Redemption (The Restoration Series Book 1) (23 page)

 “Hold on a second,” Davis said as we stepped outside the truck. He reached into the cross box that sat snugly in the back of the truck, pulling out a large homemade telescope.

 “What’s that for?”

 “A gift for Ellie.” He smirked and grabbed my hand as we made our way toward the joyous little girl.

 “Hey, Ellie!” I hollered as we moved across the grounds. Her eyes flew upward and she had a huge grin on her face as she ran toward us, arms still extended.

 I braced for the impact as she ran into my torso, wrapping her fragile arms around me.

 “Supernova!” She screamed excitedly.

 My fingers involuntarily slid down her free curls as I hugged her to myself, soaking in some of her joy and happiness. “Hey, El.”

 Davis cleared his throat behind me and Ellie stepped back, glancing at him curiously with a smile. “Hi, Superman.”

 “Hello. I brought something for you. Do you want to see it?”

 She bobbed her small head up and down and waited for him to reveal his treasure. He motioned for us to walk toward a picnic table that rested along the side of the house. Ellie gripped
my hand, pulling me as fast as she could in eagerness to see.

 Davis began setting up the homemade telescope and Ellie struggled to contain her excitement.

 “Is that what I think it is?” She squealed before rushing toward Davis to touch the new-found treasure.

 “Well, I had this thing sitting around and thought to myself, ‘who do I know that would love to use this every night this summer to stare at the stars?’ I think the answer was obvious, though. So I brought it here.”

 Ellie’s emerald green eyes shone brightly as she impulsively wrapped her arms around Davis and hugged him tightly.

 “Thank you so much! This is the nicest gift I’ve ever gotten!”

 “Well, maybe Nova and I can show you a few things
sometime, though I’m sure you’ll know more than us.” He smiled before releasing her.

 She nodded and started chatting incessantly over the features of the telescope. Eventually, we had to leave her to her own devices as we noticed Lillian step out on the porch to witness the exchange with our young friend. She waved us in and I grabbed Davis’ hand, pulling him toward the house.

 “You ready?” I asked him, grinning.

 “I’m ready.” He looked offered his hand, and I freely slid my palm against his, as it had become more comfortable to do so. He led me up the stairs to the main door where Lillian stood.

 “Davis.” Lillian smiled warmly, wrapping her welcoming arms around him. “It’s been too long.”

 “That it has been, Lillian. Nice to see you again.” He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, reciprocating the embrace. When he released her, he shifted his arm that I had gripped tightly and moved it up around my shoulders, keeping me tucked into his side.

 Lillian grinned a little and moved toward the door. “Well, why don’t we head on up to my office, then? Looks like we have some talking to do.”

Chapter 18

DAVIS

 It had been a long time since I had walked through the doors of the center, other than the time I met Ellie just a few days ago. Pictures of the various girls that had walked through these doors lined the entrance. Among those was a snapshot of Amanda and myself when I first joined Corinth. I glanced at it fondly, taking a minute to remember that time.

 “Is that you?” Nova stepped beside me, staring at the picture.

 “Yes. That was right after I enlisted.”

 “You look young in that picture. Who is that with you?”

 “Her name was Amanda.”

 Was?”

 “She’s gone,” I said, desperately trying to let go of the painful memories that encompassed my thoughts. Nova reached out to offer me some comfort and I brought her close to me.

 “She was important to you,” Nova whispered, not as a question but more of an observation. I nodded my head and turned us away, guiding her up the stairs.

 She glanced at me curiously, no doubt watching me shut down a little, then turned and walked up the stairs. Lillian’s office hadn’t changed a bit. I led Nova to the sofa and we sat, waiting for Lillian to grab her things and meet us in the sitting area.

 “So, this is definitely some development.” She smiled encouragingly. “Tell me what happened this week.”

 Nova sat up and pulled her fingers into her lap. She glanced out the window as she picked her fingernails mindlessly.

 “I had another nightmare last night. Well, I guess it was more of a memory, but still a nightmare.”

 “Tell me about it.”

