by Brie Paisley
I don’t even look back at her as I run off the porch.
I run to Carter realizing, I’ll always find my way to him. I don’t need my mother’s approval or love because I have all that, and so much more with him. Why I didn’t do this years ago baffles me, but it feels amazing knowing he’s here for me. My eyes focus on him as he steps out of his truck, and when he sees me, he smiles opening his arms as I reach him. He stumbles back as I wrap my arms around his waist letting his manly scent embrace me as his arms do the same. I hold him tightly resting my head on his chest. He rubs up and down my back caressing me, loving me, and showing how much he can comfort me. After a few moments, he pulls me back and takes my face in his hands. He glances up at the porch, then back to me as he asks, “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I say truthfully.
“I would’ve been here sooner if Caden and Cason hadn’t been arguing so much.” I grin, knowing how the twins are.
Carter’s hands slowly move from my face, and I see Caden and Cason walk up to us. I stand by Carter’s side, our arms still around each other, and his continuous comfort helps me keep Mom’s words from creeping in. “Is that your soul-sucking Mother?” Caden asks, and I can’t help but let out a chuckle.
I dart my eyes to Cason, noticing he’s stiff as a board, before answering Caden. “Yes, that’s her.”
I glance up at Carter, seeing he wants to ask why she’s here, and what she wants. I can see it in his eyes, but Caden interrupts him from asking. “Want me to arrest her for you?”
“It’s fine, but thank you, Caden.”
He starts to walk back to the truck, but stops as he says, “I mean I can go get my handcuffs.” He shrugs. “Some chicks dig the cuffs.”
“Dude, you’re disgusting,” Cason tells him as Carter and I laugh. Watching Cason clench his jaw as he looks towards the porch, I wonder why he’s acting so strange, but my attention is elsewhere. Our laughter fades as we watch Mom walking towards us. I’m assuming that’s why Carter stops, or it could be because my grip on his waist tightens. He doesn’t say a word as my fingernails dig into his skin, but I need him to keep me grounded.
“Well, haven’t you boys grown up,” she says as she stops in front of us. I can’t help but watch as she looks over Caden first, then Cason. Her eyes start to shine in approval as she gazes over Cason, and I wonder for a second if she wants to use him as her new boy toy. The thought sickens me, and I don’t miss the way Cason slowly begins to back away from her. “Yes, I see both of you have grown up very much,” she says, but her eyes never leave Cason. Caden looks over at his twin, and I know they’re using their twin bond. When Cason lets out a disgusted sound, and Caden makes gagging ones, it’s hard not to laugh. Caden is bending at his waist, acting like he’s about to puke. Mom shrugs then says, “If you boys change your mind, you know where I am.”
“I highly doubt that will ever happen,” Cason tells her with such malice in his voice, and shortly after, Caden agrees.
“I think you need to leave, Tabitha.” Carter’s voice is hard, sharp, and I can feel him tense under my grip when mother turns to him.
“Please. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.” They stare at each other for a few moments before she smiles a sinister smile, then turns to me. “It’s time to go, Shelby.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Carter snaps. I’m grateful he’s standing up for me, and putting Mom in her place.
“I won’t tell you again,” she tells me, completely ignoring Carter. “It’s time for you to come home.”
“Shelby’s already home, and she’s never leaving again.” I smile up at Carter and he looks down at me, caressing my face. He doesn’t even look at her as he says, “She’s right where she belongs.” My face flushes, but it’s the look in his eyes that hold me captive. So full of love, and I know he means what he says. Even though I’ll never leave him, this was his way of reminding me that I belong with him.
“Alright, soul-sucker. It’s time for you to scat.” Carter smiles and shakes his head, as I let out a chuckle hearing Caden talking to her that way.
“This isn’t over, Shelby!” She says something afterward, but I tune her out. I’m not worried about what else she has to say. I have Carter taking over, and that’s all I need right now.
He gazes back at me, rubbing his thumb on my cheek, as he asks, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m perfect now that you were here to back me up.”
“Good. I’m sorry you had to go through her bullshit without me.”
I pull him closer to me, saying, “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” He shows me my favorite grin, then slowly leans down to kiss me sweetly. It’s just simple kiss, but it holds so much power. It takes my breath away, making my heart soar with an overwhelming sensation of love. It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
He pulls away with a groan as we hear Caden clearing his throat before saying, “If y’all are done sucking face, then can we get a move on? We got a party to plan, remember?” Smiling, I step away from Carter, and look around seeing Mom’s car is gone. It’s nice to know I don’t care about her anymore. I didn’t even hear her leave.
“Alright, Caden. Get in the truck and we’ll go.” Caden lets out a whoop and gets inside the truck. Cason snakes his head, then follows behind him. I start to walk over to Cason to ask him what’s gotten into him, but Carter turns back to me asking, “My house soon? You can help plan Clark’s welcome home party.”
I glance over to Cason, seeing him getting inside the truck. For now, I decide to let it go, since Cason isn’t the type to open up. Turning back to Carter, I nod as I say, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
After talking to Annie and William, and filling them in on my crazy Mother situation, I arrive at Carter’s house. I quickly make my way to the door and open it to utter chaos.
