Love Found a Way (Hell Yeah! Book 0)

by Sable Hunter

  “Sounds perfect,” she purred. T hadn’t fallen asleep so easily. He’d laid in bed and checked the messages on his phone, wondering if Revel and the deputies had any luck with their mission to draw in whoever was toying with them. There was nothing from him. However, there was one message that shook him to the core.

  A message from his mother.

  Since her proclamation that the sins of the father were visited on the son, T-Rex had avoided her. The only times they’d run into one another was at Alice’s grave. He’d tried to talk to his mother, telling her about his efforts to redeem his life. His work with the shelter and his commitment to AA. None of it seemed to make an impression, she still looked at him as if horns could sprout out of his head if she turned her back on him. Once, in a moment of weakness, he’d given his mother one of his business cards. He had told her that his phone number and his email were on there and if she ever wanted to reach out to him – the door was open.

  She never had – until today.

  Easing out from underneath Glory, he sat up on the side of the bed. With a shaking hand, he opened the message.

  Son

  I’ve been doing some soul-searching and I think we need to talk.

  If you agree, we’ll set up a time to meet.

  Your mother

  For the longest, T stared at the wall before tapping in a quick response.

  I agree.

  …On their way home the next morning, Glory wondered why T was so quiet. “Is something wrong?”

  T glanced over at her. “No, just deep in thought.” Seeing that she still held his gaze, wanting more, he gave it to her. “I heard from my mother last night. She wants to come visit.”

  “Why?”

  Her response was surprising. Knowing Glory, he’d expected an instantaneous exclamation of joy. “She said she’s been doing some soul-searching and thinks we need to talk”

  Glory looked out the window. “I don’t want her to hurt you again.”

  He placed a hand on the nape of her neck and squeezed. “My champion.”

  “You bet your life, I am.” She leaned her head back into his caress. “I’d love for you to have a wonderful relationship with your mother. But I won’t put up with her saying things that tear you down, not anymore.”

  “I won’t let her do that.” He’d been doing a lot of soul-searching too. Since Glory had come into his life, she’d systematically set out to mend the image he had of himself. In direct contrast to the damning edict of his mother, the woman who was now his wife had done nothing but build him up, doing everything she could to convince him he was worthy of love.

  And he believed her.

  “I’ve been thinking about calling my mom, to talk to Lexi, if nothing else,” Glory said softly. “You know, just in case…”

  T felt his heart lurch in his chest. “I think you ought to call, just because it’s time, not because you think you’re not going to make it.”

  Glory nodded. “I’ll do it soon.”

  “Good.” He grinned at her. “Isn’t it neat that we’re getting all family conscious?”

  “Yea, soon we’ll be arranging family gatherings at holidays. At home with the Beaumont’s,” she quipped.

  He started to respond when his phone buzzed. “Hold on, baby. It’s Revel.”

  “What’s up, Jones?”

  “You’ll never believe it, never in a million years.”

  “Believe what?” T laughed. “You sound like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “No, I’m used to ghosts. This is bigger.”

  “Bigger? Aliens?” T couldn’t imagine.

  “How far away are you?” Revel asked.

  T glanced at his GPS. “Close. Twenty miles, I think.”

  “Can you two meet me at the sheriff’s office?”

  “Did you catch our culprits?” T-Rex’s gaze met Glory’s.

  “Better.”

  *

  In little over a half-hour, T-Rex pulled into the parking lot in front of the Iberia Parish courthouse.

  “I can’t believe this may be over,” Glory said as she hopped down from the truck, holding T’s hand.

  “I’m certainly ready for it to be over. Going to work and leaving you, even with protection, was hell.”

  With a steadying hand at her back, he strolled beside Glory as they entered the building. Once inside, T-Rex saw Revel standing with the sheriff and Brandon Hillshire. Finding a bench, he directed Glory to take a seat. “I’ll make this as quick as I can.”

  Glory nodded, finding a magazine to pass the time.

