“I think I resigned myself to the fact I’d lost him.” He looked down at their entwined hands. “I thought it was over. But now, it’s not just a possibility, but something that is going to happen.” His thumb ran circles over her skin, as he stared over her head at some far away point. “Now, I have this man I have to meet, and I have to explain to him how my absence in his life was my fault.”
Teal pulled away just enough to pin him with a hard glare. “Are you kidding me? You will not harbor the entire blame for this.”
He looked down at her. “No, Teal. Don’t make excuses. There were times I could have found him. I could have been in his life, but my anger, pain, and hatred for how she’d made me feel controlled my common sense.”
Teal tensed at hearing this. Harper could take just as much blame as Trent was willing to endure, but she’d come to know him better than that. She knew the man he’d become and some days that man pissed her off. “Okay, whatever, but I don’t want us to head up there and—”
“I don’t know, Teal.” He released her and shoved his fingers through his hair. “The shop—”
“Will be fine now that you have Lex and Abel. Don’t even act like that place will crumble without you. Maybe a few months ago it would have, but now you have a solid crew and a receptionist who knows what a catalytic converter is.” This was the moment they’d been waiting for. Markus and Trent, meeting for the first time. She wasn’t going to let him talk himself out of it.
Trent’s brow dipped in concentration. “Baby.” He was searching for a reason to push this meeting back and Teal sensed the fear in him.
She understood it. She was afraid herself. Her life had taken so many different twists and turns, only to have her land here in Kentucky, with a child, a husband, and no job. This was not the time to back down, no matter how scary it might be.
Teal picked up the phone and pulled the paper to her. She dialed and shoved the phone at Trent once it rang. It felt like all those months ago, back at her condo, when she went in search of the pen he used to write to Harper. He had the same deer-in-headlights look in his eyes now, as he did then.
Reaching out, he took the phone and pressed it to his ear. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat—a nervous tell. Teal heard the woman’s greeting as she came on the line.
“Hello, this is Trent Reed, calling for Harper.”
She watched as he spoke to the woman who’d let her fear and resentment cause her to miss out on a man like Trent. She thought back to the countless nights he’d delved between her legs, shattering her world, only to engulf her in his arms. The dirt, sweat, and grime he came home covered in, as he worked to build a solid future for his family. She thought of the scars scattering his chest and arms, the ones that represented his bravery and sacrifice, and Teal nearly fell to her knees.
Her entire life she’d been searching for the man to complete her, and that had been a fool’s errand. In turn, she’d met the man who complimented her, shared her goals and dreams. The man who loved her when she was too afraid to love herself.
“Yeah, we can come up in a day or so. I’ll have my wife make the arrangements.” Trent got up and pulled a pen from the drawer, then flipped over Harper’s letter and scribbled down an address. “It’s good to hear from you too.”
Teal peeked at it, then pulled her cell from her pocket. She typed the address in and searched for hotels nearby.
“We can leave tomorrow,” she said, causing Trent to flinch.
He eyed her, his gaze asking so soon?
Teal nodded and saved the hotel into her phone. Then she opened her Southwest app and searched for a flight. When she found one with a reasonable price and only one layover in Virginia Beach, she booked the flight. They would arrive tomorrow afternoon, which gave them enough time to have a full day to themselves before Trent would meet up with Harper. Trent and Harper spoke some more, while Teal created an itinerary for their trip. She wrote down the day Trent could meet Harper and pushed it to him.
Trent looked down at the paper and confirmed the date with Harper. His face went pale the second Harper agreed to the meeting.
This was really happening.
Teal smiled. A trip up north to meet his son, and then a detour to visit Logan and the girls, was exactly what Trent needed. She wanted him to get the hell away from the shop, Kentucky, and especially Ace.
Chapter 15
Trent’s phone rang and brought him out of a deep slumber. Quickly, he rolled over to silence the call, so it didn’t wake his kid. They were in an Extended Stay America with a very cranky Emma Mae. Even though they’d brought her bassinette, she was not having it. She’d squealed until Teal had propped her on a tit and patted her butt.
Minutes later, they’d all knocked out, exhausted from the plane ride and stress of the situation. Trent had sent word to Ace that an emergency had come up and he needed to leave town. Trent hadn’t even waited for a response before he hopped on the plane.
Yawning, he stretched his bad arm, hoping to stretch the stiffness away. He hadn’t slept this well since his surgery, where they’d knocked his ass out with heavy drugs. With his girls tucked into his side, and the first meeting with his son within reach, Trent felt as if his life were finally getting back on track.
Teal shifted and snorted. Reaching out, her hand searched for Emma Mae. When she found her, she caressed her lightly before continuing her light snoring. It amazed him how well she’d taken to being a mom. Even with odd looks in the grocery store, and the occasional nanny comments, Teal had made it through like a trooper. She corrected people with ease, reminding them that in this day and age, it was not at all odd to see mixed race families.
With everything he had going for him, it absolutely killed him that Ace and his men were back in his life.
Trent sat up in the bed, shaking off as much of the drowsiness as he could. The phone started ringing again, and the second Emma Mae fidgeted and squeaked, Trent grabbed the phone and answered.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat.
