by K. Webster
“I called the diner and interrogated Edna. Her old Honda needed new brakes.”
“That hussy traded info on me for new brakes?”
I laugh and hug her to me. “I asked her really sweetly. You know old ladies can’t resist my charm. When Raven used to work there, Edna would hook me up with free pie all the time.”
Her brows pinch together as she regards me. “Mom won’t like it, though. Granddad and Nana won’t either.” Tears pool in her eyes, making them seem more crystal blue than ever. “After the trial…after all that happened…”
“I’m not their favorite person. I get it. But they’ll have to get over it, Courtney. We’re a family now.” I rub her stomach, a sense of pride surging through me. “Fate has a fucked-up sense of humor. But the joke is on her because we’re happy. We’ll make it.”
“Okay. We leave tomorrow after Keith works the lunch shift.”
“The shop is closing for a few days for the holidays anyway. I’ll pack a bag and then take you back to your house. We won’t give them an option to say no,” I tell her firmly.
“Mom may try to kill you.”
I shrug. “She can try.”
She straightens her spine and gives me a determined look. “Mom will have to accept this.”
“Damn straight.”
“I’m no longer a sheep. I’m a wolf.”
I love the fierce glint in her eyes.
“You’ve always been a wolf, baby. You just didn’t know it yet.”
“Absolutely not,” Courtney’s mom snaps as soon as she walks into the house and sees her daughter practically sitting in my lap on the sofa.
Keith touches her shoulder and shoots me an agitated look.
“Mom,” Courtney warns. “We’ve reconciled. Everything is going to be okay now.”
I clench my teeth together. I want to say a thousand things, but now’s not the right time. My girl needs to be the one to stand up to her mom.
“He crushed you!” her mother screeches.
“Calm down, Leanna,” Keith says in a firm tone. “Hear Court out.”
Leanna scowls at me but gives her daughter a clipped nod. Courtney rises to her feet and I follow suit. Being that she’s pregnant now, I notice that she moves a lot slower. I hover behind her, afraid she might collapse. But my strong, fiery girl doesn’t waver.
“He’s the father of my babies,” Courtney murmurs. “And I love him. We went through some rough patches, but we both want to work it out. I’m going to move in with him after our trip to see Granddad and Nana.”
Leanna covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head as tears stream down her cheeks. “H-He took everything from you.”
Courtney lifts her chin and walks over to her mother. “Rome did nothing of the sort and you know it. What I did…” Her voice wobbles. “Was irresponsible and wrong. There were repercussions and consequences. Raven died because of me. His family deserved some restitution and peace of mind—it was the least I could give them. One day I’m going to pay you back, Mom.”
“I don’t care about the money,” Leanna cries out. “I care about you and my grandchildren.”
Courtney throws her arms around her mother. “I know, Mom. It’s going to be okay. I swear it. Rome and I were always meant to be together. We just didn’t know it yet. But we’re together. I’m happiest when I’m with him. He wants to work at this every bit as much as I do. I’ve been drifting for so long…this is the first time I feel as though I’m anchored.”
I walk up behind Courtney and meet Leanna’s teary gaze. “I made some mistakes. Hurting Courtney is one I’ll always regret. I love her and I want to take care of her.”
Leanna sniffles and glares at me. “You hurt her again and I’ll make your life a living hell, boy. Don’t you dare test me either.”
I feel her warning all the way down to my toes.
“I only want to make her life better,” I utter as I pull Courtney against my chest. My palms slide to her stomach and I kiss the top of her head. “She deserves to be happy.”
Leanna’s fury dissolves some and her lip wobbles. “You’re an adult, baby girl, so you’re allowed to do as you please. But it’s going to take more than a few nice words to change how I feel about the man you love. And don’t feel for one minute that you have to stay because he’s the father. If you need help, Keith and I will help you. You have options, honey.”
“Thank you, Mom. I love you. Just please, for me, give Rome a chance.”
