Hide (Lakefield Book 2)

by Jennifer Vester

  “Yes!”

  “Okay, sorry I had to order some takeout for the night crew.”

  “Are you FUCKING kidding me!” I yelled.

  “Chill. I was joking. Even if I wasn’t, Holden has nine lives. He’ll be fine.”

  I used “the voice” on him. It was deep, growly and menacing. It had once been described as my “drill sergeant voice” by a date that had gotten too handsy and hadn’t taken no for answer.

  “Brock, move your ass. If you don’t give it to me, I will hunt you down and cut you. I will make you wish you were never conceived. Then I will bury your body parts—”

  He interrupted calmly, “Julia, I got this.”

  “You’d better! And stop treating Holden like he’s invincible. You guys are terrible!”

  “Hey, hey, we’re all friends. We’ve been trying to break him for years. He knocked me out once and I still have a scar from when he knifed me in the leg. I may have accidentally poisoned him but don’t tell him that. Cade pissed in his water bottle while we were on a mission. Holden slipped a snake in his bunk. We’re like that. Not a big deal. Apparently, it just took some wacko woman to get through to him. I am SO looking forward to getting on his nerves about it.”

  I snarled at him, “Brock, I will rip your balls off if you don’t shut up. What are you doing to help?”

  “Eh, the guys should be getting there in about an hour. Looks like they’re already airborne as we speak. There’s a municipal airport close to where you are and I’ve made arrangements with an old friend to provide vehicles. Would use a chopper but looks like you’re getting some blowing snow up there right now. Too risky. I do have a guy that might chance it if worse comes to worse. Doc is with them. Should be a team of five. ETA two hours max. Tell Holden’s dad not to get inventive and blow them up with that sweet grenade launcher he has up there. Or if he really wants to go after one of the vehicles, at least let the weather clear up so I can get a good video of it.”

  “A video?” I looked around a little suspiciously.

  “Yeah,” he laughed. “Satellite. Cool huh? Don’t tell Ray. He hates me. We never had this conversation.”

  He hung up.

  I looked at the blank screen on the phone. Brock was every conspiracy theorist worst nightmare. He was terrifying. I eyed the camera.

  A text message beeped and I opened it.

  Brock: No I can’t see you through the screen.

  I nearly dropped the phone. Brock was eternally banned from touching any of my electronic devices.

  He was probably joking. But just in case, I narrowed my eyes at the camera and made a slicing gesture across my throat with my finger.

  “Uhm, Ray.”

  “I heard. What’s that jackass up to? Man’s a menace. No one should have that much control over that many things.”

  “He said two hours. Five men. Don’t use the grenade launcher.”

  “You see what I mean?! He needs to keep his eyes off my meadow. Nosey as the government and those people are going to have us all chipped eventually.”

  I was beginning to see why Ray stayed up on his hill.

  “Dr. Matthews will be with them.”

  “Good, always liked him. I have to check on Rose. She’s probably worried sick. Julia, stay here and just talk to him. Sing to him, he’s got a fever but it doesn’t mean he can’t hear.”

  “Okay. How does my chin look?” I said and drew the washcloth off.

  He eyed it. “Just a scratch. Must have hit it just right. Don’t think you’ll need stitches but you look like a mess.”

  I’m sure I did. I looked down at the coat I was wearing and grimaced. “Oh, tell Rose I’m sorry. This is her coat.”

  He gave me a soft smile and patted me on the back. “Sweetie, when she told me that Holden had talked to her about marrying you, she was crying with joy. You could probably bleed all over her favorite painting and she wouldn’t care.”

  “Yeah, we just talked about it before he collapsed. He was going to get some papers at Rose’s house but he acted like his side hurt.”

  “Holden’s going to be a good husband to you, missy. He’s a good man and you’re just like my Rose, so I know you’ll treat him right.”

