Liam lifted her hand to his lips, giving it a kiss. “Good, now let’s go check on our kids.”
“Well the house is still standing,” Denise quipped as they pulled the bike up the drive. She could see Tyler’s truck there, and it looked as if Meredith was with him, carrying Addie. They were coming out onto the front porch as Liam parked the bike.
“Daddy!”
They heard the small voice, the stamping of feet, and the excited shuffling as Tatum made her way through the front door as fast as her legs could carry her. Out of nowhere, Drew appeared behind her, lifting her quickly. “Here, munchkin, don’t even attempt those steps.”
She squealed as he lifted her high in the air before setting her down on the ground, allowing her to bypass the stairs. Once her feet were on solid ground again, she scrambled towards her parents.
Liam took a knee on the ground and held out his arms for her, catching her as she ran at full speed towards him—like the tornado analogy he’d used to describe her. “I missed you,” he told her, picking her up and taking her over to where Denise stood, an indulgent smile on her face.
“Did you miss us?” Denise asked, holding her hands out for the toddler.
Tatum came to her willingly, burying her head in her mom’s shoulder, putting her thumb in her mouth as she curled up. “No.” She shook her head, her words muffled by her thumb. “Drew let me sleep in his bed, and Ty Ty let me have ice cweam for dinner.”
Denise glared at Tyler. “He did, did he?”
He held his hands out to his side. “She wouldn’t eat. Don’t you dare judge me.”
Liam grinned over at his son. “You not only let her in your room, but you let her sleep with you? I’m proud of you.”
“She was cryin’, and I couldn’t take it anymore. It always helped her when she was a baby. I gave it a shot and it worked.”
The group of them caught up briefly before the twins went about their previous plans. Tyler ambled over to them. “Did y’all have a good time?” His grin was shit-eating, and Liam gave him his own grin.
“We did. Thank y’all for watching the kids.”
“It’s no problem,” Meredith assured them. “Just remember this in case we ever need it.”
“Tornado Tatum’s in bed, and she’s asleep.” Liam sighed as he got in bed next to his wife later on that night.
“Thanks for putting her down. I caught up with Mandy. It seems like they all had a good time without us. Maybe we really can do this again sometime since the world didn’t seem to stop because we weren’t here.”
She snuggled up next to Liam, hooking her leg over his waist. He lazily trailed his hand up and down her thigh. She sighed happily as she kept talking. “If we ever need to get back to basics again, we’ll do it.”
“Back to basics?” he questioned, his voice sleepy.
“Yeah. You, me, some alone time, and, at the end, our kids. That’s our back to basics.”
And neither one of them could argue that.
The End
Book Eight
Home Free
Heaven Hill Book #8
Laramie Briscoe
To my husband. In sickness & in health right?
To Danielle – who had the guts to tell me the first version was shit. Brutally honest friends are really hard to find! :)
Summary
Son
Brother
Lover
The love of Drew Walker’s life left to pursue her dream. He told her to go, forced her to go, knowing that a stripper’s daughter would never be able to escape her mother’s past. In the wake of her leaving, she left him with a broken heart. A heart that he’s held very close to himself for the last ten years.
Daughter
Friend
Attorney
Charity Thomas has worked hard to get out from under the stigma of being the daughter of Jasmine from Wet Wanda’s. Ten years away from home gave her the distance to grow a backbone; it also gave her enough time to miss the hell out of Drew.
When Meredith Blackfoot entices her back to Bowling Green to deal with a situation at CRISIS, none of them realize the danger they are in. Home invasions, a woman and daughter running for their lives, and an attempt on Charity’s life puts Heaven Hill on alert like they’ve never been before.
When the smoke clears, the bad guys are caught, and Charity is ultimately in Drew’s arms, they can all breathe a sigh of relief. In their hour of need, Charity is finally home.
Chapter One
Charity Thomas sat straight up in bed as the phone next to her rang sharply, piercing the silence of the night. As a lawyer, it wasn’t unusual for her to get calls at all hours, but one this early—3AM if she’d read the clock right between squinted eyes—gave her a funny feeling.
“This is Charity,” she answered her work cell, with what she hoped was a clear voice. Pushing her hair out of her face, she fought the sleep that wanted to claim her again.
“Charity, it’s Meredith Blackfoot.”
That name conjured up a whole boatload of memories. Some of them the best of her life, some of them the worst. Immediately, she went back to her mom’s driveway and Drew telling her to go make something of herself. Even today, ten years later, she could still feel the way she’d felt that day. Her stomach still clenched the same way it had back then.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, scared now that it was her mom, or even Drew. The two of them hadn’t spoken since she’d left him in that driveway, and the years had dampened the feelings, but she would always care for him. Or maybe it was Mandy who was in trouble. She had kept in touch with Mandy over the years. Either way, her heart was pounding out of her chest as she waited for Meredith to answer her question.
“Not with anyone you know.”
