by Abby Knox
Then it looked like Devin’s truck was headed back up her street. “Where are we going?”
“Back to your house. We’re going to talk to your parents.”
Claire folded her hands in her lap. “I thought you might say that.”
“Two things. One, after we deal with them, I’m going to need time to think,” he said.
Tears fell down her cheeks and dampened her coat.
“And the second thing, hand me your phone.”
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”
Devin stayed in the truck with the engine running to protect the sleeping kids.
God, he must hate me right now.
“Jillian, what in the world were you thinking?”
Claire had played this scenario over so many times in her head. She thought she knew exactly what she would say. She thought she would be ready to bolt again. But she had been so preoccupied with her new life, she had let things get in the way of being vigilant.
“I…I’m sorry, Mom. I had to. You know why.”
Dad spoke this time. “Jillian, changing your name like that? Taking your grandmother’s name? It was like an extra slap in the face. It took us a while, but you knew he would hire people to find you. He’s not stupid.”
Claire squared her shoulders at her father’s words. “No, he’s not. The problem is, you are, Dad. You were supposed to protect us and take care of us. How could you allow that man to take your money? How could you watch them treat your daughter that way?”
“Honey,” her Mom began.
“Mom, I don’t want to hear it. You know we had to get out of there. You wanted to leave, too, but you wouldn’t. I didn’t want to separate you, but I had to do something. I was the only one of sound mind who could. In fact, I’m shocked he even let you all leave the compound to come here.”
Her mother huffed as she looked her oldest daughter up and down. Her eyes haughtily took in the short dress, the sparkly costume jewelry and the brooch on her coat. “I see you’ve still got my mother’s whorish jewelry.”
“Grandma Claire was the only happy thing that ever happened to me in my life, until I left and came here. These kids are not safe with you as long as you’re still on the compound. And you know it. It’s craziness.”
Just then another car door closed. Claire hadn’t seen the black town car parked two doors down. Walking toward her, with a huge burly man who could only be a bodyguard, was the man himself. Mister Benjamin.
Here was the man who started it all. The one she was supposed to marry and had caused her to be effectively shunned by the community.
“Don’t. Come. Another. Step. Closer.”
“Jillian.” The man with dyed black hair and deep dimples may have, at one time, charmed the adults in the small gatherings in the isolated countryside. But to Claire, he was always the devil. “It’s so good to see you again. We missed you. The girls all miss you and your sense of humor.”
He wasn’t listening to her. He was, in fact, coming closer.
“Get back in your car and go home. I will call the police.”
He held up his hands and stepped closer. “You’re not going to call the police. Because you kidnapped underage children and transported them across state lines. Your parents and I should be calling the authorities on you.”
She laughed. “So why didn’t you? Do you think maybe it had something to do with the fact that you are scamming people out of their life savings and you don’t want any authorities peeking into your business?”
“That’s a very creative story, Jillian.”
Behind her, Devin stepped out of the truck. Then she heard her mother gasp and saw her father raise a protective arm to shield his wife. “Claire, get in the truck. Now,” Devin said.
She turned and saw Devin. He had the calm, cool and collected but deadly fucking serious face of a father lion facing off a pack of hyenas. He wasn’t angry, but he wasn’t having it. The shotgun propped up nonchalantly against his shoulder didn’t hurt, either.
Claire listened. She hopped into the truck and locked the doors. Thankfully the kids were still asleep in the back. Good lord, what had they done all evening that got them so tired out, she wondered. She would have to remember to thank Maggie and Jackson for whatever it was.
Catching sight of the shotgun, Mister Benjamin finally stopped his approach toward the truck.
But he didn’t stop talking. Of course. He never stopped fucking talking.
“It’s amusing to me you come at me with guns. Our little community came together to leave violence behind. We came together to live apart from violence, to protect ourselves from the outside world. And see what happens? The moment one of our sheep gets lost, she gets mixed up with the violence of the world in a matter of weeks.”
She heard Devin say, though it was muffled inside the truck, “You’re a real smooth talker, old man. Especially with your thug protecting you. Are you gonna tell me that dude isn’t carrying? That you and your whack job friends aren’t all about to shoot me right now?”
Benjamin got another condescending look on his face and started to speak, but then soon realized he was being drowned out by the sound of thunder and blinded by lightning.
Claire looked around, but it wasn’t thunder or lightning. It was about a dozen or more motorcycles approaching.
“What the…”
Obviously, all three sleepy kids in the back seat were awake now.
May said, “What’s going on? Where are we? Who are they? Are we being robbed?”
“Cool! Motorcycles!” Stan said.
Layla was upset. “Oh shit, it’s Mad Max time and I don’t even have my supplies put together.”
Claire turned around and explained to the kids exactly what was happening. That their mom and dad had shown up to take them home. And that she and Devin had made some new friends who were coming to help keep them away if the kids didn’t want to go with their parents.
