The Fate of Us (The Broken Lyrics Duet Book 2)

by Tori Fox

  Marcus must notice my agitation. “What’s wrong, Noah?”

  “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  Marcus scans the room and flags down one of the other servers walking by. “Is Anna on a break?”

  “She shouldn’t be. She had one half an hour ago.”

  I stand at that statement at the same time Marcus asks Jon, “What did the blond woman look like?”

  “What?” Jon asks confused.

  “The woman you saw Anna walk away with,” I demand.

  Marcus puts a hand on my shoulder. “Did Anna look troubled?”

  “Who’s Anna?” Jon asks.

  Elliot hits him upside the head. “Our server.”

  “Oh.” He shrugs. “I don’t know. I made eye contact with her when she left. She had a weird look on her face.”

  My mind starts filtering through the worst situations. Is she with the person leaving her notes? Did they kidnap her? Kill her? I am sure someone would have heard a gunshot.

  “What did the woman she was with look like?” Marcus repeats.

  “I don’t know.” Jon grabs the back of his neck. “Blond, short, thin. Kind of tired looking but if she put makeup on she would be hot as hell.”

  “Fuck.”

  Marcus looks at me and must see the terror on my face. “Elliot, you and Jon, go through the front to the parking lot. We’ll head out back to the alley.”

  “What’s going on?” Jon asks as Elliot stands up.

  “The Cooper case you are supposed to be working on,” Elliot says.

  “Fuck.” The look on Jon’s face looks like he put everything together.

  “Let’s go,” Marcus says, his hand going to the gun on his hip but not pulling it out until we are away from customers.

  We make our way to the back exit when we both hear a gunshot. We run as we push through the door and find two women in the alley. I see red as I watch blood leak down Anna’s arm.

  Marcus holds me back as he yells at the blond woman to freeze. She peers backward for a second and rage takes over. Becca is holding a gun at the love of my life.

  She turns around and holds the gun up to Anna as Anna looks confused at the blood dripping down her arm.

  Marcus fires hitting Becca in the shoulder. The gun falls as Becca slumps forward into Anna who falls back and hits her head against the back of the building.

  Elliot runs around the corner of the alley and gets to them first, kicking away the gun. Marcus and I run. He grabs Becca while I fall to the ground picking Anna up in my arms. The sound of sirens near as a group of bystanders starts to surround the entrance to the alley.

  More cops walk out of the restaurant blocking them off as the ambulance pulls up.

  I ignore it all. The only thing I care about is the woman in my arms. I assess her wound and breathe a sigh of relief when I see she was only grazed by a bullet.

  Her eyes flutter open. “Noah,” she whispers.

  “I’m here, baby, I’m here.” I pull her closer into me and bury my face in her hair, breathing in her lemon and patchouli scent. The scent I don’t want to ever not smell again.

  “I’m okay,” she cries into my chest as her arms wrap around my neck. “I’m okay.”

  I watch the light of the setting sun hit Anna’s hair as her fingers dance across the black and white keys of the piano.

  My heart has been aching every day for the last week thinking of how I could have lost her.

  Becca was arrested for attempted murder. And I know she will be convicted. I worry about the toll it took on Anna but she is strong and resilient, my wildflower, living through it all.

  The melody she plays is sad and haunting. A lament of her past.

  She doesn’t know I watch her. I’ve been doing it every night for the past week. It’s the only way I know she’s real, that she is still here with me.

  Just as she finishes the melody, she turns around before I can walk away. “Did it sound better tonight?”

  I don’t know what to say to her. I don’t know how long she’s known I’ve been watching her.

  She gets up from the piano and walks over to me, her hand going for mine. “I’m here, Noah. I’m still here.”

  A tear slides down my cheek and I feel her wipe it away. “I know, Mayberry.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Whether by my choice or someone else’s. This is the only place I want to be.”

  I wrap her in my arms. “I worry.”

  She snorts into my chest. “I know you do, old man. I can see the worry lines get deeper by the day on that handsome face of yours.”

  I press my forehead into her hair. “I love you.”

  She pulls back as her hands grip my face. “And you have me forever.”

  She walks to the record player in the corner and turns on a classic. She pulls me to the center of the room and dances with me, her feet tripping over mine, until we just sway back and forth. Her place in my arms forever.

  30

  Noah

  Three Months Later

  I used to hate summer. But the memories that used to drown me have long faded. Anna’s carefree spirit has made this one of the best summers of my life.

  She quit both of her jobs at the bars and only teaches yoga now so we have more free time for each other. Of course, it’s hard to pull her away from her music some days. The days when the melody is flowing through her as she sits in the sunroom writing songs.

  I don’t hate it though. I like to watch her. Watch how she creates music. I always said it was magic and it remains true. It’s incredible to watch her as she puts together words to piano keys to guitar strings.

  After everything that happened with Claire and the day that Becca almost took Anna’s life, we both feel like we have finally let go of all the ghosts of our past. We are only looking forward now. To the life we are supposed to have.

  Together.