“Damn, man.” Logan’s voice was an unexpected but welcomed surprise. “That bottle of Jack mess you up that bad?” Gruff laughter sounded from the other end.
He touched his nauseated belly. “No, I didn’t drink. It’s worse than that, I’ve got a teething baby on my hands.” His nerves had him damn near puking last night, but Emma Mae’s wails had kept him on his toes.
“All the more reason to drink, brother. Imagine having two teething babies.” Logan chuckled.
Trent glanced at Teal’s body sprawled out on the bed. He loved the sensual marks he’d left behind last night, when he’d woken her up, moved Emma Mae into her bassinette, and made love to her. His body heated all over again at the thought, but a quick glance at the clock read five thirty a.m.
Harper and Markus would be at the local coffee shop, The Grind House, in an hour. It was walking distance from his hotel, and next door to the campus Harper worked at. Her son—their son, he mentally corrected himself—had followed in his mother’s footsteps and attended MIT.
Trent wasn’t an idiot, but he still didn’t know what a technical analyst was; actually, he wasn’t even sure that’s what Harper had told him his son was in college for.
“Have you called her? Made sure everything was still okay?” Logan asked.
Trent glanced at the clock again. He still had time to make it there, and he didn’t want to wake Harper up if she were still sleeping. Though, if she were anything like she was in high school, she was already there, staring at her watch, questioning where the hell he was. If you aren’t early, you’re late, Trent. Showing up late shows you don’t respect the person and their time. He remembered hearing that admonishment several times.
“Nah.” He stood quietly and tucked some pillows on the edge of the bed to make sure his kid didn’t roll off, then headed to the bathroom. “I’ll talk to her at the coffee shop.” Trent turned the shower on and adjusted the temperature. “I’m fucking nervous as fuck,” he added,
something he would only admit to Logan and Teal. He hated even admitting it to himself.
“I get it, man. I would be, too. Shit. You think he’s gonna be okay with you? I mean, she remarried and all. So, your son knows another man as his father. How are you feeling about that?”
Trent groaned. He didn’t need Logan trying to get in his head. Up until this point, he’d asked him to talk to Teal about all of this instead, because he didn’t want to talk about it, but knew his wife did. He trusted his friend with Teal, and knew she needed to unload things she didn’t want Trent worried about. It was a good arrangement.
“I know, man.” Trent removed his clothes. “I’m going to get off here and get ready. I’ll text you later.” If Logan sensed the evasion, he didn’t say anything.
“Good luck, buddy.”
Trent hung up and took a shower. He dressed in a black T-shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans. He thought to dress up, but decided against it. Trent wanted his son to see him as he was—a blue-collar, hard-working man in search of absolution.
Making his way back into the room, Teal was wide-awake and sitting up on the bed, with the plush white comforter pulled around her body and Emma Mae sleeping quietly in her bassinette. He tiptoed over and pulled the gray blanket up and over her chest, watching as her chest rose and fell.
Teal took in a deep breath, the kind she took when she was about to get real, as she would say. “You still want to go alone?”
He could hear the disappointment in her voice, but even though he wanted her with him, Trent knew this was something he needed to do alone. He and his son, a grown man, needed this time together. He would introduce Teal and Emma Mae later on. Trent made his way to the bed and sat on the edge of the bed in front of her. He groaned, his old bones creaking and popping as he sat. Taking her left hand, he pulled it close and inspected the ring on her finger.
“Mrs. Reed.” He placed the tip of her finger in his mouth and lightly nipped the pad.
Teal pulled her hand away. “Mrs. Lofton-Reed,” she amended, an amused expression on her face.
Trent growled deep in his throat. “Look, woman, you take my last name and none of that hyphenating shit. We’ve gone over this.” He’d said it teasingly, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he meant them. It may have been his chauvinist side showing, but Trent could not imagine Teal without the last name. They’d joined and become one. He felt her in his soul, laid with her each night, and made promises he’d die to keep. Trent needed her to take his last name. He needed their children to share it too.
Her soft hand caressed his face. “This is the only time I am going to let you get away with telling me what to do. And I mean the last time.” She winked, before giving him a light smack. Her hands left the covers, covering her body as she made to stand, but Trent stopped her.
Placing a hand over her soft stomach, his thumb caressed the soft pliant skin. He pushed her gently until she laid back on the bed.
Confusion crinkled her face. “What—”
Trent wrapped his arms around her thighs and pulled until Teal lay wide open before him. Her eyes darkened as lust and need filled her, and though Trent never got enough of Teal, he was not about to fuck her.
She stared up at him, her dark eyes searching his soul. He poured every ounce of himself into her, every dream he’d ever had, every fear he held private, and every hope that she’d remain by his side when the universe kept screaming at her to run. He felt the second she understood what he was asking for.
Her eyes widened at the unspoken request; a shocked expression taking the place of the lust-filled gaze.
Pulling her panties to the side, Trent pushed his thick finger deep inside her, in search of the one thing he’d been thinking about for the past week. He needed her to know what he wanted from her. Finding the object nestled deep in her core, Trent hooked his finger in the Nuva Ring and pulled it from her.
