by Dace Everan
Chapter Twelve
Keena looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her brows furrowed. “I don’t like my hair,” she said. George reached out, plucking a strand of the now-shoulder-length hair. Her curls were no longer there, just straight strands now. It had taken some adjustment, but he thought it was cute. It made her face heart-shaped now. He smiled, caressing her jaw. “Beautiful, it will grow back,” he replied.
She looked at him with sad eyes. “That Mr. Lowell says he’ll be there today,” she whispered. Fear filled her. She would have to face David—see him face-to-face. She inhaled a steady breath. She could do this. He couldn’t hurt her there. George wouldn’t let that happen. She notched her chin. She wouldn’t let that happen.
The last few weeks with George had been life-altering. To have the support he offered and all the help from his family…She had even been seeing a counsellor. Well, more of a mentor. She was from the shelter that George and Jazz volunteered at. She felt stronger than the last time. She felt safer. Mr. Lowell had turned out to be a lot stronger lawyer than she had first thought he would be from the first time they had met at George’s home.
George nodded. “I’ll be sitting right behind you, sugar. We’ll all be there,” he reminded her. He had had to reassure her a lot over the last week that she had not only him, but his whole family standing behind her. She was in no way alone in this fight. They would make sure she was not alone.
She teared up. “I get to see her today,” she whispered, and a spark of hope lit in her eyes. She couldn’t wait to be able to hold her daughter again. To kiss her cute, chubby cheeks. To hug her and not have to let go. George nodded, smiling. He loved that look in her face. the utter love and adoration that she had for her baby girl.
Three weeks and things were moving remarkably fast. He had thought it would be dragged out for months. Turned out David Filton’s parents had stepped up and spoken on behalf of Keena. Their testimony alone had brought many charges against him. It blew George away. The fucker had done this to other women. It was just a matter of getting those women to step up and go against him. Lila and Paula had dug into every nook and cranny and found three to step up. David Filton was going to go down, and hard.
They had found out David had had dumb luck in finding Keena’s whereabouts. He hadn’t thought she would have been stupid enough to return to her home town. When he had seen her briefly in a coffee shop, he had kept tabs on her, watched her, stalked her, and made sure he knew everything that she did.
He hugged Keena close. “You’ll get your girl, Keena. You won’t be alone anymore. She won’t be. She’ll have her mommy.”
Keena sobbed, hugging him close. Joy filled every part of her heart. George was right in all he said, except the part about her being alone. She hadn’t felt alone since she had met him, and she wanted her baby girl to feel this overflowing of love that she felt every time George entered a room, wanted her sweet Carmine to feel safe and secure the way she did when she was with George.
* * * *
George looked at the little girl. Big blue eyes looked back up at him. Little lips were set in a pout. His heart melted. Shit, she had the pout down. He crouched so he could face her dead-on. She notched her chin. Her all-knowing eyes darted to Keena. “That’s my mommy,” she declared in a rather sophisticated voice. It startled George to hear a child with that tone.
George nodded. “I know,” he murmured.
Carmine glanced at her grandfather.
He motioned for her to speak up. “Go on, girl, Mommy never taught you to hide,” he urged. It was something he had learned over the last few months with his granddaughter. She talked a lot and told him many stories about her mother, even of her aunty, who had died. Those stories had made his heart hurt, made him relive pain that he had not wanted to face.
Keena had been a loving mother to this little one, and the pride that had swelled in his chest made him want to do whatever he could for Keena. She needed to figure out what to do, though, all on her own. He couldn’t guide her or tell her what to do. He had tried that once, and lost her, and shortly after her, his other daughter, Carmelita. Now that he had Keena back, he was keeping her as close as he could without screwing up like he had the first time around.
Carmine looked at George. “You can’t hurt my mommy,” she declared, a stern look on her face.
George shook his head. “Not here to hurt your mommy, sweetheart.”
