Trent (Redemption Romance Book 4)

by Anna Scott

  "Do you want to make an offer on that first house?" I asked Amber as we ate dinner Thursday night. I relaxed on the calls a little, much to her relief but I had started obsessing with monitoring the security systems instead.

  Amber's head shot up, and she sat completely still for a minute, mouth open wide with obvious surprise.

  "Um, I don't know. It's a hell of a lot of money. The one we saw Friday was probably more in our price range, don't you think?"

  Shrugging, I took another bite of the linguine she made and tried to figure out how to navigate the situation.

  "I want you to have the perfect home, honey. I don't want you to settle for something that is just okay, or to pick something to live in for a while."

  "But the money, Trent. I don't have that kind of cash."

  "Amber, did your parents split the cost of their house, or did they pool their resources and buy the best thing they could for the future they wanted?" I knew the answer to that already. Amber's mom had stayed home with her, doing volunteer work, but mostly devoting her time and attention to Amber and her dad.

  "They were married. I was five when they bought that house."

  "Yeah, and if I thought you were ready, I'd have you at the church so fast your head would spin." The shocked look on her face made me chuckle. She had to know, my intentions, and what I said was absolutely true.

  "I - what?" She stammered, completely unsure of how to respond to my overly blunt statement.

  "Come on, sweets. You know I love you. You're the one for me. We're buying a home together, not a house, but our home. Let's buy the one we both love, the one that we can grow old and gray together in, okay?" To my own ears, the pleading tone to my voice was grating, but as I watched Amber's face soften, I knew she didn't mind it.

  By the end of the following week, we had negotiated for the home, we both wanted, had gotten the price I wanted, though Amber thought it was still too high and had begun the process of buying our new home. My father was still MIA, and all suspicious activity had stopped. The phone ringing on my desk drew me out of my contemplative mood, and I answered.

  "Son, you need to listen to me. It's high time I take back my rightful place in the family business."

  "Where are you, father?" I asked, moving my eyes up to meet Gavin's.

  "That's not relevant. Look, the night I was arrested, things got out of hand. I went too far. I'll admit my mistakes. That isn't a good reason for me to lose everything I worked so hard for. I am still the head of this family, and you'd do well to remember that. We all make mistakes, Trent."

  Anger boiled in my blood as I listened to the ludicrous nonsense spewing from his mouth. It was the first time he ever admitted any wrongdoing, sadly, I knew it was only to encourage my agreement. I wondered if he was so far up his own ass that he believed that shit, or if he was just insane.

  "You call abusing your wife and daughter for years was just a mistake? I think you've lost your grip on reality. You need to leave all of us alone. For whatever reason, Mom didn't go after you for anything. That means you have the proceeds from the house, your retirement, investments and any savings you had from then. You're certainly not broke."

  "It's my job, Trent. To take control as the man of this family. You need to fall in line, just like you always did. You certainly enjoyed plenty of the benefits of my position, and you will again. You'll quit that ridiculous job of yours and join me in running the corporation, just like you always should have."

  My spine straightened as the reminder of the shit I had done, the things I gave into as a young teenager. I was too young back then to be making decisions and too horny to decline the women he threw at me. Those memories made me sick now. With Amber, I found love, passion, and absolute joy, things he knew nothing about. She'd eased my troubled memories and soothed my ragged soul, Amber was everything to me.

  "No, father, I'm happy in my job, with Amber, and with my life. One I'll remind you that you have no part in, nor will you." As soon as I said her name, I regretted it. He hadn't forgotten her, I was sure. I didn't need to put her out there with him, as a pawn in his sick game.

  "Ah, yes, Amber. She is the perfect executive's wife. She comes from a good family, she's beautiful and can probably hold your attention for a couple of good years. Once your infatuation with her has faded, you'll have plenty of diversions available to entertain you. You need to keep her in hand, though, son, she seems a little - spirited. That's certainly something you can take care of with the right amount of coercion."

