Danny called me a few days after we arrived. He was glad to hear I’d gotten out of town and said this issue was going to take a little time. He said he’d be in touch, but there’s been no word and it’s been longer than I thought it would be.
Ben has kept his word and watches over the store for us. K feels better knowing that, and that’s the reason I asked him. To give her some peace of mind.
My wife goes with the flow. She deals with a lot of my shit, so the least I could do is ease her worry.
It’s late in the evening and we’re leaving Lee and Emily’s, stuffed with roast and potatoes and homemade pecan pie. I’m carrying a beer in one hand and Rylee in the other.
I hold on to her bottom as she rests on my chest. We stand on the porch and I look out at the yard, watching fireflies glow in the night. Doc and Holliday, the dogs, lie near the rocking chairs, their bellies full of scraps, both too lazy to bother with me.
K comes out the screen door with a cold beer in her hand. “Emily wanted me to take some food home. I had to escape quickly. We already have a fridge full.” She laughs. I smile and take a sip of my beer.
“I’m glad we walked over here. I need to get rid of some of this food.”
“Yeah,” I agree as I head down the steps. K follows and rubs her hand over Rylee’s little back as we walk down the driveway. “Did she finish that bottle?” she asks.
I nod.
“I hate the breastfeeding didn’t work out.”
“You tried,” I tell her. “Don’t stress over it.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I know she’s feeling guilty. I hate that.
The driveway is lit by the moon, making it easy for us to find our way. Even still there are solar lights all up and down it, so we can see perfectly. The night air feels good, not too hot.
My little football feels perfect against me, and I kiss her soft head.
“Wanna watch a movie when we get back?” K asks.
“Yeah. You pick.”
She laughs. “You hate my choices.”
“I don’t hate them.”
I feel her looking at me so I turn my head. “You totally hate them,” she says.
I smile. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“How about we scroll through with our eyes closed, and whichever movie it lands on, that’s the one we’ll watch?”
“Deal,” I say as we round the corner. Our house is within sight now, and it illuminates the night. We walk up the drive, wiping our feet when we walk in. K sets her beer on the counter and grabs Rylee.
I kick my shoes off and down my beer before heading up to take a shower so K can get hers and then we can bathe our girl.
An hour later, all showers have been taken, and I sit shirtless in basketball shorts with Rylee on my chest. K’s curled up to me as we watch a movie we’ve never seen about aliens. It’s interesting enough, but K has fallen asleep and so has Rylee. My phone lights up from the table, and I sit up to look. It’s Danny.
Shit. I gently move K and grab the phone, walking away from her so she won’t wake up.
“Hello,” I answer, looking back at Kat to make sure she doesn’t stir.
“There’s a run-down country store about a mile from Grant’s drive. Do you know the one?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“Meet me there in twenty minutes.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, but the phone goes silent. I narrow my eyes but walk over to the bassinet and lay Rylee down. Her legs kick, and I move the blanket to cover them.
I head upstairs and throw on a shirt and jeans before quietly coming back down and grabbing my hat and keys. I exit the house and climb into the truck.
The moon is hidden behind thick clouds as I trail down the driveway. The night fog rolls in front of my headlights, drifting in from the fields. I wind the road, and once I reach the end, I hit the gas toward the old station Danny mentioned.
Two cars are parked in the parking lot when I near the place, and before I pull in, I reach over in the glove compartment and pull out my gun. I’m apprehensive, not sure what I’m getting myself into here.
It’s not that I don’t trust Danny. He’s proven his worth more than once; I just don’t trust the situation. He called me late. He knows I have a family and he’s out here near them. How the fuck did he even know where I was?
I turn the wheel, hearing gravel crunch beneath my tires. Car doors open and two men step out, along with the man in black that I have come to think of as a friend.
I open my door, climbing out cautiously.
“Glad you made it,” Danny says. One of the guys goes around and pops open the trunk.
I don’t say anything as I watch all of them.
“Is this your guy?” Danny asks.
I walk over and look in the trunk at the man with his hands tied behind his back. He has tape over his mouth and his eyes are bulging out, looking red and watery. Jesus Christ. My heart pounds in my chest. What the fuck is about to happen here?
He makes noises at me, like I should help him out of this situation, but he almost killed my family and me. Well, I think he did.
I look back at Danny. “Let me see his teeth.”
Danny lifts his brow but shrugs. “Sweep, let the man see his teeth.”
Sweep rips off the tape and opens the guy’s mouth. My jaw clenches. It’s him. He looked me in my face and smiled before he shot me.
“That’s him.”
