I felt tears coming to my eyes again. “Oh, thank you, but I can’t ask-“
“Stop,” Nick said. “If you feel somehow that you’re putting me out again on your behalf, just stop. I can’t turn a blind eye to this child. It has nothing to do with you.”
I nodded my head. I was hoping that Nick was going to tell me that he was going to keep me, after all, and that was why he was doing what he was doing. At any rate, it was a phenomenal thing to do, so I was grateful for that. I secretly wished that he was doing it for me, though. As selfish as that sounded.
But then, something wonderful happened.
Nick put his arm around me and said “but, yeah, I’m doing it for you, too. You should have your mother back. That would make you happy. And I love you. I would never leave you. You’re a part of me.”
The relief that I felt upon hearing those words were beyond measure. I threw my arms around him, and buried my head in his chest.
“Oh, Scotty,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. You wounded me with your lack of faith. With your lack of trust. But, with your upbringing and life, it’s to be expected that you would have a hard time trusting anybody. But I hope that you’ve learned your lesson. And never doubt me again. That’s all I ask.”
I shook my head furiously on his chest. “I won’t, Nick. I’ll never doubt you again. I promise.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, let’s get your mother and brother loaded up in the limo and let’s get out of here. We can probably reschedule your appointment with the police, so that will be the next stop. Jack here said that he would watch Aaron and keep your mother company, so that’s all set.”
My heart soared. It was hard to believe that there was so much devastation in my life, because, as I looked at Nick’s beautiful blue eyes, which were so filled with love and kindness, all the ugliness faded away. Even the ugliness that we were currently surrounded by disappeared. All that I could see, and know, was that this man was with me, and he always would be.
He always would be.
He always would be.
Chapter 45
So, Nick, Jack, my mother and brother, and myself made our way back to Nick’s loft. My mother was pretty incoherent, but was more than thrilled to be riding in a limo.
“Scotty, I can’t believe this,” she said. “I’ve never even a seen a car like this. Not even on television. What did you say that this was called again?”
“A limousine, mom,” I said.
“A limousine?” she said. “I never heard of such a thing.”
I felt embarrassed. I honestly thought that everybody in the world knew about limousines, even if they hadn’t necessarily ridden in one before. Not my mother. Guess it had something to do with her poverty, and something to do with the fact that she had a tenth-grade education, and barely had even that.
“And there’s a driver,” she said. “Does your boyfriend hire that driver, or did he come with the limousine?”
“He hired him,” I said.
“And what was his name, again?”
“Nick.”
Nick was sitting in the front seat, and he turned around and smiled at the two of us, after hearing our conversation.
“Nick,” she said, nodding her head. “Sure is a handsome fella, that Nick.”
“That he is,” I said.
And then she looked more at Jack. “And how you doin’, there, John?”
“Jack,” Jack said politely. “And I’m good.”
I had to stop from rolling my eyes. My mother had met Jack at least on 20 occasions throughout the years, yet she couldn’t remember his name.
Hell, I was surprised that she remembered my name.
“So, where we goin’, Scotty?” my mother asked me.
“To Nick’s loft. And then we’re going to put you into a treatment facility.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need no treatment facility. I’ve been quitting booze on my own.”
And how’s that been working out for you?
“Mom,” I said. “We’ve been through this 100 million times. Now, Nick actually has the money to get you into a place that is for real. Where they won’t throw you out after 48 hours. Someplace where you can stay as long as you need to, and really get dry. For good.”
She shook her head, and then started to cry. “Oh, Scotty, that would be so great. I really need help. The state, they want to take away Aaron, and he’s all I got in the world. ‘Cept you. And you don’t want nothin’ to do with me. Not that I blame you. I’m tryin’, Scotty. Really, I am.”
“I know, mom,” I said, as I reached for her to hug her a little bit. “I know you are. But you need help. You can’t do it on your own. I’ll find out a little bit more about this place and then I can tell you what it’s going to be like. But it’s in Beverly Hills, so I think that it’s safe to say that it’s going to be nicer than you can ever imagine.”
“Beverly Hills,” she said. “Like with the Clampetts?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to suppress a smile. “Just like with the Clampetts.” What an apt thing for her to say, I thought, because she’ll fit in when she gets to Beverly Hills about as well as the Clampetts did.
