by Amelia Shea
A loud bang jolted her from her wedding memory back to present.
“I can’t believe I let you fucking talk me into this.” Stone stood next to her, scanning the room and staying particularly close to Cassie. He had adamantly turned her down several times before she threatened to go by herself. She knew he wouldn’t allow it and he knew she’d do it if she had to. He had finally given in.
Cassie ignored him and looked around the room. Only a few tables were occupied. Wednesday must be a slow day for visitors. Her hands started to sweat, she tried to hide it from Stone but her nerves were getting the best of her. She didn’t want him to try and talk her out of this again. He did that the entire ride there.
“He’ll fucking kill me if he ever finds out, you know that, right? You’re gonna leave Sadie a widow and my kid fatherless. Fuck!”
Cassie reached out and put her hand on Stone’s arm. “He won’t find out unless you tell him, which I know you won’t.”
Stone shook his head.
“Stone, I have to do this, for him,” she whispered.
Stone looked down at her. His eyes paled. He may not agree with her but he understood why. It was the reason he was standing here next to her.
The doors to the right opened and her eyes fastened on the man walking in. He wasn’t at all what she had expected. She expected a monster. Instead, she saw a tall man with dark hair. He was painfully thin with a severe receding hairline. His face was gaunt and pale. He looked like a man who was dying. From his letters she knew he was.
He scanned the room before the officer pointed to a table and the man sat. He rested his hands on the table and looked around until his eyes locked on Cassie. She held his stare and looked deep into those dark brown eyes. The same eyes of the man she loved.
“You don’t have to do this,” Stone muttered through gritted teeth.
Never looking away from the man, she replied, “Yes, I do.”
She started forward but halted with Stone on her heels. “Alone.”
“No fucking way, Cassie.”
“I need to do this, Stone, and I need to do it without worrying if you are going to fly across the table and attack him. Please.”
She didn’t wait for him to answer. She continued across the room, her eyes never leaving the man, his never straying from hers. She stopped at the table before pulling out the chair and slipping into the seat.
The man eyed her and she took a breath. “Hi, Mr. Ross.”
“I’m sorry, miss…”
“You don’t know me. My name is Cassie Garrison.” Small recollection played in his eyes. “T’s wife.”
His face paled and his hands began to fidget. He looked over her shoulder and then around the room.
“He’s not here,” she said.
His eyes met hers again, his face fell, and he nodded knowingly. He looked disappointed, his head bowed, and his eyes stared down at the table.
“I read your letters.”
His head perked up. She could see it in his eyes, remorse.
“Did Tegan?”
Cassie shook her head. “No. He saved some, but never opened them.”
“Didn’t think he would but I had…I had to try.” He rested his arms on the table folding his hands. “Does he know you’re here?”
Cassie shook her head. He nodded back.
“Mr. Ross, I’d like to show you something.” Cassie pulled out the picture in her pocket and placed in on the table, sliding it in front of him.
He stared at the picture drawing his face closer.
“She just turned two.” The picture was of T and their little girl. He was sitting at the bonfire with her on his lap. She had her face resting up against his smiling face. Her white-blond hair was a mess, marshmallow smeared on her face, her mouth open laughing. It was one of Cassie’s favorites.
He smiled sadly. “What’s her name?”
“Darla.”
“She’s beautiful.” His voice cracked.
“Thank you. She’s a handful, stubborn like her daddy, but she also has his big heart.”
He just stared at the photo, looking at it as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. Cassie watched his eyes; he was memorizing the photo. She clasped her hands on the table and sat quietly.
“I read your letters.” He looked up to meet her stare. “T doesn’t know. Not even sure why I did.” She gulped a breath. “Ya know, it’s weird, before reading your letters, I always envisioned you as a monster.”
“I was. To Tegan, I was a monster.” His voice was gravelly and rough.
“Yeah, I guess you were. When I read your letters, I realized behind the monster was a man who was sorry. It doesn’t change anything, the scars are still there with T, all over his body.”
Cassie’s throat tightened; she forced herself to swallow a breath. Talking about T’s childhood and what he endured always left her an emotional mess. But she had to do this for him.
“I know you’re sorry and you regret doing what you did to him, and I know you want his forgiveness. Maybe someday he’ll give it to you and maybe he won’t but that’s his call. If he ever finds forgiveness for you, it has to be on his terms, not yours. You’ve already taken enough from him.”