  T didn’t like jails, even if he was on the right side of the bars. “What happened?” he directed his question to Revel. “Did somebody show up?”

  “Yea, turns out the Dubois boys have ties to the Skulls,” his friend answered.

  “Seriously?” T shook his head. “I’m not sure why I’m surprised, I knew they were running drugs for more than one gang.”

  “Yea, and when you pissed off the Skulls in New Orleans, they subcontracted out retribution.”

  “Well, what did they do? What was their motivation? I can’t believe petty theft and assault by snake was their only goal?”

  The sheriff pointed toward his office. “Let’s get out of the main traffic flow. I’m not anxious for this to become public knowledge just yet.”

  Hillshire led the way. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and that’s the truth.”

  By now, T-Rex was beyond curious. Once they were behind closed doors, he demanded answers. “Enough beating around the bush. I want to know what’s going on.”

  Brandon Hillshire poured himself a cup of strong coffee from a glass pot that appeared to have burned residue at the bottom. “Anybody?”

  Everyone else quickly declined.

  T checked out the window to make sure Glory was still comfortable. “All right, we’re here, what’s going on?”

  “Well, you won’t believe it.” The sheriff let out a long breath. “But here goes.”

  “Try me.” T was about at wit’s end.

  “Hillshire was parked about a quarter mile from your place, Beaumont, when one of the Dubois boys and one of the Skulls came screaming out of the woods like the devil himself was after them.” The rotund sheriff held his short arms over his head. “They were waving their arms and shouting. When they saw Hillshire’s cop car, they ran toward it, instead of running from it.”

  “Why?” T wasn’t following.

  “They said something weird attacked them and they wanted out of there. Pronto!”

  “Something attacked them? Not someone? What did they mean?”

  Hillshire laughed. “They claimed it was some…creature. Have you ever heard anything so stupid? I say they were high on something.”

  “Wait.” T held up his hand. “Do you know what they were doing at my house? Did we catch anything on camera?”

  Revel coughed, then stared at T-Rex, holding his gaze. “The sheriff has the game camera showing what Dubois and the other guy was up to.”

  The game camera. Not one of two game cameras. He stayed on the path Revel was leading him on. “What did you find? What were they doing? Stealing more stuff?”

  “No, not stealing. We not only have hard evidence, we have enough testimony to put the Dubois and the Skulls under the jail.” Pausing for effect, the sheriff continued. “One of the Dubois is ex-military and he and the other guy were planting C-4 all under your house.”

  T’s blood ran cold. “An explosive?”

  “Yea, the FBI is on the case now. We cleaned your house, its safe now and they’re rounding up the Skulls as we speak.”

  “Wow.” Subdued, T tried to process what he’d learned. “What do you need from me?”

  “We just need you to sign some papers and give a statement.” Hillshire motioned for T to follow him. “Won’t take long.”

  “T, why don’t I meet you and Glory at your house in a bit?” Revel called. “I’ll bring your dog and cat home, we’ll check everything
out and review the evidence.”

  “Sure, sounds good. Thank you.”

  T-Rex was confused. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified.

  …“What are we looking at?” Glory crowded in next to T-Rex, staring at the screen of his laptop. She held Thomas in her lap and Buford sat at their side. Both animals were glad to be back home.

  “Hell, if I know,” T murmured. “Let me see if I can make this bigger.” He addressed Revel who was sitting to his left. “So, you’ve seen this?”

  “I have.” Revel sipped a beer. “Take a gander and tell me what you make of it?”

  Fiddling with his video player, T made the image as big as he could get it. All three leaned in to watch the local punk and the New Orleans gang member as they crawled out from under the house. All right, the plastics are in place. Let’s get that motion detector set up inside and we’ll be in business.

  Yea, when that big-ass Cajun comes home. Ka-boom!

  They both laughed.

  T felt a shiver run over his body, as if someone walked over his grave. He guessed, in a way, they had. “Fuck, this is crazy.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Glory whispered. “Are we safe, now?”