“That does seem like a nice place,” she said. “A real nice place. Too nice for me.”
“Be that as it may,” I said. “You’re going. I’ll even try to come and visit you.”
More tears came to her eyes. “Oh, you’re such a good girl. You’ve always been such a good girl. Why do you want to mess around with an old lady like me?”
She did seem old, which was sad to me, considering she was only 38. She looked more than 50, and I was quite sure that she felt more than 50 as well.
“You’re my mother,” I said. “And you always will be.”
Finally, we got to Nick’s building. Jack helped my mother out, and Nick gently put Aaron on my lap as he pushed me into the front door of his lobby.
My mom’s eyes got huge when she saw the opulence of the lobby. The marble floors and crystal chandeliers, the uniformed doorman with the white gloves, the enormous flowers in gorgeous vases, and the granite fountain in the middle of the room astounded her. “Oh, Scotty, I don’t believe this place. I didn’t think that these types of places existed.”
Aaron was in awe as well. His little eyes got enormous, and he raised his hands up and down excitedly. “Are we going to live here?” he asked. I was kinda amazed at how well he was speaking, as I was afraid that he would be developmentally delayed because of my mother’s alcoholism. That was one thing that she was very lucky about – Aaron and myself turned out seemingly normal, despite her heavy drinking all through all of her pregnancies. I wasn’t sure about her other kids, because I never got the chance to know them. She put all of them up for adoption when they were first born.
Nick was beaming. “Yes, little tyke, you are. For now.” And he looked at me. I knew that we were going to have to have a serious talk about what was next. I would imagine that the goal would be to get my mother sober and then help her get on her feet so that she would take care of Aaron herself. I wasn’t sure, beyond that, what else Nick had in mind.
We all got on the elevator, and went into Nick’s loft.
And then she got really astounded. “Oh, my god, Scotty. Look at this place.” She looked around the room. “Look at those paintings. And that furniture. And that piano. And that….” she went on and on and on about everything in Nick’s apartment. She walked all around it, pointing at every little thing.
And then she said something that absolutely floored me. “And that Kandinsky. Ooh, boy, that’s worth a mint. Where’d you get that, Nate?”
“It’s Nick,” he said, looking at me weirdly. “And how’d you know that’s a Kandinsky?”
She looked dreamy. “I was always fascinated with art when I was a little girl. I ran away from home all the time, and I would always end up at the Guggenheim.” And then she started to name off all the other artists who were hanging on Nick’s walls. “Bacon’s o
ne of my favorites,” she said. “And so is Klimt. Oh, Nick, you have such wonderful taste.”
Jack walked up to me and whispered “what, is your mother some kind of Rainman? A savant or something? How does she know those paintings, but she never heard of a limousine?”
I shrugged my shoulders. Sometimes people can surprise you. Even I was surprised by her apparent knowledge of modern art, but, then again, she was always a dreamer. Somehow, her spending afternoons at the Guggenheim when she would run away from home made sense to me. Even if it didn’t necessarily make sense that she would actually have a memory for all the names of the artists.
“Thank you, Ms. James,” Nick said politely. He was looking amused at my mother, and seemed surprised as Jack and I about her depth of knowledge about his paintings.
“Loretta,” she said. “Ms. James is my momma.” And then started to laugh, her missing teeth prominently being displayed in her mouth.
“Well, mom,” I said to her. “Uh, I hope you don’t mind staying here with Jack for a little bit. There’s something that Nick and I need to take care of.”
“No, I don’t mind,” she said. “But you’re coming back, aren’t ya? I can’t stay too long with just John, here.” And then she said in a low voice. “I think he’s kind of a fruit loop. Not sure if I can trust him with Aaron.”
I felt my face burn red hot with embarrassment. Now Nick knows that my mom’s a homophobe, one of those homophobes who assume that being gay went hand in hand with pedophilia.
Jack, for his part, looked amused. It was obvious that he heard every word she said, and I thought that he was going to burst out laughing. “Oh, yes, Loretta. You know us queer boys. We love ‘em young. The younger the better.”
“Jack,” I said. “Don’t joke like that. She’s going to take you seriously.”
Jack just rolled his eyes. “Loretta, now come on. You’ve known me for years. You know better than to think something like that.”