Carmine looked at him. “You have to take care of her,” she ordered.
George smiled. “I can do that,” he declared.
Carmine looked at her mommy. “She’s strong, and beautiful, but she is a girl, and we cry and need hugs.” She turned her focus back on George. George nodded in agreement. Carmine bit her lip, and again, she looked up at her grandpa. “You have to let me see Grandpa, Mommy. I love my grandpa and he loves us,” she declared.
Keena nodded, tears streaking down her cheeks. Her father had taken Carmine and told her to run and figure her shit out. He had promised he would take care of her baby girl. She had trusted her father. He may have disowned her because of David, but she knew deep down that her father was a good man under all his anger, that he would take care of his granddaughter.
Keena fell to her knees, arms out. Carmine rounded George and ran to her mommy, hugging her close. Keena held her fiercely, whispering how much she missed her, that she loved her, and not ever would they have to run like that again.
George straightened up, looking Mr. Alverez over. He was a dignified-looking man. Alverez reminded George of his own father in his younger days. Those two would have been friends at some point, had their paths crossed. He was sure of it.
Mr. Alverez held out a hand. “Tell your father hello,” he murmured.
George gave him a surprised look. He took Alverez’s hand, nodding. “I will,” he murmured.
Mr. Alverez looked at Keena. “A hug would be nice, my girl,” he ordered, crossing to her.
Keena held Carmine close. Carmine wrapped her legs around her mom’s waist and was squished in between father and daughter.
“You take care of my granddaughter. I have a home already for the two of you. Mr. Keepher will take you to it,” he murmured against her ear. He would give his girl anything she needed from now on. He hugged her tighter.
He hadn’t been able to stay in the court room as they relayed all the things that filthy bastard had done to his daughter. He had retreated to the washroom and cried, cried for the pain that she had endured all alone those years that he had shut her out. Even when she had tried to come back home, and he had sent her right back to that hell. One day, they would reconnect. He had faith in that.
Keena nodded. “Thank you, Father,” she whispered.
Mr. Alverez considered his daughter for a moment. “You bring my angel to see me…maybe Saturday nights for dinner?” It was a good start. He knew he was demanding her to come, but he needed her to be in his life. He needed to know she and Carmine were safe and healing.
Keena nodded. She would. She would not go alone in this world. Her father loved her and she loved her father, and she would make sure he was aware of it every chance she got. “I love you, Daddy,” she said before releasing him.
* * * *
George led her up the steps to her new home. “Your dad gave me the directions. He thought that since you had been with me so much lately, that I should walk you through,” he filled in, passing her the keys. “You and he will have to get together and rehash good memories. He seems like a fine-cuisine-and-wine kinda guy. You should make plans for a special dinner with him and Carmine,” he suggested.
Keena looked around the front yard. She looked across the street. “That will be fun. Yes, he does like his wine. This is a gated community,” she murmured in a spacey voice.
George nodded. He could see that she was taking it all in, most likely a little overwhelmed by it all. Shit, the whole day had been an emotion-filled one. He touched her hair. She must be exhausted. He put on a
smile, pointing down the street. “Sam and Paula live there,” he offered. The community had been open for years, and then the members decided they wanted it gated. So, a year ago the gates went up.
Keena smiled, nodding. It was hard to miss the eccentric-looking home. She opened the door, and Carmine pushed passed her and looked around. “It is really big, Mommy.” She gawped.
George chuckled. “You should see what Jared and Lila put in the back for you. Even Sam made you something, sweetheart,” he crooned, passing Keena and leading Carmine to the back of the house. All his brothers had mentioned helping out a friend in need of furnishing a new house. He hadn’t picked up on it at first, but now it all came together.
Keena stood in the luxurious entryway. Beautiful grey slate on the floor, the walls had a weird, rounded-corner effect… She looked up at the fancy chandelier. A door to the right was her coat closet. She peeked into the first room, a sunken living room fully furnished—seemingly, the same furniture as George’s. She stepped back into the hall and peered up the curved staircase to the right.
