Finding My Way Home

by Green, Vicki

  Hutch shifts in his seat as Simon clears his throat and begins telling me the events of this morning. “I turned on the TV and there was a news alert saying you had been located and then there was a short interview with Darrin. He tried to look like he was relieved to have found out where you are and he announced that he was on his way to get you and take you home.”

  I don’t realize I am staring, and in a trance until Hutch’s thumb pushes down my lower lip that is in between my teeth. My head turns to him, his smile so sweet but concern is in his eyes. I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. “Well, then he’ll come here. I’m not going home with him. I’ll just tell him I want a divorce and hope he doesn’t release his temper on me or anyone around me.” I look at Simon and back at Hutch. “I don’t want to live like this, running, hiding. I want to be free.”

  Hutch gives me his gorgeous smile and takes my face in his hands. “I want you to be free too. And, I want you to marry me.” My heart stops and my mouth drops open. His thumb rubs against my cheek as I try to compose myself. “Baby, I know we haven’t known each other very long but you’re it for me. You fill my heart with love and happiness, something I haven’t had in so long and thought I would never have again.” He smiles and leans forward until his face was merely inches from mine. “Baby. Marry me. Let me cherish you, love you and give you the happiness you deserve.”

  I shake my head, trying to get out of my daze, and I see his smiling face drop to concern. I throw myself at him, straddling his legs and sitting down onto his lap, my mouth pressing against his securely. We kiss until Simon begins clearing his throat, rather loudly, and I start giggling against Hutch’s lips. Our heads turn to Simon, pressing against each other and my giggling increases.

  “Well, thank God, and I was here to witness it.” His hand reaches across and I stretch mine out, taking his. “I’m so happy for you Zoey.” He kisses my hand and looks sternly at Hutch. “And. You? You better take care of my Zoey, you hear me?” His face relaxes into a smile and kisses my hand again.

  Hutch kisses my cheek and looks over at Simon. “Simon my friend, Zoey will be the most cherished and loved woman in this world.” He looks over at me, my tears blurring my vision, and closing his eyes he kisses my forehead and whispers, “Baby. I love you so, so, so very much. I would do anything for you.” Now I’m a blubbering idiot and bury my face into his neck, his hand cups the back of my neck, his other hand rubbing my back.

  “Oh, my goodness. What happened?” I jump off Hutch as I hear Bailey’s voice and run to her. We hug and she starts wiping away my tears, a worried look on her sweet face. Putting her hands on my face, her eyes search mine. “What’s wrong, dear? What happened? What can I do to help?” That just made the tears come harder.

  “Oh, Bailey. Well, there is not so good news too but…” My head turns to Hutch, and his smile overtakes me. I turn back to Bailey, my face shining brightly. “Hutch just asked me to marry him.” She takes me in her arms for another hug and pushes me back to arm’s length.

  “And? What did you say, dear?” She looks over at Hutch, and I watch him shrug.

  He laughs. “She didn’t say, really.”

  Leaving Bailey, I run over to Hutch, get down on my knees and kiss him with everything I have. His hands instantly cup my face and he slides down off his chair and onto the floor in front of me. We stop, breathing heavily, his forehead presses against mine. “I’m gonna take that as a yes, ok?” I nod, my forehead rubbing against his as I try to slow my breathing. He looks up at Bailey and smiles, his dimples indenting fully. “She said yes.”

  Bailey and Simon break out in laughter, and I turn my head in time to watch a totally confused Chris walking into the kitchen. He sets sacks of groceries down on the breakfast bar and places his hand on his hips. “What’s going on here? Did you tell her?” He shakes his head. “Why is everyone laughing and why are you two on the floor?” He scratches his head and shakes it some more. We all look at him and break out in more laughter.

  Chapter Eleven

  She said YES! Wow! I’m the happiest and the luckiest man on the planet! Once we all regained ourselves, we help Chris put the groceries away and sit around in the kitchen as he prepares his famous beef stew. We fill him in on our excitement and then let Bailey know what’s going on with Darrin.

  “Well. I think you need to call Jake, fill him in. He’ll know what to do.” Bailey says to Zoey and then turns to Simon. “You know him almost as well as Zoey. I think you need to be there when she talks to Jake. Let him know what he’s capable of.” She stands and starts walking from the room. Before she leaves she turns to us. “I’m going to go lie down for a little while. Sorry, I’m really tired.” Her smile is small as she turns and leaves the room.