Layla shook her head. “No way I’m going back there.”
Stan simply started to shake and cry, and then wriggled out of his car seat and crawled into Claire’s lap.
She looked at the middle sister, May. “It’s up to you if you want to go with them. You don’t have to decide now. We can tell them to go away and we can handle this through the police if you want.”
May looked thoughtful. Then she said, “I want to talk to Mom and Dad.”
Moments later, everyone was out of the truck. Claire found the one called Brick and the bikers cleared a path for May.
May walked across the pavement to confront her parents. They spoke for a moment. There were tears. There were hugs. They were out there a long time. But ultimately, Claire’s parents got back into their car and drove away. Not wanting to lose sight of his members, Benjamin got back into his car with his bodyguard and followed them.
The bikers stayed put. Claire put her arms around May and asked what she decided.
Through tears, she said, “I told them I want them to come live with us when they leave Benjamin.”
Claire squeezed her sister. “You are a brave little girl, do you know that?”
She nodded and put her arms around Claire’s waist as they watched the taillights fade away.
Chapter 25
Claire
It was Christmas Eve, and there was a knock on the door.
Hesitantly, Claire opened the door but there was no one there. There was, however, a red velvet bag on the stoop, full of presents.
She had a feeling she knew who had put this there.
After everything that had happened, she was not surprised that Devin had dropped the gifts and taken off.
On top of the entire mess caused by her lying about their parents, Devin and Claire did not have to wait until the day after Christmas for the rest of the shit to hit the fan. Yesterday morning, Wynn had called her via FaceTime and had given her the bad news while Claire was still recovering from the tequila shots. There was also a lawyer and Human Resources on the call as well, in case
she had any questions.
“I’m not going to sue the company for firing me, Wynn,” she had said.
Wynn appeared surprised by the assumption. “I’m not going to fire you, Claire. I’m just moving Devin to our Denver branch, where he’s needed on the ranch. Things aren’t working out with him as regional vice president, as you probably know.”
Claire didn’t hear the rest of it. When Wynn had finished speaking, Claire resigned, effective immediately.
She would be OK. There was an opening in the office at the elementary school, and frankly that environment suited her even more. Plus, she could keep a more direct eye on her younger siblings there.
In the meantime, she would enjoy her Christmas Eve in her pajamas, by their little tree, eating junk and watching Elf all day long.
But this new pile of presents was a painful reminder of the one missing piece this Christmas. Devin wasn’t here. And he wouldn’t be showing up anytime soon. He had said he needed space, and she knew what that meant. Breaking up in the middle of the honeymoon phase of a relationship must be some kind of record.
May was the first person to jump off the couch. “What is that?” she asked, eyeing the sack of gifts.
Claire swallowed back the lump in her throat and pasted on a smile for the kids. “Looks like Santa came early.”
There were more than five or six boxes per kid, each label with their gender and age. Layla opened the large box containing her bug-out backpack, and squealed in delight. Claire had never heard that kid squeal about anything. Then she ripped open another box, and there was a pile of ready-to-eat meals, a top-of-the-line Swiss Army knife, a stainless-steel flashlight, headlamp, and another box full of batteries of all sizes.
“Oh my god, Claire, I could wander off right now and survive for weeks on all this stuff!”
“Don’t you dare!” Claire laughed.
May and Stan opened their boxes, both completely over the moon about their respective gifts of art supplies, a massive sticker collection and stacks of superhero sticker books and cards. Tucked into one of May’s boxes was a card, which she opened, and it contained a gift certificate for 10 art lessons. Maggie had done this. The lump in Claire’s throat was fighting back, hard.
“Guys, there’s another present in here. Whose is it?”
Layla picked it up and tossed it at Claire. Curious, she looked at the tag, which read 22-year-old female.
What in the world had he done now? This was too much.
She opened the box and in it was the most beautiful leather-bound journal she had ever seen. On the cover was an engraved tree with branches covered in gilt leaves.
She opened the journal and turned to the first page. It read: May I come in? I’m freezing and I need to ask you something.
Her heart began to pound and there was no holding back the tears now.
Claire threw open the door and there stood the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Devin took off his hat and held it against his chest.
Claire started to blubber and said, “Thank you for the presents. You’ve made some kids very, very happy. And thank you for the journal. I’m sorry, I don’t have a gift for you.”
Devin was closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
“You do have something to give me. I should never have told you I needed space. That was the wrong thing to ask you. I came here because I don’t care what has happened in the past, I just want to be with you and with the kids. I love you and that’s all I know.”
“Devin, I love you too and the kids love you. But I can’t move them to Denver right now. Maybe after the end of the school year. They’ve been through so much. And I want to give our parents a chance to get out of their situation and have a relationship with the kids.”
Devin hushed her with a kiss amidst a chorus of “eeew” from the nut gallery.
