Beginning of Forever (Heaven Hill #7) (27 page)

“And what would I do?” he asked her softly. “I’m never going to be anything different than what I am at this moment, Charity, and I’m okay with that. For me. For you, I want something different. I want you to get out. You’ve always wanted to. I want you to experience life and do all the things you’ve always talked about. If there comes a point in your life when you’re ready to come home, come home, and we’ll see where we are at that point.”

“You’ll have someone else barefoot and pregnant,” she cried, holding her arms over her stomach. It was the only way she could keep herself standing—the only way she could make it through this.

Good lord, the girl had no idea what he felt for her. There wasn’t anything in the world he wanted more than to have her wear his ring, take his last name. He wanted to claim her now. Even at eighteen, he knew that she was his, but she wasn’t there yet. She needed to experience things and make her dreams come true. “I’m gonna be here when you come back, whether it be five or ten years from now. I’m gonna be here.”

“But you won’t be the same,” she argued.

“And neither will you,” he argued right back. “You’ll be a lawyer, and you’ll be helping people who slip through the cracks, the way nobody ever helped you and your mom. You’re going to do what you want, but both of us are going to have to make sacrifices for it, baby. I believe in you, do you believe in yourself?”

That was the question of the hour. Did she believe in herself enough to make this dream come true? “I do,” she told him as more tears slipped down her cheeks.

“Then what is it you’re gonna need to do?” he asked her, wanting her to make this decision for herself.

“I’m going to have to let you go,” she choked out the words.

“You are.” He nodded. “And I’m gonna have to let you go.” Drew opened his arms one more time, and she ran to them, allowing him to envelope her in his arms and spin her around. He’d done that on one of their first dates, and it had been one of her favorite things since then.

He slid her down his body and cupped her face with his hands, placing a sweet kiss on her lips. “You gotta go,” he breathed out.

She nodded, reaching up to his wrists, holding on tightly to them. “I know.” She licked her lips. “Don’t forget me.”

“Never.” He shook his head. “I will never, in a million years, forget you. You have a spot that’s etched on my heart.”

“You have the same spot on mine,” she told him before she reached up, kissed him again, and then took off at a run for her house.

It took everything he had to let her run up that driveway and not run after her, but he knew he had to let her go. He hadn’t been lying when he said he would be waiting, no matter how long it took. His heart was young, but damn was it broken. In this moment, he wasn’t sure how he’d ever be able to heal from this. How did other people handle this desolate feeling?

Walking back over to his bike, he climbed back on and drove too fast down the same back roads that he and Charity had just driven on. He was teasing fate and he knew it, but there was a part of him that had to do something to get the pain out, and if that meant riding his bike too fast—then so be it. Drew wasn’t sure where he was going, had no idea where he’d end up, but he couldn’t say he was surprised when he pulled down a gravel driveway that he’d been to many times before in his life.

*

“Who is that coming down the driveway at this time in the morning?” Meredith asked Tyler as they stood in the kitchen, making coffee. The new baby was keeping everyone in the house up, and coffee was a must have for the new parents. Even though they were used to Addie, they hadn’t had her as a brand new newborn.

“Drew,” Tyler said as he walked over to the sink, watching the younger man park his bike next to the door. “Looks like he’s having a bad time,” he said as he took in the way his shoulders slumped.

“Charity leaves today,” Meredith told him softly. “In fact, she should be on the road right about now. They probably spent the night together last night.”

“Damn,” he swore, inhaling deeply. He wasn’t sure he was prepared to deal with a young kid who’d had his heart broken. The first woman he’d loved, loved him back. He had no basis for this.

“Go out there and check on him. He needs a friend right now, that’s why he didn’t go home. Denise will worry over him and Liam will want to talk it out. Go out there and offer to have a workout with him. He needs something to get his mind off of it.” She nodded towards the door.

“You okay with me leaving you with the two hellions?” He grinned.

“For Drew, I’ll make do. It’s obvious he needs someone right now, and you’re the best person in the world to help him. You offer no fake advice, and you don’t have to make small talk. He needs that right now.”

Tyler leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. One day Drew would have his own family, and he would understand the love of a woman. Tyler hoped with everything he had that it was a woman like Meredith. She’d grown and changed, and she’d become the best person he’d ever known.

Walking over to the backdoor, he grabbed the tennis shoes he kept there and shrugged a T-shirt over his body. He slept in workout shorts for the most part, so it only took a few minutes for him to be ready. “Be back later,” he told her as he pulled his long hair back in a ponytail.

“Bring him back for breakfast. I’ll have it ready for you two.”

He nodded and walked out onto the back porch. Drew looked up, almost surprised to see him standing there.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” the younger man apologized.