Teal sat up quickly. “Jesus, Trent.” She looked at the ring between his fingers. “Baby, you can’t take the birth control out like that.”
Without a response, Trent stood and made his way across the room.
“Trent?” she called again.
Ignoring her words, he stood over the trashcan, his mind racing and his heart pounding in his chest. He wanted a life with this woman, and in that life, he wanted her as his wife, and the mother of his kids—plural. Trent couldn’t wait. He refused to wait.
After nearly losing his life, and the pandemonium that awaited him back home, Trent realized the only thing that had ever truly stopped him from living was fear. No more. He was going to kill the piece of shit congressman and lay that part of his past to rest.
Trent caught Teal’s gaze as he dropped the birth control ring in the trash bin.
Glancing from him to the trash can and then back at him, Teal placed a hand over her heart. “You’re sure?” Though there was question in her voice and he sensed her fear, Trent answered.
“I love you, baby. I want you and nothing else.”
She nodded, then grimaced. “I wanted to go back to work.” Her eyes watered.
“I know, and you will. I promise. I told you I have a surprise for you.” Trent went back to her. Leaning over her, he kissed her hard and deep. “And it gives us both what we want. I’m still working out the details, but it’s coming along.”
“Karen is helping you?”
He smirked. Of course she remembered the text. “Yes, she’s helping us.”
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she sighed. “But we have a baby now. Another one is going to be hard on us.”
She was probably right, but Trent had the means to take care of her and his kids, and he had plans in the works for a larger space for them, including what Teal desired. There was no winner takes all in marriage, and compromise was golden. Still, he just needed Teal to be a hundred percent on board. He pushed back and stood up. Emma Mae chose then to let out a sharp cry.
Teal cocked a brow. “See?” She scooted off the bed and went to the bassinette. “Can you imagine two of these things?” She made a crazy display with her hands. “Screaming and running around the house, breaking shit.” Teal reached in and patted Emma Mae’s butt to soothe her back to sleep, but she wasn’t having it. A wail tore through the room, prompting Trent to get her little teething ring from the freezer.
Teal appeared behind him. “You don’t have time.” She grabbed the ring from him. “Go, before you’re late.”
Trent leaned in and gave her a kiss before he headed out the door.
When he arrived at the coffee shop, he got a table and ordered a decaf coffee with cream and no sugar; his nerves were too strained to add jitteriness into the mix. He glanced down into the steaming cup, going over his plan. He was going to get his shit straight with his kid and Harper. The past no longer sent him running, but had taught him a lesson in love and absolution.
Trent stared into his dark coffee, the hint of cream adding a soft swirl and sweetness to the black bitter liquid that reminded him of Teal’s smooth, dark skin. She’d been so surprised when he’d pulled that birth control ring from her, but it’d been a well-thought-out plan on his part.
He pulled his cell from his pocket and read the text again from his realtor.
Karen: You are the new owner of Eastham Farms. Excited for you. As for your other property, you need to head to the city clerk’s office and register a business name.
Trent beamed like a kid in a candy store. An old home and farm, chocked full of the Southern Charm Teal loved, his beautiful wife and daughter by his side, and the horses he planned to board there, all had him feeling as if his life was steadily getting better.
Teal hadn’t seen shit when it came to Kentucky. And though Trent knew little about horse boarding farms, he was a quick study, and had a few friends in his life who would help, including Violet and Poe. He even had plans for the house they were living in now after they moved out.
“Good morning, Trent,” Harper murmured, startlin
g him from his thoughts. Her voice still held the same husky and soulful quality it had all those years ago.
He looked up into a pair of sparkling brown eyes. She’d cut her hair in a bone-straight, close-cropped part, tucked behind her ear while the rest flowed. She wore charcoal-gray slacks and a form-fitting cashmere sweater that was the color of falling leaves on an autumn day. While her face held slight traces of age, her round eyes still projected jubilance, youth, and the sharp glow of intelligence.
Had this day happened months ago, prior to when he’d met Teal, his hate and resentment would have most likely ruled the words he spoke next. Instead, he stood and greeted her.
Taking her hand in his, he gave a light, friendly squeeze. “It’s good to see you, Harper.”
She smiled in what Trent took as a weathered but welcoming tilt to her lips.
He walked around the table to pull her seat out for her.
“After all these years, still the gentleman,” she said as she sat down.
“You look amazing, as always.” And she did. He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of emotion at the sight of the mother of his child, and the first woman he’d ever given his heart to. But the ache in his chest he used to feel when thinking of Harper was no longer there.
“You too, Trent. You look . . .” She eyed him appraisingly. “Different, but good. You’ve been working out and getting more tattoos, I see.” She raised a brow.
It was no doubt a nod to the tat she’d seen on him years ago. But after ten weeks of one-hour sessions, that ink was nothing more than a faded scar. The rebel flag didn’t equate racism, but Trent had seen people use it as a tool of hate, so it wasn’t the least bit confusing as to why she’d run. The rumors, lies, and the tattoo had done nothing to gain her favor.
Indebted: 'Til Death Do Us Part (Teal & Trent Book 3) Page 13