We had gotten some of these details from the doctors, but not like this. And I was dying for clarification on something. “Hank’s in prison?”
It was a little off topic, but I felt it was important enough that it was worthy of a random mention.
“Yeah, after I saw all of the bodies everywhere and the blood, heard all of the screams, I made an anonymous call to the police. They went and picked up Hank and his lackeys, and being that it was so soon after the bombing, they hadn’t cleaned up the evidence yet. He’s in prison for life, no chance of parole.”
Well, thank fuck for that.
And Sweet Jesus, thank goodness Jenny wasn’t actually involved in the bombing.
I gave her a nod, so she looked toward the ceiling, thought some more, and then kept going. “I tailed Talie to Joplin, and let me tell you, I was so surprised when that’s where she ended up. And for some reason, I was also pissed. So I went back to New York and started leaving clues for Andrew to follow you.”
Talie had a question of her own and hesitantly voice it. “What about the safe deposit box?”
Jenny nodded and then answered, “I took the letter that I left for you out when I got back to New York and planted it so that Andrew would find it. I had told you in the letter to come here because it was where I was from. That combined with the clues I left that you were still alive, led him here.”
Even after an explanation, this was all still confusing as hell.
“When Drew came back, so did you?” I asked.
“Yeah, and I actually spent a lot of time watching you, Tuck.”
I knew that already. I had felt it. I just gave Jenny one nod of confirmation before waiting for her to move on. It was good to get the answers to my questions, but it was also a totally shitty conversation to be having with my sweet sister and my beautiful fiance.
“I saw Andrew watching Bobby, and I knew things were about to get even more interesting. The pure jealously of Jace and raw hatred of Talie was plain on Bobby’s face, and Andrew saw it. He immediately honed in on that as something he could use. He knew he’d need to come at y’all from a different angle because you would be watching him. He just underestimated Bobby’s feelings, and, to be honest, so did I. It surprised me when he snapped, turned on him, and shot him in the chest.”
I had another question, and decided to ask it even though it was a little off topic. “Why do both of you only call him Andrew? I mean I always called him Drew.”
They both looked at one another, their faces saying they hadn’t even really realized they were doing it, and then answered in unison. “Andrew was the only thing he accepted being called without punishment.”
Jesus, I wish I hadn’t asked.
Clenching my fists even tighter, I swallowed my anger and stuck to my standard response of one sharp nod.
Jenny seemed to realize I was barely holding it together and moved on quickly.
“Anyway, apparently, I snapped after watching him snap. Pretty freaking ironic actually.”
Wetness filled her eyes and she touched her nose to fight off the sting. Whispering softly, she apologized. “I can’t believe I hurt him, and I can’t believe...that I tried to hurt Talie and ended up hurting you.”
I reached across the table, lifted her chin with my forefinger, and looked her right in the eyes.
“Listen, Winnie. The past happened. We can’t change it, no matter how much we may want to. Everyone we love is safe, the people who hurt them are paying for it, and we’re moving on. You’re gonna be here for awhile, and you’re gonna get help. We’re gonna visit you all the fuckin’ time and count down until the day that we bring you home. End of story. You got me?”
I leaned forward, placed a kiss to Jenny’s forehead, and then stood up, pulling Talie with me.
“We’re gonna go. But, next time, we’re gonna have more people with us. You up for that?”
Nobody would lift her mood like Kayla. At least, watching Kayla interact with the rest of us.
Jenny nodded, Talie blew her a kiss, and we walked out of the room.
Talie rested her head on my bicep as we walked, and I tucked her hand into mine.
We were still a long way out, but happiness was coming.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 17
When we got home, Talie and I both needed a few minutes to decompress. Meeting with Jenny had been clarifying, gratifying, and nausea inducing all at the same time.
There was only one thing that could calm Talie better than I could, and I set out to give it to her. So we were in the kitchen, a Coke in Talie’s hand and a cup of coffee in mine, when Kayla walked in with news.
