by Tee Smith
“I understand,” she nodded. They were doing their job. It wasn’t her place to question them.
With the formalities over, she shook hands with both men and thanked them for their time. Although she knew she could never thank Reese enough for the support he had shown her and Logan. He had gone above and beyond to make sure she was kept in the loop throughout the situation.
Making their way back to the car, she pointed out the police cars to Logan. Instead of the excitement she expected from him, he clung to her at the sight of them. Whatever progress he had made had unravelled, and she feared he had even retreated further inside himself. The child had experienced more trauma in his short life than most adults ever would. As for what he had witnessed when Trent and Larissa had taken him, she may never know. Medical staff had given him the all-clear, which meant he had no physical damage from his time away, but it was the psychological damage that no one could determine that concerned her the most.
“It’s alright, mate. Mummy’s got you,” she soothed. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” She knew, however, her promises held little weight. She should have never allowed any harm to come to him in the first place.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hey,” she heard Drew’s voice above her but kept her head down.
“Leave the parcel up there,” she replied, curtly.
“I don’t have any parcels. I came by to see if you’re okay. You won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”
“I’m fine,” she ground out, annoyed that he still hadn’t gotten the message. She had been ignoring his attempts at contact for two weeks.
“And Logan?”
“He’s fine too. Now if you don’t have any parcels to deliver, please leave before I call security.”
“Davina…” he tried, his voice soft. “I don’t understand what’s going on. One minute everything was great, the next you won’t even speak to me. I’m sorry about what happened with Logan. It makes me sick to my stomach, even now when I think about it. If I hadn’t turned away from him for that split second, that woman would never have had the chance to snatch him. I would do anything to take that moment back again.
Honestly, baby, you have to believe me when I say I would never let any harm come to him, or you. I love you both.”
“And what does love mean to you, exactly?” she asked angrily, finally looking up to find his sad, blue eyes. Dark circles hung under them, indicating his loss of sleep. Perhaps he was cut up about what had happened, perhaps he was truly sorry, but that didn’t take away from the fact he had lied.
“Love means holding on and never letting go. Love means being the one to hold you every single day, no matter how hard things get. Love means being with you, even when it fucking hurts.
I want to cry with you, I want to laugh with you. I don’t want anything to come between us, Davina. I want us to be a family. I want to take care of you. I want to protect you and Logan.
You two are my life. I don’t want a day to go past that we can’t be together.
That’s what love means to me.”
“And lying to the people you say you love?”
Drew’s eyes widened.
“Yes, I know about the lies, Drew. I know about you going to jail. You didn’t leave school to help your uncle out. You got kicked out. Didn’t you? You couldn’t tell me that? Instead, you lied.”
“Davina, I can explain.”
Davina raised her hand in front of herself. “I’m at work here, Drew.” She looked around, knowing that Mercy had someone in the intake office with her. If she were to walk out and find her in the middle of an argument with her boyfriend, she wouldn’t be impressed. “Tonight. After work. Come to my place. Mum is going out.”
His face softened into a smile. “Thank you. I’ll be there. Should I bring pizza?”
“It’s not a date, Drew. Don’t expect too much. I’m just giving you a chance to explain yourself.”
“I understand. Thank you. Tonight.” He spoke in short sentences, his smile not leaving his face.
What had she done? She had no plans to give in to him. As far as she was concerned, it might not have been his fault Logan was taken, but he clearly never had noble intentions. He had lied to her from the start. If he could lie to her about his criminal record, who knew what else he would lie about. Perhaps August was right about all men being liars and cheats.
As she tried to busy herself for the remainder of the afternoon, she couldn’t help but recall memories of Drew playing with Logan. About them building sandcastles, of Drew sitting Logan in his lap and allowing him to pretend to drive his car. He patiently explained to the toddler all the gadgets and lights on the dashboard and console. Logan had listened intently, taking it all in, turning the headlights on and off, and tooting the horn. She remembered the way Logan would extend his arms to Drew to pick him up, then laugh as Drew spun him in circles. It had been a beautiful relationship they were developing.
