I kept your letter hoping to one day give it to you so that you could find him again, but I guess fate had other plans. I will tell you both the rest soon. I just need to put some cards into place. I owe you both an explanation. Tim, please take care of my little girl for me. I know she is in the best hands. Maddie, I hope that one day you will be able to forgive this old fool for his actions.
Love you always,
Michael
I handed Tim the letter and let him read it too as I opened up his from years ago. Before I read it, though, I turned to look at Tim and saw he was frowning. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I spoke to my Ma today…”
I raised a brow. “Okay, and?”
“She said the exact same thing that Michael just has.”
“Which part?” “That she would give me answers soon but now wasn’t the right time.”
My brows creased in a frown. “You don’t think this is connected do you?”
“I can’t see how it could be. The only thing that connects them is us.” Standing up from my spot on the couch, I moved down the hall and picked up my bag. Taking my phone out of it, I quickly put all my stuff in our room before joining Tim back on the couch. Pulling up Hannah’s number on my phone, I held it to my ear and waited for her to pick up. I knew she would be awake. Even with the early hour due to the time difference she would have been up hours ago.
“How’s my gorgeous girl?” She asked as she picked up the phone.
“I’m okay, Mama H. How’s everything back home?”
“Same as always, honey. You know nothing ever changes round here.”
I nodded despite the fact that she couldn’t see me, “Hannah... I have a question I need to ask you…”
“Okay, baby, shoot. What’s on your mind?”
“Is there something about Michael and Tim’s ma that we don’t know about?”
My question was met with silence and I knew the answer. I turned to look at Tim who was listening for her answer. He raised a brow at me and I shook my head.
“Please, Hannah. We need answers and no one is giving them to us. I got a letter from Michael saying he’ll give us answers when the time is right. It showed up after a conversation Tim had with Marie where she told him the same thing. Please, Hannah, we need to know. I know you know. You have never hidden anything from me when I have asked you about it.”
“Honey, I really wish I could give you the answers you need, but I don’t know the whole story. All Michael ever told me what he was doing what was best for the kids. They had met a few times but I never really thought anything of it because their kids were dating each other.”
I let out a sigh and ran my hand through my hair.
“I’m sorry, Maddie, I wish I had of pushed deeper so that I had the answers you both need. It might be time to take a drive to see Marie...”
“Yeah, cause my last conversation with one of them went so well.” I laid my head against Tim’s chest when his arm wrapped around me and he pulled me closer and rubbed my arm. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I had to be stronger than this.
“Please, if you hear anything…”
“You’ll be my first call, Maddie, I promise.”
I nodded again and we said our goodbyes. I shifted to drop my phone down on the coffee table and curled up next to Tim. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I looked up at him. “Maybe we should go see Marie.”
He sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” He leant down and pressed his lips to my head. “Alright, we’ll go in a couple of days.”
I nodded and curled into him more. “Are you gonna read the letter?”
“One day… When I know that I’m not going to wake up and find this was all a dream.”
He moved his hand to massage my neck. “When you’re ready, Snowflake. I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
I felt myself relaxing at his words. We would get through this together. I wasn’t stopping until we had our answers. I don’t care what it was gonna take.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ghost
After the letter arrived, we decided to fill Gracie in on everything that was happening and had happened. When we did, she told us that she wanted to come to see Ma with us. Sure, there was a chance that the asshole was gonna be there, but hopefully we could get our answers before we had to deal with that. I just had to make sure that I didn’t make the same mistake as I had with Michael. I had to get Maddie out of there if it got to be too much for her. I wasn’t about to let Sydney repeat itself. We would find another outlet for her to let whatever pain she was feeling out, but over my dead body was I seeing her in hospital again.
A few days later, we left Mario in charge of “Ghosting Security” and Blake, Gracie, Maddie and I all made the drive to Alabama. Fort Rucker would take us at least six and a half hours to get too. That didn’t include stops for gas or driver changes. We had booked into a couple of rooms in a nearby hotel for the night so that we weren’t dead tired before we went into hell the next day. We had checked, more importantly, that they were still in Alabama. None of us had really spoken to them other than my phone calls the other day, so we couldn’t be sure.
Pulling up out the front of the last place I wanted to be, I looked over at Maddie and she squeezed my hand. “We’ve got this, baby. It won’t be like the last time. I am leaving with you like this.” She motioned to our hands and I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles.
“Okay, Snowflake, let’s get her done.” I tried to smile as the words came out of my mouth and the four of us got out of the car. I looked over my shoulder and saw Blake taking Gracie’s hand and was grateful that it was him who was here for her. We had no idea what we were about to walk into, but I didn’t want her alone through it. She was the baby of the family. I knew as her brother though I was supposed to take care of her, but I knew she was in good hands.
Making my way up the front path to the front door, I turned to look at Gracie. “Do we knock or just go in?” It was that strange grey area. I didn’t live here, so I was a visitor, but I was still their son. Gracie moved in front of me and knocked loudly before walking in.
“Ma, are you home?”