  My stomach rolled thinking about how fucked up my own father was. This was the man my own sweet mother had married, believing that he loved her. I could only imagine what his idea of coercion was.

  "We're done, father. Don't call me again. You stay away from all of us, do you understand me?"

  "You'll come around, it seems like you need a bit more convincing." His sneer set me on edge, worrying about what he had in mind. The sound of the dial tone ended the loving father-son conversation.

  Pulling out my phone, I texted Amber and asked her to call me as soon as she could. When she finally phoned, I gave her a watered down version of the call and stressed my concern for her safety. If my father wanted to try and sway me to his side, I knew he'd use her.

  ~~~

  As the summer waned, Labor Day weekend was upon us. Aurora and Amber decided to close the store that Sunday and Monday, giving all the girls an unheard of two days off in a row. Barring any nonsense at work, Gavin, Jake, Luke, Reed and I were off too. With everyone free of work obligations, we decided to hit the lake.

  I rented a large pontoon boat, so Hope could take Dylan. We wouldn't be able to ski, but it would be so crowded on the water over the popular weekend,so we probably wouldn't be able to anyway.

  "Hey, dumbass, back that piece of shit in," Gavin called, pointing to an open parking space near the boat docks. Flipping him off, I listened to the melodious sound of Amber's laughter from the passenger seat.

  "Here, take this one," she called, standing in the back of my lifted truck, pointing down to a huge cooler. I knew it was filled with every kind of salad and snack I could imagine and wondered just who she thought was going to eat all that shit. There were bags, boxes and coolers - yes, multiple for an afternoon on the lake.

  Getting set up, I took Amber into my arms on the deck of the boat. We were docked in a slip near the launch waiting for everyone to arrive. She just finished busting her ass all around the boat, setting up chairs, tables and everything else. I loved watching her sexy bare legs under her hot pink sundress.

  Kissing the tip of her nose, I gazed down at her, her smile beaming back up at me. "I love you, you know."

  "I love you too."

  My heart expanded with a peaceful happiness when I heard her return the sentiment. As I leaned down to take her mouth once more, I heard the raised voices and laughter of friends boarding the deck. Turning my head, I saw Gavin and Dawn lead the crowd. They were just coming back from the marina store where they were supposed to get more ice but apparently found a bunch of other shit we didn't need. They were joined by Reed, Luke, Aurora, Jake, Hope, carrying Dylan, Gavin's cousin Chelsea, Hope's friend from the shelter, though I didn't remember her name, our friend Justin, my sister Natalie, Gillian and finally, bringing up the rear was Dan Dupree, a McKinney PD officer we became close with after Nolan's death. He was instrumental in helping with Hope's situation too. Eventually, after Dan had to put up with all of our drama and shit, Gavin invited him out to our Wednesday night beer and bitchin' as Reed started calling it.

  Since I helped at the self-defense class twice a week with Gavin and Dan's partner Christina, I saw him there too when he began to come help out most weeks. The class had grown exponentially, so much so, that we had to move it to another room at the YMCA and needed the additional help. Dan was a good guy, and I noticed his eye catch on the woman Hope had invited and linger there awhile. We even changed the times of the class a little, to accommodate the girl's schedules
. We wanted Aurora, Dawn, and Amber to attend it more often. Gavin and I had decided it was good for all of them - just in case.

  Vanessa, that was it, she went to the class too. Hope had brought her before Dylan was born and she'd grown closer to the girls. I noticed that she shied away from most of the men. Christina worked with her almost exclusively, though understanding that she had been with Hope's ex, I could only imagine the shit the girl had already been through at the hands of that man. Her timidity was understandable.

  The air was hot, the sun beat down, but under the shaded boat, the water kept us cool and happy. Much food and many beers were consumed by the group. Happy chatter mingled with the standard barbs from one man to another filled the area around me. As I sat in my chair, watching Amber's delectable ass swing as she walked to the cooler to grab another water, I surveyed our friends.

  "Shut it, douche," Jake sneered at Justin, who was apparently ribbing Jake about something - par for the course with these jokers. I noticed that the slightly relaxed demeanor Vanessa had adopted over the past few hours on the water, evaporated suddenly.

