by L A Cotton
Anthony Weston shocked us all—he laughed. It wasn’t belly busting or even a proper hearty laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless.
Blake moved behind me, and his hands came down on my shoulders. It was the first time I’d said the words, and I was saying them in front of his family. But it felt right. I wanted them to know that I was standing by him no matter what. I loved Blake long before he fell in his life with the Weston’s, and I would still love him even if his uncle decided to cut him off.
“We should probably get going.”
“So soon?” Miranda said.
“If we’re welcome, we’ll visit again soon.”
We will?
“You and Penny are always welcome. You know that, Blake. Right, Ant?” Miranda jabbed her husband in the ribs, and he spluttered. “Yes, yes. Was that really necessary?”
Miranda launched into giving her husband a verbal beating. Blake leaned down and whispered into my hair, “Ready to get out of here?”
I nodded my cheek brushing his. Yes, leaving seemed like the perfect plan.
Miranda and Anthony were still engaged in a war of words when we left the Weston house and made our way back to Blake’s Prius. As soon as we climbed in the car, Blake’s hands were on me, pulling me closer as his tongue dived into my mouth and swirled with my own.
As Blake’s lips moved against my own, I still had questions. There were still things that I needed to know, to understand, but this—the kiss—was everything. It was a dedication to our past, an acknowledgment of our present, and a promise to our future.
Our future.
When I was a teenager, I laid out in No Man’s Land under the sky and fell in love with a messy-haired boy wearing ripped jeans and unlaced chucks.
Seven years later, things were different. We were different.
But one thing had survived our story—the thing that defined it.
Our love.
Age 24
“How are you feeling?” I glanced over at Penny from my seat and smiled.
“Okay, I think. I mean, it’s all happening fast, and I’m a little scared about going there again, especially in court. But it’s time he was brought to justice.” Penny turned her head and pressed it to the cool glass as my stomach knotted.
So much had happened in seven months. Penny and I had moved in together. A nice little apartment in Grandview Heights. Of course, Uncle Anthony wasn’t pleased about it, but I wasn’t going to let him dictate everything in my life, including where we lived. If he wanted to keep me in his life, he had to accept that I wanted to live by my own rules.
Part of me was pissed that it had taken revealing the true extent of what we suffered at the hands of Derek and Marie to make him understand why our relationship wasn’t just the first love crush he took it for, but I couldn’t knock everything he’d done since.
“Why?” I waited until my aunt’s and Penny’s voices were far enough away. I didn’t want Penny to hear any of this conversation. This was between the man standing in front of me and me.
My Uncle resumed his spot by the window looking out over the yard. “You’re engaged, Blake. The wedding is planned. Brittany lov-”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare use her feelings for me as an excuse for the stunt you pulled,” I snapped and started pacing back and forth. “Love has no place in business arrangements, isn’t that what you’ve been telling me for the last four years? Love is a fool’s game?”
“Blak-” Anthony turned to face me, but I cut him dead. “No. I am done listening to you. I have sacrificed my soul to keep you happy. Played my role as dutiful nephew for too long. I told you I didn’t want to marry Brittany. I told you I didn’t love her. You promised me she knew it was a business arrangement. Was that all a lie too? Were you secretly hoping I would finally fall in love with her? She threatened Penny. Twice. Did you know that? Did you put her up to that?” I stared at the man who had searched for my mother most of my life. He had never stopped looking for his sister, and I didn’t doubt that in a different time, love had guided Anthony Weston. Family. But losing Mom to a criminal like Jason Bellmont had changed him.
It was ironic, really, that although Mom ran away to be with my dad, she had, in some ways, clung to her past. To her family. It was the reason I had my uncle’s name, and not my fathers. I think it was her attempt at giving me a chance in life; hoping that, one day, Anthony might find us. Me.
Or, at least, that was what I told myself when I agreed to start dating Brittany.