“Saddle up kids. Just contacted the parental units, and they are leaving Europe and heading this way tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t know Talie’s parents, but based on what their children were like, I felt sorry for Talie. It seemed to me like we were in for one hell of a ride again, a few days of them dragging her through the mud so to speak, before they let it go and even thought about giving me their blessing.
Shit. Maybe I felt bad for Talie and
me
.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to try to help diffuse that situation.” Talie grumbled at Kayla.
Kayla laughed outright before answering, “And miss the fun? No fucking way, Sis. You get to fuck Hotman, I get to watch you squirm.”
Christ. That was one hell of a rationale she had going in her head.
Her face took on an even more sinister appearance, and I knew it was probably going to be ugly. She was most likely going to try to get us back for the Cade thing too. Great.
She cleared her throat, wiped the look off of her face, and then announced, “Well, I’m off to work. See y’all later.”
Talie looked at me, hung her head, and then whispered, “You know this is going to go horribly right?”
Grabbing her hips and pulling her toward me with a smirk on my face, I murmured, “Yeah, Babe. After all the other shit we’ve been through, I’m pretty sure we’ll make it through this.”
I lifted my hands to her face and pulled it toward me, lightly touching my lips to hers.
My thumbs stroked her cheeks and her hands came up to hold onto my hair. I licked her bottom lip and then sucked it into my mouth gently. I swiped my tongue over it again while it was inside and then released it, just barely nipping it with my teeth.
She moaned and then came at me aggressively, her lips taking over, her tongue breeching the entrance to my mouth quickly.
Flicking the tip of her tongue over mine, she used my head to pull her body even more tightly against mine. Our hips were flush and her breasts were pushed deliciously into my chest.
God, her body felt amazing, and I needed to feel it without any barriers. Stupid clothes.
“Come on, Baby. Let’s go upstairs. My night-horniness is really flarin’ up, and I need you to stroke me.”
She turned, reached back for my hand, and already headed for the stairs, responded, “Only if you stroke me back, Tuck.”
Sweet Jesus, I loved her. “Fuck yeah, Babe. Fuck. Yeah.”
As I climbed the stairs, my woman’s ass swinging in my face, I took a moment to reflect.
Indisputably, there was nowhere I would rather be. Making love to my woman, in my house, on my farm, in the town of Joplin.
I had been born to the town of my dreams, and now I had found the one girl who completed them. My Talie.
The one
fucking
girl.
Epilogue
Almost eight years later...
Walking into the kitchen, sweaty and dirt-stained from breaking and training Colt’s son, Colt 2, I took in the sight of my auburn haired girl, Kellie, cooking with her Grandma.
Yeah, I said his name was Colt 2. In my defense, the naming was after a combination of puppy dog eyes from Kellie and a corset and thong from her mother.
I’m just a man.
Kellie looked up and spotted me, jumped down from the stool she was standing on, and came at me at a full run.
“Daddy! When’s mommy coming home with Aunt Jenny?”
It was a big day today, and the thought of it made my throat get tight.
Jenny was coming home.
“I don’t know, Doll. I do know it shouldn’t be too long. She went to get her and we just have to wait.”
I looked up at Talie’s mother, Katie, to see that her familiar bright blue eyes were sparkling with tears.
It hadn’t taken long for Talie’s parents to fit right in and fill the holes of the family I was missing. They couldn’t replace my parents but they made the ache just a little bit duller.
I gave her a smile and then forced my attention back onto Kellie, her wide blue-green eyes focused on me entirely. “I tell you what, Baby Girl. I bet if you stay here and keep helpin’ your Grandma, Mommy will be back with Aunt Jenny before you know it. And, you’ll have helped get everything includin’ the food ready for her party. Sounds good, huh?”
She nodded her head vigorously and wiggled in my arms. I set her back down on the ground, and she took off like a flash headed back for the stool and her Grandma.
