Forever Freed

by Kathleen Brooks

“Good. Just taking a break before getting back onto the rodeo circuit and trying to avoid our dad who went from the ultimate badass to the gooey-eyed grandpa in the span of three seconds. He won’t stop talking about the babies, their birth plans, and a whole bunch of stuff I don’t want to know about with my sisters,” one of the twins said.

  “Evening, everyone!”

  Evie turned to see a stunning woman with warm amber skin walk in. She was wearing high-heeled boots that went to her knees over tight jeans that showed off the kind of curves Evie’d always wished she had. She was wearing her black hair natural as it curled softly around her face. When she walked, she was all hips and breasts and a large smile that left Evie wishing she were friends with this woman. Because whoever she was, she was happiness.

  “That’s Aniyah,” Jackson told her.

  “There’s my panther!” Aniyah called out as Jackson stood up and hugged the short woman. Evie, too, stood up and smiled nervously. “And who is this lioness?”

  Evie was struck with the word. Lionesses were brave and fierce. She wasn’t any of those. “Oh, I’m not a lioness. I’m just a scaredy-cat.”

  “Hon, you fled to save yourself as you tried to save others. That’s not a scaredy-cat. That’s a brave lioness. You got this. Sugarbear and I are here for you anytime.”

  “Thank you. That’s so kind of you.”

  Evie reached out and hugged the woman. There was something about Aniyah that Evie wished she had. And then it hit her—confidence. Aniyah had the confidence of knowing who she was and didn’t need to pretend to be anything other than herself.

  “Aniyah,” DeAndre said after introducing himself to Evie. “We have a surprise for you.”

  Aniyah turned to face her fiancé who was still in his state trooper uniform. “We?”

  “Yes. Nabi, Nash, and Cy helped me with this surprise.”

  Evie looked over to the two men who she’d been told worked at Desert Sun Farm. Both wore expressionless faces. Huh, it was the same look Jackson had had when interrogating her.

  “I know you’ve been missing your family,” DeAndre said as Aniyah’s chin wobbled.

  “My family is all right here.” Aniyah held out her arms and turned around in a circle. Evie’s stomach flipped and flopped like a fish out of water. She was nervous for Aniyah and felt surprisingly protective of her brand-new friend.

  “Not all.” DeAndre nodded toward the teenager named Faith, who was Nabi’s daughter. Faith opened the door to the café and four people walked in. An old woman whose black hair had long ago turned gray as steel entered first. Next was a middle-aged woman with the same dynamite body shape as Aniyah, but who was clearly older. Behind them were a man and a woman who looked to be around Aniyah’s age in their mid-twenties. The man was tall and fit and the woman was short like Aniyah, but very lean, as if she were a runner.

  Aniyah looked at them and then looked to DeAndre to explain because she didn’t get the surprise. She didn’t know these people were her family.

  “Aniyah, sugar, it’s me,” Aniyah’s grandmother said with tears in her eyes and a catch in her throat.

  Aniyah’s head cocked to the side, and then she inhaled sharply. “Granny?”

  The middle-aged woman broke out in tears as Aniyah stood frozen.

  “Auntie Bea?” Aniyah asked as recognition set in.

  The middle-aged woman sniffled as she smiled widely. But neither moved. They waited for Aniyah to process the situation. Evie wanted to rush over to her and hug her, but Aniyah’s friend Riley came to stand by her. Aniyah gripped Riley’s hand before looking at Riley. “Girl, you need to be sitting down right now. I won’t have my godchild coming early because you got upset.”

  “Matt!” Cy snapped as Riley’s husband shot up and, in one move, scooped his wife into his arms and held her next to Aniyah so she could continue to hold her hand.

  Then an older man, even more dangerous-looking than Nash and Dylan combined, appeared behind the family and began to walk around them toward Aniyah. “That’s Ahmed, Abby’s dad,” Jackson whispered.

  “Granny Louise, Aunt Bea,” Ahmed’s voice was low and almost dangerous as he came to stand near Aniyah. “Aniyah is like a daughter to me. And I’m overprotective of my family. Say what you told Nabi and Nash and then Aniyah may decide if she wishes for you to stay.” Tears began to form in Aniyah’s eyes as Ahmed moved behind her and put his arm on her shoulder.