  “Yea, Glory. Don’t worry. We did a sweep of the entire house,” Revel assured her. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You’ve got a good guard dog.”

  “But Buford wasn’t here.”

  “No, you’re right.” Revel laughed. “He wasn’t.” When she looked even more confused, he pointed to the screen. “Just watch.”

  T-Rex, Revel, and Glory kept their eyes glued to the screen as the two men readied to enter T’s home with some tools and what they assumed was a motion sensor.

  “Soon you’ll know why I took this camera down before they came to look for evidence. No one can see this, but us. Ever.” Revel tapped the table. “Watch!”

  T leaned in as he saw something he’d been waiting his whole life to see. Just before the men entered the back door, a loud noise erupted and something large, dark, and hairy came running toward the men. “My God,” T breathed. “It must be seven foot tall.”

  “What is it? What is it?” Glory cried out, her eyes wide as she beheld what anyone would call a monster, rush the two men, preventing them from setting up a bomb activator switch in the room that they were currently sitting in. “Is that a…”

  T held his breath, watching a creature that he had hoped was real, dreamed to be real, longed to be real – step up and protect his home. Once the men had fled, the cryptid stood on T’s porch and shook its powerful fist in the air. Then, it looked directly into the camera and fled into the night with a blood-curdling howl. T tore his gaze from the screen to stare at Revel. “Fuck, man!”

  Revel laughed. “You can say that again.”

  “Fuck!” T repeated. “Oh, my God!”

  “Was that a…” Glory was having trouble forming the word.

  “Bigfoot? Sasquatch? Yeti?” Revel said, setting T up for his inevitable conclusion.

  “, that was a Rougaroux.”

  *

  “I wish it would snow,” Glory mused as she straightened the holly berry wreath on the front door.

  T plugged in the lights he’d painstakingly strung across the front porch. This was the first time he’d ever put up any Christmas decorations of any kind. But what Glory wanted, Glory got. There was a reindeer and a sleigh in his yard, a seven-foot tree in his living room, and four stockings hanging from his mantle. “It would take a miracle, Glory. I don’t think it’s snowed in this part of the world in years, not anything more than a few scattered flakes.”

  Glory stared at the sky. “I believe in miracles,” She said simply. “After all,” she winked at him, “I’ve seen a Rougaroux.”

  T-Rex couldn’t argue with her. “Well, if it snows, I’ll help you build a snowman.”

  “Deal!” She ran to him and jumped into his arms. “Can we open Christmas presents tonight? It’s Christmas Eve!”

  “One, just one.” T clasped her to him. “We can open the others in the morning.”

  “After we open gifts, we’ll deliver presents to the shelter, Mrs. Watson, and Danny. And tomorrow afternoon, we have our first family dinner.” She played with his hair, looking deep into his eyes. “Revel, Harper, your mom, my sister. Can you believe us?”

  “I can’t. I really can’t.” His life wasn’t even recognizable to what it used to be.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Starved.” And not only for food. “What do we have?”

  “Turkey, chicken and dressing, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green beans, sweet corn, pumpkin pie…”

  T-Rex kissed her. “Hush, I’m getting fat just from listening.”

  “It was important for me that you have all you want to eat.”

  He carried her to the couch and set her down. “I think we’ll be eating leftovers for a week. Now, close your eyes.”

  She did so, then asked, “Why?”

  “Hold out your hands.”

  Glory didn’t have to be asked twice. “I love presents!”

  And he loved giving them to her. Since they’d come home from New Orleans, he’d done his best to bring her a little surprise every day or so. And he intended to keep that up, for as long as… “Open it.”

  Glory’s face lit up when she saw the small square box. “I can’t imagine!”

  He sat on the arm of the couch and watched her tear off the bright red paper and the green velvet bow. T held his breath while she delved into the tissue paper, pulling out a delicate bangle bracelet made of gold. “Oh, T, this is so beautiful!”

  “Read the inscription.”

  Glory had trouble reading the small writing, mainly because of the tears in her eyes. “I will love you, always and forever.” Their names were inscribed below the message. “This is the most perfect Christmas…” Her voice breaking as she moved into his embrace. “I have something for you too.”