The answer was the most cryptic she’d ever heard. Now she was intrigued. Pulling the covers up to her chest, she leaned back against her headboard. “You’ve piqued my interest.”
“A mother and daughter came into CRISIS tonight. They need help. More help than any of us can give them. They need someone who understands the type of situation they are in to advise them legally on the options that they have.” Meredith took a breath. “I believe that person is you, Charity. It’s time to come back home.”
In the back of her mind, Charity had known there would be a time when Meredith would call in all the favors that were owed to her. She just hadn’t thought it would take this long. There was a reason she was being called. “Who are these people?”
“Maggie and Skylar McCall—the wife and daughter of Dixon McCall.”
That name also stirred up a bunch of memories she would rather forget. Her mom for most of her life had made her living as a stripper, and Charity was very familiar with Dixon. He had once thought like mother, like daughter.
She sighed heavily into the phone. “When do you need me there?”
“Yesterday is preferable.”
You didn’t tell the wife of Tyler Blackfoot no, but it was very hard for her not to lose her patience. “I can be there in a week.”
Breaking this news to her roommate wouldn’t be so easy, but Charity knew in the back of her mind she would always go back to Kentucky. She had a license to practice there, just in case, and she never had much to pack. Being ready in a few days’ time was something she’d learned as a child, and it had followed her through her adult years.
“We’ll be waiting on you.”
It was on the tip of Charity’s tongue to ask if Drew would also be waiting on her, but she didn’t want to be disappointed in the answer.
“Drew.” The woman’s voice echoed off the small room they were in. “I need it harder, please harder!”
Grasping her hair in his fist, Drew turned her around so that she draped herself against the back of the chair and shoved his cock so deep into her body that he was fully encased. He didn’t know her name, he never knew her name. Karen? Laura? Something plain and basic.
“C’mon, babe,” he ground between his
teeth. “Take it all. Thrust that ass back against me.” Calling them babe was easy; it was a term of endearment, and none of them ever questioned it.
“Right there,” she panted when he moved his hand up to the middle of her body and started teasing her clit. “Yes, do that!”
This bitch was one of those who had to talk through the whole thing. Drew hated that shit, and right now he just wanted to blow his load and tell her to take a hike. Closing his eyes, he pictured the one girl who was guaranteed to get him off. It didn’t matter that it had been ten years, imagining the feel of her body against his, the way she kissed with no restraint, and the way she loved him. It did it to him every time.
“Charity,” he whispered as he came hard, filling up the condom he always made sure was in place with these girls.
She didn’t even seem to notice he’d said the wrong name, and she flailed and screamed. At least he hoped that meant he’d given it to her good.
Gradually, he pulled out of her body and went to dispose of the condom while she cleaned herself up. She turned around, and he could feel her eyes on him. “Is Charity the one you have that tattoo for?”
So maybe she wasn’t as oblivious as she’d seemed. The tattoo on his chest had been the outpouring of emotion from a teenage boy who didn’t know how he would turn into a man without the woman he loved by his side. Charity flowed in script over his heart with a date in roman numerals. That date was the day he’d made her leave and hoped like hell she’d never turn back.
“That’s none of your business,” he told her. His voice was low, gravelly from the exertion he’d put forth to make sure they’d both had a good time.
“I see how it is.” She put her hand on her hip, not bothering to cover tits that swung freely.
“You see nothin’. Now get your shit and get out. I got work to do.”
The woman acted like she was going to argue, but as he had a seat at the desk and set up the radio scanner—it was obvious she’d been dismissed. The guys in the club were on a run, and while he should have been listening for trouble, he’d been getting his rocks off.
Dispatch, there’s been another home invasion. We have an elderly victim, requesting an ambulance to be in route.
Immediately he took notice. That was the tenth home invasion in as many weeks. He would have to see if he could find out anything about it. Lawlessness in town couldn’t be tolerated. Writing down the info, he saved it to give to Steele.
Behind him, he could hear the girl yanking on her clothing. “Guess I’ll be goin’.”
He didn’t turn around. He found that if he didn’t engage; they tended to go quieter.
“You’re a bastard, you know that?”
Perhaps this one hadn’t gotten that memo.
“I really am.” He looked over his shoulder and grinned at her. It wasn’t happy; it was cocky, one that told her he knew exactly who he was.
“You’re fucking unbelievable, and just so you know—so you can put it in your little black book. My name is LAURA!”
She finished putting on her clothes and slammed the door behind her.
“Thank fucking God that I don’t fuck chicks more than once because she would be certifiable.” He shook his head.
All the women wanted to be with him because of who he was, but only one of them knew the real him, and he would always keep that close to himself. No one else would ever get that close again.
Chapter Two
Fuck, Drew cursed as he pulled his truck onto the square. He was running late, but Mandy had begged him to bring this office equipment to the new place she would be helping out. Word had it that this practice was doing some pro bono work for CRISIS, so he knew most of this was courtesy of Heaven Hill.