  Granny Louise nodded and took a deep breath. “Sugar, do you remember your time in Tennessee?”

  “Not much, really. I remember your kitchen. And you called me Sugar.” Aniyah replied.

  “Did your parents tell you why you moved away when you were so young?”

  Aniyah shook her head. “They wouldn’t talk about it at all. I only remember snippets. Sitting at the kitchen table decorating cookies with Auntie Bea while you cooked dinner for the family. I remember your hugs. I remember Auntie Bea would slip me pieces of candy before bed.”

  Auntie Bea had tears streaming down her face as she nodded. Granny nodded and swallowed hard before continuing. “Do you remember your cousin Isaiah?”

  Aniyah shivered. “He was mean.” Her voice was suddenly flat and monotone.

  Granny and the rest of her family nodded. “Your uncle let him get away with everything. He was the only grandson. At the time it was just you and your cousin Tiana.” The woman in the back raised her hand as if saying she was present.

  “Isaiah was spoiled as the man of the house. I’m sorry I didn’t do more, but it was your uncle’s house where we all lived together. I didn’t know how he tortured you girls until I found you with your pigtails cut off. I confronted your uncle who said it was Isaiah’s right as the man of the house to do as he wanted. That you and Tiana were freeloaders and there for Isaiah’s amusement. Well, when your parents asked you about Isaiah, you and Tiana told the truth and the whole story of the abuse came out. How he’d hit you, trip you, and say such hurtful things. Beatrice took the first job she could get and started to save up money to move out of the house. Your parents thought I wasn’t doing anything because your uncle wouldn’t discipline his son so they left. They got a job in Kentucky and never looked back. But I tried. I tried so hard until my own son kicked me out of his house.

  “By then Beatrice had a job and her own small apartment. I moved in with her and tried to find your parents. But I never could . . . until the day I got a call from your father telling me my daughter had become an angel. He didn’t let me finish telling him I was away from my son or that Isaiah had been killed when he got drunk and drove his car into a telephone pole. All I had was the knowledge that you were somewhere in Kentucky.”

  Aniyah’s cousin Tiana stepped forward. “That’s where I came in. I found you online and showed Granny. We didn’t know if you hated us. We didn’t know if you even remembered us. So, we were cowards and we didn’t reach out. But we watched you. We saw you in the news. We saw the friends you had made. Saw how impressive you are working for a state congresswoman. And then, right when we were asking for a sign that we should contact you, DeAndre called us.”

  “Sugar, we want nothing more than to be in your life. If you’ll have us,” Granny said with absolute sincerity.

  Aniyah’s breath hitched and then in an anguished cry she opened her arms, “Granny!”

  Granny raced forward with Auntie Bea and who Evie guessed were her two kids right behind them. Ahmed stood guard as the family hugged, tears were shed, and Aniyah got to meet her younger cousin, Kendrick.

  “Oh!” Aniyah cried as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “You have to come to my wedding.”

  DeAndre slipped his hand around his fiancée and drew her close to him. “Are you ready to get married now, my beautiful bride?”

  “Yes. As soon as I can get everything planned.”

  Riley let out a sharp whistle to grab everyone’s attention. “This is what we’ve been training for. You know your roles. Go!”

  Jackson turned to Evie
and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I have to go. I have a role to play to get the wedding pulled together for this weekend.” It was then Evie realized everyone in the café had frozen and were all staring at them.

  “Twenty on December first!” Greer yelled out as suddenly phones were pulled out and money was waved at Poppy and Zinnia with dates flying all around the room.

  “What’s going on?” Evie asked as Paige and Cole high-fived and Cy shoved his brother Pierce out of the way to give twenty dollars to Poppy.

  “We just became the biggest bet in Keeneston,” Jackson said, shaking his head. Only there was a large smile on his face as he leaned down and kissed her again. “I’ll be back soon.”

  16

  Evie watched as Jackson and a group of men went running from the café. Ahmed was standing with Aniyah, Riley was issuing orders like a command sergeant from where she sat in a booth with her legs up, and suddenly the door was flung open as Father Ben appeared as if he’d sprinted from the church.

