Save Me (34 page)

I pull out my phone and look, noting that he’s right. “We can leave.”

“Don’t be silly. Let me get your bags.”

He walks by us and toward my rental car to retrieve our stuff. When he first suggested we stay with him I didn’t want to. I thought it’d be awkward and uncomfortable, but he insisted, saying he’d sleep on the couch. And now that I’m standing here, I’m sort of pissed he didn’t pull me into his arms and give me a sweet welcome.

He comes back with his arms full, so the thought of a hug still isn’t possible. He pauses long enough to give me a smile that makes me weak in my knees and winks at me.

“Come this way, ladies,” he says, motioning with his head.

I walk in after Claire and take in the beauty of this home. This is exactly the type of home we talked about owning one day when he was retired. The living room is lit by natural light through multiple skylights and a large ceiling fan circulates the air. The kitchen is off to right as you walk in, and is white with light blue accents, giving it an ocean feel.

“This way to your rooms.”

We follow Tucker down the hall, stopping behind him when nods to the right. “This is the bathroom,” he says and both of us look inside. It’s a soft yellow and very feminine with a window facing the side yard.

“This is your room,” he says, glancing at Claire. A while back I told him she wanted to be called Chloe, but he refused and I know why. I was hoping that after his grandmother visited us, she’d change her mind, but she hasn’t said anything. I don’t blame her really since all her friends know her as Chloe.

The both of us step inside and I hear a slight intake of air. Her room is decorated in pink, her favorite color. There are mounds of pillows piled high on top of her bed, but it’s the bear that grabs my attention.

“Where did you find that?” I ask him.

“It was in the storage unit.”

“I always wondered where I lost it.”

Chloe walks over and picks it up. Her fingers rub over his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before she sits down on her bed and stares at him. I can’t help but wonder if she’s remembering him or if she just knows it was her toy.

Tucker sets her suitcase down, but doesn’t say anything as he leaves the room. I want to stay and watch Claire with her toy, but know I should follow him.

When I step into the room, it looks like ours, except it’s different. I was in the process of updating our bedroom before he deployed and had shown him a comforter I liked. It was white with an array of purple flowers. The one on the bed now is purple with white flowers cascading over half the material. I know he did this for me because no man would want to sleep in this, unless he has a girlfriend. The thought of him being with someone else hurts and makes my stomach turn. I know I have no right to ask, but I have to know.

I catch him taking a picture off the dresser and sliding it into the drawer.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“It’s nothing, just a photo.”

“Of your girlfriend?”

Tucker turns around and I can see that I’m wrong. His face is pinched and his cheeks are red. He reaches blindly for the frame and shows it to me. It’s our wedding photo. I’m dressed in a flowery summer dress and he’s in his dress whites.

“I’m sorry. I thought—”

He doesn’t let me finish my sentence before he’s standing before me. My heart is thundering in my chest, the sound clearly audible in the room. The moment his lips touch mine, I’m a heap of nothing as he takes me in his arms to hold me up. This is unlike the kiss we shared a while back; this one is full of passion and heat. My toes curl when his tongue traces the outline of my lower lip and when I sigh he uses it to his advantage by letting me taste him. With his hand on my back and the other pressed against the nape of my neck, Tucker kisses me with abandon. Our lips move together, in sync and with rhythm, making up for all the time lost during the past seven years. That’s how long it’s been since this man kissed me like he owns me.

And he does, heart and soul.

“Don’t be nervous,” Tucker says as he hands me a cup of coffee. I can’t stop the jitters and my legs bounce up and down. I’m nervous and slightly freaked about seeing Lawson in court today. On the way over here, the guys mentioned something about telling him to plead guilty, but they don’t know what he’s going to do. River assures me that I will not be getting on the stand if he can help it.

Claire is spending the day with Ryley, EJ, and her parents at their house on the lake. Tucker bought her a bow and arrow and suggested she take it over there. When we arrived to drop her off, her mouth dropped open when she saw targets spread around for her to use.

I wanted her to be comfortable while I was away and Tucker promised that Carole and Jensen would take great care of her. Having Ryley at the house helps, though, because she knows Claire.

This was also the first time I got to meet her son. He just had his birthday and is a spitting image of Evan, except for his hair. That is all Ryley. Claire took an immediate liking to EJ and didn’t even care when I left.

A group of reporters come into view and I quickly realize that they are surrounding Lawson. We make eye contact and I freeze. His little finger wave causes my stomach to roll and then he’s out of sight because River is standing in front of me.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” I stand up and cover my mouth. Tucker is right behind me, guiding me to the ladies room. If I expected him to wait outside, I’d be foolish. He follows me in and holds my hair back as I release the contents of my stomach into the bowl. I stand and start to cry, collapsing into his arms. He kisses my forehead and tries to soothe me, but it’s to avail.