  Jake sounded pissed, though he wasn't. Vanessa's eyes widened, and she visibly shrank away from the pair. Justin's shove to Jake's shoulder and then the two morons busting out in laughter at each other seemed to ease her worries some. Dan noticed the entire thing and moved to her side. Though she was reserved with the other men, it was obvious that they shared some level of close friendship.

  As soon as I heard it, I turned my head to watch the beautiful sight of Amber. She was throwing her head back in laughter. Her face was happy and relaxed. She seemed settled, so much more so than she'd been since I met her several years before. It had been like that for us in the past few weeks.

  She pulled back into her own mind for a couple of weeks after her mom's disclosure. Once we started the process of buying our new home, she relaxed and came back to me. I couldn't wait until the day we were settled in our house, and I slipped a ring onto her slim finger. The little black velvet box was hidden away in the safe at my condo, just waiting for the perfect moment.

  I thought about it a lot, how I would ask her, but I hadn't figured that out yet. I knew the question would come soon, and I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but something was holding me back. I was nervous, as I was sure any man would be. I had no doubts that Amber and I were meant to be together forever. She was my one in a million.

  Surveying the crowd of my friends, the men I considered brothers, our bond forged in Hell, my sister, my people, I too took great pleasure in the harmony of the day, a wash of contentment spread over me.

  "Didn't think we'd ever get here," Reed said quietly, holding up his bottle of beer and indicating the crowd. Without a word, I nodded, and my smile grew. He was right, we had been through some serious shit, abroad and at home. Shit, I didn't think we could make it through. Sadly, some of us hadn't.

  I allowed myself to wonder about Nolan, and what he would think of his little sister and his best friend, now married and seemingly happy.

  "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The best friend in question shouted above the din of noise. He was so loud, I thought people at the shore could have heard him.

  "Luke-" Aurora started, sounding irritated, but she was quickly cut off when Luke stalked over to her and snatched the glass bottle from her hand and held it up in front of her face.

  He wasn't normally so high strung, but now, he was radiating with anger. When Aurora rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle back, I watched with anticipatory glee as she turned the bottle around and hissed something under her breath.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see everyone was focused on them. It seemed the entire lake had gone silent. and we all leaned in, trying to hear what she said.

  "Fine, but what about caffeine," was Luke's strange replay. Aurora's finger moved lower on the bottle and pointed to something else, when Luke read it, his lips broke out into a huge grin. He was so damn happy looking, and he tried to pull her into his arms. Unfortunately for him, she put a hand to his chest and lifted an eyebrow his way.

  "I'm sorry, Rory, I should have known better than to question your immense wisdom." Though he tried to hide it, he was about to bust out laughing.

  Several of us looked around at one another, probably searching for some kind of explanation to their strange display, but my gaze caught on Vanessa. She stared at Aurora with rapt curiosity, as if she was seeing something for the first time ever. She watched Luke's reaction to his wife and how Aurora didn't take his shit. It looked like Vanessa was in awe of the situation, and I hoped for her sake that she would take this little scene to heart. That was what a relationship should look like, freedom to express yourself, to stand up for yourself. Even when Luke was an idiot, he would never hurt Aurora, not even a hair on her red head.

  Amber's eyes caught mine, they were wide, her mouth hanging open as if in shock. Amber had figured something out - I could see it on her face. When Luke's grin got even wider, and Aurora relaxed her arm, Amber's hands flew to cover her girly squeal. Luke had leaned in and kissed the side of Aurora's cheek. He whispered something, but the entire time had his hand rested possessively on Aurora's flat stomach. His gesture gave it all away - she was pregnant, and now the secret was out.

