by Marie Force
She spun around, and fear was the first thing he saw on her face. Fear morphed into relief when she saw him there.
“Something smells good,” he said, choosing to ignore the fear. There was no need to question it when he certainly understood the reason for it.
“I made tofu with veggies and toast.”
“Sounds good to me.” He refilled his coffee mug and leaned against the counter to watch her finish cooking.
“You’re staring,” she said, her face flushing with embarrassment.
“You’re beautiful. Before, I had to resist the urge to stare when I wasn’t allowed to, but now that I am, there’s probably going to be a lot of staring.”
Her lips quivered with amusement that made her eyes light up with joy.
Wade liked that look on her. He liked it a lot and wanted to see as much of it as possible. Tearing his gaze off her, he got out plates and silverware. They sat together at his small kitchen table, and a feeling of profound rightness came over him as he sat across from her. His parents had always told him to trust his gut, and his gut and every other part of him was screaming out in favor of starting every day like this. Just like this.
“My shirt looks good on you.”
“I hope you don’t mind. Mine was still damp…”
“I don’t mind. In fact, I’d love to see you in only my shirt. Someday.” As soon as he said the words, he hoped he hadn’t gone too far.
The sweet flush of heat in her cheeks made him want to drag her into his arms so he could devour her. But he couldn’t do that. Not yet anyway. Despite the hot kisses they’d shared last night, despite sleeping together in his bed, he understood that he would have to proceed with caution. The last thing he wanted was to scare her or ask for more than she was ready to give. They had all the time in the world to get comfortable with each other.
After they ate, they cleaned up the kitchen together. Wade called his brother-in-law, Nolan, and asked him to see about retrieving Mia’s car from the snowbank on the outskirts of town. With her help, he described the make and model of the car and roughly where it was. Nolan promised to go after it as soon as the roads were clear.
“You can just bring it to my place if you would.”
“Sure,” Nolan said. “Will do.”
“Thanks again.” Wade ended the call and turned to Mia. “You ready to go to town?”
She nodded. “Could I borrow your shower first?”
“Of course. There’re towels in the closet, and you can use anything you need in there.”
“Thank you. I’ll be quick.”
“Take your time. We’re not in any rush.” He was in a huge rush, but she didn’t need to know that. Underneath the euphoria of being with her and sharing his home with her was the fear of her violent ex showing up. The odds of that were slim, since Brody didn’t know that Wade existed, at least as far as they knew. But he wasn’t taking any chances when it came to her safety.
While she was in the bathroom, he used the phone in the kitchen to call his parents. His mom, Molly, answered.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Morning, honey. Can you believe this snow? Dad said we got two feet!”
“I know. I just spent an hour plowing.” He eyed the closed door to the bathroom. “So Mom… I’ve got some news I wanted to share with you and Dad.”
“What kind of news?” she asked warily, as only the mother of ten grown children could. She’d seen and heard it all—well, almost everything…
“It seems I’m getting married.”
“What? Married? To who?”
“I’m going to bring Mia by to meet you, and we’re going to be married right away.”
“Wade Michael Abbott, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Mom, listen to me.” He kept his voice down. “I’m asking for your support, not your permission. And I need you to please proceed carefully when you meet Mia. This is what I want. She is what I want. I’ve wanted her for a long time, and… I just need you to be supportive.”
“You’re asking a lot of me—and your father—when you tell me you’re planning to marry a woman we’ve never met or even heard you speak of.”
“Hannah and Ella know about her. Gramps does, too.”
“I don’t know what to say to this, Wade. When you get here, we’ll talk more.”
“Mom, please, when you meet her… Please don’t say or do anything that can’t be undone.”
“Give me a little credit, will you? I’m not going to run her off, but you have to understand that we have questions.”
“It’s a somewhat delicate situation. She’s injured and… Well, that’s all I can say for now. I’ll explain the rest when I can, but don’t say anything about her bruises.”
“Wade… What’s really going on?”
The bathroom door opened. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Wade—”
He set the phone down on the cradle. “Ready?” he asked Mia.
She nodded. “Were you talking to someone?”
“My mom.”
“Oh. Did you tell her?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“It was fine. Nothing to worry about.” He only hoped that would be the case.
Molly Abbott heard the phone go dead and, in a state of total shock, turned to her husband, Lincoln, who’d been perusing the morning paper until the phone rang.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Wade said…” Molly shook her head. In nearly forty years of raising children, she’d seen and heard just about everything. But this…
“What did Wade say?”
“Apparently, he’s getting married.”
Linc stared at her. “He’s getting what?”
“Married.”
“Wade Abbott is getting married.”
“That’s what I said.”
“To who?”
“He said her name is Mia.”
“Ohhhhhh,” Linc said, his eyes going wide. “Oh my God.”
“What do you know?” Molly asked, hands on her hips.
“Something your dad mentioned a while back…”
“How does he know about this and I don’t? And you…” Her eyes narrowed. “Have you been keeping this from me?”