  I see Zoey’s face turn sad as she watches Bailey leave the room. My hand takes her chin and moves her head to me. “She’ll be ok, for now. I know you’re hurting. I am too. Let’s just make sure she’s comfortable and do whatever we can for her, ok?” She nods and lays her head against my shoulder.

  “Everything’s just happening all at once.” Her eyes move up to mine. “I’m happy for us, scared about Darrin coming here and am utterly devastated about Bailey. I don’t know how to deal with all these emotions. And… I…”

  I wrap my arms around her, trying to show her how much I love her and want to keep her safe. I wish I could change everything. I wish I could make Bailey better and take Darrin out of her life for good without her getting hurt in the process. Dammit! We need a fucking miracle!

  Zoey decided to go sit with Bailey, so I told the guys I was going to go downstairs and workout for a while. I was down there for two hours and came back up a sweaty mess, my muscles tight but achy. I stand in the shower, my hand pressed against the tiles, as I let the hot water pour over me. My mind is all over the place. Zoey saying ‘Yes’, Darrin coming to try to take her from me or worse hurt her. Bailey. I bow my head and say a prayer.

  Chris and Simon left to go walk around town while the weather is halfway decent, and I checked in on Zoey and Bailey. Zoey was sitting in a chair reading from a book as Bailey laid in bed. Her eyes are closed. I can see a small smile on her face, so I know she’s just resting. As Zoey looks over at me, I whisper that I’ll be back in a bit and receive her beautiful smile and a wink, and then she resumes her reading. I decide to head down to the gym to check in and do a little paperwork. When I called Jake earlier to ask him to come over to talk about Zoey’s situation, he said he would come later after dinner, so I figure I might as well get some things done.

  I look up as I hear a knock on my office door to find Simon standing there. I point to the chair in front of my desk and watch him walk over and sit down. “What brings you here, Simon? I thought you were Jake” I ask as I sit back in my chair, crossing my ankle over my knee.

  He sits back too and crosses his arms over his broad chest. “Well, I thought we’d have a little chat before talking with everyone else.” His look turns serious. “Hutch, has Zoey told you just how mean Darrin can be?” I shake my head, slowly. He looks down closing his eyes and opens them back up, looking at me with a serious expression. “He’s broken bones. He’s put her in the hospital more than once and…” He looks down again, his hand brushing down his face.

  I sit up straight and lean on my desk. “Simon.” He looks at me quickly. “Tell me, man. I need to know everything. Jake will need to know and it will be easier to support Zoey better if I do. Tell me.”

  His eyes look at me, a frown on his face, as he leans down with his elbows on his knees. “She was pregnant.” I think my heart just stopped. Pregnant. “When he found out she was pregnant he accused her of cheating on him and slapped her around. Said he was always careful so it couldn’t be his. He ended up hitting her so hard she hit a chair, went over and it landed on her. She had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital and lost the baby.” Fuck! I want to kill him so bad right now.

  Clearing my throat, I reach behind me and grab a couple of
bottled waters from the mini fridge and offer Simon one. I lean back and take a big gulp. “Man. I had no idea the damage he did to her. She told me about him hitting her so hard she went over a chair but I had no idea she was pregnant.” I slap my hand down on the desk, hard.

  “Look. I’m not proud that I didn’t do anything sooner for Zoey. I should have. I guess that I…” His eyes are glazed with tears as he looks at me. “I guess I was scared. It took time for Chris and me to come up with a plan to get her away from him without her getting hurt again or killed in the process. It took time.” I watch him wipe his eyes and take a drink of water.

  Leaning forward, I clasp my hands on the desk. “Simon. I am sure you all did everything you could. I have no doubt of that and I’m sure Zoey feels that way too. It’s evident in the way she talks about you. You may feel guilty but don’t. We need to be ready for him, now. We need to make sure she’s safe.” I stand, abruptly. “Damn, she’s there alone right now with Bailey. I need to get home.”

  I round the desk to be stopped by his hand on my arm. “Hey. They just announced that he knows where she is today. Calm down, buddy.”

  “Simon, we don’t know if he’d already left by the time that was aired. I need to get home.” I brush off his hand and head towards the door. “I’ll meet you there.”