Loretta just nodded her head. “I guess so,” she said. “I mean, I do know you, John, and you don’t seem to be like those other fruit loops.” I had no idea what “fruit loops” she was referring to, as I thought that Jack was the only gay guy that she knew.
And then she turned to us and said “Anyhow, where you guys goin’?”
I took a deep breath. “We’re going to the police station, mom. I’ll explain later, but there’s something down there that I really need to do.”
She looked concerned. “What, Scotty? You ain’t in trouble, are ya?”
“No, mom, I’m not in trouble. I’m not in trouble, but there’s somebody who soon will be. Somebody who should have been in trouble a long, long, long time ago. Let’s just say that somebody is about to get what’s coming to him, and it’s not going to be pretty. In the least.”
And then she blinked her eyes, and surprised me again. “It’s that damned Mr. Lucas, ain’t it? I never trusted that man. He’s a shifty little pervert. Never wanted him to take you in the first place. But those welfare workers, they thought they knew best.” And she shook her head. “Well, you go get him, Scotty. You go get him, and you castrate him, just like a bull. With no drugs.”
I looked at Nick, and he looked at me and I thought that he was going to burst out laughing. My mother – one just never knew what would be coming out of her mouth next.
“Yes, mother, it’s Mr. Lucas. And, you were absolutely right about him, too. He is a shifty little pervert. And he hurt me, mom. He hurt me bad. But he isn’t going to get away with it. I’m going to bring him down, and Nick here is going to help me.”
She smiled. “Nick. Sure is a handsome fella. I’ll see you, Scotty. And, remember – just like a bull. That pervert doesn’t deserve to see the light of day anymore. I’m with ya, Scotty. I know that it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m with ya.”
“Thank you, mom, I’ll see you when I get back.”
And, at that, Nick wheeled me out of the door and we waited for the elevator.
He held my hand tightly. He was going to be with me all the way, I knew it.
And one other thing I knew.
Mr. Lucas was going down.
If it was the last thing I did in this world, I was going to make sure of it.
Do you want to find out what happens next? Please sign up for my mailing list at http://goo.gl/MlFMlw I promise not to spam you, but you will be the first to know when new titles are published.
Also, if you want to learn more about Nick, and about Ryan, then be sure and check out my earlier books, the Illusions series. These three books go in-depth into Ryan and Iris, the love of his life, and explain more fully the relationship between Ryan and Nick. The links for these series are below.
Beautiful Illusions
goo.gl/IeWpW3
Deeper Illusions
goo.gl/qnDGPg
End of Illusions
goo.gl/xriRbc
About the Author
Well, I'm just a tad nutty in real life. A bit scattered, a bit of a dreamer, never together. I wanted to originally create a character based upon myself, because I felt that people could relate to somebody who is decidedly imperfect. And have her get the dreamboat man, because, let's face it, we all want that, right ladies? That was my inspiration for the story of Iris and Ryan in my Illusions books. Those novels were so well-received, that I just decided to keep on keeping on. Scotty, the current heroine in my Broken novels, is so much more together than myself. So it’s been fun to write her. And Nick has turned into a revelation – he seems to be a bit of a tough guy who is nothing but a womanizer, but I’ve found his soft side. I’m a little bit, ok a lot, in love with Nick and Ryan myself, and who wouldn’t be? I'm having the time of my life writing these books, and I want to keep on writing them until my fans decide that they've had enough!
So, do you want to know how to get ahold of me? Well, you can like me on Facebook - goo.gl/fWxz2t. Or follow me on Twitter - @anniejocoby. Or contact me through e-mail at [email protected]. Trust me, I get stoked by every new like and everybody who contacts me through my e-mail. I answer every e-mail as soon as I possibly can.
You can also visit my website – www.anniejocoby.com. I’ll be posting content from my upcoming third book in the Broken series, so be sure to check out the website if you want a sneak peek on what’s coming next!!!!
And, of course, we authors rely on word of mouth. If you love the series, or if you hate it, you should tell the world how you feel. Reviews are the secret sauce to success. I’d be totally jazzed to get reviews on this book and the other books. Even if you only leave a line or two, it makes all the difference in the world.
Thanks, and happy reading!
Saving Scotty Page 25