One by one we all filed in and followed her. We had just gotten to the end of the hall and walked into the family room and the sight before us made us stop dead in our tracks. This couldn’t be right. Sitting before us was none other than Michael.
“Okay, spare us the ‘we’ll tell you when the time is right’ crap you have been feeding us. It’s time to start talking.”
“Timothy.” Ma said in a warning tone and narrowed her eyes at me.
“No! You don’t get to play with our lives like this! You are going to tell us why you three have done the shit you have done, and you are going to tell us now.”
“Timothy, that’s enough.”
“No, I’m just getting started, Mother! You both sat back and watch your own flesh and blood in pain because of that stupid fucking jackass and played along with it! You kept a letter from Maddie that would have made all of this okay! The cutting could have been avoided if it weren’t for this shit, so start talking and start talking now! I swear to God if you come at us with ‘now isn’t the right time’ I am going to lose it.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and raised a brow at the pair of them. I felt Maddie wrap her arm around me and her hand run up and down my back. Everyone was quiet as we waited for one of them to start talking. Finally, with a sigh they looked at each other before turning back to look at us. It was Ma who spoke first.
“If we had of known just how badly the damage our decisions would be then our choices when you were younger would be different. Please know we thought we were doing the right thing at the time.”
I tensed as Michael moved over toward Maddie. Every part of me wanted to wrap my arms around her and keep her well away from him. I wasn’t sure how she was feeling about him. I looked down at her and saw her eyes narrowed a
t him and by God, if looks could kill...
“Maddie, I want to apologize for everything I said to you. It was all lies. I have never once regretted my promise to your dad to take care of you if anything were to happen to him and your mum. In my own backwards way, I was trying to protect you, and that is something I will never be able to forgive myself for. I should have listened every time Hannah told me to give you that letter. Tim’s right, I could have saved you both a lot of unnecessary heartache. I will never forgive myself for that.”
“Good, because that makes two of us. Don’t think for one second I am here to repair any part of our relationship. I want our answers and we want them now. Once I walk back out that door, we are done. Hannah, Allan and Jasmine are my family as far as I am concerned.”
I watched her pull up the sleeves of her shirt. “You did this, and I hope you can live with that.” She pulled her sleeves back down and moved around me to stand with Gracie and Blake who both wrapped her up in their arms. Standing tall, she spoke, “Start talking now.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Maddie
I thought I would be okay seeing Michael, but his words are something that I would never forget. True or not, they are like the scars that I will carry with me every day. He can never take them back. In one night, he broke me down so easily, and I reverted to that fragile, cracked girl I had been many years ago. I would have to work hard to replace that hurt with good things, but I knew in time, I could do that. One day they wouldn’t hurt so bad and the aftermath of this would be just in our past, but that’s where I would be leaving Michael once we left this house. Laying my head against Gracie’s shoulder after she wrapped me up in hers and Blake’s arms, I closed my eyes. Such a small gesture told me that I was safe. Sure, Tim’s arms had the same effect on me but I would have to wait for that.
“Your father had threatened to take you kids away from me if I left him. I was stupid and naive to think that he would actually get away with it. I know now that I should have just talked to you kids before that day, and told you what was happening so you could make up your minds on staying or going back with your father.”
I watched as Marie looked over at Michael and the small smile he gave her back. “I was forced into marrying your father when I was eighteen. My father wanted the two families to be joined, no matter how much I told him that I didn’t love him. He told me my feelings wouldn’t matter in the end. It wasn’t until I met Michael that I knew what I was missing out on. I could have left him so many times over the years, but I knew he was a proud man and didn’t want to drag you kids through that so I stayed. Turns out what I did was worse anyway.”
“Wait a minute,” Tim asked. “What the hell does he have to do with it, then?” He pointed at Michael. Marie narrowed her eyes at him again and with her hands on her hips, replied, “You weren’t the only one who had to leave your first love behind that day, Timothy.”
I blinked as I let those words sink in. My brows creased in a frown and I stepped forward. “This is all a load of bullshit! Tim, Gracie and Matt were all at the age where the judge would have let them decide where they wanted to live if you had of filed for divorce. Alienation of affection or irreconcilable differences had you really have wanted to leave him, but no, you left and lost your kids anyway! So you put us all through that for no fucking reason. Good to know.”
I turned and walked away from them. Tim tried to stop me but I shook him off and made my way down the hall. I stopped dead when I saw Jeffrey standing at the door.
“Hello, Maddison.” I looked between where he was positioned and the door and couldn’t see a way past him. I wasn’t about to go near this man, though. I went to take a step backwards and ran into someone. Turning and looking to see who it was, I relaxed a little when Tim’s arms wrapped around me. “Ah, well, if it isn’t my oldest disappointment.” Tim’s arms tensed around me as Jeffrey spoke to him. “Let’s all go and have a little chat, shall we.”
“We’ve heard enough.” I straightened and took hold of Tim’s hand and moved down the hall towards him. I needed to get out of this house. As I reached him, Jeffrey grabbed my arm and shoved me back into the wall.