  I was overcome by the compliment and I felt like I was going to start crying again. Instead of saying anything I reached out and hugged Ray.

  He chuckled and patted my back. “Gotta get to Rose. I’ll be back.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  After he left, I sat on the floor with Holden and wrapped up in a blanket. I put his head on a pillow and started playing with his short hair.

  He stirred several times and shook his head.

  I was thinking about what Ray had told me to do. He said talking to him would be good or singing. I hummed several to him. The thing was, I could think of a million different songs that Liv would like. Even with Ray and Rose it was easy to pick something they would want to hear. With Holden though, it was hard to think of one that would tell him the right things.

  It was silly to think he might want to hear something specific but it was important to me. I ran through a hundred or more song lyrics in my head and surprisingly found some I had forgotten about. Some that would also describe how I felt about my own life. None of them quite described the man that was laying on the floor in front of me though.

  I thought about all the things I knew about him. All the conversations we had just shared over the last few days. The way he made me feel safe, after such a long time feeling the opposite. It dawned on me that I knew one. It was new on the radio recently. Fitting in so many ways, but I had never played it or given it much thought because it wasn’t something that could easily translate to acoustic guitar.

  I started humming it and signing a few bars to play with it.

  Holden whispered, “Julia, don’t go.” His body tensed and he let out a groan.

  I leaned over his ear and started singing his song. His features slowly relaxed and his breathing became steady.

  For two hours I talked to him about it, playing with the melodies, singing it and asking him what he thought. It occurred to me that I really did want his opinion. That it mattered more to me now than ever before. It wasn’t just that he was going to be my husband. I just wanted to know what he thought, as a lover, a friend, and someone I respected a great deal.

  I hoped that I would be able to tell him soon.

  Both Ray and Rose joined me and we settled into our long wait.

  “Shouldn’t they be here by now?” I asked them, after what felt like an eternity of sitting.

  Ray answered, “I’m assuming that they’ll be here soon but it depends on how bad the road is and what vehicles they’re using.”

  We heard a knock at the door and Rose hurried out of the room.

  Logan came through the door dressed in a black parka and with a grim look on his face. He bent down and started digging in his bag for some things.

  I was lifted up from behind and turned around.

  John’s face greeted mine in a smile.

  “Hey girlie. You look like shit.”

  I laughed. Then I sputtered and hugged him, crying into his shoulder.

  “Liv insisted that I come as her faithful servant. Knight in shining armor and all of that. She has a kooky imagination. I’m supposed to first tell you, that she’s really mad about not calling. Then I’m supposed to get the digs on you and Holden. Right now though I think we need to clean up that face.”

  Logan interrupted, “Okay, so the idiot here needs some care in a hospital. Ray, it’s great to see you again but I’m going to murder your son when he gets better. He needs some heavy-duty antibiotics that I don’t have.”

  Ray shrugged. “May do it myself. He’s given his future wife here, quite the scare.”

  John grinned at me. Liv would be finding that out fast.

  Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, that explains some papers we had to get at your wife’s house and the other guest we had to bring wi
th us.”

  John took me by the arm and led me out to the living room. There was a short man with bifocals, wearing a suit and coat on the couch.

  “Miss White I presume, I’m not even going to ask about the blood. I don’t want to know. I need your signature on the marriage license and then the court’s required document of consent. Here and here.”

  He pointed at the papers as I took the pen and chewed my lip. I was getting married. It felt weird. It also felt like I should have Holden here with me. This type of thing should be something special, but it seemed like it was so very cold in a way.

  I signed where he indicated.

  “Good, now I need the groom to sign here and here.

  I opened my mouth but John squeezed my arm.

  “Sure thing, he’s pretty ill. Not sure you want him to puke on you. Let me just run it in there and get him to sign.”

  The short man made a face and nodded.

  John was gone for a minute and came back.

  “There you are, sir.”

  He nodded. “Great. Mr. Latimer said there was some urgency to this?”