  Anna still likes to pick fights with me. And I don’t mind because the make-up sex seems to get better each time. Yesterday, she put pickles on my sandwich just so I would yell at her. She knows I hate them. She turned it into a huge fight about nothing. It ended with the jar of pickles crashing to the floor as I fucked her on the kitchen table.

  I look over at her now as I drive my International Harvester for the first time in years. Her red hair blowing in the breeze, the sun hitting the freckles on her nose, as she sings along to a song on the radio.

  This woman is everything to me. And I plan on letting her know that soon.

  I reach across her and grab her hand. She glances over at me and smiles. It still makes my heart speed up. No matter how many times she gives me that look. It will never grow old.

  Brutus is in the back seat enjoying the taste of salt water in the air and everything seems perfect.

  “This is a new song from superstar Hailey Lane. It’s called ‘The Fate of Us.’ Call in and let us know what you think,” the radio DJ says.

  “Holy shit!” Anna screams, reaching for the knob on the radio to crank the volume. “Oh my god, oh my god!”

  Anna sold the song two months ago. She wrote it the week after Claire left, the day Becca shot her. She told me it was ironic that she would write a song called “The Fate of Us” on a day where both of our fates could have changed. But I think it just proves that we are meant to be.

  When her mentor from Nashville called her to let her know someone was interested in her song, she thought it would be some no-name singer and played off the whole thing. But when Austin told her it was country superstar Hailey Lane, Anna about lost it. She went to Nashville a month ago to sing background vocals on the track, per Hailey’s request.

  I watch her as she freaks out over hearing her song on the radio for the first time. I am freaking out too. I couldn’t be happier for her. All her dreams that she put on hold, that she thought she would never live, are coming true.

  I hum along to the lyrics, lyrics that describe us perfectly.

  I thought I lost you.

 
I pulled away.

  I couldn’t stay.

  But now that I am back in your arms

  I know I never should have fought

  The fate of us

  By the time the final chorus comes on I sing along with Anna. She smiles at me as I sing off key and her entrancing voice carries on the wind.

  “Oh my god,” she shouts again as the song finishes. “I want to hear it again! But please don’t sing this time,” she jokes. “My ears are bleeding.”

  I laugh as we drive along the coastline, Anna flipping through stations hoping to hear her song on the radio again.

  31

  Anna

  I scratch the back of Brutus’ ears as the three of us lay on a blanket on the beach watching the sunrise.

  Noah’s arms are wrapped around me as I sit between his legs. I feel more at peace than I have in my entire life. Not just from being at this cottage that brought me so many memories but that I can finally enjoy my time with the man I love.

  After everything we went through a few months ago I didn’t think we would ever be here. I thought for sure our fate was sealed with the ghosts of our past. But I was wrong. We fought through hell to get here and I would do it again if it meant that I would get to spend my life with this man.

  When we got to the house just before sunset last night, Noah told me to hang out on the porch while he cooked dinner.

  I let the waves bring a new melody to my soul as the sun slowly set. When Noah finally let me in the house, he had a candlelit dinner on the table and a fire roaring in the fireplace. Just like that night we spent here when we professed our love for each other.

  It was magical. Just like the love between us.

  His fingers run up and down my arms as we watch the tide roll in. The beach has yet to get crowded, so it’s nice to have the time with just the two of us.

  “I love you,” Noah whispers in my ear.

  I lean back onto his shoulder and press a kiss to his jaw. “I love you too.”

  He leans in and presses his mouth to mine, my hand reaching up to the back of his neck. His other hand presses between my legs and I groan just as the squeal of a child breaks us apart.

  “Maybe we should move this inside,” I mumble against his lips.

  He bites on my bottom lip. “Nope, I have plans for you today.”

  I twist in his arms and kneel in front of him. “We finally have all the time in the world together and you don’t want to spend it between the sheets?”

  He laughs as his arms wrap around my hips, squeezing my ass. “Mayberry, of course I do. But after our plans.”

  I fold my arms across my chest and pout. He chuckles as his thumb moves across my lips. “We’ve already fucked twice this morning. I think you can wait.”

  “Fine,” I acquiesce, standing as I do. “Let’s get a move on.”

  He stands up and smacks my ass. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Where do you want me to start? I might have packed some handcuffs,” I joke.

  “Mmm. Keep talking.” He smiles and his lips find mine again.

  I wrap my hands around his back, sliding under his shirt. “Maybe a few costumes.”

  His hands move into my hair as he pulls me against him in a tight embrace. “Now you are just making things up.”

  I hold him tight before we head back into the cottage. He packs a picnic into a backpack as I grab some treats for Brutus.

  He hasn’t told me where we are going even though I keep begging him. He puts everything into the back of the Scout and I notice he brought my guitar too.

  After an hour drive, we pull up to a forest preserve near Hilton Head. The view of live oak, Spanish moss, and pines picturesque as I take it all in. Noah grabs the backpack out of the Scout and puts Brutus on a leash as I grab my guitar.

  “Have you been here before?” Noah asks me.

  I shake my head.

  “Good.”

