Mending Hope (Contemporary Western Romance) (License to Love Series:Book 2)

by Amelia Rose

  “He didn’t have to,” Alyssa’s voice broke through on the far side of the room and they all turned to look at her.

  “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to butt in on your personal life. I just…” Shad’s voice trailed off, as Woody started talking as well.

  “I forgot and came into the kitchen from the hallway on your side of the house. They figured out the rest,” Woody told her.

  Alyssa quietly walked into the room and grabbed a piece of toast from the counter before answering. “Well, I guess the good news is that you don’t have to worry about waking up before sunrise anymore.”

  Her smile was weak and Woody knew that walking in on that conversation had startled her but she was determined to throw it off. He knew she didn’t want to cause any problems for Clara before they had to go and see Chuck Sanders in court.

  “Why all this talk about us anyway?” Alyssa asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be getting ready to go to court and make a united front against this asshole?”

  Now it was Clara’s turn to have the false smile. “I had almost tricked myself into forgetting,” she told them. “Part of me is glad to be getting this first confrontation since the attack over with, but a large part of me is still unsure.”

  Shad stepped closer to her and put his arm across her shoulders, hugging her tightly to his chest before leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

  “That’s why we’re all going,” he reminded her. “So this isn’t something you have to do alone. We’ll go with you every day as long as you need us, won’t we?”

  Woody and Alyssa both nodded in agreement.

  Ten minutes later they were heading for the door, and Woody noticed that even though Clara was putting on a brave face, her hand had started to tremble a little. He looked over at Alyssa and thought of what he would do if something like that had happened to her. When he realized how much anger started to bubble up even at the mere hint or suggestion of such a thing he knew that he could no longer keep his own pain from her.

  She had told him everything about Kyle up front, but he hadn’t filled her in on his mother’s death. It was about time that was rectified. Once they were in the car, he turned to her.

  “After we are through with court I would like it if you would go somewhere with me,” Woody asked of Alyssa. “There’s something I need to show you.”

  Alyssa nodded. It was the slow understanding nod of someone who was unsure of what was going to happen, but she didn’t ask and he didn’t say anything else on the trip into town.

  *

  When they went into the courtroom they positioned themselves strategically around Clara with Shad on one side and Alyssa and Woody on the other. But when they marched Chuck Sanders into the courtroom wearing his orange jumpsuit as he shuffled in between two guards, Clara still grabbed Alyssa’s hand and clenched it in her sweaty fist.

  This was the first time Alyssa had seen him, and while she had expected the crazed madman that Clara had described, what she saw instead was entirely different. It looked as if he’d had a recent haircut, because his black hair was trimmed neatly and brushed back away from his eyes. He was tall and thin, but together his features reminded her more of an Ichabod Crane type character than a psychopath.

  But then he turned his eyes toward them and gave Clara a little half smile, and it was enough to cause her skin to crawl and her stomach to clench. In that brief moment she glimpsed how deep his insanity could run and she knew that the façade he was holding out for court was nothing more than a cheap mask that could be dropped at any moment of his choosing.

  The judge entered shortly thereafter. He was a somewhat older, rotund man with black hair that was just beginning to grey at the temples. Everyone in the room stood when the bailiff called for all to rise. The disciplined uniformity of the move created quite a stir in the air. Even though there weren’t that many people in Stanhope, the county courthouse still managed to reach capacity as this trial was bigger than anything they had seen in ages. When they all sat again, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, even void of the occasional shuffling of feet or cough. Alyssa felt the walls closing in on her and for a moment she fought back the urge to flee in panic. Woody shifted in his seat and put his arm around her.

  She leaned into him, glad that they could finally be open about their relationship. The only butterflies in her stomach now were about this trial, and whatever it was that he wanted to talk to her about afterward. She studied him from the corner of her eye, hoping to catch just a glimpse or a clue about what was on his mind, but she was pulled back to the situation at hand by the judge’s loud voice.

  “Charles Sanders, you are accused of assault and battery, kidnapping, burglary, breaking and entering, and tampering with official police records. How do you plead?”

  The man that was seated next to Sanders rose to answer. Even though Alyssa had been told that this was the man’s step-brother, she could not believe that the two had come from the same home. The brother was just as tall, but where Chuck was lanky, this man was more filled in. His shoulders were relatively broad under his suit, and she speculated that he probably had to have them custom sewn, in order to get a good fit.

  His hair was a dirty blonde, and the contrast between that and his tanned skin was beautiful. There was nothing of resemblance between the two of them except the name.

  “My client pleads ‘not guilty’ by reason of mental disease or defect,” he said, and then turned to look down at his stepbrother. When he did, Alyssa noticed that he grimaced when he spoke, and there was more than a hint of distain in his slate grey eyes. Perhaps the family differences went even deeper than it seemed.

  “Bond?” The judge asked.

  They were seated directly behind the prosecutor, so when she stood up to respond to the judge’s inquiry she motioned to them. “The defendant has been accused of heinous crimes against Shad Brandt and Clara Roberts. We ask that he be remanded to the custody of the state until the trial.”

  The judge nodded and then turned to the defense. “Any rebuttals, counselor?”