  “Not sure, you’ll have to talk to him. Let me get one of the guys to take you back to the chopper. I’m sure he’ll explain in more detail.”

  The short man left with one of Aiden’s goons and I turned to John. “Who signed for Holden?”

  He grinned. “I did. It’s my first marriage, hope I got it right. You’re not as hairy as I thought my groom would be.”

  I rolled my eyes and he drug me along to the kitchen. He cleaned my face off and Rose brought me a new coat to wear. She held my cheeks for a moment then kissed me on my forehead.

  “You’ll be fine. Just do what’s in your heart.”

  Logan and three other men carried Holden to the door and down to a waiting vehicle much like Holden’s souped-up Hummer.

  I turned back to Rose as Ray joined us. “I love you guys.”

  “Same,” Ray winked. “Now get going and come back to see me. I’ll teach you how to fish with dynamite next time.”

  “Awesome!”

  “I know!” he smiled.

  John rushed me through the door and into a truck before we could say anything more.

  Back to civilization. Back to reality.

  Married to Holden.

  Kind of.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Exhaustion had taken over me on the ride to the nearest hospital. I remembered waking up briefly as John walked me in through a huge set of doors. Him taking off my shoes and directing me to lay down on a hospital bed.

  When I woke up I heard the familiar sound of some beeping and Dr. Matthews speaking in a hushed voice. Then someone shutting the door.

  I was starting to hate hospitals.

  I turned over and opened my eyes to find Liv sitting on a chair reading a book.

  “Hope it’s a romance and not one of those serial killer books you like,” I mumbled.

  She smiled and came over to the side of my bed. “It’s actually a very interesting book about homesteading, thank you.”

  “Sounds fascinating. I think you and Holden’s dad should talk.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Is it true he has a barn full of dead bodies?”

  I laughed, “I guess Aiden told you if you ever visited, to stay away from the barn?”

  She nodded. “Like that EVER works on people. He should have just told me it was a very boring place.”

  “Just for the record, I’ve seen the barn. It’s full of explosives and guns.”

  She grinned, “I SO feel a camping trip coming on.”

  “Totally. Ray promised to show me how to fish with dynamite the next time we’re up. You should go with us.”

  “Awesome!”

  “I know. Believe me I know.”

  She grinned. “Soooo, how are you feeling Mrs. Saunders?”

  I chuckled. “Not bad. Just tired. How’s Holden?”

  She scrunched up her face. “He’s actually doing very well. Woke up yelling about wanting to see you and throwing things. Dr. Matthews was yelling back and Aiden threatened to punch him if he didn’t calm down. Which made him madder and he tried to rip out his IV. I think they had to sedate him. He’s been asleep for a while. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that. Like at all.”

  “Yeah, he can be pretty high spirited when he wants to.”

  Her face looked confused. “Really? Because he’s always so serious most of the time. I mean, even Aiden was a little surprised to be honest. He said something about trying to break him for years, then you came along? I don’t know.”

  “Oh, speaking of which. Don’t ever let Brock near one of your phones. We’ll never be able to get away with anything, ever again in our lives if you do.”

  She grinned and leaned her hip against the mattress. “Oh, so you’ve finally met the “Dungeon Overlord” as I like to think about him. Yeah, he’s crazy scary.”

  “You have no idea!”

  I filled her in on the last couple of days up the mountain. She laughed about the pond. Shook her head when I told her about Brock, turned slightly green when I told her about the recycling bin, and cried when I told her about Holden’s proposal.

  “Well,” she sniffled, “I’m just glad that he makes you feel safe and that it’s a happy thing. I wasn’t quite sure what to think when Aiden told me about the marriage. It just seemed like it was a good fix, but not something that would necessarily be lifelong.”

  I shrugged. “Bad timing, I guess. Seems like that’s my thing lately.”

  “Well, at least there haven’t been any explosions or car crashes.”