As the day was drawing to a close, the familiar nerves were starting to gnaw at her. Perhaps she would text Drew and tell him not to come. Reaching for her phone, she swiped to see the home screen. Her favourite photo of Drew and Logan smiled back at her. She hadn’t had the heart to change it. Each time Logan saw the photo, he would place the phone against his cheek. She had thought he was just copying her, but she wondered if he was missing Drew, too.
From the moment Logan had been abducted, he had not seen Drew again. She had not explained to him why Drew was not in his life anymore, and he had limited skills to ask. Had she failed her son on this as well?
Drew had told her he loved them both. It was the first time a man had ever told her he loved her. Why couldn’t he have told her that before?
Sighing heavily, she tossed her phone into her bag and grabbed her car keys. Making her way down the hall, she called goodbye to Mercy. The other girls were either out on assignment or had their doors closed. She had no time to inquire. Her mum had minded Logan all week, and she needed to get home. It didn’t feel right sending him back to daycare so soon. If she hadn’t taken so much time off when Logan was in the hospital, she would have taken it now. It pained her each day to say goodbye to him.
“Have a nice night,” she called to her mum, as she waved her off. She was happy to see her mum getting out.
Pamela hadn’t been on a date in years. She had met Steve through some friends, and they had hit it off, almost instantly. Since her own father had left when she was young, she had never known her mum to have any male friends. In some small way, it made Davina feel that perhaps there was hope for her yet.
“C’mon little man,” she called to Logan. “Time for a bath.”
Logan ran to the bathroom and reached for his favourite bottle of bubbles, squirting too much into the tub as it quickly filled. Davina made herself comfortable on the floor beside him and sang him nursery rhymes while he splashed around, filling cups with water and bubbles and tipping them out again.
She would never take the time she had with her child for granted again. Even his increasing sleepless nights couldn’t dampen her desire to spend time with him. They had each other, and it didn’t matter if she never met anyone else. She was Logan’s mum; that was the most important thing.
“Oopsies,” she laughed, as he fell into her while she pulled his pyjama pants up over his bulging nappy butt.
Her child’s laughter in times like this was like music to her ears. He had not verbalised anything since she’d received him back from Trent. Before his abduction, he had started saying a handful of words. Now, the odd giggle was as much noise as he made. Even when he cried, he did it silently. The doctors felt it was a form of selective mutism, brought about by his trauma. That hopefully with work and time, he would come out of it. For now, she would have to remain content with his happy moods and the little noise he did make.
When the doorbell rang, her heart sank to her stomach. She knew it would be Drew, and she had hoped she’d have the chance to get Logan into bed
first.
“I wonder who that might be?” she asked him, eliciting a shrug. She wasn’t sure how he would handle Drew turning up. Perhaps she should have made other arrangements, but he had caught her off guard today. There was no way around it now.
Scooping her son into her arms, she positioned him on her hip as she made her way to the door. As she reached for the handle, another knock sounded out.
“Patience, patience,” she mumbled under her breath.
Pulling the door open, she saw him. Drew looked as breath-taking as ever. Even in her anger she couldn’t help but be ridiculously attracted to him as he stood on her doorstep. He wore dark jeans and a white shirt, his sleeves rolled to the elbows. His hair was wet like he had just stepped out of the shower and the scent of his after-shave excited her nostrils. It seemed he had gone to a little effort to make sure he was cleaned up and presentable to see her.
“Ew!” Logan called out to their surprise as he launched himself from her arms toward the man at the door.
Davina battled to keep a grip and Drew reached out grabbing him, just in time to save him from landing on the ground. Logan’s arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Hey there, my little buddy,” Drew chuckled. “How are you? I’ve missed you.”
“You had better come in,” Davina said, clearing the path. “I was hoping to have him in bed before you got here.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” he said poking his head around Logan’s. “It’s good to see you,” he smiled.
Davina gestured toward the living area, and Drew headed toward the couch, taking a seat and allowing Logan to sit on his lap. Davina sat in the chair opposite and watched on as Drew chatted with her son. Logan’s fingers traced Drew’s face then down his neck. He turned back to his mother, the smile on his face only making her heart twist. How could she send this man packing when her son loved him so much?
“So why did you lie to me?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you mean, ba…Davina.” Drew’s blue eyes met hers.
“What a joke,” she scoffed. “You spent time in jail, Drew. You told me you dropped out of school to help your uncle after your cousin died. That was a lot of bullshit. Why did you tell me that? To get me to sleep with you? Huh? Do you really think I would want some jail-bird criminal around my son?”
