liam grinned. “And the last thing. Good job, Drew. Charity’s always been damn cute.”

  Drew blushed and bent his head down. “I know. We’ve been friends for a very long time, and while there was always something there, it took a while for her to see me as anything more. Especially after the whole steroid issue, I thought I’d fucked up for good, but she gave me another chance. I had to prove to her that I have a brain.”

  “Just remember to use it,” Liam reminded as he got up and patted him on the back.

  “Do you mind if I use the truck tonight? We were going to go to the movies.”

  Liam groaned and threw the keys to Drew. “Take me back to the clubhouse first, that way I can put your mom’s mind at ease. Remember what I said.”

  “I know.” He walked over to where Liam stood and put his arms around him in a hug. “Thanks for caring enough about me to worry. I really did luck up when you came into my life, and I’m proud to call you my dad.”

  Uncharacteristic tears clogged Liam’s throat. “I’m proud to call you my son,” he said as he hugged him back. Reaching over, he ruffled the hair on Drew’s head to cover up the emotion. The next words he spoke were gruff, but they were the honest truth. “We both got pretty damn lucky.”

  ‡

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Are you ladies sure you’re gonna be okay here tonight?” Tyler asked the group of women who had gathered at his house.

  The run Heaven Hill was about to go on would take most of the manpower they had, and since March was upon them and the newscasters were calling for snow, he hadn’t wanted to leave Meredith and Addie alone. March could sometimes be the worst when it came to snow in south-central Kentucky. When he’d called for backup, he was surprised when Mandy and Charity had readily agreed to stay with Meredith for him.

  “We’re good,” Mandy told him. “And if anything should happen, Drew and Dalton are a phone call away.”

  “And,” Meredith reminded him, “You know that Travis has eyes on this house all the time. He’s sticking behind, and no matter how irritated I get at him, I trust him.”

  Tyler did too, but he really wished Rooster, Layne, or Jagger were also sticking around. He knew he could trust Drew and Dalton to take care of things too, didn’t mean he couldn’t shake the feeling he had. “I know, I’m just worried because of the snow in the forecast.”

  “You act like I’m not.” She pinched his side. “Y’all are gonna be riding your bikes on 65; that makes me incredibly nervous.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Tyler assured her. Glancing at his phone, he realized he had to go if he was going to meet the guys. “I gotta be going. You ladies be safe. If anything feels outta the ordinary, give Travis a call, and then call the guys.”

  “Yes sir.” Mandy saluted him, giggling when he shot her a glare.

  “Don’t be flippant, I’m serious.”

  She couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

  When he was finally out the door, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

  “He’s a little high-strung,” Charity mentioned, pursing her lips.

  “Yeah…” Meredith grimaced. “Addie’s taken to falling asleep with us on the couch at night, and I’m usually tired myself. Mr. Blackfoot is goin’ through a dry spell, the likes of which he hasn’t seen since we started dating.”

  The girls giggled, and then Meredith wondered if she should have shared that with them, before deciding it was probably okay. She and Mandy were close, there was no reason she shouldn’t also be as accepting of Charity. She spread out on the couch, resting her hands on the round ball that her stomach had become. The two girls sat in chairs opposite her, both playing on their cell phones and quietly talking between the two of them. This is how her relationship would be with Addie when she was old enough.

  “So, Mandy, did you ever get to use any of that info from Jess’ books?”

  Mandy’s face burned a bright red.

  “I knew it.” Charity pointed her finger at the other girl. “Drew’s been shooting Dalton dirty looks since Halloween, but I could never get you to confirm or deny, so neither one of us has been sure. Spill. It’s just us ladies here.”

  Mandy hated being put on the spot, but she hadn’t gossiped about this to anyone. She’d kept it completely to herself while she’d taken the time to process it. There was a part of her that knew she needed to talk about it. It was only natural. “It did happen on Halloween, and we’ve done things a few times since then,” she admitted.

  “Are you okay?” Meredith asked, her expression sympathetic. She remembered being a teenager. The guy was always way more enthusiastic than she had been.

  “Yeah.” She nodded and glanced over at Charity. “But you were right, it does change things.”

  “Did it change things for the better at least?”

  “Yes and no. Now, I think he’s more attached than I am,” she hurried to explain her statement. “I think he feels much closer to me than I feel to him, because there’s still a part of him that won’t let me in. He purposely keeps me at a distance in some aspects of his life; I don’t know what I can do to break that wall.”