  “Let’s try not to think about them. I think I’ve had enough surprises in my life.”

  “Okay. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen. But you and Holden seem so different,” she said.

  “You know, one thing I learned up there Liv, was that there can be a relationship between two very opposite people. Did I tell you Holden’s mom is Rosen Shaw?”

  Her eyes bugged out. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

  “No, it’s totally true.”

  She thought for a moment and shook her head. “Wow. Just wow.”

  “Yeah, was a surprise.”

  She grinned, “Speaking of surprises.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m for sure pregnant. Three months. We’re having a little boy.”

  I was stunned for a minute. Liv and I had grown apart over the last year somewhat. It was my fault. I had been dealing with so many other things that it hadn’t occurred to me that I should have been a better friend to someone who meant so much to me. If I had, then maybe I would have known sooner.

  “Wow! Congrats!” I said, genuinely happy for her.

  She rubbed her belly and looked dreamy, “It’s a good thing. I didn’t realize how happy I would be about it until we were officially told but now I’m just over the moon.”

  “So, strippers and margaritas are out for a while?”

  A deep voice asked. “What strippers?”

  I looked up and saw Aiden at the door. He was scowling at his soon-to-be wife.

  She giggled, “I just told Julia about the baby. We were joking.”

  He came into the room and wrapped his arm around her but looked at me. “Holden is going to be waking up soon. I think it might be better for everyone within hearing range if you go in and show him that you’re okay. Man went nuts earlier.”

  I nodded and inched my way off the bed.

  Aiden held up a phone. “Your phone. One of the guys got it out of the Jeep before they dropped it off at the hanger. You’re clothes and guitar are at Rose’s house. I’m going to send someone by there to pick it all up later. You have a change of clothing sitting in Holden’s room on the chair.”

  I eyed the phone and looked at Liv. “Uh huh.”

  She winked.

  I took it from him and slid it in my back pocket.

  Giving them a grin over my shoulder as I walked away I said, “Congrat
s again and feel free to make use of the now unoccupied bed.”

  I heard Aiden laughing as I shut the door.

  It was obvious which room Holden was in by the noise. It looked like a black suit and tie convention all the way down the hall and it was abnormally quiet otherwise. I heard shouting and a nurse came running out of the door where Jake was standing and smiling.

  He nodded to me when I reached him. “Miss White, I believe the nurses would probably thank you if you would go in and see your husband.”

  I frowned and pushed the door open. I noticed a remote control on the ground, along with a tissue box and a pen.

  “Holden?” I said tentatively.

  “For fucks sake! Where have you been?” he growled from his bed.

  He was laying back and hooked up to a couple of monitors. His face was pale and looked like he was in pain.

  I walked over to his side and he tried to reach for me. Stepping just out of reach I shook my head and glared at him.

  “Julia, get over here.”

  “No.”

  He gave me a crazy look. “Why?”

  “Because you’re acting like a nut. Stop terrorizing the staff, trying to hit Aiden, and stop yelling.”

  He sighed and winced as he laid his head back on the bed. “Couldn’t find you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That you didn’t leave.”

  I walked over to the side of the bed and took his hand. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re married now. I can now legally make your life a living hell.”

  He chuckled. “I feel awful. I should have been paying attention to this damn thing.”

  “Yes, you should have. We were worried. When you’re feeling better I’m going to kill you. Oh, and I had to talk to Brock about getting you down the hill by the way. He’s never allowed over to the house.”

  “Fuck, what did he do?”

  “Do you know he has a satellite pointed at the meadow? And I seriously think he might even be able to see us through our phones. He’s wicked scary.”

  Holden inched over to the other side of the bed carefully and pulled my hand down, indicating he wanted me to lay down.

  “Told you he was trouble. My dad doesn’t know, does he?”

  I laid down carefully beside him, put my head against his chest and draped my arm over his abdomen. He felt warm against me and still smelled like campfire.