Drew’s eyes dropped to Logan. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. Because that was how I thought you might react. I know you are an awesome mother, and you would never have allowed me to get to know you, if you thought I was a bad guy.”
“You got that right,” she sniggered.
“Please, Davina. I want to explain.”
“Well, go on,” she nodded.
“I did lie to you, but only about why I left school,” he sighed. “How about we put a movie on for Logan, then you and I can talk?”
She had been determined not to fight with him in front of her son but was also determined not to allow this man to tell her what to do. Logan, however, had other ideas. After hearing Drew’s suggestion, he climbed down off his lap and ran to the TV.
After a few minutes of setting him up with his teddy, Logan was happily engrossed in his favourite movie, one hand on his good ear. She knew it wouldn’t be long until he was out like a light.
“So the real story is,” Drew began, moving to sit beside her. “I was arrested and charged with stealing drugs from the university.”
Davina gasped at his admission. She had no idea what to expect, but drugs had been the last thing on her mind.
“I spent some time in jail,” Drew went on. “But I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me. I was stitched up, I’m pretty confident I know who it was, but I could never prove it. There was never enough evidence to bring it to trial, and the judge ruled there was no case to answer. I was released. But yes, my record does show I was arrested for drugs, and I was not allowed back to the university, for obvious reasons.
Everything I told about my cousin, that was all true.”
“Who would set you up?” she asked.
“I believe it was the professor. I called him out on experimenting with mixing drug combinations he shouldn’t be, and he didn’t like it.”
The news settled in her brain. Was he telling her the truth now? “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”
“Honest to God, Davina,” he placed his hand over his heart. “I wish now that I had. I thought if you knew, I would never have a chance with you. I would never let anyone hurt you, baby.” Her eyes fell to his hands as they curled into fists. “In fact,” he went on, “I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on that Trent Davison and giving him a piece of my mind. You and Logan mean everything to me.” He reached out and took her hand in is, and she let him. “I love you, Davina. Please… please, forgive me for lying to you. I am so in love with you. I know it’s only been a short time, but no one has ever made me feel the way you do. I want you to be my forever.”
The lump in Davina’s throat threatened to make her cry, and she used her empty hand to remove her glasses. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the headrest as she allowed Drew’s words to sink into her mind. All the anger she had felt against him had been misplaced. She had pushed him away, over and over again. The one man who had ever loved her and her son. The one she loved in return.
When she finally reopened her eyes, she found his icy, blue eyes looking back at her, pleading with her.
“Davina Davenport, I would like you and Logan do me the honour of becoming my family.” He fished in his pocket and produced a small velvet box. When he opened it, she was presented with a gold band holding a solitary diamond ring. “Will you marry me?”
A single tear ran down her cheek, and he brushed it away with the pad of his thumb.
“I love you, Drew. I’m sorry for sending you away and not giving you the chance to explain.” She looked down at her baby, one hand over his ear and the other wrapped around his teddy, tiny snores escaping his mouth. Drew wanted to be his daddy and her husband. She turned back to him. “Yes. I would love to marry you.”
As Drew slipped the ring onto her finger, she knew; after everything she had been through, her life was finally on the right path. She wasn’t fool enough to believe there wouldn’t be ups and downs, but with Drew by her side, she was ready to face the world.
THE END
Acknowledgments
Thank you to you, for reading Davina. I hope you enjoyed her story.
A big shout out to Leticia Sidon, my awesome editor. Heather from Indie Author Boutique for her cover design. Sandra Bunning for her work on my blurbs, you are all super stars!
To my special people for always having my back, Maria and Wanda. You ladies are amazing.
Thank you everyone, Mercy is coming.
Also by Tee Smith
August ~ Blue Belles Investigations book one
Davina ~ Blue Belles Investigations book two
Mercy~ Blue Belles Investigations book three (Available now for pre-order)
Elegant Series
~~
Elegantly Denim
Elegant Retribution
Elegant Deception
Elegant Betrayal
~~
Collecting Scars
Chasing Dragonflies
Finding Reason
~~
Broken Masterpiece
A Dusty Road to Peace
The Last Goodbye