  I jog down the street, the whole time my mind flashing of Zoey flying over a chair. Her body on a gurney, paramedics pushing her out of a house. Her lying in a hospital bed, her hand on her flat stomach and the look of grief on her face. I’m running now, turning the corner to our street, my pace increasing until I am entering the house and heading towards Bailey’s room. Opening the door, keeping a grasp on it so it doesn’t slam against the wall, I find Zoey asleep in the chair she was sitting in earlier. My heart is racing, and I’m panting. Fuck, she’s ok. She’s ok. I back out quietly, closing the door and head to the family room. Sitting on the couch, I lean my elbows on my knees and hold my head, and begin crying silently. I thought I’d find her gone or him here beating on her or worse, her lying on the floor dead. Fuck, man! Get a grip. I’m not going to do her any good getting all worked up and thinking the worse. Or I could just save her life.

  Right as we were cleaning the kitchen from dinner, Jake came over. We all ended up in the family room, even Bailey wanted to be a part of this. “I pulled everything I could on Darrin. He has a clean record.” Jake turns to Zoey. “You never filed anything on his attacks so we really wouldn’t have anything on him. What I suggest is if he comes here, you make sure you have someone around, at all times. If you want a divorce, let him know it in front of a witness or two.”

  Bailey coughs and squirms in her chair. “Dear, old Tom Hartford is still a practicing lawyer here in town. I could call him for you, he’d come over. Best damn lawyer around. He could draw up papers for you and have them ready. Wouldn’t take him long, he’s that good. My question to you and he will ask too, is there any kind of settlement you would want in the divorce?”

  I watch Zoey looking at Bailey in concentration but doesn’t hesitate to answer. “No. I have everything I need right here,” she replies while taking ahold of my hand. She turns her head to me, smiles and I give her my best smile back. Damn right! We are all that we need.

  Bailey places her hands in her lap and looks at Jake. “Sounds like a damn fine plan.” She looks my way and smiles. “Don’t think we need to worry about Zoey being alone.” Looking at Jake her smile turns to worry. “You stay close, Jake. Get some boys together and stay close. I’ve seen…” She quickly looks back at us. “You take care of your girl, Hutchinson. Stay real close.” I love her like a grandmother, but sometimes she really does give me the creeps.

  Lying in bed that night, we are both on our sides facing each other, my hand playing with the fingers of her casted hand. She lets out a big sigh. “I love Bailey but…” Her eyes look to mine, and a frown on her face. “Don’t you think she’s a little creepy sometimes?” I burst out laughing and get a smile out of her. “I mean, ‘I saw you coming’, ‘I see things’. Really. Creepy. But so far, she’s been right.”

  I release her fingers and pull her bottom lip from her teeth. Quickly, she play snaps at me. “Oh, really?” My arm grabs her waist, and I pull her close as she lets out her sweet giggles. My mouth finds hers, and her giggles turn into a moan. “Mmmmm, baby. What you do to me when you bite your lip. Fuck!” Our kissing becomes heated, and I roll us over until I am on top of her luscious body. As I continue to kiss her, I grab the hem of her sweater and tug it up until her bra is showing. I push her bra up, freeing her ample breasts and my mouth latches onto a nipple. I tug, nip and suck until my cock hardens and my body starts heating with passion. “God, you taste delicious.” My hand wanders down her flat stomach until it bumps into the waistband of her sweatpants. I tug at it, pushing down, her hips raising so that I can move it past the area I intend on invading soon.

  As I continue my escapade on her other nipple, I slowly move my body down until I am resting between her legs. She squirms. Her head bowing back as her moans get louder. I continue my voyage kissing down her stomach, licking her belly button, and finally, I find her swollen clit. “Ahhhhhh!” She screams out as I start to suck on her moist bud. My finger finds its way into her wet folds, then I add another finger. I curl them, pressing into her causing her to scream more. “Huuutchhh!” I peek up at her to find the dazed look in her eyes, her body shuddering in ecstasy.

  I slide down until I am off the bed, I disrobe quickly and lean over to remove her pants the rest of the way. As I climb back onto the bed, her half open eyes follow my pursuit until my cock pushes into her, then her eyes close again. “Ungh! God, you feel so good!” She yells out. Fuck, if that didn’t inflate my ego sky high. “More. Fuck me harder, babe. Please,” she begs. I’m not one to disappoint my girl, so I place my hands on her hips, for leverage, and start pushing in and out of her, harder and harder until she’s screaming my name again.

