by J. H. Croix
The waitress delivered our food, and I watched as my brother tucked into his meal, eating with gusto. He was a badass cop now, but in moments like this, he still looked like my younger brother. Both of those things, the fact that he was and always would be my kid brother, and the fact he was already having such a hard time as a cop because of our father convinced me not to say anything about the money.
Sonny didn’t deserve to be put into another bad position, and telling him would definitely put him in a really, really bad position. The less he knew, the better.
"I can't leave her and Austin by themselves in Savannah. It just doesn't feel right."
"You just can't stand being away from them," he teased, but his tone was understanding. "I get it. Good luck with that."
"I'll still be here every day. I’d rather deal with the commute than leave her there on her own. Hopefully, it will all be over soon." I couldn't wait for that day, the day I would be able to bring Austin and Marie home to Cypress Creek for good. The day when Marie wouldn't have to worry for her and Austin's safety, and the custody situation would be resolved once and for all.
"Tyson's on it, so is Savannah. You really couldn't ask for a better team, so I'm sure you'll be back in no time." He finished off his lunch, drained the last of his soda and slapped some bills onto the table, standing before I'd swallowed my last bite. "Sorry I have to run like this, but I did warn you this would have to be a quick one."
"That you did. Go serve and protect, or whatever it is you do with your days, I'll see you soon."
With a cheeky grin on his face, he winked and started turning away from me saying, "Wouldn't you just love to know what I do with my days?"
"Don't care," I called after him. He'd mentioned to me on a few occasions that he planned on proving our father's innocence. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was what he worked on in what little spare time he had. While both Tyson and I had told him not to waste his time, that our father was guilty as sin, I didn't think Sonny had given up.
Since he didn't seem inclined to listen to us, I'd been meaning to talk to Beau and Evan about it, but it never seemed like the right time. I knew the time for that conversation would be soon, but it wasn't urgent.
It had taken long enough for our father to get caught up in the mess he’d created for himself and even longer for the case to wind its way through the legal system. I highly doubted anything Sonny hoped to do would happen quickly. I was smack in the middle of learning firsthand how slowly the wheels of justice turned.
My only worry was the effect on Sonny. I didn’t like seeing how much our father’s guilt pained him. It wasn’t as if it didn’t hurt all of us, but he took it hard, almost personally. I wished he could let it go and move on. With a mental shake, I let go of those worries. Sonny was his own man, and there was only so much I could do.
Arcadian and I drove to Savannah later that afternoon. My father had told me about a bank which, as luck would have it, was in Savannah. Apparently, there was a secured safe-deposit box at this bank where the money was stored.
I went straight there, noting that it didn't look like anything special. It was just another generic branch of just another bank, no James Bond-type villains were in sight, no secret keypads, or account numbers, or rooms that required ancient keys.
I supposed that was the beauty of it. He'd hidden the money in plain sight, nothing sinister about it.
An ordinary looking man around my age led me to the safe-deposit boxes, seeming rather bored with his day. If he could tell I was feeling nervous about collecting this money, he didn't show it.
Recalling my father's warning about not stuffing the money down my pants, I'd worn a jacket into the bank and took only as much as I thought I would need immediately before leaving. The money fit easily into the inside pockets of my jacket and catching my reflection in the bank's windows, nothing looked amiss.
Confident I'd managed to pull off going to the bank without arousing any interest or suspicion, I still eyed my surroundings carefully on my way back to my truck. The parking lot at the strip mall looked much the same to me as any other parking lot at any other strip mall—as ordinary and nondescript as could be. Yet, my father’s warning was clear in my mind. Well aware someone might have been watching me, I kept my eyes peeled on the way out.
