by Nikkie Locke
“Matthew loves me,” Peterson said. “I saved him.”
“Did you know that his mother used to leave him locked in the closet?” Dean asked casually. “They left him in a cell without a light for a few hours and he just rolled right over. Looks like in this case fear wins.”
He stood up to leave.
“You fear me!”
Dean shook his head at the pathetic excuse for a man in front of him. “Not anymore.”
As he left the prison visiting room, the sound of Kevin’s screams followed him. He knew his nightmares no longer bound him. He was set free. He couldn’t wait to get home to Payten.
Epilogue
“‘That’s what saved me?’” Andie repeated. “Oh, gag me, P. Just gag me.”
Maddie elbowed her. “Shut up. It’s sweet. So sweet,” she sighed.
“Clear something up for me?” Andie asked.
“Sure,” Payten answered.
“Who shot Talbot? Was it Smith or Chase?” Andie asked.
“It was both,” Maddie said.
“How do you get that?”
“It was,” Payten said. “They both yelled, and they both shot him. Chief Whitley said the shots hit centimeters apart.”
“Wicked!” Andie exclaimed. “Do they do the twin thing? You know think as one and whatever?”
Payten rolled her eyes. “Doubtful.”
“I just love your story,” Maddie told her. “It’s so sweet.”
“Are you going to cry again?” Andie asked.
“No,” Maddie sniffled defensively.
Payten patted her back. “Thanks, Maddie. It feels like a fairy tale. More creepy though.”
“Maybe Ryleigh will turn it into a book,” Andie teased.
Payten shook her head. “Seriously doubtful. She’d have to come home to write that one.”
Andie laughed.
“She’s going to come home,” Maddie told them. “I can feel it.”
“Feel it, my ass,” Andie replied. “Who told you that? You always get the gossip first. It’s ridiculous.”
“Nobody told me anything,” she insisted.
“You two should really go finish with those table decorations. We’re almost done,” Payten told them.
She watched as they moved away, still arguing. She took stock of the community center after she was sure they were back to work. They were decorating for the annual Hartsville Valentine Dance. Unsurprisingly, she had been voted head of the committee. She had roped Maddie and Andie into helping decorate.
The community center was scattered with red, pink, and white balloons. Streamers were draped to cover the wires from the Christmas lights on the ceiling. When the overhead lights were shut off and the Christmas lights plugged in, the ceiling looked like it was covered in stars. Tables were covered with pretty white tablecloths and set with red plates, cups, and utensils for snacking at the dessert tables, which were stocked with homemade goodies volunteers had brought. Various dishes in a variety of sizes filled with candy hearts acted as centerpieces for the tables. For her tiny budget, she thought the overall look was pretty darn good.
She moved to help various volunteers complete their projects. When the decorating was complete, she headed toward one corner of the room. Opposite the wall with the desserts, Dean and the guys were setting up their instruments to play.
“Hey, guys,” she said. “How’s it coming?”
Dean moved away from the tangle of cords he was working on untying and kissed her cheek. “We’d be better if Kal ever learned to wind up the damn cords.”
“Hey!” Kalvin protested as she laughed.
“I think the decorations are finished,” she told them.
“Looks great,” Jack replied.
She shrugged. “We try.”
“Oh, the modesty,” Kalvin teased.
She reached out and poked him. “Jerk. I’m going to change and fix my face. I’ll be in the bathroom if you guys need anything.”
Dean fell in step and walked with her to the bathroom. “I don’t see anything wrong with your face,” he said.
She laughed. “Thanks. I meant I’m going to put my make-up on.”
He kissed her when they stopped outside the bathroom door. “I know. Need anything?”
She shook her head. “People should start showing up in another half hour or so. There are always some who like to show up early. I already told Andie and Maddie if anybody shows up with food to steer them toward the dessert tables.”
“Got it.” He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her again. “I can’t wait for this night to be over.”
She nibbled at his lower lip. “Me, neither. Just you and me, and no one to call at three A.M. to ask about colored streamers.”
He chuckled. “Betsy is insane. You do know that, right?”
She squirmed in his hold as his hands drifted from her waist. “Yes. Quit playing with my butt.”
He gave her one last squeeze, then let her go.
“I’ll be back soon.”
As she dressed and applied her make-up, she thought about what she had planned for him when they got home. She’d made a trip to the city to buy more lingerie. She figured that would be a wonderful Valentine’s Day present to them both.