  “No, your honor, we’re fine with remand as long as he can be treated for his psychiatric condition whilst in custody.”

  “Your honor,” the prosecutor interrupted, and Alyssa swung her attention back to the lady in the blue business suit. “Mr. Sanders has caused a lot of disruption and problems in Clara Robert’s life with the use of nothing more than the Internet. He is one of the best hackers that the FBI has record of. I feel that he should be severely limited on his social interaction as well as his access to technology from the outside. If he is released for psychiatric visits, then those need to be very closely monitored as well, to make sure that he has no access to any form of computer, including cell phones, e-readers, etc. Nothing is safe in the hands of a hacker who is as skilled as he is.”

  “We have no objection to that either,” the defense responded, “As long as he is able to get the mental health care he needs, we don’t object to it being spent in shackles in a place far away from any and all access to the Internet.”

  Alyssa looked at Chuck’s face while Sanders’ brother spoke. The entire room was tuned into what the lawyer was saying, but she caught sight of his brother’s face when he agreed to keep him confined and away from the Internet, and she knew that he was not happy with the situation. He’d been wearing a smile when he came into the courtroom, but now he was downright scowling at his brother’s agreement to the restrictions.

  The lines of his face were so contorted for a moment that Alyssa found herself somewhat concerned for the safety of Sanders’ brother. Then his face went slack again, and all traces of his aggression seemed to vanish. Alyssa almost would have thought she was imagining it, if he didn’t lean back a little and catch her looking at him. When she was trapped in his gaze, she knew that the rage she’d seen was real and that it was boiling over underneath his calm, placid exterior.

  Woody took in a sharp breath next to her, and she looked up at him, rea
lizing that he had caught this most recent encounter as well. His jaw was firmly set, and she saw a small pulse on his neck. She knew that he was holding back his anger, and so she leaned into him and whispered.

  “It’s okay,” she reassured him while lightly patting his forearm. “He can’t do anything now.” Woody nodded, but he did not unclench his jaw for the remainder of the time they were in the courthouse.

  The rest of the time was spent hashing out the details for Sander’s schedule. The hearing concluded with the announcement that the court would reconvene the case in two weeks after he’d been through a full psychiatric workup. While nothing else eventful happened, Alyssa spent the remainder of the time thinking about that look of pure rage. She could only imagine what he would have done to Clara if Shad, Woody and the guards hadn’t been there to intervene.

  Without realizing it, she moved in closer to Woody and firmly rested her head on the side of his shoulder as the hearing ended. When he pulled her tightly to him, she sighed, content in knowing that she was finally finding her way in the world.

  Chapter 7

  Even as the final gavel bang echoed through the room, Woody found that he couldn’t relax completely. He had seen evil today, and for the first time in his life he found himself completely on edge. As they filed out of the courtroom, he took Alyssa by the hand and led her off to the side.

  “I told Shad that we would meet up with them after a little bit,” Woody told her.

  Alyssa brushed a stray piece of hair back behind her ear and nodded. “Does this have to do with what you wanted to show me?” she asked.

  “Yes,” was all he said, but when he turned and went to the car, she followed. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell her.

  As they drove out to the cemetery they passed the place where Shad had first found Clara on the side of the road. Woody knew Shad had been visiting the graveyard that day even though he’d never told Woody. The only reason they were ever on this road was to visit the cemetery, so when Woody had come out to tow the car, he’d gone ahead and checked to find fresh flowers on the headstones.

  Now as he pulled up, he noticed there were more flowers in front of the joint headstone for their parents’ graves. It was not that Woody didn’t like to come out here, but every time he did so he had to come to grips with the date on his mother’s headstone. As they pulled up to the row where his parents were buried he took a deep breath and got out of the car.

  He didn’t look back to see if Alyssa got out as well, but he let out a pent up breath when he heard the car door close behind him. His vision blurred as the date came into view. Her death, his birthday intricately bound to each other.

  There were no words that would come to him, nothing he thought he could say that would help ease the problems his mother’s death had inflicted on his family. Because she had died giving birth to him, every mean word their father said, every time Melinda had to give up something to mother them, he had felt responsible.

  It was hard to mourn someone you didn’t even know and yet he had, every day of his entire life.

  Alyssa knelt down next to him in front of the tombstone and put her hand over his. She said nothing. After a few moments of silence Woody cleared his throat. He wasn’t sure where to start, so he pointed to the death date on his mom’s grave.

  “That’s my birthday,” Woody started. “My mom died from a hemorrhage and bled out shortly after I was born. The doctor didn’t find it until it was too late.”

  Woody fought back the tears as he continued. “It was always so hard seeing what my family had to give up, seeing what they went through because of me. I always felt like I was more of a burden to them than anything else.”

  Woody looked into Alyssa’s eyes and took her hands as he told her the next part. “That fear of what happened to my family when I was born is why I have never considered having children. Every time I get in a relationship and the talk turns to family and kids, I cannot think of anything else except this date.”

  “Well then, I guess it’s good that we found each other,” Alyssa smiled and squeezed his hand. Instead of saying anything else or asking him a lot of questions, she just continued to sit next to him in silence.