Linc held his hands up in self-defense. “No, no, nothing like that. Your dad rode with Wade to Burlington for Thanksgiving.”
“That was three months ago! And you’re just telling me this now?”
“Molly, honey, listen to me. Wade mentioned to your dad that he had met a woman named Mia who was apparently involved with someone else. Wade became friendly with her at a yoga retreat, but he told Elmer he hadn’t seen her in a while. I’ve never heard a word about him seeing her since then.”
Crossing her arms, she took a deep breath and eyed her husband. After forty years of marriage, she knew when he was keeping something from her. “What else?”
“That’s it. That’s all I know.”
“You’ve never lied to me before, Lincoln Abbott. Don’t you dare start now.”
He sighed and seemed to slump in his chair. “Elmer did some digging, and he figured out that the woman Wade was interested in was associated with that Brody Dennison, who was—”
“The heroin kingpin?”
“Yeah.”
“And you knew our Wade was involved with her and never said anything to me?”
“I knew Wade met her. As far as I knew, his ‘involvement’ with her was all about yearning, and that’s it. I’ve never heard otherwise until now.”
“He can’t marry her.”
“Yes, he actually can.”
“You can’t honestly tell me you support this.”
Lincoln stood and went around the table to where she stood. “He’s thirty-one years old, Mol. The days of us telling any of them what to do are long past. And this is Wade we’re talking about, the most reasonable, deliberate one of the bunch. There’s no way he’d be planning to m
arry her if he didn’t honestly want to.”
“Who’s getting married?” Max asked as he appeared in the kitchen carrying his son, Caden.
Molly reached for the baby, welcoming the distraction. “Wade called to say he’s getting married.”
Max’s eyes bugged. “To who?”
Everyone had the same question.
“A woman named Mia, who he’s bringing here to meet us. He mentioned she has bruises, and we’re not to say anything about them.”
“He’s marrying someone none of us have ever met?” Max asked.
“That’s what he said.”
“Wow. And I thought my life was screwed up.”
“Your life is hardly screwed up.” Molly gazed at the grandson who’d brought them so much joy. At three months old, he was the picture of Max as a baby.
“Listen,” Lincoln said, “before they get here… We need to proceed with caution if he’s dead set on marrying this woman. Anything we say and do in the next hour will set the tone for our entire relationship with her—and possibly him, too.”
Molly knew he was right. She had preached a similar approach to other issues that had confronted them and their children over the years. But if this woman was going to put her son in danger, Molly wouldn’t stand silently by and let that happen.
“Molly?”
“I know.” Snuggling Caden was far better than worrying about Wade and what he was getting himself into. She passed an hour entertaining the baby while Max and Linc dug them out. George and Ringo were out there, too, chasing each other around in the snow. She took Caden to the mudroom to look out at the yard. “There’s Daddy.” When she said the word Daddy, Caden got excited. “He’ll be in soon.”
With every minute that passed while Molly waited for Wade to arrive, her anxiety seemed to multiply. She had a bad feeling about this news of his. A very bad feeling, and as the mother to ten kids, she’d learned to trust her instincts.
Chapter 5
“If my son is happy, then I am happy.”
—Chris Paul
Molly was still in the window with the baby when Wade’s truck made the turn into the driveway. George and Ringo barked and circled the truck, excited to greet him. Wade always paid a lot of attention to them and usually brought treats, so the dogs recognized his truck. He got out and pet the dogs before going around to help a woman from the passenger side.
Mia.
She was so bundled up that Molly couldn’t see much beyond the blonde hair that peeked out from under her hat. “Let’s go heat up some milk,” she said to Caden. “They’re going to want hot chocolate.”
Having something to do helped to pass the ten minutes it took for the others to come into the house, bringing a rush of cold air with them.
The first thing she noticed when Wade brought Mia into the kitchen were the bruises on her face. Remembering Wade’s warning about not mentioning them, Molly bit back a gasp. Someone had beaten the hell out of her. Had it been the drug dealer? Her stomach turned at the thought of her son being caught up in such a thing.
“Mom and Caden, this is Mia,” Wade said. “Mia, my mom, Molly, and my nephew, Caden.”
With Caden on her left hip, Molly extended her right hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise. Wade speaks so fondly of you all.”
“That’s nice to hear. Could I interest you in some hot chocolate or coffee?”
“Hot chocolate sounds great. Thank you.”
“Got any soy milk?” Wade asked. “That’s what Mia likes, too.”
“Always.” She handed him the baby and got busy filling mugs and stirring in the soy milk she kept on hand for her son the vegan. He looked… happy. She couldn’t deny that. And Mia… God, the bruises were awful, and the thought of someone doing that to her or anyone made Molly sick.
“He’s such a cutie,” Mia said of the baby, who offered a gummy smile to the newcomer.
“This guy has never met a stranger,” Wade said, gazing proudly at his nephew. “He takes to everyone he meets.”