Uncle Anthony moved toward me, his tailored suit hugged his frame. “What is it about the Wilson girl, Blake? You were just children.”
He wanted to understand? Now? After everything?
I dropped my head and thrust a hand into my hair, dragging it over my scalp, frustration boiling under the surface. “You wouldn’t understand what Penny and I have.”
“Explain it to me. Miss Wil- Penny, she said some things when I visited her.”
My head whipped up. “What things?”
“You never talked much about what it was like in the Freeman house.”
“You never asked.” I moved over to one of the chairs and my uncle took the seat opposite me. He inhaled deeply as if undecided about what to say next. The three words that rolled off his tongue were not the ones I ever expected to hear.
“I’m asking now.”
The words were on the tip of my tongue. It wasn’t my story to tell, but I was desperate for him to understand how deeply Penny’s life was entwined with mine. Maybe if we’d spoke up sooner—when we were just kids—we wouldn’t be here now. Maybe things would have been different.
Before I could stop myself, I rushed out, “Derek was a sick bastard.”
Something flashed in my uncle’s eyes, and he loosened his tie. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. That sick fuck had a thing for young girls. Penny, in particular.”
The color drained from Anthony’s face. A man who rarely lost his cool looked ready to hurl onto the floor. “Did he- did he...” The words almost choked him. I’d felt the same when Penny had revealed to me what Derek tried to do to her.
“Rape her?” I said. “No, but he tried. He abused her. Abused his position. They neglected us, hated us. You were right.” I looked him straight in the eye. “You did save me. You saved me from hell, but you also left the only person I’d ever cared about in there.”
“I-” he stuttered. “Blake, I didn’t know. You didn’t say anything.”
“I tried, but you didn’t hear me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be in foster care? A strange home with strange adults and strange kids? That was my life for four years before Penny arrived at the Freeman’s. And then things were better. She was a ray of light in the darkness.” I stopped overcome with emotion.
Uncle Anthony had a point. I hadn’t opened up since he took me away from Lancaster. I rebelled at first, sure, but after the fake card from Penny, I stopped fighting. If she had set me free, what else did I have left to fight for? I became compliant. Weak. And I had to carry that with me for the rest of my life. But I wasn’t about to make the same mistakes twice.
“I love Penny. I have always loved Penny, and I will not lose her again. Even if it means walking away. I left her once, but it will never happen again.”
Anthony rose from his chair and moved back to the window as if the view held the answers to the universe. I knew that look etched on his face. He was considering my argument, weighing up all sides of the case preparing to give his verdict. Only this time, it made little difference to me. I finally knew where my home was—and she was sitting down the hallway in the kitchen with my aunt.
“This is your final decision?” his strained voice asked.
“There was never a decision to make. Not this time,” I replied.
My uncle turned to me and smiled sadly. It changed his whole face, and for the first time, I felt sure I was seeing a glimpse of the man my aunt talked of so fondly. “You have my blessing. I will handle
Brittany. We have lots to discuss, but that can wait, for now.”
Just like that, it was back to business, and I knew my uncle was referring to my revelations about Derek Freeman.
“Thank you,” I said rising, the burdens I’d carried for the last four years melting away. “In a strange way, I understand why you did it. You were trying to protect me. Protect your family. I get it, I do. But I’m not Mom and history is not repeating itself.”
With that, I turned and left the room, laying rest to my past and moving into my future.
In less than five months, his legal team at West Lake and Associates had collected enough evidence and tracked down enough witness testimonials that they were confident Derek Freeman would be locked away behind bars for a very long time. Surprisingly, my uncle also managed to talk Penny into giving a statement. She had been adamant that she didn’t want to dredge up the past—not since everything in her life was finally on the upswing—but Anthony Weston didn’t work in shades of gray. To him, Derek Freeman had committed a crime—exploiting and abusing the young people in his care—and he needed to be brought to justice. They had eight cases of sexual misconduct with a minor against Freeman, including Amy, the girl who had lived with us. It was going to be harder to prosecute Marie with neglect, but the team was working their asses off to make it happen.