  Greer took a seat next to Evie and then more women joined them. “This is Cassidy, she’s Jace’s younger sister. And this is Ariana. Her brothers are Zain and Gabe. They’re part of the group that went running with Jackson. And this is Addison. She’s the town prosecutor.”

  Addison took a long-suffering sigh and pointed to a man in an iridescent rust-colored suit. “That’s my dad, Henry. He’s a defense attorney. Don’t hold his horrible choice of a suit against him,” she said as Henry made his way toward the table.

  “Hi,” Henry said to Evie as he held out his hand. “If you’re Eve, then I’m Adam and you’re tempting me to sin.”

  Evie blinked. And blinked again. Did he just hit on her? She glanced over to his daughter who looked pained.

  “Daaaaad,” Addison groaned.

  “I should text Draven. He’d like that one,” Henry said excitedly as he pulled out his phone.

  “Mom! Dad’s doing his pickup lines again and texting them to my boyfriend.”

  An elegant woman in a beautiful skirt suit walked over and plucked the phone from her husband’s hands. “Henry, Draven is Addison’s boyfriend, not your long-lost younger brother. Boundaries, dear.” She turned and held out her hand to Evie. “Neely Grace Rooney,” she said, introducing herself.

  “Evie Scott,” Evie replied as she shook the woman’s hand, still in a bit of a daze.

  “Come on, Henry. I have a surprise for you at home if you stop texting Draven.”

  “But he’s my friend. We’ve bonded.”

  “Someone save me,” Addison prayed as her parents walked away.

  “Who’s Draven? I don’t think I’ve met him yet,” Evie asked when the table stopped laughing.

  “He lives overseas,” Addison told her. “We just started dating. The plan is to take it slow. He’s been a bit of a playboy in the past.”

  Cassidy smiled broadly as she turned to Evie. “He’s King Draven of Bermalia.”

  “The king of the naked selfie?”

  “We’re working on that,” Addison said with a sigh.

  “No way! You’re dating royalty? How on earth did you meet him?”

  “My family’s fault,” Ariana said, holding up both hands. “However, Addison has done more for Draven than anyone could.”

  “How did you know him? Keeneston isn’t really a political hub. Does he have racehorses or something?” Evie asked.

  “Or something,” Ariana sighed.

  “You used to love this part,” Cassidy reminded her.

  “I know, but I’ve outgrown it.”

  “What part?” Evie asked, looking around the table. She didn’t like feeling as if she were missing something and she could tell that she was missing a lot.

  “Family business stuff,” Ariana replied. “Anyway, my older brothers are good friends with Jackson and everyone. Draven is friends with my brothers. He was with them and met Addison.”

  “Jackson told me about how he, Dylan, and Abby played pranks on Zain and Gabe,” Evie said, remembering some of the stories Jackson had told her about his friends. “And how they got them back by a sneak paintball gun attack as Jackson was on his way to meet a blind date.”

  Greer snorted as she tried not to laugh. “I remember that. That was a good one.”

  “I’m the one who insisted the paint be bright pink and purple,” Ariana said with a grin.

  “Ahmed is Abby’s father and is now partners with Ariana’s father at their farm. Nash and Nabi are the heads of security for the farm. So, it’s actually good that you all meet. They can help you,” Cassidy told her.

  “Good idea,” Ariana agreed as she turned and called for Nash and Nabi to join them.

  Nabi was clearly older and the mentor in the situation. Nash deferred to him even though it looked as though Nash was deadlier.

  “Nabi, Nash, this is my new friend, Evie Scott.”

  “Yes, we’ve run a threat assessment on her,” Nabi said with a completely blank face. What was it with security people and this same blank face?

  Ariana rolled her eyes. “So then you know she’s not a threat, right?”

  “Correct,” Nabi answered.

  “Yeah, the Seattle police were stupid for taking your brother’s word about your mental state and not demanding to see your medical files before issuing that Silver Alert,” Nash added.

  Evie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. That’s exactly how I felt too.”