“I can’t do this,” I tell him as I weep into his shoulder. “I can’t go in there and look at him, knowing what he did to our baby.”

“You won’t have to. I promise.”

Tucker holds me for a moment longer before he takes me to the basin to rinse my mouth out and fix my make-up. When I feel somewhat presentable, he takes my hand and guides me out of the restroom and back to our friends.

“It’s time to go in,” Nate says, leading the way. He waves at Cara, who is seated up front. We choose to sit in the back, with River, Evan, Nate, and Rask sitting in front of us, blocking our view. I don’t want to see Lawson and I definitely don’t want him to see me.

When the judge enters, I refuse to stand up. I’m small enough that the bailiff will never notice anyway.

“Be seated,” the judge says and I hear the faint sound of papers being shuffled. “It seems we have something to discuss, Mr. Reyes.”

“That’s Lawson’s attorney,” Tucker whispers in my ear.

“Yes, your honor. My client has decided to change his plea.”

There’s a collective gasp from the galley and my heart soars. The only thing I want to hear is for him to say he’s guilty. If he pleads insanity, I still have to testify.

“So be it, please rise and enter your plea.”

The chair grinds against the linoleum floor as he moves it back to stand. I can barely see them through the gap of shoulders of Nate and Evan.

“What’s your plea for the charges against you?”

“I wish to enter a plea of guilty.”

The gasp is much louder this time and Tucker squeezes my hand. I lean into him and sigh. ‘Thank you,’ I mouth to him, but he points at River.

“Sentencing will be tomorrow at nine a.m. where you will hear from your victims.” The gavel slams down and when the bailiff says ‘all rise’ Tucker pulls me out of the courtroom and into this arms. He swings me around like we’re two young kids in love.

It’s only a matter of moments before the rest of the guys join us, and once my feet are firmly planted on the ground, I slip out of Tucker’s hold and into River’s arms.

“Thank you, for whatever you did.”

He doesn’t really hug me back, but I hear a sniffle and know he’s grateful that I’m thanking him. I don’t know if the guys are treating him the same, but after what he’s done for me, I’ll never be able to thank him enough. I know, deep in my heart, that if he knew what was going on, he would’ve never brought Frannie into our lives.

“We should go celebrate,” Cara exclaims as she comes out of the courtroom.

“Jensen will be more than happy to fire up the grill and we have to go there anyway,” Evan says as he volunteers his future father-in-law for cooking duty.

Tucker pulls me to him and whispers in my ear, “Is that what you want to do?”

I nod. “It’ll feel good to be with friends again. It’s been a long time.”

“The McCoys are in,” he says proudly, and I don’t dare correct him.

“I’m out,” River states. “I have some business to take care of.” He doesn’t say good-bye, but walks briskly down the corridor and out of sight.

“What’s that about?” Nate asks.

Rask shakes his head. “He still feels like he’s let us down.”

“He’ll come around,” Cara adds. “Come on, let’s go.”

The group of us walks out of the courthouse and down the steps. Tucker stops, pulling me to him.

He places his hands on my cheeks and my hands instantly hang on to his arms. I shouldn’t have the feelings that I do—the longing, the desire, and most importantly the butterflies when he touches me—but I do.

“You know the picture of us that’s in my room?”

I nod, biting my lip in anticipation.

“We took that here, in this spot.”

I look around and see that he’s right, or almost right.

“I know you’ve only been here for a day, Penelope, but having you here feels like home. I’m not going to pressure you, or ask you over and over again, but just know that I don’t want you and Claire to leave. This is your home. This is the life we had planned out for us. Give us a chance.”

Tucker doesn’t give me an opportunity to answer him. He places a kiss on the tip of my nose and takes my hand in his until we reach his car. I quickly glance back at the courthouse and remember the day I said ‘I do’.

IN THE END, I won. Shortly after Lawson’s trial, Penny informed me that her and Claire were moving back to California. All I heard was that they were moving home, where they belonged. It was the same day Claire made it known that once she moved here, we could call her Claire since no one would know her as Chloe. I wanted to hug her, but kept my distance and hands to myself.

Claire and I have come a long way in our rebuilding process. I know living together helps and she sees how much I love her mother. I will say, though, sleeping on the couch is getting old, but I refuse to pressure Penny. For right now I can live with stolen kisses and sweet moments with her.