When Mia offered her finger, Caden wrapped his chubby fist around it. Her eyes softened with emotion. “He’s so sweet.”
Molly was thankful to the baby for providing an icebreaker. As she placed mugs of hot chocolate on the table in front of Mia and Wade and went back for a plate of cookies, she heard Linc and Max come into the mudroom, stomping the snow off their boots. “Help yourselves to hot chocolate,” she said to them.
They brought their mugs to the table. Max immediately reached for his son, who let out a happy squeal at the sight of his father.
“Gotta say I’m getting sick of snow,” Linc declared, helping himself to one of the cookies and then offering the plate to Mia.
She took one and placed it on a napkin. “Thank you.”
“I know you’re all wondering what’s going on,” Wade said.
Mia put her hand on top of his. “Would it be okay if I explain it?” she asked him.
“If you want to.”
“I’d like to try.”
He gestured for her to go ahead.
“Wade and I met at a yoga retreat almost two years ago. We struck up an immediate friendship that we continued over the next few months by meeting for coffee and talking on the phone. We were friends. Just friends. But I liked him. A lot. I don’t have to tell you what a great guy he is, and he was a good friend to me at a time when I really needed one.”
Wade squeezed her hand, and she offered a tremulous smile.
The connection between them was obvious and seemed sincere. At least Molly hoped it was sincere.
“For the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to extricate myself from a very difficult domestic situation. The first time Brody beat me was the first time I tried to leave him. I calmly told him our relationship was over and I was planning to move in with a friend. He just as calmly told me that if I moved so much as a pair of underwear out of our house, he would kill me—and my friend. Just to make sure I knew he meant it, he beat the crap out of me and made it so I couldn’t leave the house for two weeks. I lost my job because I was out for so long, which only made me more dependent on him.” She wiped a tear and winced when her hand brushed against the bruises on her face.
Molly glanced at her husband, who had a ferocious expression on his face as he waited for Mia to continue. They despised bullies and men who beat on women because they could.
“I tried to leave again a few months later. I’d gotten another job in a store, and one of my coworkers volunteered at a shelter for women who were escaping abusive relationships. I found out later that she’d suspected someone was hurting me and asked me to help at one of their events. Afterward, she asked me to stick around to speak to the director, who offered to help me if I needed it. I had decided to take their help when my coworker landed in the hospital after an ‘accident’ and the home of the shelter director burned to the ground. Suddenly, neither of them would take my phone calls, so I’m sure there were other threats made against them.”
With every word she said, Molly became more appalled for what Mia had endured and more frightened for her son. What would this man who would beat up women and burn someone’s house do when he found out Wade was married to Mia? The list of possibilities terrified her.
Wade moved his chair closer to Mia’s and put his arm around her. “We don’t have to do this now if it’s too much.”
“No, we do have to. It’s not fair to expect your family to understand if they don’t know why.” She took the tissue Molly offered her and wiped her eyes and nose. “The best day of my life was when Brody got arrested. I thought maybe then I could finally get free of him. But before I could make a plan, he was released on bail and was back home plotting his way out of the charges. I’ve seen and heard things that could be incriminating to him. I’ve seen him with other people who’ve been arrested. I’ve been to the building they used as their headquarters, although I’ve never been inside. I know where it is. He came up with the big idea t
o marry me so I couldn’t be forced to testify against him and began pressuring me relentlessly go to along with the plan.”
“Jesus,” Linc muttered.
Gesturing to the bruises on her pretty face, she said, “This is what happened when I said no. That was the first time he left me unconscious. When I came to, he had left for a mandatory court appearance, so I ran. I got in the car with the clothes on my back and came to Butler, to the only friend I had left. I… I thought if I was married to someone else, Brody would have no choice but to let me go.”
“I want to be clear,” Wade said. “I’m doing this for one reason and one reason only—because I want to. Not because of the legal case or to get her free of him, but because, from the moment I met Mia, I’ve wanted to be with her, and now…” He gazed at her. “I’m going to marry her as soon as possible. Today, if we can make it happen.”
“And then what?” Linc asked.
“What do you mean?” Wade replied.
“What happens after you say ‘I do’ and he finds out she’s married someone else?”
“I’m going to get Gray involved with the legal end of things,” Wade said. “He can file for a restraining order and advise us on other things we can do to keep Mia safe until after the trial, when we hope he’ll be sent away for a long time.”
“If you report the fact that he beat you,” Linc said, “they’re apt to revoke his bail.”
“You wouldn’t have to get married if they put him in jail,” Molly added.
“What if they don’t?” Mia asked. “Brody… He… He isolated me. My mother, the only real family I have, lives in New Mexico with her third husband, and I’ve lost touch with the friends I had before I met him. His efforts to control me started slowly. Over time, my friends stopped calling, and the only new friend I made in years is Wade. I stopped contacting him after a while because I was afraid Brody would find out and think it was something it wasn’t. I… I didn’t want him to cause trouble for Wade.”