“You didn’t.” Tyler grinned. “The babies took care of that.” He walked down the porch steps and stood in front of the boy who had become a man and a friend. “You look like you could use a workout.”

Tears popped into Drew’s eyes. He licked his lips and nodded quickly. “Anything,” he breathed out. “Anything to get rid of this pain.”

“I can’t guarantee it’ll get rid of the pain, but it’ll make you feel better.” Tyler clapped him on the back and urged him into a run.

“Feeling better is all I can ask for.”

Tyler understood that because at one point that’s all he’d wanted to do too. Feel better and live for the moment. Now, though, he understood what being a husband and father was all about, and with Meredith at his side he knew nothing would ever come between them. They were building a life and a love that would last forever. Thinking back to the first meeting they’d had, Tyler couldn’t help but shake his head. Who knew that changing a passcode on an iPhone would be the beginning of forever?

The End

Thank you so much for taking the time to read not only the continuation of Tyler & Meredith but the rest of the Heaven Hill Series. This series of books will forever be a life changer for me and I wanted to take a quick second to thank you, the reader, for giving it a shot!

Thank you to Allison, Kari, Lindsay, Aimie, Christina, Chelsea, and the Travel Coordinator for keeping me sane throughout this process.

I hope you enjoyed the story!

–Laramie

Coming Fall 2015

(Drew’s Story)

‡
Chapter One

D
rew Walker was beginning to get really fuckin’ pissed. He blew out a loud breath and slammed his hand on the table in front of him. When that did nothing, he decided to yell.

“Either charge me or let me go!”

At that point, a Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy came into the room, pointing his finger at the other man. “Keep your voice down. We can hold you if we want to.”

“You have nothing.”

“We’ll decide what we have. Now you just sit there and shut the fuck up.”

Drew bit back the retort that was on his tongue. He hated this place, and he hated this particular piece of shit who was “questioning” him. In the ten years since his eighteenth birthday, he had been here a few times, but never had to stay. He was one of the cleanest in his club.

“Now, you’re gonna answer a few questions I have.”

“The hell I am. I don’t have to answer anything. I want my lawyer.”

“You’ll get one in a minute, after you answer a question or two.”

The door to the interrogation room opened, and Drew sat in shock as he recognized the person who walked through the door.

“I believe my client asked for a lawyer and you refused. I also believe that he never consented to a search of his vehicle. Whatever you have is a bunch of bullshit, and we both know it. Cut him loose.”

The officer grit his teeth as he looked up at the woman who had walked through the door. “I’m not done here.”

“Yes. You. Are.” She motioned to a supervisor who stood behind her. “I have permission to take my client out of here. Unless you can produce some legally obtained evidence.”

The supervisor stepped forward. “Officer Burke, cut him loose. Ms. Thomas is correct, and we
will
be discussing how to legally obtain evidence. My office. Now!”

The two of them shuffled out, leaving Drew and Charity alone in the interrogation room.

“Hey.” She smiled at him. “Let’s get out of here.”

He was struck stupid. In the years since she had left, he had tried to think of how their meeting would be, if they ever saw each other again. This was not how he had thought it would go at all. It took him until they were out of the station and almost to the lot where they had put his truck before he could even speak or act. Suddenly, he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

“Goddamn, it’s good to see you,” he whispered as he brought her into his arms.

She allowed herself to melt into his arms. He still smelled the same as she remembered. He almost felt the same too. He had filled out in the years they had been apart, and he’d gotten leaner. A full beard covered his face, giving him the appearance of an older man. His hair, once buzzed short for football, had grown into a full head of hair. It wasn’t long, not even enough to brush his shirt collar, but it was thick. She remembered it had been a light brown color, but over the years it had darkened to an auburn. It made his blue eyes pop. They were just as beautiful as they had been before, his lips just as full as well.

“It’s good to see you too.” She put her arms around his neck and stretched to accommodate their height differences. The circle of his arms had never felt so good. This was the place she had wanted to be for the last ten years.

“You look different.” He laughed; suddenly shy to the fact she had seen him in an interrogation room.

“Nah, it’s still me.” She let go of his neck and ran her hand down along his arm so that their hands clasped.

It sure didn’t look like her. Just as he had filled out, she had filled out. Gone was the lankiness of her youth. In its place was the stacked body that had gotten her mother such good tips when she had been a stripper. Her hair also had what could only be described as copper highlights through it.

“How did you know I was in there?” He pointed back to the jail as they made their way to where his truck sat.

She laughed. “Believe it or not, your sister called me. She and I have kept in touch all these years without you knowing. When I called to tell her I was moving back a few weeks ago, she told me to let her know when I got settled. Today was my first day as boss of my own legal practice. I asked her to come paralegal for me, and when she got there she was crying because of what had happened to you.”