Twisted Freedom

by J Grayland

  “Yeah, he’s happy. Now he can get started on keeping me in the country legally,” she said, smiling.

  “That’s great, the quicker the better.”

  “Although he did bring up something that we probably need to talk about,” she said hesitantly, which sparked my attention.

  “Go on,” I encouraged.

  “Well, he suggested doing some volunteer work at a free community clinic. Paxton thinks it will help in two ways: both with my green card and to stop me from getting bored.”

  “I agree,” I said, rubbing my fingers over the stubble on my chin. I didn’t want her to get any kind of reaction from me. If she knew what was really going through my mind right now, like I was going to choke the living shit out of my brother when I saw him, it would most likely cause an argument.

  “You agree?” she asked, slight shock in her voice.

  “Play it safe here, tread carefully. Remember to reign in the overprotective Nate and search for that smooth, calm one instead,” I thought to myself.

  “Honestly?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, Nate, honestly.”

  Blowing out a long-held breath, I said “I don’t like the thought of you working in one of those community clinics. They attract trouble, and I’m not comfortable with it at all.” Seeing that she was going to protest, I raised my hands to stop her before she could and continued. “That being said, I trust you to make the right decision for you, and if it’s something that you want to do, then I want you to do it. Just please, give me the satisfaction of knowing that Nick will drop you off and be there to pick you up, okay?”

  Casey stood up from the chair, walked to stand in front of me, and wound her hands around the back of my neck. Stretching up, she placed a light kiss on my jaw. “Thank you. I thought that was going to be a lot harder than it was.”

  Reaching my hands around to grab her ass, I said “Oh, believe me, in my head, it was.”

  Placing a quick kiss on her lips, I smacked her on the ass. “So, if you’re finished with Paxton, do you want to head out to the beach house and arrange some furniture?”

  “I would love to. That is, if you’re finished here? If not, I can wait in the penthouse until you’re done.”

  “No, I’m good. Let’s get out of here,” I said, switching off my computer and grabbing my phone and keys. Taking her hand, I almost pulled her out and into the elevator.

  “Nate, it gets prettier every time we come here,” she said with awe as the house slowly came into view. Switching the engine off, I turned my gaze to her and watched as she looked out at the front door as though she was mesmerized by it, just like I was mesmerized by her.

  “Yes, it does,” I said.

  Breaking the moment, she turned to see me looking intently at her and not the house. Her look softened with realization. She reached her hand over to brush along the side of my face and whispered, “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

  “You have, but you can tell me again anytime,” I said. She just gave me a huge smile, jumped out of the SUV, and ran up to the front door with the keys. The door swung open, and she dashed inside while I opened the trunk and grabbed the bags of groceries we purchased on the way before I followed her.

  As I dumped the bags on the wooden counter in the kitchen, I could hear as she moved from room to room, mumbling under her breath. I noticed the furniture, wrapped in thick plastic, had been distributed into the rooms by the delivery guys as we instructed. Casey ran past me into the kitchen, pulling open a drawer and coming back with what looked like an old, rusty carving knife. “What the fuck?” I exclaimed as she passed me again, heading for the living room.

  “I saw it there the other day,” she said over her shoulder as she started cutting into the plastic on one of the couches.

  “Damn, woman, be careful with that thing.”

  “Trust me, I’m a surgeon,” she laughed before going back to mercilessly ripping off the plastic until she uncovered the black leather couch. As she flopped onto it, the joy that was written all over her face was intoxicating. Walking over to the tri-fold windows, I unlocked them, slid them open, and I was instantly hit by the force of the ocean breeze that filled the house. Over the next few hours, we got lost in the layers of plastic wrap that seemed to cover everything. Once everything was in place, Casey started filling the kitchen cupboards, opening boxes and pulling out an assortment of glasses, plates, you name it. It seemed to be all in that box. Who would have ever thought that it would be so easy to set up a home with just a few clicks of a mouse on a computer? A perfect solution for someone who hates shopping. I busied myself with setting up the “man” portion of the house; the important things like the sound system, TV, and surround sound. I was concentrating deeply on it until Casey dragged me away to assemble the king-sized bed in the bedroom.

  Later that night, exhausted but content, we sat out on the back deck stairs with a beer and listened to the roll of the ocean. We finally climbed into that damn bed that took me hours to put together and fell asleep quickly and easily into its inviting comfort.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Casey

  After having one of the best night’s sleep I think I had ever had, it was topped off by waking up to the sounds and smell of the ocean and a warm, hard body wrapped around me. After some encouragement, and Nate finally realizing that Paxton would be coming to pick him up in the next few minutes, he was up, showered, dressed, and kissing me goodbye at the front door as he left for work. It was so surreal, I felt like I was in some kind of happily-ever-after movie. I had the whole house to myself. I couldn’t remember feeling this much excitement for such a long time. I mean, who the hell gets excited about making the bed and tidying the kitchen from breakfast? Me, that’s who, finally feeling part of a normal life.