Danny nods. “Okay. Trig,” he says, signaling for the other man who’s standing by the back passenger door. He tosses the cigarette he’s smoking, and before I can even think, Trig pulls out some clear, thick material and puts it over the man’s head. The man starts moving like a wild animal trapped in a cage.
“What are you doing?” I ask. Trig pulls out his gun, and in the blink of an eye, he shoots the guy in the head. Gold teeth goes slack, and I turn and puke in the grass.
“What?” I hear. “I didn’t wanna get blood in my car. I just bought this thing.”
“Yo, you all right, Bryce?” Danny asks.
I wave him off and stand up straight, looking back at the men as they act like this was just another day for them.
“Hey, Bryce. You got somewhere I can put this body out at that ranch of yours?” Sweep asks as he shuts the trunk.
“Are you crazy?” I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and spit.
Danny laughs. “He’s just fucking with you.” He walks over to me. “It’s done. You don’t have to worry about those guys anymore.”
“So, you’re working with Moretti?” I ask.
Danny rubs his chin. “Yeah.”
“And you’re running drugs out of Red?”
Danny tilts his head slightly. “I’m a businessman, Bryce. You’ve known this from the start. Atlanta is a good city, and Moretti and I saw an opportunity when you got arrested. You can’t blame a man for trying to make money, even if it doesn’t fit your standards.”
I don’t respond right away. What he’s doing… everything he’s doing is wrong, but who am I to judge this man? I’ve been doing wrong for as long as I can remember. Hell, I used to be a thief when I was a teenager, making sure my brother had what he needed.
I don’t own Red anymore. That part of my life is over, and I need to finally accept that.
“Okay, you’re right.”
He nods. “You’re welcome there anytime. We’re going to get this cleaned up. You get back to your family. I’ll see ya around,” he says before they climb into the car and spin out of here.
I exhale as the moon peeks out from behind the clouds. I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping well for a while even though my family is safe now. You don’t just witness a man get shot in cold blood and be okay.
Fucking hell. I get back in my truck and head home.
Chapter Thirty- Eight
Kathrine
It’s early morning when I wake. The sun hasn’t even begun to trickle into the living room. I stretch and frown when I don’t feel Bryce beside me. I sit up
and look toward the bathroom. The light is off.
“Bryce?” I call out. I throw the covers off and walk over to Rylee. She’s still fast asleep, so I let her stay that way. I head to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and use the toilet before I change into a cotton dress and sandals.
I check on Rylee one more time and grab the baby monitor before I descend the stairs to look for my husband. Morning fog rolls across the grounds of the ranch as I walk down our drive.
Birds rustle the trees and squirrels jump from branch to branch collecting nuts. The air is already thick with humidity, and I long for fall. The coolness of an early morning, the way the leaves turn from lush green to golden rust.
I breathe in as I break from the tree line into the main drive, where there’s nothing but miles and miles of emerald pastures. I walk over to one of the horses hanging his head outside of the fence. I run my hand along his snout. The ranch is quiet today. No ranch hands working, no horses running through the pastures. I hear a sound coming from the barn, so I leave the horse and make my way over. I approach the enormous structure quietly, looking inside. I stop in my tracks at the sight before me.
The sun rises, shining beams of firelight into the other side of the barn, making sweat glisten and fog glitter. Muscles that look to be chiseled out of stone ripple with each hard blow to the bag. His face holds a frown and complete concentration. He moves around the punching bag with skill and ease.
I knew Bryce did this, but I’ve yet to see it for myself. He always goes to the gym. The bag hangs from the vault above. Bryce jabs and it bounces. He ducks and shifts his feet. Only in sweats and no shirt, his black ink moves with him. His hair is wet as sweat trickles from the ends, running down the length of his muscular back.
“What’s up, Roadhouse?” I say. He stops and his eyes jump to me.
He breathes hard, his lips turning up a tad. He removes his gloves and tosses them onto a bale of hay.
“What are you doing up?” he asks, grabbing a towel that’s hanging over a stall door.
“Woke up and you were gone, so I came to find you.”
He wipes his face and the back of his neck before hooking the towel over his shoulders.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I ask.
“Nah.” He takes a seat. “Come here,” he says. My feet move without me telling them to, and once I reach my husband, he grabs me and pulls me onto his lap. He’s sweaty, but I don’t care. He’s sexy, too, and that has me squirming.
“Where’s everyone?” I ask.
“I told them to take the day. I wanted some alone time out here. It’s been a while.” He holds on to my hips, and it turns me on thinking those hands were just beating the shit out of the bag that hangs in the center of the barn.