Every so often I considered what a cluster fuck my father had created. We’d been an upstanding family with plenty of money. Our father had been head over heels in love with our mother, and all in all, we’d had a good childhood. Oh, it wasn’t perfect, but then I didn’t believe there was such a thing as perfect. Yet, after our mother passed away, my father’s small town political ambitions as mayor grew. With us boys grown up, he had nothing to tether him to home anymore, and our mother wasn’t there to keep him grounded. Before we knew it, he was a state senator and flying high.
The news reports started to trickle in, and at first I hadn’t believed my father would even consider what the papers were printing. Taking bribes as a politician? Hell no. I had a pretty active imagination, but even I would never have imagined being caught up in something like this. Well, I’d turned out to be flat wrong as Tyson had the bad luck to prove when he followed the trail that led straight to our father.
I was just about to climb into my truck when a dark green SUV parked a couple of rows ahead of me caught my eye. Two men were in the vehicle, neither of them making a move to get out. They were potentially suspicious, but I carried on.
Shaking off the paranoia my father had induced that someone would be watching me, I thought ahead to what the afternoon still held for me instead. I hadn't told Marie about my plan to move here short-term because I didn't want her to tell me no, but now that I was here I was feeling slightly foolish and not quite knowing what to expect from her.
Whatever. I was here now. I'd come this far, no point in starting to doubt myself now.
Chapter Twelve
Marie
The sun dipped low and disappeared behind the house across from our kitchen window, signaling the end of yet another crappy day where up felt like down and down like up. The sky was streaked with the sun’s last burst of color—orange and red fading into the darkening sky. The darkness matched my gloomy mood.
It felt as if every crumb of happiness I had could be swept away from me at any time. In a way, it was true. If Austin got taken away from me… I’d be devastated. I didn't have the first idea what I would do.
The very thought of losing him was eating at me every second of every day, robbing me of sleep and making me feel constantly weary and nauseous. The result was a ravishing new set of black bags beneath my eyes and unintentional weight loss.
Tired and stressed, I struggled to get Wesley’s visit and recent threats to Jeremy out of my mind. Since I hadn't heard from Jeremy all day, worry was spinning in circles in my thoughts.
A knock at our door startled me. The plate I was busy washing sloshed into the sink with a dull thud as it hit the bottom. I froze, my body momentarily refusing to cooperate.
Wesley's back. That was the only explanation. We had no friends here, the landlords called or texted me only when they absolutely had to discuss something. Even the mailman never came all the way to our door.
Idly, I wondered whether there was any point in pretending that we weren't home, but I knew there wasn't. If Wesley was here, he already knew we were too. Another knock sounded and I jumped. That was the effect one run in with Wesley had on me—he kept my nerves on edge, leaving me jumpy and anxious.
Austin looked up at me from where he was sitting at our kitchen counter, paging through a book. We'd finished dinner a little early, and there were still a few minutes before his show started.
I decided to ignore the knocking. Wesley might know we were home, but I didn't have to talk to him. Restraining order and all.
But then Austin looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Someone's knocking, Mommy."
"I know, honey." I brushed the hair away from my face with t
he backs of my soapy hands and tried to figure out what to tell him. "It's okay, it must just be someone dropping something off for us."
A third knock came at the end of my sentence, a little louder this time. My eyes fell closed as I rolled my head back and bit into my lip. I was going to have to deal with Wesley. He wasn't going to go away like I’d hoped he would.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I decided to make the best of it. If he was going to insist on coming here when he was fully aware that he was legally restrained from doing so, I was finally going to get that evidence that Savannah needed. I’d been nervous to record him before, but screw it. It would be worth it if it Savannah could use it all, for anything. It was only when I swiped my screen opened that I realized there was a text message from Jeremy. I hadn’t even checked my phone in hours.
Hey, babe, haven’t heard back since I left a message. I’m headed your way tonight. Be there soon. Didn’t want to startle you. See you soon.
My heart, which had been thudding with anxiety and fear, flew skyward inside. Relief washed over me with joy hot on its heels. Hurrying to the door, I swung it open to find Jeremy on the other side. For a few beats, all I did was stand there.