  Charity bit her bottom lip. “Dalton and I come from the same side of the tracks, and while I don’t discount what you and Drew went through before your mom was with Liam, let’s just say I know Dalton hasn’t had an easy time of it. For a while his mom worked wit
h mine.”

  That was a bombshell and a half. “He always talks like she’s gone.”

  Meredith also knew some things about this family and struggled to know just what she should tell the young girl. “For all intents and purposes, she is gone. His dad too. Neither one of them were fit to raise kids.”

  “How do you know?” Mandy asked. It wasn’t odd that Meredith had the inside scoop, but she definitely wanted to know how she did.

  “It was a story when I worked at the TV station.”

  That didn’t mean good things. “Like they were arrested or something?”

  “They lost custody of Dalton and Deacon. Their uncle got custody of them after a few months, but you should know as well as I do that money has always been tight for their uncle. He’s taken care of them the best way he knows how, and I think no matter how badly they’ve struggled, they still have a better life with him than they would have with their parents.”

  That was saying something, Mandy realized as she thought back to the trailer. Dalton and Deacon had lived in that place with their uncle when they had nowhere to go. While it had obviously provided them with shelter, she had to wonder how badly off they had been to use it as a home base. “I wish he’d let me in and let me know how he feels.”

  “One day he will,” Charity told her from where she sat. “I know he will, because he’s a lot like Drew. I wondered if Drew would ever talk to me about something important. Now he tells me everything.” She rolled her eyes slightly. “Some stuff, I don’t even want to hear, but he treats me like an equal. At some point, you and Dalton will get there.”

  Meredith agreed. “For kids who have been hurt by their parents or not even had parents,” she thought back to her own husband and how hard he had been to read at first, “they have walls built up for defense mechanisms. The longer you stay and the longer you prove you’re trustworthy, the more he’ll trust you. Believe it or not, Tyler was not an open book when we first started dating.”

  “Yeah.” Charity giggled. “But Tyler’s fine, and that’s enough to forgive a lot.”

  “Charity.” Mandy smacked her friend on the arm as she too giggled.

  “That’s okay, I’m very well aware of the fact that women look at him, and some men too. I’d be stupid not to, but I know exactly where he comes home every night.”

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence, and Meredith leaned forward, grabbing a bowl of popcorn off of the coffee table. She wanted to keep the two talking because she was interested in their lives, and neither one of them offered any feelings to her anymore. “So what are your plans after graduation?”

  “I’ve got a full scholarship to Duke,” Charity told them. The smile on her face didn’t quite reach her eyes, and the excitement wasn’t all there.

  “That’s an amazing accomplishment. Why are you not more excited about it?”

  She ran a hand through her hair and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m leaving my friends, my mom, and Drew. It’s mostly Drew. I’m going to be gone for years. Who’s to say he won’t find someone else?”

  “Who’s to say you won’t?” Mandy countered.

  “No, I know that if Drew will have me, we’ll find each other later in life. He’s been so understanding about this whole process, and it kills me.”

  “He loves you,” Meredith mumbled around a mouth full of popcorn. “He’s young, but he knows how he feels. There’s nothing that says love like letting someone go so they can make their dreams come true. He’ll be here when you get back.”

  “I don’t know, I worry about it. I’ve even thought that maybe I should give up the scholarship,” she admitted softly.

  “Don’t you dare.” Mandy’s eyes were fierce as she looked at her friend. “You’ve worked your ass off, don’t give this up. We’ll all be here waiting for you when you come back.”

  Uncomfortable with all the attention on her, Charity deflected. “So what are your plans after graduation?”

  “Either the four-year or the vo-tech college. I have offers at both. I’d kinda like to get into the business side of things so I can help Roni out at the shop,” she explained. “I figure that’s kind of transferable anywhere. I could do anything from secretarial work to bookkeeping and managing. All good skills to have. I’m undecided on whether I want the bachelor’s or not.”

  Meredith opened her mouth to respond when they heard a loud crash on the front porch. They all jump, startled. It was Charity who smiled first and then got up to go answer the door. “I swear, the guys think it’s funny to scare us. What asses—” Her voice cut off as she swung the door open and came face to face with a woman who had a crazy look in her eyes.

  From her position on the couch, Meredith sighed. She’d known something like this would happen, and she’d known that it’d happen on a night like tonight. “Hello, Stephanie.”