She inhaled a breath. She would look up there later. She went down the hallway George and Carmine had gone through, smiling at the huge kitchen as bright sunshine filled the room. She stopped and looked, taking in everything. Stainless steel everywhere, and granite countertops. Oh, God, she had a coffee pot. She would have to teach herself how to use it.
She peeked out the French doors. Carmine was already on the swing set, giggling away, George chasing after her. He looked so out-of-place on the thing, so large and bulky, but so agile as he sped around on the set, close behind Carmy.
She stepped out onto the deck, smiling. There was a hot tub. She would have to have George over for a hot tub party. She laughed to herself, looking the other way at the big table set. She frowned. She couldn’t imagine having that many people here. God, how would she feed them? Could she even entertain people on her own? She had never done that. There had always been others to do the work. All she had to do was find an outfit, put on a smile, and show up.
George hauled up Carmine and the girl screamed in laughter. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to Keena. “I found this little pretty. I thought you might want to keep her,” he teased, handing his little treasure over.
Keena giggled, hugging her daughter close. “I do,” she declared, kissing Carmy’s cheeks.
Carmine giggled. “I love it, Mommy! Can we stay forever? Can George be here, too? He plays with me. He can even go down the slide, Mommy!” she cried, looking at George. He looked way too big to be on the slide, but he had done it.
George grinned. “How about we let Mommy enjoy her new home with you for a bit, Carmine? Maybe I could convince the lady with little Anne to come over and hang with you while I take your mommy out?” He was sure Lila would be all over babysitting Carmine so he could take Keena on a date, or two, or many, many, dates.
Carmine pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “You asking me if you can take my mommy out?”
George nodded. “Yes, I am.”
Carmine looked at her mommy. She leaned close, cupping her little hands around her mommy’s ear. “Do you really like him, Mommy?”
Keena blushed, peeking at George before whispering back in Carmine’s ear. “Yes,” she answered.
Carmine looked back at George, leaning back against her mom’s ear. “I think you should go out with him, Mommy. He likes you. He told me so,” she whispered.
Keena smiled, hugging her daughter close. “Yeah, I think I get that, Carmy,” she whispered, and she was truly getting it. Her heart was so full she was sure there was nothing that could ever hurt it again.
Carmine grinned. “Can we look inside, Mommy?” Keena nodded, letting her down. She loved the short attention span of children.
Chapter Thirteen
George glanced at her. She held the straps of her seatbelt in a white-knuckled grasp. “Oh, come on, Keena relax. We’re not going to crash,” he purred, handling the stick shift.
She released a squeak. “I’m sure you can find something better to do with me than scare me to death,” she cried, closing her eyes as a corner came up. She squealed as she felt the car round it, her stomach churning. She shook her head. “Please, George, stop. I don’t want to do this.”
George downshifted and reached over to take hold of her hand. “Look, sugar, nice and slow,” he crooned.
Keena peeked out, relief filling her. She let out a breath. “I don’t like fast cars,” she muttered, clutching his hand.
George chuckled. “’Kay, fine, I’ll save it for Carmy. She loves when I get the speed up, even asks for more,” he bragged.
Keena glared at him. “You do that with my kid?” She trusted him with her daughter’s life and this is how he treated that trust! She was gonna pummel him as soon as she got out of this car.
George shook his head. “We were on the highway out to your dad’s. I never went over one-twenty,” he said in his defense.
Keena looked at him, eyes narrowed.
George grinned. “Oh, come on, Keena, you know I would never hurt her, nor put her life in danger. I know this car, I built the friggen’ thing. There is no way this thing is malfunctioning, ever,” he replied rather assuredly. He had that faith.
