by Jane Godman
“She’s having dinner with my sisters.” He pointed in the direction of the dining room. “Do you want to go through there and join them, or shall I take you to your bedroom so you can rest?”
She smiled. “I want to see Maya, of course.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Sure you do. Even though the doctor told me to make sure you got plenty of rest.”
They walked slowly to the room where the entire Colton family were gathered around the table. Exclamations of delight greeted Abigail’s arrival, and Griffin escorted her to a chair next to Maya’s high chair. The baby cooed with pleasure and offered her mom a mangled piece of toast.
“It’s okay, honey. The doctor advised against prechewed food at this stage of my recovery.”
“It’s so good to see you.” Kiely reached across the table and pressed her uninjured hand. “What a terrible ordeal.”
“The hero ferret can stay at my place as long as she needs to,” Sadie said. “I borrowed an old cage from a neighbor whose dog had pups recently, so she’s secure and I stopped by Griffin’s place to pick up her toys and food.”
Abigail was struck again by the genuine niceness of these people. They were investigating her dad, so they knew exactly what he’d done, and there was a time when they’d believed she was part of his schemes. Even if that was no longer the case, they could be forgiven for believing that Wes Matthews’s daughter was no good. Raised by a crook, she might have turned out to be every bit as bad as her father.
But they’d been prepared to believe in her. Although she knew part of that was for Griffin’s sake, it felt good that they’d been open enough to judge her on who she was rather than on her notorious relative. And now, as Sadie pressed her to have a hot drink and Vikki asked if she was too warm, she felt like she’d been part of this group forever. This was what a family felt like. How wonderful that she was able to experience it for herself.
Tiredness settled over her and she let the conversation continue around her without attempting to be part of it. The siblings were discussing the police protection for her and Maya and whether they also needed to employ private bodyguards.
“While my instinct is to get an army and surround the place, we have to consider what Detective Lopez said.” Was it her imagination, or did Griffin seem more comfortable in his place at the table than he had on the other occasions she’d seen him there? “We can’t build the threat from Jenna out of proportion. She’s a lone woman on the run and Lucy gave her a hell of a bite. She has to be hurting badly. Possibly that wound is even infected. Even if she tries to carry out her threat, she’s up against all of us and the police.”
He looked around the table and Abigail could see him checking whether he had the agreement of the other members of the family.
“I’m not prepared to put Abigail and Maya at risk, so we have to be extra vigilant. But Riley, Charlize and I will be here full-time. In addition, Emmanuel is putting a police guard on the house 24/7. Plus the rest of you will be checking in regularly. Between us, I think we will be able to keep them safe until the police have Jenna in custody.” He turned to Abigail and the smile in his eyes drove her weariness away. “The final decision has to be yours.”
“I feel safe with you.” After a few seconds, she remembered that they weren’t alone. “All of you.”
“Then that’s settled. But we’ll keep reviewing the situation and, if necessary, we can bring in additional security.”
There was some general conversation, then Pippa let out a little cry.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Sadie asked.
“It’s a text from Brody.” Pippa held up her cell phone so they could see the display. “It just came through a second ago.”
“I guess it makes sense he would contact you,” Riley said. “Out of all of us, you are the one he has always been closest to.”
“He’s still in hiding.” Pippa read the message to them. “He’s terrified and desperate to know if Wes Matthews has been caught yet. He knows that’s the only way he’ll get his money back and be able to pay Capital X so he can come out of hiding and stop living in fear.”
There were gloomy faces around the table and Abigail bowed her head.
“I hate to give Brody bad news when things are going so badly for him, but I’ll have to reply and tell him that Wes is still on the run,” Pippa said. “The only hope I can offer him is that we’re working on it round the clock.”
“Wait.” Griffin stopped her before she could start typing out her response. “Maybe we should just pay back Capital X for Brody so he can come out of hiding?”
There was a stunned silence around the table and Abigail remembered the way Griffin had spoken about Brody when they’d first met. She’d gotten the impression that his feelings toward Brody were complicated. Clearly, she’d been right.
“Would you do that for Brody? And do we even have that kind of liquid cash?” Pippa asked.
“He doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him,” Griffin said. “No one does.”
“I’ll text him back right away and tell him that we’ll pay off his debt to Capital X.” Pippa sent the reply and set her cell phone down on the table. There was an expectant hush in the room, but nothing happened. When there was no reply after a few minutes, the tension level wound down a little.
“It looks like Brody’s gone silent again,” Kiely said.
“Maybe he’s had to start running again?” Sadie suggested.
“Or he could be too proud to let us pay his debt,” Vikki said.
Griffin moved around the table to sit next to Abigail, checking that she was okay. “Which do you think it is?” She spoke quietly so that only he could hear. “Is he on the run again, or is he too proud?”