By trade, Mandy was a paralegal. Her training helped out the club, and in some situations was beneficial to associates of the club. She kept her eyes and ears open for anything and everything that could help them out. For the most part, she managed to know what was happening in this town almost before anyone else did. Usually it was a win/win for everyone involved.
He wondered who this attorney was. She tended to switch them up every couple of years, just to give herself a break from the monotony. In fact, it had been a year since she’d actually worked for one. She’d been helping Roni do books at the shop for a while.
He looked down at his phone, making sure he was at the correct address. Parking right off the square was a bitch, but luck shined down on him as a spot opened up. Carefully, he parallel parked and glanced around. Not like he wanted to be in an attorney’s office, but he wanted to make sure he had the right office space before he started lugging this shit in.
Getting out of the truck, he pulled his cut on and walked towards the building. Unlike the other buildings, there wasn’t a name on the plate glass window. Walking up to the door, he knocked twice before trying the knob and going on in.
“Anyone here?” he asked, looking around the main office.
“In the back!”
He heard that voice; he knew that voice. Immediately the hair on his arms stood up, and his heart started to race. His feet couldn’t carry him fast enough as he went through the front office into the adjoining room.
As he entered, she looked up from the desk she was dusting, and their eyes met. “Char?” he questioned.
It was so low, less than a whisper, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “Drew?”
“Oh my God.” A smile lit up his face as he gathered her up in his arms. He tried not to remember that just a week ago those arms had been around someone else.
That smile was something she’d missed terribly since she’d left. It woke her up at night, it kept her going on hard days, and it gave her the strength to do the things she knew she had to. He looked good. Damn good. His hair was still short, much like it had been in high school, but now he had tattoos up and down his arms, earrings in his ears, and an air of danger he hadn’t had then. He’d seen things now, and it gave him a maturity that was downright sexy.
“Look at you.” He pulled back, running his tongue over his bottom lip. Even though he tried, he couldn’t suppress that smile again. It showed the dimple in his left cheek.
“It’s the hair, right?” She put her fingers through it, inspecting the dark locks. Her first step in being a new Charity once she’d left Bowling Green had been to stop letting her mom dictate her hair color. Instead of bleached blonde, it was now its normal dark brown.
“It’s very different,” he agreed. “But it looks good on you.”
The two of them stared at each other, the tension heavy in the room. Drew wasn’t sure if it was tension because they hadn’t seen each other in so long or if it was sexual—they always seemed to have that. Neither of them said a word, they just gazed. Then his cell started beeping.
“Motherfucker.” He ran a hand over his head. “I need to bring this stuff in that Mandy needed, and then I gotta go. I’m pickin’ up Tatum today from her cheerleading practice, and I’m already late.”
Her stomach dropped as she realized she wouldn’t get to see him the way she thought she would. “Just put Mandy’s stuff in there on the front desk.”
“Will do.” Walking over, he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a slow kiss.
It was unexpected, but appreciated. It left her breathless like nothing else had in a very long time.
“Sorry.”
But she could tell he wasn’t.
“Totally did that out of habit.”
He flashed her that smile that got him anything he’d ever wanted. “It’s okay.” She grinned back up at him. Her stupid stomach had butterflies in it, and she felt like a teenager on her first date.
“I really do gotta go. I hope I’ll see you soon.”
She waved, her hand flapping in the breeze. She may as well have lain down on the desk and told him to take her now. “I hope so too. Bye, Drew.”
“How was practice?” Drew asked his little sister, Tatum, as she climbed into his t
ruck at the local high school.
Their relationship was one not many people understood. He didn’t idly ask her questions like most people in her life did. He asked because he really wanted to know. Maybe even more so than their parents, he had a vested interest in her and wanted her to do well. He didn’t want her to follow in his footsteps and get in with the wrong crowd. It meant a lot to him to know she was doing well and staying grounded.
Her long brown ponytail bobbed as she glanced over at him. “It was alright.”
“Just alright?”
“The guys from the basketball team snuck in and watched us. It made me a little uncomfortable,” she admitted to him, glancing over. She’s always been able to be truthful with him.
“What do you mean? Did somebody say something to you?” he asked, his voice hard. He remembered being a hormonal teenager, and if any of those guys thought about his sister the way he’d thought about girls back then…he’d shove their dicks down their throat.
“Not about the cheers, but they always make comments about how I look. It makes me mad.”
“Do I need to kick someone’s ass?” he growled. Nobody messed with either one of his sisters, and Tatum had a special place in his heart. He’d been wrapped around her finger since the day she was born.
“No.” She shook her head. “I handled it the way you and dad taught me too. It just pisses me off.”
She said “pisses” on a hiss, like she was afraid she’d get in trouble.
He laughed. She was a princess if there ever was one. “Don’t worry; your bad language is safe with me.”
Heaven Hill Series - Complete Series Page 137
