Each one hugged me harder than the last, and then they did it again. Each one proclaiming their love for me and their acceptance of Penny. Each one promising to be the first to visit once we’re settled and in our own place. Each one trying to one-up the other, like they’ve done since they were children.
Penny sniffles into a worn tissue. She’s been acting weird since yesterday, but no more than she was when we pull out of Astrid’s driveway and head to the airport. The pack of Kleenex I gave her before we left is scattered around her and her feet. She hasn’t stopped crying once.
“It’s going to be all right,” I murmur reaching out to touch her leg. She looks over at me with a fresh batch of tears welling in her eyes. “We’ll come visit once the snow has melted.”
She looks away and stares off into the passing scenery.
I thought the idea would make her happy, but she doesn’t say a word.
She doesn’t say a word the entire trip home.
*****
Our plane lands nearly twenty minutes earlier than scheduled, but it’s late. Sometime after nine. When my feet hit the tarmac, I’ve never been happier to be home.
Oregon is one of the few places in the world that has ever truly felt like home to me. I’m not sure why, but ever since I laid eyes on the place, breathed in the clean air, and walked the streets without wondering who’s lurking around the corner, it’s been that way.
It’s the only place in the world I pictured settling down with a wife, two kids, a dog, and a white picket fence. While life may have taken a detour or two in the last few years, I was back on schedule and planning to have it all with the beautiful woman walking beside me.
“Welcome home, angel,” I speak, turning toward her and scooping her into my arms. I hate the silent treatment she’s been giving me, and I’m ready to do whatever I have to, to end it.
“Home?” she looks around the large airport, and I get the sense she’s a little more than on edge.
“Not Portland, but the state.” I take her hand and begin leading her toward the baggage claim. I’ve been through here enough times in the last few years I could do it with my eyes closed.
She throws her backpack over her shoulder and follows closely behind.
After grabbing our luggage, I wonder if our ride will be waiting, but as we cross through the loading and unloading zone outside the main entrance, I spot Rafe’s large black SUV. He’s leaning against it, searching through the crowd of people as they exit the building.
“It’s the D-Dizzle,” he shouts with his hands cupped around his mouth to applify the sound of his voice when he spots us. He drops his hands and beams at me, pushing off the hood of the vehicle, and saunters toward us.
Penny squeezes my hand, and I lift our connected hands to place a gentle kiss on one of her fingers. All the guys know I’ve gone and got myself hitched. Rafe will be the first to lay eyes on my gorgeous girl.
“Rafferty Kimball, they finally let you leave the sandbox to play with the big boys?”
“You know it,” he chuckles, reaching out a hand to greet me. I drop Penny’s hand to take his, grasping it firmly before dropping his to find my woman’s. As if she can read my mind, her hand is back in mine without any effort, and she’s shelved whatever’s been bothering her. “Glad to see you still kicking, man.”
“Glad to be kicking.” I smile and shift my attention to Penny. “Rafe, this is Penelope, my wife.”
“Hello, Penelope, it’s nice to finally meet the woman who brought this knucklehead to heel.” For the first time since seeing us, Rafe looks at her, and he smiles. “Normally, I’d shake your hand, but with the grip he’s got on you, I think it’s a good idea to keep a safe distance.”
“Please call me Penny.” She smiles back with a chuckle. “Yeah, he’s pretty territorial, isn’t he?”
“Damn straight,” I mutter, sending a glare at Rafe. Motherfucker is just as territorial about his woman. Speaking of… “How’s Daph?”
Rafe’s eyes cut to me, and he takes a respectful step back. “She’s good. Her sister insists I put a stop to the silly notion that she’s going to marry some new fool.”
“You finally sign the papers?” I ask knowing the full state of his marriage.
“What do you think?”
He didn’t sign the papers, but his sister-in-law is right. He needs to stop pussy-footing around. “I think you need to hustle your ass back down south and claim your woman.”
“Gone and got yourself hitched, you think you’re an expert now?”
“No, but I know how you feel about her, man.” Usually, this is where Rafe clams up, throws up his walls, and freezes me out. I’ve been on him for the last four years about this shit. He needs to quit fucking around and deal with the state of his marriage. “Shit or get off the pot.”
He looks down at the ground, crosses his arms, and scuffs his shoe along the concrete. “As much as I’m enjoying this uncomfortable reunion, how about we get the fuck out of here and get you two home?”
He turns and heads toward his SUV, and by the looks of it, it’s one of the company vehicles Kingston insists on having. I don’t know why when all he drives anyway is his own truck.
“You been in town long?” I ask Rafe, Penny walking alongside of me with a small smile on her face.
“I got here right after you left,” he explains before opening the rear door to load up the luggage.
“I’ve been gone almost a full year, man. I thought your deployment was seven months?” I pause waiting for him to answer, but he looks away instead, busying himself with the bags. “Something happened?”
“You could say that,” he answers carefully, and then I remember where his team was sent. He looks back at me, and his eyes sidle to Penny. He doesn’t know what I’ve told her. While I haven’t shared everything about what happened, she knows something big did.