  Woody thought about saying a thousand different things, thought about telling her that he’d thought about adoption, that there were so many other ways to build a family. But after a moment he realized that the silence was all that they needed, and it enveloped them as they sat in the afternoon sun. Thanks to Alyssa, Woody was at peace with his place in the world for the first time ever.

  *

  Alyssa opened one eye and groaned into the morning darkness. She started to push back the covers when Woody’s arm snaked out and clutched her to him.

  “Where are you going so early?” he murmured into her hair. She sighed and snuggled down into his embrace, his arousal becoming even more prominent as she did.

  “Nowhere I guess,” she laughed and turned toward him. “Especially if it means I have to leave these warm covers.”

  “Is that all you’re worried about leaving?”

  “No, these fluffy pillows are awfully nice too.” She smiled and then leaned down to kiss him. His hands slid down her back, cupping her bare bottom.

  “But seriously, I need to go take a shower. We’re supposed to go to that menu tasting for Clara and Shad today.” Alyssa reminded him as she climbed out of the bed and slipped into the bathroom.

  He rolled up on one arm. “I could always help, you know.”

  “Ha!” She leaned around the corner of the bathroom door as she laughed. “If your form of helping means that, then I’ll be fifteen extra minutes later than usual.”

  She winked at him and then started the shower, knowing that before too long he would be in there to join her. It had been a week and a half since they had sat together in the graveyard and he had told her his fear of having a family, and Alyssa had to admit that those days had been some of the best she’d had in a long time.

  Starting the water, she stepped over to the mirror as the water began to get warm. They had spent every night together, and it felt like she was part of a family again. No more nights spent alone in the darkness. At night they ate dinner together with Shad and Clara. However the huge house was empty now except for them. After the court date last week, Shad had decided that Clara needed a break, so he’d taken them out of town, not telling anyone where they’d gone.

  Alyssa had gotten a handwritten note, explaining everything and asking if she and Woody would handle some of the pre-wedding things. They’d all been fairly fun things like the menu tasting at the caterers and the wine sampling at one of the local vineyards. Alyssa knew that they would recheck her findings when they came back, and she was good with that. For now, it gave her something to do besides working on her writing, and she was grateful for that.

  The water was turned up as hot as she could stand it, and she stood under the full spray, sighing as the tension in her muscles unknotted. Moving her head from side to side, she rubbed the nape of her neck. Lately she’d been having a lot of headaches and sinus issues and she knew that the break from sitting at her desk all day would do her good. Maybe it would help her to get some of her energy back as well, but she imagined that would return as soon as Woody let it.

  Without meaning to, she let out a loud bark of laughter that echoed loudly against the tiled walls. She lathered her hair and smiled under the cascade of soap and water when she heard the glass door to the shower slide back and Woody stepped in behind her.

  “What were you laughing at?” he asked.

  “Hmmm?” she sighed as she leaned into him and felt his member pressing into her backside. “Oh, nothing…just trying to think of where my energy might have run off to.”

  “I can’t imagine,” he whispered as he reached around and lightly tweaked her nipple.

  She swatted at his hands, playfully.

  “Can’t you see I’m trying to get clean here?” she asked, laughing yet again, knowi
ng that she would not be able to hold out against his persuasiveness much longer.

  “There’s a lot of cleaning we can do in fifteen minutes.” He told her before he turned her around, leaning in to kiss her under the falling water as his hands slipped down and cupped her bare butt, pulling her even closer. She decided that she couldn’t have agreed more.

  *

  Alyssa tucked her hair behind her ears as they got out at the caterer’s place. Because of Woody’s help this morning in the shower she hadn’t any extra time to fix her hair properly. Part of that issue was also that the nearest caterer was an hour or more away in Lawton, so it wasn’t like they could just jump in the car and go. They pulled into the parking lot exactly at the appointment time, and Alyssa almost jumped out of the car and raced up the steps to the small building. She hated the feeling of being late, it always made her a bit on edge.

  Woody, however, didn’t even seem to notice as he casually slipped up beside her and put his hand on her back. This mere motion settled her nerves and helped her to relax, and she decided that she would rather have flyaway hair and be a few minutes late than miss out on any time spent with him.

  When they entered, they were immediately greeted by a tall thin woman with dark hair that was slicked back away from her face in a pony tail. Her chin and nose were very sharp and angular and her hair only worked to accentuate this stark thinness. Alyssa had always thought of caterers as plump happy people who loved food, but this woman looked as if she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in years.

  “Hello. I’m Claudia, and you must be the Brandt party,” she said as she held out her thin hand, giving each of them a firm quick shake.

  “Yes, that’s us. We’re here for Shad and Clara since they couldn’t make it,” Alyssa clarified. But before she could speak, the caterer was already motioning for them to follow her as she led them back to a small table in a secluded area.

  “Ms. Roberts called and told me of the situation yesterday,” Claudia said as she handed them two tasting menus. Alyssa could hear the distaste in her voice, and knew that she did not appreciate having to work with substitutes for the client. “These are the menu options that she had narrowed down.”