  ‡

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Mandy got up from her seat and went to stand in front of Meredith. She wasn’t carrying a child, and she realized that at certain times in her life, she had been meek, but one thing she did know how to do was take care of herself. She realized that between the three adults in the house, she probably had the most experience, even though Meredith was older and Charity was the daughter of a stripper.

  Looking back at the two of them, Charity wondered what she should do. Stephanie took advantage of the mistake, and pushed herself through the door, locking it before she took stock of the scene in front of her.

  “Doesn’t this look cozy?” she asked, pulling a gun out of her handbag.

  Meredith gasped as she saw the gun. A million thoughts ran through her head, and she wished with everything she had that Tyler would come home. Maybe he would realize that something was wrong, maybe he would feel it. It wouldn’t be the first time he had known. She wondered if Travis was in his cave; she hoped he was seeing all of this go down, prayed that he wasn’t taking a bathroom break. “Please don’t hurt them. They’re only trying to help,” she pleaded with Stephanie.

  “The way you hurt me by taking away my niece? Did you even know she’s my niece? Were you even smart enough to figure it out? She’s the only thing I have to remember my sister by. It seems only fair that I make you live the way I’ve been living.”

  Meredith wondered where and how the other woman had been living. She didn’t look good at all, and that didn’t sit well in the pit of her stomach. Worry was eating at her, as she wondered just how in the hell they were going to get out of the predicament they’d found themselves placed in. She placed her hand over her eight-month pregnant stomach and prayed silently that this would all be okay. She’d almost made it to the finish line.

  At the worst possible moment, Addie ambled out of the room and stepped in between the two groups. “Momma.” She reached up to Meredith, wanting to be picked up, even though she knew her momma was off limits right now.

  Mandy wanted to get the little girl out of harm’s way and quickly reached in, intercepting the toddler. “C’mon, you may need a diaper change.” She made a big show of sniffing and quickly walking her to her room. Stephanie didn’t need to know that they were all trying to potty train Addie. They didn’t need the distraction of the child in the room. She hated to leave Meredith and Charity there in potential danger, but she had to get hold of help.

  Outside the door, she could hear Charity trying to talk the crazy lady down, and she could see her friend placing herself in between Meredith and the gun. That made her nervous, but she knew that if it had been her out there, she would have done the same thing. Her hands shook as she placed a call to Drew—when he answered, she didn’t hesitate.

  “I need you to listen and don’t ask questions. There’s a woman with a gun at Meredith and Tyler’s. I’ve got Addie in one room; Meredith and Charity are in the other. We need help and we need it now. She’s shaky, and I don’t know for how long the two of us can hold her off Mer.”

  She hung up just as quickly as she had made the call and hoped
like hell that Drew had understood everything she’d said and that help would be on the way.

  *

  Dalton glimpsed the look on his friend’s face, and immediately he was worried. Drew didn’t get bent out of shape about much, and the look he wore right now said that things were not right. “What happened?”

  “Someone’s at Meredith and Tyler’s, and they’re holding the girls at gun point. We gotta call Tyler, and we gotta get out there. They need us, and we might be able to help them,” Drew told him quickly. His heart beat a million miles a second as he thought about his sister and girlfriend in danger. They were supposed to be there in case Meredith went into early-term labor, not in case someone came to hold them at gunpoint. It was a sleepover for fuck’s sake.

  Dalton was confused about how they could help them. Up against a gun, they were nothing special. Sure they’d kicked ass on the football field, but against a bullet, all they could do was take it. “I don’t know what you think we’re gonna do against a gun.”

  Drew wasn’t waiting to answer the question; he was already on the phone, talking to his dad. He ran through the house, grabbing a key as he did, before he hung up the phone and made his way to a locker in the garage. “What I’m about to show you, you have to promise you’ll never tell to anyone.”

  “Haven’t we made it further than that in our friendship?” Dalton asked, offended that Drew thought he would run his mouth. They’d been through much more than even brothers sometimes went through, and for him to question it at this juncture in the game flat-out pissed Dalton off.

  “We have, but this is club stuff. This is stuff my mom doesn’t want me to know about, but Dad knows that he won’t always be around to protect us. He showed me this; so that I could use it if I ever needed to, and tonight, I think I’m gonna have to.” It felt like such a grown-up decision, to decide that this was the time to use the things he’d been taught, but he knew that there was no better time than the present. Lives counted on this.