Leanna lets out a deep sigh. “We’ll leave in a half hour. Get your stuff packed into the trunk.”
Courtney reaches out and takes her mother’s hand. “I’d like to have some time to talk to Rome. We’ll follow you and Keith. Okay?”
Resigned, Leanna nods. She looks at me and frowns. “Don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t,” I vow.
With that, she storms up the stairs.
“She’ll warm up,” Keith assures us both. I remember when he’d been Raven’s boss. She’d said nothing but nice things about him. Since he’s Courtney’s new stepdad—apparently he and her mom married while we were on our breakup—I’ll want to stay on his good side.
“Thank you, sir.”
He smirks and ruffles Courtney’s hair. “Don’t keep your mother waiting.”
“While the girls go shopping, the boys come here,” Courtney’s granddad, Fred, says as he motions around the cigar shop. “Family tradition.”
Keith laughs. “So until the two of us showed up this year for Thanksgiving, you went by yourself?”
“Damn straight,” the old man says, grinning wickedly.
I smile with the cigar between my teeth. I haven’t lit it. Probably won’t either. I’m just enjoying being a part of a family, even if some of them haven’t fully warmed to me yet. When we’d arrived on Wednesday, Leanna refused to speak to me. She even had her mother, Gloria, giving me the snub. Fred was jovial and always smiling. He didn’t treat me like an outcast. And since I’d known Keith from before because of Raven, he’s also warmed to me fairly quickly. But yesterday, as the women cooked the Thanksgiving meal, I wormed my way into Gloria’s heart when I asked if I could help. I love to cook—it was something my mom taught me how to do and ever since I’ve done it to feel closer to her. Even Leanna softened when I told them why I love it. Now, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and the boys are left to their own devices while the women shop.
“Thank you both for welcoming me,” I say as I pluck the unlit cigar from my lips. “It means a lot.”
Keith smiles at me. Gentle and kind. Nothing like my father was. Courtney’s lucky to have him as her stepdad now.
“The ladies in this family run in packs. Wolves I tell ya,” Fred grumbles. “They’ll eat your heart out and make you like it.”
I grin. “What does that make us?”
“Lovesick fools. What do you kids these days call it? Masokisser or somethin’?” Fred asks, a white eyebrow lifted in question. “I’m a masokisser and Gloria cracks the blasted whip.”
I dart an amused look Keith’s way. His face turns pink. “Masochists, Fred. And let’s just stick to lovesick fools.”
Fred mutters under his breath, seemingly agitated, but the twinkle in his blue eyes that match Courtney’s exactly tells me he’s just busting our chops.
While everyone’s smiling, I decide now is the time. I clear my throat and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m going to marry Courtney.”
Keith’s brows lift and Fred smirks.
“Well, I should say so, young man,” Fred says. “You’ve done put your babies in her. Us old folk call marriage makin’ an honest woman out of her. Go on now, you won’t find us holdin’ you back.”
Keith nods his head. “I agree. Leanna will learn to live with it.”
I rise and toss some twenties on the table to pay our drink tab. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to go shopping.”
Fred snorts and Keith shakes his head in amuse
ment.
“Rather impulsive, boy. I like you,” Fred says with a laugh as he stands. “Let’s go get that girl a ring.”
“Why her?” Leanna asks me, the bite in her voice gone. She’s resigned to the idea of her daughter and me together.
“She’s the only one I see. The only one I’ve ever seen. I love her.”
I can hear Courtney in the living room getting on to her granddad for cheating at their card game and I can’t help but smile. Leanna smiles too as she plucks the shiny ring from my hand.
“It’s beautiful,” she says softly.
“She deserves so much more than I can give her but that won’t stop me from trying.”
Leanna purses her lips together as she inspects the engagement ring. “What are your plans for your future? Is the shop it? My daughter wants to go to college. She can barely keep up her shifts at the diner because she’s carrying your children. Are you really in this for richer or poorer? Because if you’re not, let her off easy. She’s suffered a lot this past year and I want her to find happiness.” Her eyes get glassy with tears. “She wants to help people…like Raven.”