“You aren’t going anywhere. You are going to walk your ass back down that hall and you are going to listen to what I have to say. You never were good enough for my son. You were nothing but trash!”
I tried to pull my arm back but before I could, Jeffery was stumbling back into the wall. I looked to see Tim’s fist clenched as was his jaw.
“Touch her again, and I will make you sorry you were ever born. You are the scum of the earth for everything you have done to this family, and I hope she leaves you now that the truth is finally out there. I will make sure to have my security team on her if that day happens, but you will not touch her or Maddison. Come near Gracie and I and again I will make you sorry you were ever born. You don’t get to play God any more. You lose.”
With one last hit, he was on the ground and we were all out the door. I got in the car and shut my eyes tightly as I tried to get my head around the crap I just listened to. “Are you okay, Snowflake.”
“Please, just get me out of here.”
“You got it.” I opened my eyes and put my seatbelt on. To drown out the silence, I leaned over and turned on the radio before laying my head back against the seat. I watched the scenery as we put Alabama in the rearview mirror. I felt Gracie’s hand on my shoulder and turned to give her a small smile.
Resting my hand over hers, I squeezed it back softly before turning to look back out the window.
Some things we are better off not knowing…
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The Aftermath
Ghost
We got back to North Carolina by nightfall. After Gracie and Maddie's whispered conversation, she and Blake said their goodbyes and left us for the night. Blake was going to check and see what damage leaving Mario unsupervised had caused. We both knew that Mario would have it handled. He was my right hand, where Blake was my left. Without those two I’m not sure where I would be today. After they left, I cooked Maddie dinner while she took a long hot bath. I’m not sure where either of us thought today was gonna go, but I don’t think either of us expected that.
Now it was time to put this all behind us. The truth we got in no way erased the past, but I had to look at the silver lining. If we hadn’t come back here, then I wouldn’t have met Blake and Mario. I just wish Maddie would have gotten my letters. WE could have been in a different place. There was no sense in dwelling on that now, though. It was what it was, and maybe now Ma and Michael could get their happy ending. After dinner we watched a movie and went to bed. I was worried about Maddie. She was so quiet the whole drive back and most of the night. I would just have to keep an eye on her. Not because I was afraid she would do something, but just to be there for her if she needed me. If else fails, I will call in the big guns… Gracie.
The next morning, I woke up earlier then Maddie, which wasn’t unusual, and slipped out of bed. She hated waking up alone, but she hated to be woken. As much as I wanted to stay with her, I wasn’t one to just be able to lay there. So, I would go and keep myself occupied for a bit before I went to make her coffee and went back to bed with her. Moving into the kitchen, I made myself a coffee before moving to sit out on the back porch. One of my favourite things to do was to watch the sun come up from this spot. Maybe one day I could get Maddie out here for that. Maybe one day pigs would fly, but you never know. Stranger things had happened. I sat in the silence and slowly sipped my coffee. Today I was taking Maddie into Ghosting Security so she could have a look around and see if she could see herself joining me there. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she got bored and wanted to do something more with her time. I would take her wherever she wanted to go if that was what she wanted. As long as I had my girl, I didn’t care about where we were or what we were doing.
The sound of a phone pulled me from my thoughts. I quickly got up and answered i
t before it woke Maddie. “Tim, its Evan next door.” By next door he meant a good 5 minutes down the road.
“Evan, what’s up, bud?” “I think one of my girls got loose again. Can you check and see if she has wandered over that way?” I couldn’t help but snort.
“Startin’ to think your girls prefer it over my way.”
“Oh, stuff it. Let me know, yeah?” “Will do.” I hung up the phone and moved down the hall and grabbing a pair of jeans and a pair of boots. Moving to the side of the bed, I pressed my lips to Maddie's shoulder and whispered "I love you" before grabbing a shirt and leaving the room. Getting dressed, I headed into the garage and took the keys to my four wheeler off the hook and started it up.
Opening up the door, I grabbed my helmet and put it on before driving out of the garage. I headed down toward the back end of my property where Evan’s cows often found their way through my fencing, which he would be helping me replace again, and ended up at the dam I had down there.
Reaching the dam, I saw the cow in question and shook my head. “Back again, I see.” I chuckled as she gave me a look and moved to grab the ropes. The same cow was always getting herself stuck and either Evan or I would have to pull her out. Today, I’m guessing it was my turn. After getting the ropes on her, I moved back to the four wheeler and was quietly wishing I had brought the truck down here instead. Never mind, though. I had done it before. I could do it again.
Getting on the four wheeler, I slowly started to try and pull her out of the mud. I was too busy looking over my shoulder instead of at what was ahead of me and I didn’t see the branch until it was too late. I felt it smack me in the chest, I gripped the handlebars, but couldn’t stop myself from falling. I landed on the ground, my head snapping backwards and smacking against something hard. Everything around me went black.
Hell On An Angel (Fated Love Book 2) Page 13