 Nova glanced at me briefly before sighing and turning away slightly. She recalled the horror of the torture she had been through. Every word she spoke burned deeply into my soul. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the things of which she spoke. My heart broke even more, but at the same time a resolution began to form inside of me. As long as I was alive, I’d protect Nova until the end. She deserved to be happy, to have the world handed to her, and I would make sure that it happened.

 
Sometime through the conversation, Lillian glanced over at me and nodded. I understood what she meant. I scooted closer to Nova, gently resting my hand on hers, stilling her from the fidgeting. She stopped and glanced at me.

 “You’re safe,” I said quietly, waiting for her to nod in understanding. She did and then we turned back to Lillian.

 “Nova, how do you feel when Davis tells you you’re safe?”

 “Good. It’s like I know no matter how I’m feeling, if he says it’s good, it is. I trust him.”

 “That’s great. Do you trust him completely?”

 “I’d like to think so. I still have my moments, but I’m working on it.”

 Lillian glanced at me briefly before returning her gaze to Nova.

 “Has Davis told you anything about his past?”

 Nova gripped my hand a little tighter and I sighed, knowing where Lillian was going. I didn’t know if I was ready to divulge everything to Nova right now, but if Lillian thought it was time, then I would give her the shortened version.

 “No. Not much, really. Other than growing up in
Trunksville and how he ended up moving here with his grandparents.” The sadness rolled over me as thoughts of my parents filled my mind and I couldn’t keep the distant look off my face. It wasn’t long until I was brought back to the present by Lillian’s voice.

 “Yes. That’s great, but
there’s some specific things I think it’s time for him to share with you. Don’t you, Davis?”

 I nodded then turned slightly toward Nova. My heart twisted and I bounced my knee nervously, trying to keep my emotions in check as I began to explain to Nova about my history with Amanda.

 “The picture downstairs…”

 Nova froze a little, then nodded for me to continue.

 “Amanda was my fiancée. Not at the time the picture was taken, but we were stationed together in Sydney and things kind of grew from there.”

 Nova’s eyes went wide, then dimmed a little. She tried to let my hand go, but I held on tighter, refusing to let her retreat. This was important, but at the same time I needed her to know she was just as important to me.

 “Last year, we were working hard to take down a certain group and Amanda decided to go undercover. I was working hard on other things and before I knew it, I was getting a call that she had been killed. They found her out and I can imagine you know what happened.” My voice cracked as I let my head fall slightly, chin hitting my chest and all sense of peace leaving my face.

 “I tried to save her, Nova. I did. I went barreling through the town and into the underground cells, but I was too late. I couldn’t save her. But she did what she set out to accomplish. When I walked in, there were hundreds of girls rushing
from the halls and out to safety. The officers were doing their jobs and the men were being arrested. I frantically searched for her, asking every girl I could, where she was. Then I came into the back room and saw her. She was on the floor. She was gone.”

 Nova reached for me and pulled me into her arms. I buried my face in her shoulder and let her comfort reach into me.

 “I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

 I took a few moments to gather myself and then released her. Standing up, I paced across the room to the large windows. “I was sorry. Still am, I suppose, but for different reasons. I’m not sorry she died for the cause she had so much passion for. She loved every girl, woman, and child that we rescued. She lived her life as a hero, going in when no one else would. Freeing the
captives. I’m sorry I didn’t get the ending I thought we’d have, but I’m not sorry that she did what she did. There is always a purpose, or reason why things happen, Nova. Even if I don’t understand them. Sometimes, we aren’t meant to understand. God doesn’t allow us to see the larger picture and I can only find solace in the fact that He knows what he’s doing and that now she is free.”

 “Thank you for telling me,” Nova answered quietly from her seat.

 I quietly moved toward her, getting down on my knees in front of her, gripping her small hands in mine.

 “You have to know, beautiful, that I’m moving forward. You know where I stand. I’ve had time to work through everything I’ve needed to, but there will always be pieces of me that will remember those times with her. That doesn’t diminish what I feel for you, or my desire to be everything we talked about.”

 She nodded as I reached to wipe a single tear from her cheek.

 “Okay?” I asked.

 “Okay.”

 “Well, then. I’d say we covered enough today.” Lillian stood, moving to set her things on her desk.