“I don’t know.” He lifted Maya from her high chair and held her on his lap, making sure that the baby could touch Abigail without hurting her. “But if Brody has gone quiet because it would hurt his pride if we paid to help him out of this situation... Well, it would make me think a lot more kindly of him than I’ve done in the past.”
She studied his face. “Was that hard for you to say?”
He shrugged. “Not as hard as it would once have been. Brody found life easy. I found it hard. For a long time, I struggled to accept that it was because we’re different people not because my family treated us any differently.”
She placed her uninjured hand over his. “You’re a good man, Griffin.”
He smiled. “You’re just saying that because you know you need my help. You can’t change a diaper one-handed.”
* * *
That night, Griffin shared a room with Maya, while Abigail slept in the first-floor room that Charlize had prepared specially for her. Despite the painkillers, she had a restless night. The following morning, Griffin persuaded her to rest for most of the morning while he took care of Maya. When she finally insisted on getting out of bed, she asked him to send Charlize to help her shower.
“I can do that,” he said. “Riley and Maya are playing with Pal in the hall.”
She gave him a stern look. “Griffin, I will be more than happy to share a shower with you when my arm is mended. But you are not going to be my nurse.”
He slid an arm around her waist and drew her close. “I want to take care of you.”
“You do.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “And I—” She stopped and hitched in a breath. “Couldn’t manage without you.”
“That’s not what you were going to say.”
“No, it’s not.” She tilted her head back and smiled up at him. “But there’s a time and a place for everything. And this time and place are for me to shower and for you to make me lunch.”
She gave him a playful shove toward the door with her right hand. As he followed her instructions and started to prepare lunch, Griffin wondered what she had almost said. And I...what? “And I love you
?” Was that too much to hope for? There were times when he didn’t think it was. He knew she cared for him. The closeness they shared didn’t need words. But he wasn’t sure about what she wanted for the long term. And that terrified him.
Because he knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted Abigail. And Maya. He wanted his little family. Forever. The prospect of a future without them in it was bleak and unbearable.
To distract himself, he turned on the TV and flicked through the news channels, pausing when a familiar item caught his attention. The anchor was holding up a bottle of RevitaYou pills. Griffin stopped chopping vegetables for a salad and turned up the sound.
“The woman, who has not yet been named, died in Grand Rapids Hospital in the early hours of this morning. Her death has been linked to the controversial supplement RevitaYou. Extensive testing on the unregulated vitamins has revealed that the formula is toxic and potentially fatal. Since no one can be sure who will be affected, the public are being advised not take this product and to dispose of any unused pills.”
“Oh, no.”
Griffin turned to see Abigail standing in the kitchen doorway, holding on to the frame with her good hand as she stared at the TV. Her hair was damp and piled up on top of her head in a loose knot and she wore sweatpants and a T-shirt. He hurried to her side, sliding an arm around her waist to support her. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I knew it was only a matter of time before someone died.” Her voice trembled with emotion. “The ricin in those pills means the people taking them are dicing with death. But now my dad is a killer as well as a con man.”
“Will people listen to the warning?” Griffin wondered. “When we put out social media blasts about RevitaYou causing sickness, there were always those who fired back at us about how much they loved the vitamins.”
“Let’s see what the response to the news of the death has been.” Abigail fumbled her cell out of her jeans pocket with her good hand. Griffin looked over her shoulder as she checked the RevitaYou hashtag. “Look at this.” She shook her head, her expression disbelieving. “People are still defending RevitaYou, calling it a wonder drug. There are dozens who are claiming it’s made them look twenty-nine instead of forty-five.”
Griffin pointed out one post. I’d rather die than be an old hag. “I’m sure it’s meant as a joke, but it’s not exactly good taste on a day like this.”
“I don’t usually reply, but I can’t let that pass.” Abigail awkwardly used one hand to hold her phone and type her reply. This is no joke. Someone has died. “And I know more deaths are coming. What will it take to stop people from taking these hateful, poisonous ‘vitamins’?”
“The only way I can see this ending is if there are more deaths,” Griffin said. “People have to take notice if they think they could die as a result of trying to look younger.”
“You read some of those posts.” Abigail looked seriously worried. “I genuinely think there are some who would take a chance.”
“Then we have to keep trying to lure your dad and Landon Street out of hiding. A court case is the only other way to highlight the dangers.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I know how much you hate the idea of being drawn into that.”
“I hate the idea of even more people dying.”
“Do you think you can eat some lunch?” he asked.
She gave him a weak smile. “Are you asking because the doctor told you to take good care of me?”
“The nurse is coming this afternoon. We have to be able to tell her what a model patient you are.”
She huffed out a mock sigh. “In that case, I guess I could manage a little lunch.”
“There’s a good patient.” He guided her toward the dining room. “Oh, and Abigail?”
“Yes, Griffin?”
“I would take good care of you, whether a doctor told me to or not.”