  “What can we do for you?” Nash asked, looking between Ariana and Evie, waiting to hear if they were needed or not.

  “Well, I thought you could keep an eye on Evie for us. We have money riding on this,” Ariana told them and they all nodded.

  “Money?” Evie asked.

  “Didn’t Jackson tell you about the bets?” Cassidy asked as she pulled out her phone.

  “Yeah. Something about the town liked to bet on fun things.”

  “Like engagement dates, wedding dates, baby due dates, who the panty droppers are . . .” Cassidy handed her phone over to Evie.

  Evie looked down at the app that was used to place bets and as she scrolled, she saw the open bets. Sure enough, there were bets on everything. She was about to hand the phone back when she saw the most recent bet: Engagement date for Jackson Davies and Evie Scott.

  “What?!” Evie shrieked as she stared down at the phone in horror. “You bet ten dollars on me being engaged on Christmas morning?”

  Nash reached over and high-fived Cassidy. “Totally Christmas morning.”

  “So, I’m just a bet?” Evie forcefully handed the phone back to Cassidy and felt like running away. She was so embarrassed.

  “No,” Greer interjected as she put her hand on Evie’s. “I mean, it’s something we do for fun and for charity. At the end of the year, the Rose sisters hand out the money to charity groups, city projects, or grants to residents who need a little hand up. You don’t make the betting rosters if we don’t think it’s serious. And we all think Jackson is serious about you. We made the bet because we like you and Jackson together. If we hated you, the bet would be when Jackson would break up with you or who could get you to run screaming from town the fastest.” Greer tried to joke, but Evie didn’t know what to think.

  “Jackson has already read us into your situation,” Nabi told her, taking the discussion in a different direction. “We’re already here to help. We can do a lot that Jackson can’t because we don’t have to follow agency procedure. We don’t work for the American government.”

  “You’re welcome to the farm anytime. I know with Jackson helping with the wedding you might find yourself alone some. In that case, have Jackson drop you off at Desert Sun Farm and you’ll be safe there,” Nash explained. “We have a whole security force that will keep you safe if you need us.”

  But Evie was still back on the bet. “Thank you, but why would you even think we’d be engaged? We’re not even dating. We’ve known each other just a couple of days.”

  “I’ve been in Keeneston a very long
time and have seen a lot of couples,” Nabi told her. “And there’s no doubt Jackson is interested in you. I can see him watching you when you don’t know it. Like now.”

  “Jackson’s not—” Evie turned around and sure enough, there was Jackson talking to Aniyah and her family—his eyes never left her. “Oh,” she whispered.

  “I am so going to win this bet,” Nabi said with a grin.

  * * *

  Jackson kept his eye on Evie as she talked with his friends and family. He’d raced down to get Father Ben while Aiden drove out to pick up Cady Woodson, the owner of the bourbon distillery where Aniyah and DeAndre got engaged. Walker fetched Kenna Ashton, who was the local judge. Ryan woke up the county clerk to get a marriage license. Jace went to get their cousin Sydney who was now a fashion designer since she ended her modeling career. Zain and Gabe had come back with binders full of wedding details that DeAndre had been organizing.

  Jackson was tired of making small talk so he headed to the table at the same time his cousin Wyatt and his new wife, Camila, did.

  “Evie, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m the newest to town, and I’m so excited to not be reminded of that anymore. You’ve done me a big favor by coming here,” Camila said as she laughed and took a seat at the table. Her voice was soft with a sweet Irish lilt to it. “I’m Camila and this is my husband, Wyatt. He and Jackson are cousins.”

  “I’m sensing a theme here,” Evie said, returning Camila’s smile.

  “Right? I mean, so many cousins!”

  Jackson leaned down and put a hand on Evie’s shoulder. “Are you doing okay?”

  Evie nodded as Camila and everyone else at the table watched them closely.

  “Jackson!” Walker called out as he ran into the café with Kenna. Kenna headed over to Aniyah and DeAndre, but Walker stopped in the corner of the café and motioned for Jackson to join him.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” Jackson said softly to her.

  “I’m good,” Evie said, turning her face up to his. He lingered just inches from her lips and she wondered if he were going to kiss her again.