In the month following Talbot’s arrest, they’d worked most days at the diner and spent their nights with one another at his house. Those were the only constant fixtures in their routine. Payten, who had so adored and loathed her perfectly scheduled life, was finding excitement in the unplanned. Some mornings, she actually got up when her alarm clock went off and baked. Other mornings, she spent her time before work in bed with him. Some mornings, they made it to the diner at seven. Most days, especially on ones that didn’t involve baking, they were late.
Their evenings were as unpredictable. They might spend the evening working on the diner’s books or, like they had one night, rearranging furniture. Some nights, they read to one another. Other nights, they spent time catching up on the many television shows she had gotten him addicted to. She couldn’t convince him to buy a television, but he had readily agreed to move hers.
In fact, all of her things were steadily finding their way to his house. Her clothes were hanging in his closet. She was teaching him that both halves of the counter in the bathroom were for her things. Her car was parked in his garage, and her pots and pans were in his cabinets.
After Talbot was arrested, she had stayed several nights at her own house. She was determined not to let anyone take her cute little house away from her. The mess was cleaned up, and, thanks to her girls, her bedroom was repainted and had new bedding.
After a few nights alone, Dean had spent the night with her. The next night, they stayed at his house. His bed was bigger. After that, she hadn’t spent another night at her house. She loved her house, but it was really just a house. His house was home.
She took a deep breath to steady herself and finished applying her lip-gloss. She knew it was true. Things had moved fast between them. While everything had been going on with Talbot, she had been too busy to worry about it. Then, once she had started staying at his house, she had been too happy to consider it.
Outside the bathroom, she glanced toward the corner where Dean and the guys were setting up to play. She watched him as he sat on an amplifier, picking at the knots in another set of cords. His long legs were planted firmly on the floor in front of him, and his thick black hair fell in his eyes as he bent over the wad of cords.
As if he felt her watching him, he looked up and smiled at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She felt like that every time he smiled at her. As she had to retell her story over and over again, it felt like it had happened to someone else unless Dean was looking at her.
When he looked at her, or smiled at her, or held her hand, or was simply in the same room as her, she knew. She knew that everything that happened had given her him. She knew he was worth every cut, bruise, and terrified feeling she’d experienced. She knew she loved him
beyond reason or doubt. She knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
• • •
Dean watched as Payten strolled toward him. All swaying hips and huge smile, she was beautiful. Her bright red dress hugged every curve. It stopped mid-thigh and revealed her long legs.
Gorgeous, he thought.
He stood up and moved toward her. He couldn’t stop himself. He needed to get her in his arms. He needed to reassure himself she was there.
The morning she was released from the hospital, she’d insisted on staying in her house. Alone. He’d agreed — like I had a choice — but that night had been one of the longest nights of his life. Even longer than the night before.
He had paced the floors at his house all night long. His worry ate at him even knowing Talbot was in jail. He resisted calling her to check in, but couldn’t resist going to town to drive past her house. He hadn’t told her that and never planned to.
The next night when she’d insisted on it again, he thought he’d die. He figured insanity had been a narrow miss with all the sleep deprivation those couple of nights. He made it, though. She’d proven everything she needed to prove to herself, and he hadn’t died, gone insane, or crowded her overly much. He figured he was steps ahead of what any other Whitley man would have survived.
The most important thing about those couple of days for him was the realization he’d come to. More than anything, he’d missed her. The smell of her through his home, the sound of her laughter, the way she teased him, waking up with her in his arms. He’d missed her, but he could live without her. Maybe not for long, he admitted, but he could. He realized, though, he didn’t want to live without her. He wanted to spend every single moment of his life with her.
She was smiling when they reached one another. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. He swayed with her slowly, dancing without music. From the corner, a slow melody started to spill out of the speakers.
He pulled away and dug in his pocket. “Payten, I have a question — ”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t even asked yet,” he protested.
“You don’t have to.”
“But — ”
She took the small ring box from his hand and peeked inside. “Yes,” she said again.
“Payten — ”
She kissed him. “It’s perfect.”
“You could have at least let me ask,” he complained. “I’ve been working on it for weeks.”
“So ask.”
“Will you marry me?”
She looked up at him. “That much complaining for that?” she teased.
He kissed her, loving her gentle teasing. “Please?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” She punctuated each answer with a kiss. “I love you, Dean.”
He pulled her back into his arms. As the music played, they danced, utterly lost in one other.
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