After giving Katie a nod of thanks, I headed for the shower.
As I climbed the stairs, I took in the plethora of family pictures that lined the walls thanks to Talie. She made sure to take a picture at every occasion, especially after we had Kellie five years ago.
And there was no shortage of pictures that included Jenny. We all went to visit her regularly, and Talie made sure to get pictures every time she was part of the group there. She had tried to get me to take pictures if I was there without her, but I just wasn’t the type of man who remembered to take pictures. I sure as hell appreciated that she was the kind of woman who did though.
I padded down the hall, opened our bedroom door, and walked into the bathroom.
After flicking on the lights, I toed off my boots, pulled my t-shirt off with a hand between my shoulder blades, unbuckled my belt, and pulled down my jeans, taking my underwear and socks with them.
I walked over to the shower, opened the door, turned on the water, and let it get warm.
Reaching in to test the temperature, when I determined it was warm enough, I stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind me.
Stepping into the spray and tilting my head back, I let the water wet my entire body before reaching for the soap.
I squirted a dollop into my hand and rubbed them together to lather it before rubbing my abs and ribs to start the washing process.
As I washed, I glanced down and took in my completed tattoo. It was an abstract design, but completed it formed the trunk and branches of a tree. My family tree. After we had gone to see Jenny that first time, I had decided it was time to finish it. Now, I just added to it when it was necessary.
Spaced throughout the abstract leaves I had integrated all of the important dates of our family. My parents birth and death dates, Jenny’s birthday (and mine), Talie’s birthday, the day Kellie was born, and even Talie’s parent’s and Kayla’s birthdays.
My family meant everything to me. Old and new.
And Jesus, Talie loved the tattoo even more now that it was finished.
As I finished rinsing the soap off of my body and the shampoo out of my hair, I heard the bathroom door open.
I guess Talie was home. That, or Kayla was crossing boundaries like she had a time or two before. She had started seeing somebody, though, so it seemed like her behavior was reforming. A little anyway.
“We’re home, Tuck.”
God, that ‘we’re’ sounded so good.
I shut off the shower and opened the door, reaching for my towel as I did. After roughly wiping the dripping water off of my body, I wrapped it around my waist.
Talie eyed my tattoo hungrily while I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
“When is everybody else gettin’ here, Babe?”
“Tons of people are already here. I think they had spies set up to notify them of when we crossed the city line.”
“Don’t joke, Babe. They probably really did do that.”
She nodded seriously because it was the fucking truth, and she agreed with me. This town was awesome, but crazy.
Her eyes flicked back to my tattoo, quickly taking in as much of it as she could. “You gotta stop lookin’ at me like that, Talie or you’ll be gettin’ undressed instead’a me gettin’ dressed.”
Her eyes snapped up and met mine, and then she huffed, turned, and left the room.
After all of these years, she was still cute as hell.
I chuckled, followed her out, and walked into the closet to get some clean jeans and a new t-shirt as she walked out the bedroom door headed back downstairs.
********
I stood back and watched as my family and friends flitted about, interacting and celebrating the return of my sister.
Jace was sitting between Ruthie and their daughter, Julie, at a table with Talie, Kellie, Kayla, Jenny, Katie and Talie’s father, Nate.
I moved my eyes to the next table to see Jezzy holding court with several men’s eyes locked on her breasts. These men included Steve, Tommy, and Jimmy, and as I looked closer I had to admit that Jezzy’s breasts were still unbelievable even with her advancing age.
John, Toni, Annabelle and family, and the rest of the staff for the diner filled the next table, along with the Locks and Tanners.
It was an incredibly diverse group, that included pretty much everyone from town, but everyone interacted harmoniously, regardless of age or disposition.
My eyes moved back to my family, and my heart settled perfectly in my chest. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let it sink in.
This is what happiness felt like.
**********
The End
Thanks for reading!!
I’m currently working on a standalone book that follows the story of Coleman Cade!
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