I reached over the stick shift and brushed Penny’s hand with my fingers, coaxing her back to me. The looming pressure of the court date weighed heavy on her. I saw it in her eyes, the way she’d started wrapping her arms around her waist again as if she might fall apart. “Hey, Penny, come back to me.”
She settled back into the leather seat and sighed. That one sound could bring me to my knees every damn time. I hated that the past still had such a hold on her—that even with things between us better and stronger than ever, she still had demons preventing her from moving forward.
“I’m okay, really.”
“You don’t need to put on a brave face for me. You can crumple and breakdown and I will always be here to catch you.”
Always.
She had to know that I would walk to the ends of the earth for her.
Penny intertwined her fingers with mine. “I know.”
The trees lining the road grew familiar, and before long, the dense green walls thinned out. Camp Chance’s freshly painted sign welcomed us, and I couldn’t help the grin tugging at my mouth. I loved this place. For so long, it was the only place I felt free. Since moving in with Penny, waking up next to her every morning had earned my top spot, but driving through the gates of camp still came in at a close second.
“You love it, don’t you?” Penny asked, and I turned to her; it wasn’t as if I didn’t have the road into camp memorized. “Almost as much as I do you.”
She blushed, pink spreading across her neck and into her cheeks. Almost a year together and I still had that effect on her. I never wanted it to end—I wanted a lifetime of these moments.
The Prius rolled to a stop, and I put it in park. Reaching over, I pulled Penny to me, my hands buried deep in her hair as my lips captured hers. She fisted her hands in my hoodie, holding on for life, letting me explore her mouth. By the time we came up for air, our chests heaved between us as our breaths came in short, shallow bursts.
“How are we going to uphold camp rules for ten weeks?” she asked blushing again.
I laughed. My vulnerable girl needed me as much as I needed her. “I have my ways. You forget I was once the master of sneaking out.” I winked; I couldn’t help it.
Penny’s mouth formed an o, and she sucked in a breath. “Blake, I don’t want to get into trouble. Tina was very clear about the rules last year.”
Capturing her mouth again, I mumbled, “Rules are meant to be broken.” Besides, there was no way on earth I was going ten weeks without feeling Penny underneath me.
“Are you sure they’re okay with our…” She hesitated. “Our situation?”
Releasing Penny, I frowned. “Situation? One day, Penny Wilson, you are going to be my wife. The mother of our children. Please don’t ever call our relationship a situation again.”
Her jaw dropped slightly, and I saw the flash of panic in her eyes. Feeling like a total shit, I pulled her back into me. “I’m joking. Well, about calling our relationship a situation. The rest of it, not so much.”
“Blake,” she hissed, batting me away with her hand. “That was mean.”
I noticed movement in front of the car and glanced out of the corner of my eye. Troy, the big goof, was pretending to make out with himself. I swear that guy was forty going on twelve.
“Well, come on, we have company.”
Penny turned her head slowly and the blush from earlier returned. “How long has he been standing there?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he saw everything.”
“Perfect, just perfect...” Penny started muttering to herself, and I laughed, pressing one last kiss to her lips before climbing out of the car. I retrieved our bags out of the trunk, and Troy came around. “Looking good, brother, and you don’t look so bad either.”
“Troy,” I warned. Penny was embarrassed enough without Troy hitting on her.
“What? You two almost caught fire.” He clapped me on the back and grinned. “Get out here, Penny, I have some Troy love for you.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Seriously, where do you come up with this shit?”
“Just sharing my love, my man. Sharing the love.”
The passenger door opened, and Penny stepped out. I could tell she had withdrawn into herself. Getting away for the summer was supposed to take her mind off the impending trial, but now, I wasn’t so sure it was a great idea.
“There she is.” Troy started to move in her direction, but I shot a hand out in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I just shook my head. His overenthusiasm was usually infectious, but Penny, although mostly okay with touch now, still had a tendency to fall back into her old ways when her stress levels were high.