  I spent most of the day exploring. Not just the house in detail, but the surrounding beach. The back of the house hid a small cove that wound around us, giving us almost total privacy, and the view was just breathtaking. After taking a walk along the beach, I stood at the top of the stairs on the back deck, breathing in the therapeutic air that seemed to settle on every inch of my skin, causing a relaxing warmth and calmness to flood through my body. I realized that, at last, I felt like I was home.

  By mid-afternoon, I started to prepare dinner. Nate had sent me a text earlier letting me know he would be home around six. He had gotten a lift that morning with Paxton, leaving the SUV, and was driving the Audi home tonight. He believed that it was good to have a car parked in the driveway as much as possible, letting people know that someone was living in the house. I was just putting some chicken in the fridge to marinate when my phone started to ring with Flynn’s familiar ringtone. I picked it up and pressed the green “Accept” button with an excited, “Flynn?!”

  “Hey, sweets, how are you?” he asked, sounding very awake.

  “Is everything okay? It’s pretty late there,” I asked, a little worried.

  “Everything’s great. I had a late night, and I thought I would give you a buzz before heading to bed.”

  “Oh, okay. You had me worried there for a minute,” I said, relieved.

  “So, have you moved in yet?”

  “Yes, and Flynn, it is so friggin’ awesome!” I gushed excitedly.

  “Good, I’m glad! Listen, I wanted to give you a heads up on our little problem,” he said seriously.

  “Okay…” I dragged out the word cautiously.

  “Don’t worry, everything is fine.”

  “And…?”

  “Well, unfortunately, the bastard is recovering slowly. Nate did quite a job on him, and fortunately, he can’t remember a thing. Now, I’m not sure if he can and he’s just not talking or maybe it’s an aftereffect from all the drugs I shoved down his throat.” He laughed. “Sorry, that was just wishful thinking. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He broke his parole, so
as soon as he’s cleared by the hospital, he is heading straight back to his cozy jail cell with a lot of extra time.”

  “How much?”

  “Not sure yet, but I’m sure I can tweak things just a little in that department,” he said mischievously.

  “You need to be careful, Flynn,” I warned him.

  “Always, sweets. You know me.”

  “Yeah, sometimes too well,” I said, laughing.

  “So, the house is good?” he asked, drastically changing the subject.

  “Yes, it is. Beyond good. More than I could ever dream of.”

  “And you have a spare room for me, right?”

  “Of course! That was my top priority.”

  “Good, that’s the way it should be,” he chuckled.

  We talked for about another ten minutes, and when I finished the call I felt better with the knowledge that Max was alive and didn’t remember anything. Even though I had always wished him dead, just knowing that Nate’s actions would not lead to consequences coming back and biting us on the arse in the future was a relief. Even if the bastard was still alive, I felt safer knowing that he was a long way from me now.

  Just after six, I saw the lights of the Audi coming up the driveway. I quickly wiped my hand on a towel, dropped it on the kitchen bench, and made my way to the front door. With anticipation, I listened as the roar of the engine came to a stop, the door opened and closed, his heavy footsteps crunching along the gravel path, then up the front stairs, the sound of his key as he slipped it into the lock and turned the handle. He was looking down at some papers in his hand as he walked in, not noticing me standing there. I took in his large frame dressed in his normal office attire of jeans and a white button-down shirt that clung to every hard muscle in his chest, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing the colorful art along his arms. He was so magnificent to look at. Dropping his phone and keys in the small glass bowl on the table at the entry, he finally looked up to see me standing and watching him like a pervert.

  I slowly walked toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the soft hair at his collar. He ran his hands down to my ass and pulled me up, so I could wrap my legs around his waist, before kissing him so deeply I lost my own breath in the process. With me still wrapped around him, he carried me with ease into the living room, sitting down on the couch with me now straddling him.

  “Hi,” he said, voice husky from our kiss.

  “Well, hello,” I whispered against his throat, snuggling into his warmth.

  “Are you alright?” he asked slowly.

  “Hmm, more than alright,” I breathed against his skin. “How was your day?”

  “Productive, and yours?”

  “Mine was…perfect,” I said, giving him another kiss.

  “I take it you like it here,” he chuckled.

  “I love it. Almost as much as I love you,” I teased.

  “Well if you keep rubbing your ass against me like that, I will be taking you to bed to show you just how much I love you.”

  “Dinner is almost ready, so you might have to save that thought for later,” I said, giving him a wink and climbing off his lap.

  “Tease.”

  “Yep, so go take a shower, and I’ll get dinner on the table.”

  Seeing the slight look of disappointment on his face, I hurried into the kitchen before I changed my own mind and left dinner until later. He walked out of the bathroom several minutes later, dressed in his sleep pants, his hair still wet, and sat at the table where dinner was waiting for him.

  “This looks good. Don’t tell me my tough Aussie is getting domesticated,” he teased.

  “Is that bad?” I cringed.

  “Nope. If I had my way, I would have you barefoot and pregnant and chained to my bed at night…” His words tapered off as he realized what he had said, reaching his hand across the table and placing it on top of mine. “Shit. Sorry, babe, I didn’t mean…”

  “It’s fine,” I said, waving away his concern, hating the look of regret in his eyes. I looked down at the food on my plate and picked up my fork.