“Claire, I’m not asking you to move to Denver. I’m not going to Denver.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I was in the room on that call yesterday. My sister flew in from Denver and hauled me into the office to ‘right the ship,’ as she called it. Right after you quit and hung up, I told my sister to shove it. I don’t want that job if you’re not there.”
“Oh my god, what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. We’re in quite the pickle, aren’t we?” He smirked and her heart about pounded out of her chest.
Then, Devin got down on one knee and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it and her knees almost buckled. It was a ring, but instead of a diamond, it was a ruby ring that matched her grandmother’s earrings that she always wore.
“Claire, will you marry me?”
Would he resent her for letting him pass up a huge opportunity to advance to a much bigger ranch, with more money, in one of the most beautiful spots in the country? So many questions ping-ponged around in her head.
But one look at his face and she knew that he knew the answer to all of that. He just wanted one thing. He meant exactly and only the words he said.
It took Claire about three seconds to decide. “Yes, Devin, I’ll marry you.”
This time, the kiss was met with cheers instead of “eews” from the nut gallery.
Epilogue
Devin
The train of Claire’s ivory dress fluttered in the night spring breeze atop Devin’s horse, reminding Devin of a ghost.
But she was 100 percent real. He rode with his arms around her slim waist, looking forward to their wedding night.
“Where exactly are we going?”
He breathed into the back of her bare shoulder. “It’s a surprise.”
She shivered against him, and he realized she was cold. The mild spring day that was their wedding day had turned into a chilly evening. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her and she thanked him.
The wedding at Morning Glory Farms had been a small one, inside the rock barn. Maggie had offered to clear out the art easels and old-fashioned school desks, but Claire insisted she keep it exactly as it was, just adding a few garlands of spring flowers. It was odd, but a lovely space for a small gathering. In attendance had been her siblings, Maggie and Jackson and their little tribe, some of the guys from the ranch at WX Genetics, his sister Lily from Iowa City and a slightly sour-looking Wynn, who had flown in from Denver.
Jackson had offered the venue for free, not because they were now going to be family, but also because Devin was his new partner, in charge of the grass-fed cattle operation.
It didn’t pay as much as Wynn, but it paid the rent. With Claire’s job at the school, they had just enough to save a little bit every month.
“It’s nice not having anymore office politics to deal with,” Devin said.
“Yeah, although to be fair, I was the one dealing with most of the politics while you were out doing who knows what on any given day.”
“Meeting with very important people, remember?”
“Is that what you call it?”
“Hey, it kept my sister happy and off my ass for a few minutes, so who’s complaining.”
“Yeah it did, until it didn’t,” she joked. “By the way, where are you taking me on our lovely wedding night, my husband?”
The horse approached a white tent at the end of a trail that hugged the edge of the woods.
“Here.”
He helped her down off the horse. “That’s sweet. Some brides might demand a hotel room and room service and, you know, a real honeymoon. But not me. Nope. I’m a simple gal. You know me. No pampering necessary. Why would I want that on my wedding night?” She winked.
He kissed her on the head. “I hear your sarcasm, but trust me, there’s a reason I brought you out here. I’ll show you in the morning. In the meantime…” He gestured to an outdoor shower he had fashioned from water from the creek.
“Oh my god. Are we moving in permanently? Because when I told you I liked camping, I don’t think I meant forever.”
“Just for tonight. Your room
, my lady.” He held open the flap of the tent as she crouched down to look. Her jaw dropped open.
“Oh. My. God.”
Devin followed her in. Maggie had outdone herself. On the floor was a plush oriental rug. A low platform of wood pallets held up a king-size mattress outfitted with fluffy pillows, down comforters and, of course, sleeping bags that zipped together. There was her luggage already laid out with changes of clothes, a mirror in the corner, and a cooler with food and drinks. And finally, battery-operated fairly lights strung all over the ceiling.
This was not his style of camping, but for his wedding night it was perfect.
“This is amazing! Who did this?”
“I’ll give you three guesses.”
“She is some kind of a goddess. Are you sure she’s of this earth?”
“She’s all right for a sister. Hey, come here.”
He tugged his bride’s hand and folded her into his arms with the deepest, slowest kiss he could muster. She responded by slipping off his jacket from around her shoulders and working her fingers to release the buttons of his crisp dress shirt.
“Take your pants off, mister. I want you to ravage me in this dress.”
He nipped her bare shoulder and felt his cock press into her side. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
Devin swooped her up and carried her to the bed, where he laid her down roughly and savaged her bare skin with the kisses and bites she craved. He could not stop anticipating this moment through the entire short service and small reception.
Short formalities and short parties were right in Devin’s wheelhouse, because he wanted nothing more than to get horizontal with his girl. He had been suffering a serious case of blue balls, thanks to a silly experiment Claire somehow got him to agree to. They had agreed, just to build excitement, not to have sex again for two whole weeks before the wedding night.
It had driven both of them almost to the point of insanity, but it made tonight that much more erotic.