“My bad. Hey, Penny, it’s really good to have you back.”
Penny slammed the door shut and looked over at us. “Thanks, Troy. It’s good to be back.” She ignored Troy as she stared right at me. A small smile broke over her face, and my heart skipped a beat.
She was telling me we would be okay.
Always.
“Pssst, could you two be any cuter?” Marissa tipped the bottle of lukewarm beer in our direction and grinned like a fool.
Penny giggled from her position between my legs as I perched on one of the overturned trunks. In usual fashion, Troy led the circle in song while we toasted marshmallows and drank warm beer. Tina had already given the whole ‘don’t fool around with each other speech’ earning Penny and me a stern glance. We knew the rules. After tomorrow, we had to keep our hands to ourselves—for the most part. If Troy and Tina thought I was going to go ten weeks without kissing or making love to Penny, then they were more deluded than I realized. It was all about discretion, and I intended to be discreet. After all, it was what I did best.
“Are you okay?” I brushed Penny’s ear with my lips and felt her body shudder. My dick twitched. Perhaps ten weeks was going to be harder than I first thought. She turned her head slightly and whispered, “I’m fine. Pay attention.”
Her warm breath lingered against my face, and I closed my eyes lost in her. “I can’t. You’re distracting me.”
She started to shuffle forward. “Maybe I should sit somewhere else?”
“Not happening.” I looped my arms around her tighter, drawing her back to me.
Troy continued to sing but kept winking in our direction, the fucker. But for as goofy as he was, he had been a great friend over the last six years. He and Tina had given me a chance, no questions asked, and in an ironic kind of way, the owners of a camp for fostered kids had saved me. If it hadn’t been for Camp Chance that first summer after I left the Freeman house, who knows where I would be now.
The music stopped and peop
le broke off into their own huddles. New faces had replaced a couple of the regular counselors, and Tina sat with them to fill them in on the dos and don’ts, no doubt. Where Troy was carefree, she was uptight, but they worked. In fact, I’d never seen a couple stronger than the two of them.
Marissa stood and dusted herself to come sit with us. “I miss you guys.”
“We told you, door’s always open.”
“Not too open, though,” I added smirking at Marissa. She scowled and flipped me off.
“Ignore him. He’s just jealous at the thought of sharing me,” Penny said amusement heavy in her voice.
I rested my chin on her shoulder. “Damn right, I’m not sharing.”
“I don’t know whether to cry or puke watching the two of you. I mean, we’re all glad you sorted shit out, but we can’t all be lucky enough to find our lobsters.” Marissa leaned over to kiss Penny’s cheek. “Show a little thought for the rest of us, yeah?”
We watched Marissa sashay away and join the regular staff. Everyone was busy talking, catching up and stuffing their faces with Troy’s grilling efforts. Now was my chance. “Come on.” I pulled Penny up with me and curled my hand around hers.
“Blake, we can’t just leave. Everyone will notice.” The caution in her voice was so fucking cute. It reminded me of every time we had escaped from the group home.
I didn’t give her time to worry, pulling her along the path that snaked around the main cabin and out to cabin row. Penny dragged her feet behind me until I slowed, letting her catch up, and wrapped an arm around her waist hugging her to me. “I miss you.”
“Blake, it’s only been twenty-four hours.” She knew exactly what I was referring to and rolled her eyes at me.
“I don’t care. It’s too long. I need you. Always.”
Our eyes locked and my love for Penny reflected back at me in two dark pools. Was it still supposed to be this intense between us? After all of this time?
Eight years.
Snapping myself out of it, I walked us to the spot. The one I’d brought Penny to last summer. Earlier, when she’d been catching up with Marissa and unpacking in their cabin, I’d come out to prepare things. I released my hold on Penny and took her hand so I could go in ahead of her, just to see the look in her eyes when she realized what was happening.