  “Eat, it will get cold,” I said, giving him a quick smile, motioning to his food. We ate in silence for the first few minutes until I decided to change the subject. “I got a call from Flynn today.”

  Looking at me with a raised brow, he said, “And?”

  “He just wanted to let me know that the asshole was slowly recovering, and once he’s medically cleared, he’ll be heading back to prison.”

  “Pity,” Nate said under his breath.

  “Hey, no one wants him gone for good more than I do, but I’m just glad nothing is going to come back onto you.”

  Nate looked back down at his plate before continuing to eat. I could tell he wanted to say more by the twitch thumping furiously at his jawline. I knew this whole thing made him crazy, so I changed the subject. “Is Paxton picking you up again in the morning?”

  “No, I’ll take the Audi, it’s faster,” he said with a slight lift to the corner of his mouth. “What about you? Mrs. Winters is coming over in the morning, right?”

  “Yep, I think she said something about taking me to some local markets, which will be interesting.” After rinsing the dishes and placing them into the dishwasher, Nate grabbed us both a beer from the refrigerator, flipping the cap before handing me one, then opening his own while we got comfortable on the couch and settled in for a movie. Nate flipped through the channels, looking for something. I placed my beer on the coffee table and stretched out, laying my head in his lap. Once he had settled on the local news channel, he stroked his hand gently through my hair.

  “I might be a little late tomorrow, but I will text you and let you know,” he said.

  “Something big?” I queried.

  “Just going over to the Bizarre. Alonzo needs some help with his security, so I’ll need to head over there when it opens at 7.”

  “Sounds like it will be a late night, then?”

  “Yeah, maybe you should come with me and wait at the penthouse until I’m done.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be perfectly fine here. That is, unless you think you’ll be too tired to drive back and you want to stay at the penthouse?”

  “No, it shouldn’t take long.”

  “Is it the alarm system again?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “Yeah,” he said, draining the last of his beer from the bottle. When we finally went to bed, Nate kept his earlier promise of loving me. He did so thoroughly, in fact, that I dropped into a deep sleep before he had even gotten back from the bathroom with a warm cloth for me. The next thing I remembered was waking to him giving me a soft kiss before saying goodbye and leaving while I stretched out in the huge bed and languished in the musky scent he left behind on the sheets for a while. Eventually, I pulled myself up and into the shower before Carmel arrived.

  I had just poured myself a hot cup of tea when there was a knock at the door. As soon as I opened it, I was greeted with her warm smile.

  “Morning, sugar,” she said in her wonderful southern drawl as she walked in and set her bag down on the entrance table.

  “Good morning to you. Come into the kitchen. Would you like some tea?” I asked, holding up my mug.

  “I’m afraid I’m a black coffee girl,” she said.

  “Not a problem, it’s over there. Nate put it on this morning,” I said, grabbing the glass jug from the machine, filling a mug with the black brew, and handing it to her. Cradling the mug in her fingers, she inhaled the steam before taking a sip.

  “Mm, just how I like it, nice and strong.” We both moved over to the small kitchen table and sat. Carmel looked around and out of the windows beside her. “What a beautiful view,” she said, her eyes wide in awe as she looked out at the ocean.

  “Yes, it is. Come on, I’ll give you a tour,” I said, setting my m
ug down on the table. I stood and reached for her hand. Carmel took it and hung on whilst I almost dragged her around, showing her every room with an abundance of enthusiastic babble. I explained what was going into each specific space. By the time I had finished, I felt breathless with excitement.

  “Well, I can see you’re in love with this place already,” Carmel said as she smiled at me.

  “I am. I can’t explain it, but from the first time I stepped in here, I felt like I belonged. Like this house needed me as much as I needed it.” Looking at her face, I scoffed at my words. “Sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

  Carmel reached out her hand, resting it on my arm soothingly. “No child, I believe that a house is just as alive as any person, and just like we all have a soul mate out there waiting for us, a house has its owner in just the same way. Some things are just meant to be.”

  “And what about you? Did you find your soul mate? Your home?” I asked curiously. I didn’t know much about this woman, yet I felt like I had known her for a long time. Letting her hand slip from my arm, she walked over to the window and stared out. I saw the emotions swimming in her eyes as she became locked in a memory.

  “I did. Charlie and I were high school sweethearts. Did the whole thing: dating, marriage, a beautiful home. We had forty unforgettable years together before cancer took him from me,” she said, looking down for a moment.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, feeling bad that I had brought up a subject that obviously caused her pain. But then she turned to look at me.

  “No need to be sorry. I wouldn’t have swapped those years for anything. The only thing that I regret is not being able to give my Charlie any babies. Not from lack of trying, of course, but it just didn’t happen.”

  “Carmel…” She turned fully to face me, stopping my words.

  “Like I said, best years of my life. Now, let’s put these memories away. I have plans for the day,” she said, her face filling with excitement.

  “You do?”

  “Well, I figured you probably wouldn’t have much for me to do around here, so we are taking a trip to Manzanita.”