"I take it you didn’t get my message?” he asked, his lips quirking with a smile.
Hearing his voice snapped me from my daze, and I threw my arms around him. "I just saw your text now! What are you doing here?”
"I was in the neighborhood,” he answered. "Thought I'd drop by."
Tightening my arms around him, I breathed in his comforting, familiar scent and relished the feel of being held in his arms. Even if only for a moment. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath as he buried his face in my hair. Emotion tightened in my chest.
Belatedly remembering we had an audience with Austin there, I stepped away from him—that small separation was hard, a visceral pang in my chest. I searched Jeremy’s eyes for answers as I stepped back, questions bouncing around in my mind, none of which I should’ve asked in front of Austin.
"Come on in," I told him, surprised to notice Arcadian standing beside him. I muttered quietly, "In the neighborhood, my ass."
Jeremy chuckled and followed me into the apartment, greeting Austin with a high five. "Hey there, bud. Miss me?"
"Jeremy!" Austin exclaimed, ecstatic to see him. He dropped to his knees when he saw Arcadian and scrunched his face in both hands. "You brought Arcadian."
"Yeah. I told you he missed you. Thought I should bring him over."
The theme music to Austin's show started playing on the TV, but for the first time since he'd started watching it, he ignored it and kept fussing over Arcadian instead. Jeremy edged closer to my side, lacing our fingers together at the small of my back.
"Have you had dinner yet?" I asked him. Though I'd had a few bites to eat with Austin, I hadn't been able to force much down. My appetite seemed to have arrived with Jeremy and my stomach grumbled.
"Not yet." He squeezed my hand and looked down at Austin and Arcadian. "Let's get something to eat. Looks like they’re going to be a while."
Austin and Arcadian were both lying on the carpet, the dog stretched out on his back as Austin rubbed his tummy and cooed to him, show still forgotten. "I think you might be right."
We ducked into the kitchen, and I heated up some leftovers for us both. Having dinner while watching Austin and Arcadian play and run around, we couldn't talk much about why he was here. I told him about my day and listened while he described how Sarah’s salon looked now that the renovations were complete.
In my mind's eye, I could just see how beautiful the place must be and felt a pang over not being there for the completion. The regret and sadness didn't linger, however. Not with Jeremy here with me.
Sharing such a rare and precious slice of domesticity with Jeremy, I found my mind didn’t linger on the reasons why I wasn’t at the salon. Rather, I absorbed how good it felt to have him here.
Austin eventually went to bed once Arcadian fell asleep by Jeremy's feet, and I went to tuck him in. When I returned to the kitchen, Jeremy had poured us each a glass of wine and was spinning the stem of his wineglass between his fingers, staring at the dark red liquid contemplatively.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder as I took my seat next to his.
Shaking his head, he dipped his forehead to mine and took my hand in his. "I'd rather hear yours."
"Okay,” I started. “I'm really happy you're here and I don't want you to doubt that, but what exactly are you doing here?"
Jeremy drew his head back a few inches, hazel eyes serious as they bore into mine. "I'm planning on staying in Savannah until the court case is over."
"You what?" The words were out before I could stop them. He couldn't have said what I thought he did. There was no way.
"Would that be okay with you? If I stayed?” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Relief and excitement coursed through me, both emotions so strong that I felt dizzy. "Marie? If it's not okay with you, you can tell me."
His voice was so tender and sincere, I nearly broke down in tears. The storm of emotions raging in me threatened to overwhelm me. Given how crappy my day had been and with my nerves worn thin, I was beyond myself to consider Jeremy might be here to stay. "Of course it is. Of course. Are you sure? I mean… What about the company? And work? And your brothers?"
Taking my hands in his, he leaned his forehead against mine again and dropped a kiss on the tip of my nose. "I've thought about all that. For the time being, I can commute between here and Cypress Creek. It's only a forty-five minute drive if I time it properly to deal with the traffic. As for my brothers, they know I'm here and they support me. Besides, we'll be back in Cypress Creek soon enough."