 “We’ll meet again next week. Davis, you are only welcome if and when Nova asks you to be here. Understood? Do not push your way into the time we have here,” she firmly commanded me.

 “Yes, ma’am.” I stood and pulled Nova up with me as we headed
toward the door.

 “Davis?” Lillian called before we were out, halting our steps.

 “Yes?”

 “Thank you for the telescope. Ellie is definitely in need of a little
doting.”

 “Sure thing, Doc. Always glad to be of help.”

 We made our way down the stairs and out the front door. Nova stayed quiet as we left the building, and I kept looking at her, hoping to read whatever emotions were going through that beautiful head of hers. I certainly hadn’t planned on dropping the whole story on her, but I knew she needed time to process everything. I softly ran my thumb across the back of her hand.

 “So, my parents wanted to throw a welcome home party tonight at the ranch. Just a picnic and bonfire type of thing. Probably some music and such.” My palms were a bit
sweaty but I pushed through my nervousness as I opened the door of the truck and waited for her to step inside.

 “Sounds like they’re glad to have you back.” She smiled sweetly as moved up and planted herself on the bench seat.

 “They are, of course. But, I was actually wondering if you’d do me the honor of being my date for the evening.”

 “D-date?” she stuttered a little.

 “I think it’s high time we call it what it is, don’t you?” I shut her door and moved around to the driver’s side, sliding in quickly and shutting the door beside me. I chanced a glance at her and saw humor dancing in her captivating eyes.

 “Is that what we’ve been doing?” She smirked, glancing over
to me.

 “Well, I don’t know. I mean, I pick you up, take you out, we do a bunch of really fun things all the time. I’d say those sound like dates.”

 “Maybe.”

 “Maybe they were dates, or maybe you’ll go?”

 “Maybe to both.” She laughed, and the sunshine surrounding her made her glow like an angel.

 “I’ll get you to say yes.” I challenged, grinning as I drove toward town.

 “And how do you think you’re going to do that, cowboy?”

 I laughed and waggled my eyebrows. “Ice cream.”

 My ridiculous face caused her to chuckle and her face lit up as she smiled brightly at me. “Deal.”

 One thing I had learned about Nova in the past weeks was how much she loved ice cream. It was my weapon, and usually it convinced her to do whatever I wanted her to do. I guided the car to the main road in town and found a parking spot by the park which sat directly
across the ice cream parlor. Nova pushed open her door, unable to wait for me, and bounced around the truck to meet me as if she were a little girl again. The freedom in her actions made me chuckle and I
took in the moment, memorizing it, keeping it in my bank to look back on forever. I would always remember her like this; it was my favorite thing about her.

 The door chimed as we walked into the ice cream shop. This place had been around for ages and had a very loyal town to stand behind it, keeping its nostalgic décor throughout the decades. Nova dragged me up to the counter as she looked at all the various flavors available. A teenage boy walked up to the register, wearing a red and white striped apron and a paper wedge hat. The name tag on his apron said Victor.

 “Welcome to Dougie’s. What can I get for you?” He smiled flirtatiously at Nova and tossed a quick glanced at me, before moving his attention back to Nova. His cheeks pinked and I smugly wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

 “I’ll take a double scoop of the cherry,” I announced, then turned to wait for Nova.

 “I can’t make up my mind. Can I have one scoop of the coffee toffee crumble and another of the banana?”

 “Sure.”

 I looked at her with a screwed-up face, unable to imagine combining those two flavors.

 “What?” She questioned with a laugh.

 “Nothing.”

 We chatted for a few minutes, waiting for Victor to scoop our ice cream, when the door chimed behind us and we turned to see Pete walk in and step into the line behind us.

 “Afternoon, Pete.” I greeted him calmly, moving myself ever so slightly in between him and Nova.

 He completely ignored my comment and his eyes never left Nova’s face. I noticed her begin
to tremble slightly and I reached behind me and calmed her with my touch.

 “My father have you running errands today?”

 “Actually, Mr. Matthews gave me the day off. Just wandering around town and such.” It was as if he was answering her instead of me. His eyes stayed trained on her, and I was growing more agitated by the second.