I take Leanna’s hand and clutch it. “I’ll make sure that she gets an education. If I have to quit school to take care of the babies while she goes at night, I will.”
“Oh, nonsense,” she says with a teary laugh. “Keith and I will babysit. You both need to go to school. What is it exactly you’re going for? I mean, you have the shop already. It’s always busy, so I know you’re making profits.”
I release her hand and take the ring back. “It’s probably stupid.”
She frowns. “Of all the things I’ve seen lately, whatever you’re going to school for is by far the least stupid, I can assure you.”
I laugh and my heart constricts when her eyes twinkle with amusement much like Courtney’s do. “Mechanical Engineering. I’ve…” With an embarrassed groan, I stuff the ring in my pocket and pull out my wallet. Inside, I find a folded slip of paper. A drawing. “I had an idea for a new transmission design. It will make more effective use of the engine’s torque and keep the engine operating at not only an appropriate speed, but an optimal one. Better than any design on any vehicle I’ve worked on. I want to take these ideas and convert them from paper to machine. I’ve already sent in a request for a patent on this transmission.”
Her brow lifts as she inspects the paper. “Wow, that’s um, incredibly detailed.”
I beam at her. “I’ve been working on it for over a year now. I figure in another four to six, this transmission could be something I can create and test.” Shrugging my shoulders, I take the paper back and fold it up. “Maybe it’s lame, but I know it will work. It could be the future for a lot of vehicles.”
She gives me a shy smile. “You looked just like her. Rhonda would look just like that when she was on a roll about something she loved.” Her wistful expression is a sucker punch to my gut.
“You knew my mom?”
She swallows and her blond brows crash together. “We went to high school together and were pretty good friends. But then she got mixed up with Eddie and I started dating Paul. The guys didn’t get along. We drifted apart and it wasn’t for another few years that we ran into each other again. Both of us big and pregnant—her much bigger of course because she was carrying twins. It was bittersweet. She seemed happy.”
“Was my dad always mean to her?” I choke out, overcome with sudden emotion.
She shakes her head. “Your daddy was good to her, but then I heard through the rumor mill that he’d taken to drinking. When I’d run into her at school functions, she wasn’t the girl I remember. Much sadder.” She reaches forward and grips my bicep. “But then she’d look at her twins and her entire face would light up. You two made her so happy.”
I blink away the tears that are threatening. Before I realize what’s happening, she wraps me up in a hug that feels much like the ones Mom used to give. I slump against Courtney’s mother, desperate for the motherly affection I no longer have access to. She pats my back and whispers assurances to me that strengthen my soul.
I’m going to be much better than my father.
Courtney deserves the best and I will make sure I give it to her.
Leanna pulls away and gives me an accepting smile. “You have my blessing and support, Rome. I know I’ve given you some trouble, but that’s my baby in there. I’ve watched her slowly die from the inside out. It wasn’t until she connected with you that I saw her smile again. Hope, something I thought had long since been dashed out, shone beautifully in her eyes again. I just want her to be happy. And if happiness is with Eddie and Rhonda Murray’s son, then so be it.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, my voice gruff. “I won’t disappoint you.”
“I truly believe you won’t.”
Courtney
Wife.
I’m still shocked when I think about the fact that I’m a wife now.
I stare down at my princess cut diamond ring. I’d been surprised when he proposed to me over Thanksgiving break. And further undone that Mom gave her blessing. But what really blew my mind was that he didn’t wait. When Monday rolled around, he dragged me to the courthouse and gave me his last name.
So I gave him my heart.
“You’re stalling,” I tell him playfully when his palm slips under my shirt.
“I’m just saying hi to the chipmunks.” He pushes up the material and his lips find my skin near my belly button.
“They’re napping,” I tease. “But they’re getting bigger by the day. They’re going to need a room soon. Mom and Keith said they’d come over and help us paint once we get the room ready.”