Tears welled in my eyes, and I brought my hands up to his face. He wore it much better than I did, but I saw the tiredness in his eyes and knew that he was having as tough a time as I was. I wanted to bring him the same peace that he'd brought to me. "There are no words to thank you for this, but thank you."
"You sure you don't mind that I didn't talk to you about it before I drove out here?"
"I always want you to be honest with me, but this is a surprise of the best kind."
“Agreed.” Jeremy smiled and dipped his head, bringing his mouth to mine for a slow, burning kiss. Inside of a hot second, fire was licking through my veins and I wanted to drag him to my bedroom.
Thinking of my bedroom reminded me there was one more rather pressing question I needed to ask him. "Where will you stay?"
His lips brushed against mine as he spoke, his hands on my hips and drawing me closer to him. "I want to stay here with you, but I think it's probably best if we wait for that. For Austin’s sake."
A confusing mix of disappointment and relief flooded me. It wasn't that I didn't want him living with us. It would be heaven having him here with me every morning and every night, but the timing couldn't be worse. "I wish you could."
"Me too,” he whispered, lowering his head to trail kisses down my neck and tease along the tender skin behind my ear. "But not now. Not like this. Maybe someday soon."
Someday soon, I liked the sound of that. Jeremy didn't give me time to question his statement before his lips made their way back to mine. His tongue swept in as he kissed me deeply, erasing any doubts dancing through my thoughts.
Our tongues stroked and tangled, our breathing becoming labored. My hands inched up the strong muscles in his back, feeling them ripple beneath my touch through his shirt. Jeremy gripped my hips, his hands moving down to my thighs. He lifted me from my stool onto his lap, his hard chest against mine.
Our kiss became hungry, more frenzied. I tugged at the buttons on his shirt while his hand dipped beneath the hem of mine. His fingers traveled up my sides and his thumbs skimmed the underside of my bra, sending shivers of pleasure through me.
He made a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl when I gasped at the delicious feel of his hands on
me.
"Mommy!" Austin's voice called from down the hall, breaking us apart. We both froze for a second, breathing hard. Jeremy's hair stuck up wildly in all directions from my hands in it and his lips were red, slightly swollen. He was so incredibly sexy.
"I should go,” he murmured against my lips, looking as disappointed as I felt. We might have agreed that his leaving was for the best, but that didn't make it any easier right now.
"I should go check on Austin," I said, missing the heat of Jeremy’s body as soon as I pulled away from him. "Would you like to come by for breakfast?"
"Absolutely,” he answered, running his hands over his hair to smooth it out. With a last, chaste kiss he called for Arcadian. I heard the front door click closed behind them as I walked into Austin's room.
Crazy as it was, I missed him already. Someday soon couldn't come soon enough.
Chapter Thirteen
Jeremy
"I'm having syrup with my pancakes," Austin announced when he opened the front door to me the next morning.
A grin stretched as I glanced over. Austin looked happy and relaxed, so excited to tell me about breakfast. It tugged at my heartstrings and reaffirmed my belief I'd done the right thing by coming here. "I love syrup, think I could have some too?"
Austin nodded enthusiastically and led me to the kitchen, pushing the syrup across the counter to where Marie had already dished up a stack of pancakes for me. Reaching for her hand under the counter as I sat down, I interlaced our fingers and used my free hand to fix my pancakes.
Marie smiled softly, a faint blush on her cheeks whenever I caught her eye. Damn. I had to force myself to look away. Just watching her flush and stare dreamily ahead had me wondering how I could sneak her into the bedroom. I ran through a few accounting numbers from one of our projects, anything to nudge my mind onto another track, and focused on the food.
"Are you coming over for dinner again?" Austin asked, adding another layer of distraction to keep my mind out of the gutter.