“I told you not to mess with it!”
“Stop yelling at me!”
“If you would fucking listen to me, this wouldn’t happen.”
“Oh my God, why don’t you just cry about it?”
I step inside, checking to make sure the coast is clear. Caden and Cason are standing in the middle of the living room arguing as usual. Carter has his back to me in the kitchen. It’s sad really that Carter can tune them out so easily. It looks like he’s making something, and I dash to him careful not to get in the middle of whatever’s going on with the twins.
I set my purse down on the kitchen island quietly, and wrap my hands around Carter placing my head on his back. “There you are,” he says. I let him go so he can turn around, and he instantly kisses me. I don’t even think about stopping my hands from wrapping around his neck, and standing on my tip toes to reach him better. He kisses me deeply and passionately. When I moan in his mouth he pulls away, resting his head on mine and says breathlessly, “If we don’t stop, I’m going to take you right here, right now.”
I bite my lip, wishing he could, but it would be super awkward with his brothers being here. “Later then?” I ask.
“It’s a promise, Shel.”
“Good.” I slowly unwrap my hands from around his neck and lean against the counter. “What are they arguing about anyway?” Yes, they’re still going at it, and I really don’t know how they can stand to live together.
“I really don’t know this time. Something about Caden messing up Cason’s phone.” Carter shrugs and adds, “There’s really no telling, but I’m glad you’re here. Now, we can really start planning this thing for Clark.”
I nod, turning around to grab the salty snacks Carter has laid out. I pop a few in my mouth then ask, “When is he coming back?” I know it’s getting time for him to return home, and I’m glad it’s soon. I know Carter has been worrying so much about him since Clark’s phone call at Thanksgiving. I also know it’s been hard on Carter that Clark hasn’t been calling him as much. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not able, or if he just doesn’t
want to talk to Carter. Either way, when Clark gets home things will be easier.
“He said sometime in March. Mama said she’d let me know for sure on the date when he tells her, but you know how Mama is with her parties.”
“Yes, we all know how Linda can be. Plus I know she’s excited Clark’s returning, so I assume it’ll be epic.” Even as kids, Linda would throw the biggest birthday parties for us. I loved it because it always made me feel special, and part of the family. “What do you have done?”
“Well,” he turns around and cuts off the stove. He takes the pan, holding some delicious smelling chicken, then moves it to the side before finishing what he was saying. “I haven’t gotten much done.”
“I can’t imagine why ever not,” I tease. I know it’s because he’s not getting any help from the twins.
“They’ve been at it for over an hour.” He shakes his head, adding, “Maybe now that you’re here we can actually get some planning done.”
I start to comment, but Caden walks into the kitchen, placing his hand on my shoulder as he says, “Is the food ready yet? I’ve starving.”
“You know,” I say, poking him in the ribs. “You really should be more grateful Carter cooked for you.”
“You wound me woman with your hurtful words. Old man knows I love it when he cooks for me.”
“Hey, I didn’t cook just for you,” Carter says back.
“Caden! What did you do to my phone!” We all turn back to the living room to a frustrated Cason shaking his head and cussing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caden shouts. Carter and I can only shake our heads. “I really didn’t touch his phone.”
“I’m sure you had absolutely nothing to do with it,” I say to him sarcastically.
“Again, you wound me!” I laugh and lightly hit his arm. He fakes being hurt of course. He’s such a drama queen.
A few moments later, Carter announces supper is ready, and we make our way to the kitchen table. I take a seat by Carter as Cason narrows his eyes at Caden before sitting by him. My mouth starts to water as the aroma of the chicken hits me, and I quickly make my plate before everyone takes all the food. It’s happened before, and I know to grab it as fast as I can. We eat in silence for a while, enjoying our food. Caden lets out a few moans as he bites into his chicken sandwich, but we don’t even give him a second thought. He’s always been this way, but it’s good to know he’ll never change. He definitely keeps everyone entertained.
The silence doesn’t last very long as Caden asks me, “What did your soul-sucking Mother want?”
I knew eventually someone would bring it up, but it doesn’t bother me like it would before. I glance at Carter when he takes my hand, squeezes it, then says, “I wish you wouldn’t ask her things like that. What if she doesn’t want to talk about it?”
“It’s fine, Carter.” He’s always looking out for me, but I really don’t mind talking about with everyone here. “She told me she wanted me to go back to South Carolina,” I stop when I see the look on Caden’s face. His eyes widen, and he seems so shocked he even stopped chewing his food. “Don’t worry,” I quickly add. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good because I’d come after you if you did,” Carter says sweetly while squeezing my hand again.
“I’m glad you told her no, but man your mom is a piece of work for sure. I swear it felt like she was trying so suck my soul out just by looking at me.”
“You’re so full of shit, Caden. Admit it. You wanted to go with her,” Cason says, and I cover my mouth to laugh. I can tell Cason is being playful, but he still seems tense like earlier today.
“Dude, that’s not funny. Seriously not into cougars.”