He sits up and nods, his brows furled together. “I just hate saying goodbye.”
“You’re not saying goodbye,” I assure him. “You’re just organizing her things and making room for the babies. If you’re not ready we can always do your old room—”
“I’m ready.” He rolls out of the bed and pads out of the room barefoot.
“Like right now?” I laugh and Harvey Benjamin perks up from his perch on the recliner.
“No time like the present,” Rome hollers.
I ease out of bed and motion for HB. “Come on, kid. Let’s go help your daddy.”
I’ve spent the past hour going through her desk drawers while Rome tackles the closet. When he grows quiet, I cast a glance over my shoulder. He sits on the edge of the bed with Raven’s journal in his hands.
“What is it?” I ask cautiously, knowing full well there are horrible things about him that he’s been reading.
“I found this under her mattress. She documented all of it. Just about every damn time that motherfucker would rough me up.” He turns a page. “This is hard to read and yet I can’t fucking look away.”
I stand and make my way over to him. Once I sit, I wrap an arm around him. “Let’s do it together, okay?”
He nods and we begin reading.
He’s beautiful. I can’t believe I’m crushing on him. But he says he can help—that he’ll even help for free. I’m going back tomorrow to discuss it in more detail.
I remember reading this several months ago. I’m anxious to learn more—to discover what sort of secrets it is that she wanted Rome to find based on her poem that directed him here.
Who would’ve thought that Whitney’s dad would be the one to help me? He’s so nice. When I asked him about what happens to kids in abusive situations, he didn’t sugarcoat things. They get sent to other family members or foster homes if their parents are deemed unfit. Since we only have one parent and no other family, Rome and I could be looking at being taken apart from each other. I’m scared to be away from my brother. I told Mr. McConnell this. He was concerned for Rome but especially me. Some of the things he’d asked about were horrifying and embarrassing. Of course my father doesn’t touch me. Ew. The problem with my father is that he beats on my brother. One day I’m afraid he’ll kill him. Mr. McConnell says we’ll come up with
a plan. He didn’t tell me his hourly rate. I’m afraid to ask. We’re going to meet again next week to discuss.
Rome turns the page and his hand shakes. I can’t tell if he’s upset or furious or what. The next entry is a week later.
Wow. $300 an hour! I can’t afford a lawyer. I’d nearly given up, but then Dad beat his fists on Rome’s back so many times my brother passed out. All because he didn’t like the seasoning Rome used in the meal he cooked for us. Why can’t Dad just be proud of him? Rome is smart and wants to do right by our family. It breaks my heart. The only thing I can do is try and keep Dad happy. I smile and laugh like Mom used to do to calm him. It always seems to work. I’ve even taken to pouring his drinks for him once he gets home. He doesn’t know it, but I add water to his glass to dilute the alcohol. I’m sure he’ll be angry if he ever finds out, but I don’t care. He’s not as violently drunk when I pour his drinks.
Rome turns the page and it fast forwards a few weeks.
All was well for a while, but then Dad got sick. His liver is shutting down. The drinking is bad on his liver and yet he still does it. Dad is pissed about the hospital bills. Those three days were like heaven, just Rome and me at the house. It was quiet and for once my brother was able to relax. But now Dad’s back home and being the monster we all know so well. When I kindly reminded him that he shouldn’t drink, he started screaming at me. I’ve never been so scared of my father. Rome threw a chair at him. Dad, despite being weak from his hospitalization, leveled my brother with one powerful punch to the jaw. I’ve picked up some extra shifts at the diner. I’m going to go see Mr. McConnell again.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathe and lean my head against Rome.
His voice is husky. “I’ll never be like him. I swear it.”
“You’re not a monster,” I agree.
He lets out a heavy sigh and turns the page.
Mr. McConnell held me while I cried. Promised that everything would be okay. He even said he’d take the case pro bono and to put my money away. I’ve never been so happy in my life.