  I look at him as he adjusts the shades on his face wondering why he brought me here. He heads toward the boardwalk that leads through the oak trees, moss hanging across the path. I follow him as I take in the sounds of nature, the beauty of it all.

  We make small talk as we head through the swamp. Laughing as Brutus tries to jump into the murky water. I can see a clearing up ahead and Noah stops in front of me, blocking my view.

  “I want us to have a space of our own. An escape we can go to when we need to get away. Just us.”

  I place my hand on his chest and smile. “We have the cottage. That is ours. The only memories I have of it now are happy ones.”

  Noah leans down and presses a kiss to my lips. As he pulls away, he drags a finger up my arm tracing the wildflower tattoos on it. “I want you to have this too.”

  He steps away and I walk a few steps more until I am in the clearing. I stop in my tracks as I am greeted by a field of wildflowers. Larkspur, poppies, alyssum, and cornflower flood my vision and infiltrate my senses. It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I know immediately I want to recreate it in our backyard in Asheville.

  I lean against the wooden railing on the boardwalk as I take in the vivid purples and bright oranges of the flowers, pinks, whites, and reds, popping up against the other colors. Daisies, baby blue eyes, and Black-Eyed Susans writing a melody in my head.

  I turn toward Noah who is smiling at me with a goofy grin. A tear slides down my face as I jump on him and wrap my body around his. His hands cup my thighs as I cry tears of joy into his neck. “This is the most beautiful place in the world. How did you find it?”

  He cups the back of my head and pushes my sunglasses off my face so I can meet his eyes. “I would search the entire world to find beauty. Luckily I already have you.”

  I laugh as I press a chaste kiss to his lips then climb off him. “Suave, Romeo.”

  He grabs my hand as we walk along the boardwalk. There is a break in the field, a path of grass between both sides of the wildflower sea. He climbs the fence and gets Brutus to slide between the rails.

  “What are you doing?” I shriek.

  “Breaking the rules.”

  I look around hoping there is no one around but it’s still early in the day and the park is nearly empty.

  “You know you took me on private property once. I could have been shot. We will just get scolded here.”

  I take one last look around before sitting on the rail and swinging my legs around. Noah grabs my hips and helps me down. He jogs down the pathway and I run to catch up. “Why are we running?”

  “Don’t want to get caught.” He laughs.

  I roll my eyes even though he can’t see them. As the pathway turns, we get closer to the tree line. Once we are out of the vision of passersby on the boardwalk, Noah takes the backpack off and pulls out a blanket. He sets the fruit and cheese containers down and I sit next to him, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers.

  “Are you happy?”

  I look over at him and smile. “You make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

  He shakes his head and looks down. “Not what I meant. Are you happy here? In a new field of flowers that can be ours?”

  “I couldn’t ask for more, Noah.”

  He shifts on the blanket until he is kneeling in front of me. “Are you sure?”

  I take my eyes off his face as I look down at his hands. He is cupping a handful of flowers but that’s not what stops my breath. It’s the sun reflecting off the diamond ring nestled between the blooms.

  I look up at him, shocked.

  “Anna May, Mayberry, my wildflower. You’ve given me my life back. You’ve let my heart bloom in ways I never thought were possible. I thought it was forever wilted. That I could never love again. But every second I spent with you, you brought it back to life. You gave me hope and the promise of happiness. I keep telling you that you are the song to my soul. Will you let me be yours?”

  Tears are streaming down my face as he pours his heart out. He didn’t need to give me a speech. H
e could have just asked me the four simple words. Because I could never say no to this man.

  He picks the ring up out of the flower display and holds it in front of me. “Will you marry me?”

  I nod my head as he slides the ring onto my finger. The diamond set on a silver band glistening in the sunlight surrounded by two aquamarine stones. I grip his hand before he can let go. “Noah, you are the song of my heart and the soundtrack to my soul. I don’t need to marry you to know you are my forever, but I’ll do it anyway because I love you.”

  He grabs the back of my neck and kisses me fiercely. We mumble I love you as we strip our clothes, not caring we are making love in the middle of a field of wildflowers, not caring if we get caught.

  Because our love is wild and fierce and will continue to bloom like the flowers surrounding us.

  And I know without a doubt this love is forever.

  Epilogue

  Eight Years Later

  Noah

  I toss a football to our five-year-old, Cypress. He catches it and runs deep, bypassing Hunter’s son before crossing the end zone.

  “Touchdown,” he screeches, doing a crazy dance of punches and kicks at the end zone. The kid is fast as hell for a five-year-old. I have no idea how he outran Hunter’s twelve-year-old. Cypress is obsessed with football, no thanks to Asher who has had him watching it since he was old enough to watch TV.

  “Cypress, you better be careful. You don’t want Uncle Hunter to fix a broken bone,” Anna yells from the deck where she is sitting with the wives of Carson and Hunter. She is just as beautiful as the day she came running across the driveway asking me to fix her shower. Even after two kids and a third on the way.

  I smile as I see that raw aquamarine stone still hanging around her neck.

  I give my kid a high five before he runs to the porch and grabs a juice box.