Their banter goes back and forth for a few moments, and eventually I get to tell them all what happened. From her randomly showing up, to the part about Dad’s money, and her being the reason for me being put in such a horrible situation. I can tell Carter doesn’t like hearing it, but he does his best to hide it. Caden of course, makes jokes at every chance he gets, but it’s nice. Even if it hurt finally finding out the truth today, at least I know I have the Harlow brothers to help me through it. Caden will always find a way to make me laugh, Cason will sit and listen, and then there’s Carter. The one I know will love me no matter how broken my past made me.
I glance around the table, watching as Caden laughs, and Cason actually lets a rare smile form, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes. Once I get to Carter, he’s staring right at me. I smile, feeling my face flush, and he reaches over to pull my chair closer to him. He puts an arm around me, and I lean my head on his shoulder. I let out a content sigh when I feel his fingers running through my hair, and my heart skips a beat when he whispers, “I love you, Shel.”
I lean up to gaze into his beautiful brown eyes as I say, “I love you, too.” Caden and Cason fade into the background as Carter gives me a peck on my lips.
It’s in these small simple moments that I will cherish forever. It’s the ones that are going to slowly make all the bad ones disappear, and I know I’ll never take any of this for granted again. I’ll hold onto it, storing it forever into my soul. And it’s all because of Carter’s unwillingness to give up on me, and his strength to fight when I thought I’d given up.
I owe him so much, and I plan on never letting him go again. Because our love is one of a kind, and I’ll be forever grateful for our second chance at finding one another again.
Two months later
I open the armoire searching for the two small boxes I want to give to Shelby. I’m certain now’s the perfect time to ask her two very important questions, and I don’t think she’ll say no to either. We’ve come such a long way since last year, and I want to make sure we both continue to grow. To make our relationship stronger than ever. I rummage through some of my socks and for a small moment, my stomach drops when I don’t find the boxes right away. I exhale slowly as I pull them out, nervous I’m wrong. If she says no, I tell myself I’ll respect her decision, but I’m confident she’ll say yes.
She has to say yes.
I quietly shut the drawer back, careful not to make too much noise. I left her asleep on the couch, and I want to ask her before we leave to head to my parents for Clark’s welcome home party. I debated whether or not to ask her in front of everyone, but in the end, I chose to wait until we were alone. It’ll be more intimate, and I know Shelby would rather enjoy this little moment between just the two of us. My heart begins to pound as I walk away from the armoire, and out of the room. I can still hear the TV in the living room, and I hope she’s still asleep. I hope my plan goes perfectly, and I don’t fuck this up. I reach the kitchen, and I can see her sleeping form on the couch. I grin seeing her finally able to sleep soundly, and I can’t remember the last time she had a nightmare. I would like to think her bad dreams stopped because she finally had some closure with her Dad, and with her Mom. It still makes my jaw clench every time I think of Tabitha, but I’m trying to erase that woman from my memory.
I’m trying to do as Shelby has.
She’s extraordinary, and she never ceases to amaze me. I really thought with all the revelations she found out within this past year would make it harder for her to move forward, but she’s doing better than ever. Besides not being plagued with nightmares almost every night, she sleeps soundly. She doesn’t get lost in her head anymore, and every time I ask if she wants to talk about it, she tells me she’s perfect with that beautiful smile I love. I feel terrible with what I found out about the money her dad left her. All of it is gone. Not a penny left, and I’m still working on figuring out how Tabitha managed to spend one and a half million dollars. Shelby tells me constantly to leave it alone and forget about it, but I just want to know out of curiosity. I know Shelby has never cared about money or wanted expensive things, but I want to take care of her. Which is another reason for two boxes.
Once I reach her, I bend down sitting on my knees, and set the boxes beside me as I gently
brush her hair out of her face. She stirs only to move toward my hand, and my stomach dips feeling nervous about asking her what I want. I smile when she calls out my name, and wonder what she’s dreaming about. I lightly touch her shoulder trying to coax her awake. Her blue eyes open a few moments later, and she smiles at me widely. “Hey,” she says with a raspy voice. “How long was I out for?”
“Not long,” I swallow hard, trying not to lose my nerve.
She must sense something’s off, because she places a hand on my face. “Are you alright? You look a little pale.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I touch the boxes by my legs, wondering how to ask her what I want. She eyes me curiously as I look away. I pick up the one of the small boxes, thinking it’s now or never. “I have something for you,” I start. I hold up the first box and her eyes widen as she sees it.
“Carter, you didn’t need to get me anything.”
“I know, but it’s not what you think.” She slides up on the couch as she takes the box. She grins at me and I nod, encouraging her to open it.
I watch her as she begins to open the small box, and I hold my breath until she sees what’s inside. Her eyes dart to mine, and I smile as she asks, “Why is there a key in here?”
I place a hand on her calf as I explain. “That key is to the firm. I know you’ve been going back and forth with your decision about working with me, but I want you to know I need you there. I need you to be a part of my team, and this key, it’s just for you to come and go as you wish. You can set your own hours, work at the firm or at home.” She opens her mouth to say something, but I hold up a finger to stop her. I grab the other box and hand it to her. She sighs, knowing she has no choice but to open it.