“We’ll talk about it later.” I shake my head and pull Penny beside me to the backseat of the SUV. I open the door for her, and while she looks at me like she senses something isn’t right, she doesn’t say anything. Now that we’re home and out of danger, I plan on giving everything about who I am and what I used to do to her.
She climbs into the vehicle, and I follow behind, closing the door just as Rafe slides into the driver’s seat, his stony silence finally settled into place. His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, letting me see a little of the darkness he’s holding inside.
“All right, we’ll be home shortly. Meanwhile, try to keep your hands to yourself back there.”
“Damn,” Penny giggles, looking over at me before giving me a wink. She’s trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood soaking up the atmosphere. “I was hoping to fulfill all my teenage fantasies during the drive. You’re such a buzzkill, Rafe.”
Rafe whips his head around and laughs loudly as his wide eyes land on Penny. “Damn, Dizzy, your girl has jokes.”
I squeeze my wife’s hand and chuckle. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Chapter 34
Penny
When we pull up to the brightly-lit two-story house, I’ll admit, my nerves kick into overdrive.
Rafe parks the large SUV on the sidewalk, and Damien slides out with a smile and a wink. I sit looking at the house, worry growing in the pit of my stomach.
As if sensing my trepidation, Damien appears on my side of the car and shoos Rafe away. He gives me a few moments alone before opening the door and meeting my eyes.
“What’s going on, angel?”
“Nothing,” I reply, my body trembling from the fear saturating my body.
“I don’t believe that.” He leans against the door and cocks his head to the side. “You’ve been acting aloof since we left my sister’s. I told you we’d go back.”
“It’s not that,” I murmur, seeing his concern shine brightly behind his eyes. I scramble, trying to hide the real concerns I’m struggling with. Astrid threw me for a loop yesterday with the pregnancy test, and while I didn’t t
ake it, I was sure she had to be wrong, but then this morning I realized I haven’t had period since Vegas. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”
“Nervous?”
I nod, reaching for his hand and twining our fingers together, needing to feel connected to him.
He’s right. I have been acting aloof, but it’s because I’m holding on to this big possibility, and I have no idea how to share it with him.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. They’re going to love you.” He lifts his other hand and runs his thumb gently over my cheek. “You weren’t this nervous with my sisters.”
“I know, but they didn’t know about me. About us.” I’m not sure where the words come from or how the thought came to be, but it’s true. The people in that house behind him know all about us. They know how I came to be there, and they know the real reasons why Damien married me.
Whereas with his sisters and his father, they only knew what we told them until it was time to reveal it all. And even then, telling the story of us, I felt a little shame.
But this time, it’s worse.
“Is that what this about? You think they’re going to treat you differently because of how we came to be?”
I nod, the words stuck in my throat.
“Penny, these people are my family, and there isn’t a single one in the group who will see you as anything less than what you are. Fucking perfect and all mine.” He steps forward and pulls me close, resting his forehead against mine.
“Yours?” I can’t help the smile that creeps across my face and the warmth his words place in my belly.
“Every single inch, until our very last breath.” He places a gentle kiss on my nose before capturing my lips with a blistering kiss. I melt against him, meeting his enthusiasm but using my body to beg for more. I know what he is doing, and I let him. His tongue pushes past my lips, demanding more and erasing any lingering doubts.
*****
From the moment the door opened and we were greeted with a cheer, to the moment we trudged up the stairs to find our bed, I had nothing to worry about.
Damien was right. His family accepted me long before this night, and there wasn’t a single one of them who didn’t let me feel that simple fact in some way. And when they each stood in front of me, one by one introducing themselves, I felt more at ease than I had in months.
But it was the girls who made my night. Missy, Alice, and Annabelle. The three amigas, at least that’s what Damien called them during our introductions, and they truly were. And as the night wore on and stories were told, I realized the group of people surrounding me was just like me, in some way or another.
“There is one thing I want to know,” Missy hands me another margarita. It’s my third one, and my face is already numb. Apparently, she’s famous for the drink. I lift an eyebrow, or try to, but like I said, my face is numb. “How in the hell do you not have an accent?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Your English, it’s fucking perfect. There isn’t a hint of your native home. How is that possible?”
I lower my eyes, remembering the exact reasons to her answer, and am swept away in the memory.
“There was a rumor amongst the girls that if you could speak English and carry yourself a certain way, you would be worth more money. Whether or not it was true, I don’t know, but a group of us, situated in cells close to one another, practiced speaking every day.” I pause, reflecting on the memory, wondering about each girl and sending out a prayer, hoping they are alive and well. “I had it easier than most of them, because I already knew English and I was worth more than any of them.”
“You were a virgin,” Alice surmirises with a knowing glint in her eye. I can see deep down inside of her, and what I see ties us together. We’re survivors, and we’ve lived similar lives. Only she wasn’t as lucky as I was.
“Yes, and I felt a lot of guilt over it. Even if it was only a rumor, I gave them something to hope for, something to save them from the darkness surrounding them.” I finish with a shrug, hiding the real reason I did it.