Keena believed him. He took care of his vehicle. That included hers as well. Every weekend he was at the house visiting, doing random jobs outside, a few inside. He had even showed her how to use her coffee pot and barbecue. She loved that thing, although, when he showed up, he did all the cooking out there, and usually his brothers ended showing up as well.
Rick was always there, popping in at random times. Keena guessed it was because he thought Kyla would be there and he would chance seeing her. It had unnerved Keena, and then she had to smile at the love the man had for Kyla. He was obviously doing whatever he could to see Kyla. She would have to remember to invite Kyla over sometime, and get George to bring Rick over.
George turned down the dirt road to his place. Keena glanced at him, confused. “And why are we here?” she asked.
George chuckled. “I don’t know. It’s my place, and your sweetheart of a daughter said I could keep you as long as I could, so I’m taking advantage,” he said, pulling up to the house. He hopped out, rounding to her side. Opening her door, he chuckled as she struggled with the seatbelt. “Come on, sugar. Three months, you think you would have gotten the hang of that thing. Even Carmy can get out of hers,” he teased.
Keena grunted, glaring at him. He reached in and unbuckled her. She harrumphed, slumping. She hated when her nerves got the best of her, but sometimes she loved it! George would always help her, and as he had unbuckled her, his warm hands had brushed against her breasts, and, oh goodness, her whole body awoke from a long slumber. She clenched her thighs together.
George laughed, hauling her out of the car. Putting her over his shoulder, he slapped her ass. “Seriously, you think I’m going to let you sit there and pout?”
Keena squirmed on his shoulder.
“’Kay, we have to take Rick’s way and check on his place. I can’t believe he’s such a pig,” he muttered, shifting her slightly as he opened the door.
Keena planted her hands on his back and looked around. “Wow, Rick is a pig,” she mumbled, looking around the place. She was thinking of asking George to let her down, but she was liking the feel of his warmth all over her.
George nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking I would clean it for him.”
Keena scoffed. “You should hire that nice lady that comes to my house. She’s really good,” she offered. “Oh, forget it, I’ll give her the address myself. There is no way Rick is bringing Kyla to this sty!” she said, scrambling down from his shoulder. She wanted to stay on him, but she needed to get away from him. Her whole body screamed to be naked, and her face flushed. She swore her whole pussy quivered.
George let her down. He groaned at the odd stench. “Shit, I was wondering what that smell was,” he grumbled, lifting
up the box. He had thought he had smelled something rotting the other night while he had been doing some paperwork in the kitchen in his own home. Yeah, he really needed to get a cleaning crew in here. This was sick.
Keena gagged. “Oh, that’s gross! I am not sending her, she’s too nice,” she mumbled.
George laughed. “Maybe I’ll sic Paula on him. Get her in here and she would bite his head off, put him straight,” he replied, heading down the hall.
Keena watched him go. “Where are you going?”
“Just gotta check the bathroom. You may want to stay out here,” he called.
Keena covered her nose as she dared the kitchen, gagging at the horrible smells. Ooh, gross, he left food out. She gagged again. “Going outside!” she yelled down the hall. There was no way she was waiting in there for him.
George rifled through the drawers. Shit, his brother needed some organization. Poor Kyla had a handful with this pig. He found the little box and opened it—a simple silver band, nothing major. It had been five months since they had first met. He wanted to mark the occasion, and this was nothing big, just a ring, right? He wasn’t asking her to marry him or anything. Just, “here, you’re special.” Nothing serious.
His heart pounded in his chest and his hand trembled as he held the little box. Bullshit. This was just the beginning. It was only a matter of time before he went back and got the engagement ring that went with it, and only a matter of time before he got to the wedding band. He blinked his eyes. He was not going to cry like a big baby. He grinned. He would save that for that special day when he had the honor of watching her walk to him. He closed the box and shoved it in his pants pocket. Yes, that day would come. He had every faith that she would say yes to him when he did ask.
Keena glanced up from her perch on the front steps. “Found your way out safely, I see,” she murmured.