I know Bryce is trouble wrapped into a beautiful package. I know a lot of people turn away from darkness, but honestly, it’s his darkness that pulled me in. We both have something inside of us that was made from hard times. It’s inked into our souls, never fading no matter how weathered. And it’s what makes us work. We understand one another.
His eyes look from mine to my lips. I put the baby monitor down beside us. “Did you have a good workout?” I ask softly.
“Yeah,” he replies, his voice deep and chill-inducing. He kisses me, gently at first, just our lips touching as we breathe each other in. “How’s our baby?”
“Dreaming,” I reply. I move my hand to his neck, feeling his pulse beat under my finger as I run it over the freckle there. He grows hard, and I move my hips.
“Do you want me?” he asks.
“Always,” I reply, unashamed at how much.
When I first saw this man, I felt my world shift.
When I caught his smile, I felt my heart beat, and
when I saw his soul, I felt mine awaken. Because it knew. Finally…we were home.
The end…
Epilogue
(Five years later)
Kathrine
“Rylee, come on,” I say as she runs and spins her dress.
“Mama, my dress is so pretty, look,” she says in her cute little voice.
“I see, but you don’t need to lag behind.”
She shrugs and catches up to us. I look over at Claire who grins. “She’s just like you.”
I roll my eyes. “Too much like me.” Rylee is growing quickly. She’s a free spirit and has her daddy wrapped around her finger. Teenage years are going to be hell. Thank God we’ve got a while.
I smile up at my husband as I walk beside Claire and Austin with our two little ones in front of us. Rylee reaches out and shoves Axel.
“Mama, Ry hit me,” he says, looking back at Claire.
“Rylee, what have I told you about hitting?” I scold her just as Bryce swoops her up. She giggles.
“Axel’s a tough boy. He can take it,” Bryce says, ruffling his hair and giving him a wink.
“I can take it, but it still gets on my nerves,” Axel replies.
We all laugh. “Say you’re sorry, Rylee,” Bryce says to our girl.
“Sorry,” she mumbles. I smile and run my hand over my slightly swollen belly. We have another baby on the way, and I’m hoping for a boy like Axel. I love that kid.
“You want an ice cream?” Austin asks his little one.
“Yeah,” Axel says excitedly.
“What about you, Ry?” Austin asks.
“Can I, Dad?” she asks.
“Of course,” he replies. He lets her down. Austin grabs her hand and Claire takes Axel’s as they go off to grab some ice cream at the small festival we’re at in the Georgia Mountains. Lee used to take the boys here every year. He says he remembers running off with Jace and exploring while Lee and Emily walked around. Kids can’t do things like that nowadays. It’s too scary.
“Don’t get any on your dress,” I call out to Rylee.
“Okay,” she says with a smile. I smile back because I love her so much. The air is crisp, and the trees surrounding us are golden brown and bright yellow. I breathe it all in.
Life has a way of working out, ya know? There was a time when I was just a poor girl with nothing and no one. I was stuck in a perpetual nightmare.
But I fought my way out. I didn’t let my circumstances define me. I worked hard because something inside of me knew what my stepdad was filling my head with was a lie. I was worth loving; I did deserve better, and look at me now.
I think about all those years ago when my mama wanted to take me to see Cinderella. I didn’t get to see the movie that day, but I did eventually see it, and it made me both sad and happy. It showed how life can truly be for a person even as good as she was, but unlike Cinderella, some people don’t get their happy ending. Look at my mama, for instance.
Life can be incredibly hard to get through. Sometimes, the princess doesn’t get her happily ever after. Sometimes, she doesn’t get her glass slipper back. Sometimes, she stays locked in the dungeon forever because she can’t see the beauty of the beast. Life will knock you down, chew you up, spit you out, and then ask you, “What you gonna do about it?”
That…that is real life. But then, there are those moments where you find the diamond in the rough. You see the silver lining in all the fucked-up mess, and mine is grabbing my hand, whispering, “Go somewhere with me.”
I turn to look at him. “Anywhere. Where you go, I go.”
He grins and veers us away from everyone. We walk past the Ferris wheel and to the edge of the woods, down a small path that isn’t too far from the festival but far enough to fade out the people’s voices.
I hear water up ahead, and we break through a clearing. My eyes widen at the waterfall as it rushes down the side of the mountain. Bryce grabs me and kisses me like it’s the first time.
This is my diamond.
My silver lining.
My glass slipper.
The end….
but wait.
Give Me Redemption (Jace’s story) is next!
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Paige P. Horne, Give Me Forever Love (Give Me Series Book 3)
Give Me Forever Love (Give Me Series Book 3) Page 20