“I know you would.” He caught a glimmer of tears in her eyes and wanted to lighten the mood. She was right when she said there was a time and a place for the deep conversations. The devastating news about the RevitaYou death had already taken its toll on her emotions. He didn’t want any more setbacks.
“I have to.” He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “You promised me that, when you’re well again, we get to share a shower.”
* * *
The nurse had finished cleaning and dressing Abigail’s wound. She had left, giving her strict instructions not to overdo things before she returned the following day. Abigail lay back on her pillows feeling tired, slightly nauseated and tearful. Those emotions had been her companions almost constantly since she’d left the hospital.
What is the matter with me?
She tapped a finger to her chin. Let me see.
Could it be the fact that my former friend, not content with having stabbed me, wants to kill me and my little girl? Or that I had surgery yesterday to repair the five-inch wound in my arm? Or that I have to stay hidden away like a fugitive with a patrol car at the gates? Or is it maybe that my dad has finally upgraded from fraudster to killer?
That was before she started on the other things: someone had killed her boss, her professional reputation was in shreds, the fate of the research of which she was so proud hung in the balance, people hated her because of her name...
There were so many reasons for her to feel low, it was impossible to single out just one. And yet, if she was honest, she wasn’t sure if any of those were responsible for this weight pressing down on her. Her mood ricocheted between low and lower and she couldn’t summon the inner strength on which she’d always relied in times of trouble.
Part of her mind kept dwelling on this house. On the Colton family. And on Griffin. What was she ever going to do when they were no longer part of her life? She gave a soft, bitter laugh.
They? You mean “he.”
The Coltons were very special people. They’d made her feel like part of their family. But she was in love with Griffin, not his siblings.
She loved him, and she was certain that he loved her. Could he ever acknowledge that or admit it? His traumatic early life had left him with emotional scars that were so deep he might never recover. When they first met, she’d thought he was cold and distant. Now, she knew better. Behind that facade, there was a scared, shy little boy.
Being ripped out of his home and relocated at such a young age had damaged his sense of identity and had a devastating effect on his ability to form bonds. Added to that, it was clear that he had been unable to fully fit in with his Colton family. No wonder he was afraid of getting too close to another person, scared of letting his craving for love show.
But, whether he liked it or not, they were in a relationship. Despite all the chaos around them, Griffin, Abigail, Maya and a heroic little ferret had become a family. And she was not going to give that up. Not without a fight.
There it was. She’d found her fighting spirit. Almost without noticing, the gloom had lifted from her shoulders a little and, instead of wanting to cry, she felt more like her old self. Ready to square her shoulders—well, maybe to just square one shoulder for the time being—and face the world.
Her cell phone pinged with an incoming text from an unknown number and she frowned as a photograph unfolded on the screen. It was an image of herself, clearly taken at the gym without her knowledge. She recognized the locker room decor behind her, and, in the picture, she was holding a towel against her chest as she emerged from the shower. It felt intrusive and Abigail had no memory of it being taken.
After she’d studied it for a few seconds, a message followed.
I have others. You and the Coltons love social media. Let’s see how much you enjoy it when naked pictures of Wes Matthews’s daughter start going viral.
There was a knock on the door and her voice shook as she called out, “Come in.”
“Ready for some company?” Gr
iffin opened the door and stepped inside. He was carrying Maya, who gave Abigail a beaming smile and held out her arms. He took one look at her face and crossed the room in quick strides. “What’s happened?”
Wordlessly, she held out her cell. His face darkened with anger as he read the message. When he finished, he looked up. “Jenna?”
“It has to be. We were members of the same gym. We went together a few times. But I had no idea she was taking pictures of me.”
“Forward this to Emmanuel,” Griffin said. “I know she’s not using her own number, but he may be able to do something.”
As they were talking, Maya started squirming to get to Abigail.
“It’s okay. Put her on the bed,” Abigail said. “I’m not going to let Jenna spoil our time together.”
Griffin came to sit next to her and placed Maya between them. The baby curled up contentedly against Abigail’s side and she drew her into the crook of her uninjured elbow for a closer snuggle. Griffin placed his arm around Abigail’s shoulder, resting his cheek on her hair and they sat that way for long, silent minutes.
“This,” Griffin said at last.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She held her breath for a second or two. “I love you, Griffin.”
When he didn’t answer, she thought she’d blown it. Closing her eyes, she blinked away the tears. Even if he never admitted it she knew he loved her. And she wouldn’t regret saying it. He needed to hear it...
“I love you, too.” She looked up and saw the raw emotion in his eyes. The wetness on his cheeks. “I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”
She turned awkwardly, reaching over Maya’s head to touch his cheek. “It’s always the right time.”
He nodded, leaning closer to kiss her. “Then I’ll keep saying it.”
Chapter 15
Griffin had the strangest feeling. As if his past, while not exactly floating away into obscurity, had at last been relegated to where it should be. It was behind him. He couldn’t change what had happened and he had to move on. He had a future now.