His eyes were glassy with tears and he muttered, “I know.”
“You can’t take the scars away on the outside but maybe you can help him heal on the inside. That’s why I came here today.”
“Whatever you ask, Cassie, I’ll do it.”
Cassie gave him a sad smile. “I’m here to ask that you not contact T anymore.”
His face, almost hopeful, fell with sadness.
She pointed to the photo he had in front of him.
“You see the love in his face, the happiness? That’s how he is every day with that little girl, with me, pure joy.” She paused. “When your letters come, a little bit of that joy is taken away. That little girl loses a piece of her daddy, the man she loves more than anyone, when you are brought back into his life.”
His eyes drew down to the picture. He lightly glided his finger over the picture. He was silent.
“The greatest gift you could give him is peace. If you are truly sorry, and I believe you are, you’ll give him this. Give him peace.”
Minutes passed with no words before he sat back from the table.
“I won’t contact him again.”
“Thank you.”
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry. Every day of my life, I’m sorry.”
Cassie smiled and nodded. She stood up. “Bye.” She turned around and started to Stone, who looked wary. She gave him a reassuring smile.
“Cassie?”
She turned around to see Mr. Ross standing with the photo in his hand. “You forgot your picture.”
She gave him a smile. “No, I didn’t.”
His eyes teared and he held the picture to his chest.
* * * *
T was outside pushing his little girl on the tire swing when his phone rang. One big push sent Darla flying in the air and her excited scream had T smiling as he answered, “Yeah.”
“She’s on her way home, should be rolling in any second.”
T breathed easy, finally releasing a breath he had been holding in for what seemed like hours. His chest calmed and he could feel the anxiety seep from him. It was done and she was on her way home to him.
“Go all right?”
“Yeah, you know your girl, got mouthy and put me in my place when I told her it was a bad idea. But yeah, man, it was all good.”
T smirked at Cassie getting sassy with Stone. His woman was a fireball when she wanted something. Didn’t let anything stand in her way. And she wanted this, wanted to give him closure.
He’d known about her secret trip to the prison. Stone told him. They had no secrets. T was furious, there was no way his old man would get anywhere near his woman. He was completely set to tell her that. Then she came home with
a story about needing to help a friend. This friend, who she loved very much, needed someone to be strong for them and she needed to do this for them. He knew, she needed this more than him, and he gave it to her. He hated the idea of this monster of a man that had hurt him being close to Cassie but Stone would be there and he knew she needed to do this for him.
“Thanks, man.”
“Anytime, brother.”
In the background T heard a loud scream and something crashing. T laughed; Stone had his hands full.
“Shit, this kid’s gonna wreck this place. Later!” He hung up quickly. T put his phone in his back pocket and grasped the tire again to swing Darla. His little girl’s head turned and her face broke out in a smile. He looked over to where she was looking to see Cassie pulling into the driveway.
“Daddy, down, down,” Darla squealed. He picked her up off the swing, setting her on the grass. She took off straight for her mom.
T watched her jump up into Cassie’s arms and squeeze her tight. Seeing them together, his girls, always made his heart flutter. His world was standing right in front of him; no guy had ever been as lucky as he was at this moment.
Cassie walked up the lawn with Darla in her arms, two of the most beautiful faces he’d ever seen.
“Hey.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, then put Darla down.
Darla ran over to her doll and carriage, her favorite birthday present from Grandpa. T wrapped an arm around Cassie and pulled her deep into his side before planting a kiss on the top of her head. Her arms squeezed tightly around his stomach as they walked over to their front porch. He’d never grow tired of her touch; it was the best feeling he’d ever known.
“I see you’re giving the ladies in the ’hood a little excitement.”
T rolled his eyes. It was hot as hell outside. He’d taken his shirt off about an hour ago. If the women in the neighborhood were checking him out, he didn’t notice. He only had eyes for one woman. His.
T watched her press her lips against his bare chest over his heart. It was something she’d done for the last four years, ever since he’d gotten the tattoo. Over what was once a blank space, there was a large puzzle piece. All black ink with Cassie’s name written inside. Two years ago, he added Darla, and in seven months, he’d add another.
Cassie yawned.
“You tired?”
“Yeah, a little.” He released her from his embrace and she took a seat on the top stair. “First trimester always makes me the most tired. Just thankful the puking is done.” She scrunched her nose in disgust.