  Aurora's laughter was loud and clear as Luke picked her straight up and kissed her belly, right where their baby lay. Allowing her to slide down his body, he gripped her ass and swept a sweet kiss on her mouth before deepening it into something not fit for a crowd. Turning away, I noticed that everyone else did as well, all but Vanessa who continued to watch the love they openly displayed with a deep seeded envy.

  My eyes caught Amber's, hers glowed radiantly and held mine as she moved toward me. Pulling her down, sideways onto my lap, I joined in the fun and kissed her. Caught up in the moment, when we pulled apart, I stared deep into her eyes and absorbed the love flowing between us.

  "Marry me, sweetness." Shit, that wasn't what I'd planned to do, though, I couldn't imagine asking her any other way.

  Her smile froze on her face, stunned silent, she just stared at me. I'd obviously taken her by surprise, hell, I shocked myself.

  "What?"

  "This isn't how I planned it, but I love you with all of my heart and soul. I want to grow old with you - still holding hands, rocking on the back porch of our home. I want to make every single one of your dreams come true, to wipe away your tears when you cry and watch your face light up when you laugh at my awesome dance moves. Amber, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

  With each word, her face softened, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. With hands over her luscious mouth once more, she nodded her answer.

  "Say it, please."

  "Yes, Trent, I'll marry you." Her softly spoken words were like a soothing balm to my own tattered soul. Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I pulled her in and joined with her in the only way I could at that moment.

  "Wooohooo!" Reed shouted from the other side of the deck. Amber broke from my lips, and we both turned to look at the crazy fool. "I'm the only one left!" he announced, gave Gillian a pointed look and dove into the lake.

  From her deck chair, Hope giggled, and little Dylan let out a loud shriek. Jake shook his head, and Luke laid another hot and heavy kiss on Aurora's lips. I decided to do the same.

  It wasn't long before we were all surrounded by our friends. Natalie was up first, standing in front of me, she wrapped her small arms around both of us and held on. Congratulations were shared with Luke and Aurora, Amber and myself, everyone excited by the news of the new baby and upcoming wedding.

  Gillian looked uncomfortable with our close-knit group. The hugs and well wishes continued, but I couldn't help but notice her gaze flickering back to Reed once he was back on board.

  Even dripping wet, he went to Aurora and immediately pulled her into his arms. Whatever he whispered made her start to cry and nod. Happy tears flowed from many of the women. Back slaps, an
d good hearted insults were shared by the men. I knew that later in life, I'd look back on those moments as some of the very best in my life.

  Days later, after Amber's parents were told about our engagement and I'd placed the three karat round cut diamond solitaire onto her finger, our life went crazy.

  Amber's mom Miranda had come over with wedding magazines and some box thing she'd unearthed, full of family treasures. Just as I thought I would be able to slip away, she caught me and pulled me into the planning.

  We discovered that Aurora was due at the end of April. Amber wanted her to be the matron of honor and suggested we wait to get married until the following July, giving the new parents time to recover.

  "There's no fucking way I'm going to wait ten months to make you my wife." My absolutely reasonable statement was the beginning of our first official argument as an engaged couple. Unfortunately, her mom was there, and neither of them was on my side.

  "Trent, there's no way I can plan a wedding faster. Besides, I can't make it so close to Aurora's due date."

  Apparently, she mistook my declaration as something up for debate - she was wrong.

  "Then hire a wedding planner, or let's elope - tomorrow. I don't care, but there is no way I'm waiting that long."

  "Don't scowl at me!" Amber shouted.

  Completely confused by the entire exchange, I stood and looked at her, was I scowling? Relaxing my face, I lowered my voice and reiterated, "Honey, I want to marry you now, please don't make me wait so long." I was trying to be flattering, to get her to see my side. Unfortunately, Amber was the stubborn one and had no intention of complying.

  "Children, now settle down. Amber, you're right, we can't put a big wedding together in ten months, let alone sooner. Trent, it's sweet that you want to marry Amber so quickly, but unless there is something you're not telling me," Miranda paused in her lecture and looked pointedly at Amber's stomach.