  “HHHHHUUUTTTCCCHHHH!” That pumps me up so much that I rapidly thrust into her until my climax is reached. Screaming her name, I collapse on her, both of us panting loudly. Our bodies are wringing with sweat. I move off to the side, afraid I will crush her and pull her over and half on me. We lay there, still breathing heavy, both in a blissful state.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  “I think I might have lost consciousness for a minute there. You were a-mazing.” I’m rubbing his chest, my leg thrown over his and his hand is in my hair, petting it. I so love how that feels. The affection he gives me is something I’ve longed for.

  He kisses my head and runs his fingers through the strands of my hair. “You’re amazing, baby. I’ve never felt this way before.”

  I look up at him and frown. “Never?”

  His dimpled smile is wide. “Never.” Leaning down he kisses my forehead and then lays back down. We lay there for a while in silence until I hear his breathing even out. I look up to find his eyes closed. His gorgeous face relaxed. I’m so not tired. It must have been that nap earlier.

  I remove myself from his grasp, and place his arm over his stomach, gently. I get out of bed, quickly throw on his t-shirt and my pajama pants and quietly leave the room. Heading downstairs, I tiptoe to Bailey’s door and listen. “Come in, dear.” I jump. Shit! How does she do that? I slowly open the door and see her sitting up in bed, the book I was reading to her earlier in her hands. She lays it down on her lap, faced down to keep her place, and pats the bed beside her. I walk in and climb under the covers, propping up the pillows behind me.

  She looks over and smiles. “You know. I’ve never had any grandchildren of my own. Oh, Betty pretends she doesn’t have a love in her life. However, she and Chuck carry on thinking no one knows. But I know.” I giggle, and she lets out a small laugh. Her laugh dies out, and her look turns serious. “I have a special place in my heart for you. I knew you were coming.” My eyes go wide and her smile returns. “Oh, don’t look so scared,” she laughs. “I’m not psychic or an
ything.” She pats her heart. “I just can feel it in here. I just know.”

  I sigh and lean my head against her shoulder. “I have a special place in my heart for you too, Bailey.”

  The sun is streaming in through the windows when I wake up. I’m disoriented when I’m not in my bed, in my room. I slowly sit up, rub my eyes and realize I had fallen asleep in Bailey’s bed. Her side of the bed is empty and made, so I get up make my side of the bed and head upstairs to see if Hutch is awake yet. I race to our room and open the door to find it empty, the bed neatly made. Putting my hands on my hips, I sigh. Figuring I need to make use of my time, I quickly head into the bathroom, shower, shave and do all my other bathroom duties. I dress quickly and run down the stairs in hopes to find Hutch or Bailey or anyone.

  Walking room to room, I find them all empty. I stop and cross my arms. Hmmm, this is really weird. I hear a noise from the basement and head that way. My heart is beating rapidly as I slowly open the door and see the lights are out. Ok, this is scaring the crap out of me. I jump when I hear another noise from down there. Slowly, I start down the stairs. Doesn’t everyone say in the horror movies not to go down the stairs when the lights are off? Shit! What the hell am I doing? As I reach the bottom step, the lights suddenly all flash on, and I jump grabbing the bannister railing when people shout, “Happy Birthday!” One hand goes over my mouth as I gasp the other over my racing heart.

  Hutch walks over, a concerned look on his face and takes me in his arms. “Baby. I’m sorry. Are you ok? You’re trembling. We didn’t mean to scare you. Fuck! That was insensitive of us,” he whispers into my ear.

  As I turn to look up at him, he brushes my hair from my face. “Wow! That was a little scary.” Little? “But I can’t believe this. I forgot it was my birthday. I didn’t even know what day it is.” I laugh. Laughing ensues behind Hutch, he smiles and moves beside me wrapping his arm around my waist. Everyone I care about is in the room. Betty, Chuck, Simon, Chris, Bailey, Doc, Kathryn, Jake and even a few others I’ve seen but not really met. The room is decorated with streamers, balloons and a big sign is over the bar ‘Happy 26th Birthday, Zoey’. I turn to Hutch and give him a huge hug. “I… I don’t know what to say. No one has ever… this is so great!”