  “I have all I want right here.” He held her securely.

  Glory was still for a moment, reveling in his attention. “I think you’ll like it. I hope so.”

  He reluctantly let her go when she began to wiggle. Rushing to the tree, she went down on her knees. “Oh, no. Where is it?” T waited patiently, enjoying the sight of her delectable bottom turned up as she dug in the packages. “Here it is!” She handed it to him. “Don’t expect much, I didn’t have a lot of money. I couldn’t ask you to pay for your own gift.”

  “My money is your money, Mrs. Beaumont,” he told her, unwrapping the present with curiosity. “But whatever it is…” He stopped and stared. “Oh, Glory.” He took out a belt buckle, engraved with the words. World’s Best Dad.

  “I have complete faith that those words will be absolute gospel.”

  T-Rex felt tears dampen his eyes. “I love this, so much. You chose the perfect gift and I promise that I will do everything in my power to make these words come true.”

  “They already are, you’re doing the best you can to make sure our baby is taken care of and it isn’t even born yet.”

  She knelt by him on the floor, next to the tree. T couldn’t take his eyes off her. The sight was magical with the lights from the Christmas tree twinkling against her skin. “Look in the bottom of your box, Glory. There was something you missed.”

  Giving him a questioning glance, she slipped the bracelet over her wrist, then looked in the box again. “Oh, I love your notes!”

  “I’m glad, I’ll always give you love notes. Now, read it.”

  She settled next to him, her head on his shoulder.

  Reasons why I love Glory

  I love that you have no idea how beautiful you are.

  I love how your smile makes the sun rise for me.

  I love the way you love me, how you make me feel like I’m perfect just the way I am.

  I love how you put the welfare of those you love above everything else.

  I love
how you go after what you want and I’m thankful what you wanted was me.

  When they awoke the next morning, the ground was white with snow. It didn’t linger, but lasted long enough for Glory to have her miracle snowman.

  *

  Days flew by and Glory grew round with child. T-Rex cherished every moment. Not that everything was perfect, it wasn’t. He worried about her and she didn’t mind worth a flip. Today, she’d ignored his express instructions to leave the garbage can next to the driveway and not try to drag it up after the garbage truck came through. “I told you that I’d get that damn can. I swear, after this baby is born and you’re all well and sassy, I’m gonna spank that sweet ass.”

  “Promises. Promises.” She went to tiptoe and kissed the cleft in his chin. “You don’t scare me. You’re just a big softie.”

  “Parts of me aren’t always soft,” he whispered, catching her close. They’d made love most nights, he still couldn’t keep his hands off her.

  “No, thank goodness, I love your hard parts.” She giggled. “Did you bring home the card for Harper’s baby gift?”

  “I did.” He presented her with the small bag. “I’ll take you over to their house when you’re ready to go.”

  She grinned, making her hands into fists and shivering a little. “I’m so excited. I’ve never been to a baby shower before! I can’t wait to see her open all the gifts. I’m so happy for Harper and Revel. A boy, they’re having a boy!”

  T chuckled. He loved how thrilled she was for her friend. What struck him was that she didn’t even question the fact that no shower had been planned for her and her baby. She didn’t expect things, didn’t demand them, not for herself. Oh, she wanted the best for her baby but she didn’t anticipate that anyone would want to give her a shower the way one had been planned for Harper.

  Well…she was wrong.

  He wouldn’t spoil the surprise, but he intended to capture a photo of her face when she realized what was going on.

  Once they were on their way to Wildwood, Glory grew quiet. “We need to think of names, T.”

  T almost ran off the road. “Names?”

  “Yea, names for the baby. Don’t you think so?”

  Of course, T was aware the days were passing. Glory was almost seven months pregnant. Christmas had come and gone. Spring had arrived and time was growing short. Every day brought both joy and an aching poignancy to his soul. If he could have saved every minute in a bottle, he would have.