“You did it for yourself, too.” Alice reaches for my hand and grasps it tightly in her own. My heart slams into my chest, and I want to deny it, but I can’t. She sees right through me. “I would have done the same thing. I can’t imagine what you went through, but you’re home now.”
She nods at something behind me, but before I can turn, I feel steel arms snake around me.
“Damn straight, she’s home.” Damien’s warm lips graze the bare column of my neck, and I relax against him.
“Speaking of homes,” Missy pipes in, her voice loud enough to drown out the dull roar of conversation happening around us. I see her catch King’s attention, and he excuses himself to make his way toward her. In fact, they all follow his lead and gather around the alpha couple.
King leans in and whispers something in Missy’s ear. She giggles, then he mimics Damien’s actions and wraps an arm around her waist before clearing his voice.
“I know everyone’s wondering why we’ve gathered here at Missy’s house instead of mine, and I promise to explain, but first, I want to take a moment and welcome Penny into our family.” His dark eyes meet my own, softening in an instant. “A little bird told me you were worried about what we might think of you tonight, and whether we could accept the way you came into Dizzy’s life and ultimately this family.” He pauses a moment, letting his words sink in. I tighten my hold on Damien’s arm, unsure if I should be annoyed at him or touched by his care.
“For the men you see here tonight,”—he motions to group around us—“and for the men who couldn’t be here, I’m sure they’ll all agree when I say you are finally home.” Everyone gathered around, including the women, grunt and nod with approval.
My heart swells, and I feel Damien shiver against me, his lips touching my neck again. Fresh tears pool, and I fight to hold them back. I thought being accepted by his sisters was monumental, but I was wrong.
When I was a young girl, I only dreamt of having a family that would love and accept me for the person I am. Tonight, that dream came true two times over.
“Welcome home, Damien and Penelope Reynolds,” he grunts before saluting us both. Damien reaches up to return the respect, and King breaks into a toothy grin. “Literally, because Missy and I are officially gifting you this house.”
My heart stalls, and my jaw drops.
Wait, did I hear that right?
Missy watches us with a large grin, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. She’s holding out a blue legal document and a set of house keys, but I’m in shock and cannot move my feet.
Damien releases his hold on me and takes the items from her before scooping her up into his arms. “Thank you, Missy.” He releases her and holds out a hand to King. King takes it but pulls him in for a hug before letting him go. “Thank you, King. I have no words, brother.”
“Penny, are you okay?” Missy asks. She’s stopped celebrating and looks genuinely concerned. “If you don’t like the house, that’s okay—”
“No.” I finally find my voice and cut her off from saying anything more. I reach for her and pull her in tight for a hug. “It’s a beautiful gift.”
“I know my style is a little—”
“Kitschy,” King interrupts with wink.
“I was going to say eccentric, but kitschy works, too,” she amends with a glare. “But we can make it your own.”
Letting my eyes wander, I take in her words.
My own.
A home.
An actualy fucking house.
“I’ve never lived in a house before,” I murmur, picturing my children running up and down the stairs, myself making their lunches at the kitchen island, Damien sitting next to me on the front porch, our skin wrinkled and heads gray.
Home.
My own home.
“I don’t know how to respond to that,” Missy sniffles, and I look over at her, realizing my thoughts were vocalized.
“No one
has ever given me such an extravagant gift,” I admit, almost feeling like it was too much.
“Think of it as a delay wedding gift. Besides, I didn’t want to sell to some strangers. At least this way, it stays in the family.” She nods, her tears disappearing.
“Thank you,” I whisper before rushing her and hugging them both.
The festivities resume after King and Missy’s little announcement, and I am still trying to pick my jaw off the floor.
I begin planning and designing in my head, wanting to create the same rustic feeling both Damien and I fell in love with at the cabin. I can enlist the girls’ help with the transformation. Surely, Missy’s going to want to take her things and put them in the home she shares with King.
As the night wears on, Annabelle mentions her work at the community center. During her time out of the office, which from what I gather is rare, she spends some time tutoring underpriviledged children.
She mentions a position opening at the center for an English teacher. Alice offers me up like a human sacrifice, and while I want to initially say no, I remember how it felt to help the girls feel better about themselves and give them hope. I jump at the opportunity, and even though I have no real experience teaching, I can’t think of doing anything else.
I don’t know who leaves first, but the group dwindles down until there’re only Kingston and Missy left, but it isn’t long before they say their good-byes and head home.
Damien picks up the last of our bags and takes them upstairs to our new bedroom, and I’m left alone downstairs to study the place that is now our home.
“Are you ready for bed, angel?” Damien’s voice pulls me from my wandering thoughts, and I turn to take the sight of him in. He’s leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. A playful smirks tugs at his lips, and I take a moment committing the way he looks in that moment to memory. The epitome of male beauty. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of looking at him. “What are you thinking about?”
“You. Me. The future.” I shrug, watching as he pushes off the doorway and stalks toward me, stopping inches from me.
Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Series Book 3) Page 17