He leaned against the railing and folded his arms. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Fucking told you to rest more.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. Pushing back from the rail, he leaned forward, bracing his hands on either side of Cassie, inches away from her.
“How’s my boy doing?”
Cassie smiled and shook her hand. “Baby, just because you want a boy doesn’t mean you’ll get a boy.”
T leaned in, kissing her softly, and whispered, “It’s a boy.”
“How can you be so sure?” Raising her eyebrows there was a smirk on her face.
“I wanted you and I got ya, wanted that li’l pixie to be a girl, and now I want a boy, so he’s a boy.”
Cassie grasped his face in her hands pulling him into her and kissed his lips. T took advantage and let his tongue sweep across her pouty lips until she let out a soft moan. Reluctantly he pulled back, staring down at her hazy stare.
“Fine, it’s a boy then, you win, T.”
He winked at her. “I know.”
She cocked her head to the side, “So you going to give this boy your name?”
T shook his head. “Already got a boy with my name.”
And he did. A year ago, after a long time trying, Stone became a dad. He could still remember Stone handing his son over to him in the hospital. Nothing beat the feeling of holding your own child but holding his nephew was a close second.
“Meet Uncle T, little guy. T, meet your nephew, John Tegan Stone, JT for short.” Not many times in his life did he feel overwhelmed with emotion but on that day, even T wasn’t immune.
“Well then, I get to name him too.”
T didn’t care what they named their kids, as long as they were healthy. Cassie had been secretive about the name with her first pregnancy, refusing to share it with anyone, even him. He didn’t care; who gives a shit about a name anyway? After eight hours of intense labor and a shit ton of cursing that his pixie released on anyone who dared to tell her to relax, his little girl came into the world, tiny, red-faced, and screaming. Most importantly, healthy. He’d never forget the feeling of the nurse handing him his little girl. A love so strong that even T, who never cried, teared up at the sight of her.
The family gathered in her room shortly after, everyone fighting over who got to hold his baby girl. With the baby bundled in her arms Cassie called out to his dad, who was standing at the end of her bed. “I think you should be the first to hold your granddaughter.”
T wasn’t sure if he had ever seen his dad smile so bright as Cassie gently put the baby in his arms. Complete pride spread over his dad’s face. “It’s been so long since I’ve held a baby.” He looked down and whispered, “Hope I’m doing it right, baby girl.”
T rested his hand on John’s shoulder. “I think you’re doing just fine, Dad. Darla seems happy in your arms.”
John’s watery eyes met T’s. They both knew. At that moment, she was with them, tears of joy looking down on all of them and her namesake.
“T?”
Realizing he had spaced out, he focused back on his wife’s sweet face. The face that set his world in motion. The face that gave him everything he didn’t even know he wanted.
“We need to get going. Can’t be late, I’m dying to know what the big announcement is.” Cassie giggled. “Rox is being extremely secretive. Maybe she’s met someone.” Cassie wiggled her eyebrows and gave him a look he knew all too well.
T scowled suspiciously. “You know something. Is she bringing a guy tonight, Cass?”
T watched her tighten her lips in a straight line and shrugged her shoulder with humor in her eyes.
“Yeah, you fucking know something.”
Cassie burst out laughing.
“No, I swear. But would it be so bad if she did meet someone? T, she’s not a little girl anymore. And if anyone deserves love, it’s Rox. Besides, don’t you want her to have this,” she pointed her finger back and forth between them, “love and kids, our beautiful life?”
Staring into her big blue eyes, identical to his little girl’s, peace washed over T. Those eyes gave him a life with a trust so strong it was unbreakable, a love that only grew deeper each day, and children to share it with.
Yeah, he wanted this for his sister. Motherfucker better be worthy.
He stood up and took her hands to lift her up and pull her into his chest. He kissed her lips then rested his forehead against hers.
“Love you and the beautiful life you give me, pix.”
The End
Publisher’s Note
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About Amelia Shea
Amelia Shea, is a writer of contemporary erotic romance. She believes in the mixture of a little sweet, a lot of sass, and a whole lot of dirty wrapped up in a happily ever after. She fell in love with reading as a child and began writing shortly after. This is her second published novel. A northern girl living in the south, she spends most of her time juggling, sometimes literally, the kids, the husband, too many pets, and life in general.
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