Page 58 of Redeeming Violet

“Here.” I held up my hand and crooked my finger for her to come to me.

She leaned closer and I met her in the middle. Our kiss was soft and chaste, a touching of our lips, but it meant more than any kiss we’d shared. She was alive, she was safe, and now I could go about making her mine.

I got out and met her at the passenger side. When I grabbed her hand to guide her to the garage, the warmth of her hand in mine calmed my nerves. She was alive. The current that flowed between us confirmed what I already knew, she was mine.

“Yo!” I called into the space allowing my eyes to adjust to the lack of the blinding sunshine from outside. Cooper straightened and looked around the open hood of a ’69 Chevy Camaro. “Hope you’re planning on painting this piece of shit. It’s orange.”

“Say’s the man who dares to park a Ford in my driveway. That hunk of shit leaks oil, you’ll be out there with degreaser and a toothbrush. Come to think of it, I’ll pull ol’ Molly out there and you can hide the Ford in here. Don’t want the neighbors to complain about the trash.”

“Fuckin’ snob,” I laughed. “Cooper, this is Violet. Violet, this is my little brother Cooper.”

“Nice to meet you,” Violet said, and offered Cooper her hand. I was so proud of her.

Cooper looked at her, then her hand, then his, then back at her. “Babe, I got grease all over my hands. Come on in the house so I can wash up and give you a proper hello.”

“You mind not flirting with my woman?”

“Bro, if you think that was flirting, you’ve been out of the game for a long time old man. You wanna catch a woman as beautiful as Violet, you better step up your A game.”

Violet’s face flushed, and she smiled just as Cooper had intended.

We followed Cooper into the house. On the way in he told us about the ugly orange Camaro. He’d purchased it a few days ago and planned on a complete overhaul and rebuild before he took her to the track for one race then he would flip her for a profit. Cooper had been flipping cars for a long time and made a good bit of money doing it. I was pretty sure he could quit the LAPD and make a decent living selling his remodels, but he loved being a cop and just like when we were kids he wouldn’t take his hobby and turn it into work.

Cooper washed his hands and turned to Violet, startling her when he pulled her into a tight hug. I also forgot to warn her my family were huggers, especially my mom. She’d pull you in and smother you half to death.

“Glad you’re here,” I heard Cooper tell her. He broke the hug and without asking he pulled off her sunglasses. That’s another thing about my family - they are pushy.

“Motherfucker,” he said and Violet flinched. “I hope you dispatched the motherfucker who did this to hell.”

“With my bare hands and it was sweetest thing I’ve tasted in a long time, brother.”

“Sweeter than me?” Violet asked with a sexy playful smirk. I wasn’t sure what had brought out the sass in her but I was pleased as fuck she was comfortable enough to joke with me in front of Cooper.

“There is nothing in the world as sweet as you, baby.” I pulled her to my side and tucked her under my arm.

“I like her. She’s a keeper,” Cooper said. “Grab a few beers, would ya? I’m taking Violet out back.” He picked up her shades, handed them to her, and without waiting for me to answer, he led her to the back deck.

I grabbed the beers and waited a few minutes, watching Cooper point out the various plants that surrounded the new patio he had built. I’d only seen pictures of it; however, the images hadn’t done it justice. It was a tropical paradise. On the left side of the patio there was a water feature that included a small waterfall. Birds of paradise were in full bloom, along with a multitude of other brightly colored orange, purple, and yellow blossoms.

Watching my brother and Violet together clicked a few more pieces of the puzzle into place. It was hard to believe that it wasn’t too long ago I couldn’t figure her out. Her straight edges seemed to have been missing, there was no way for me to make the frame and box her in. Now I’d realized she doesn’t have any straight edges, there is no outside edge, and her pieces, when fitted together, didn’t take a standard shape. She was complex and predictable at the same time. Violet smiled at Cooper, pointing to the waterfall, and I wondered if she’d like a patio like this in Maryland. I had plenty of room in my backyard. We couldn’t have the same shrubbery and flowers with the difference in climate, but we could make something just as beautiful.

The longer I observed, the more I realized all the obstacles I thought Violet and I had to work through were all bullshit. The most pressing one, Ortega, was eliminated. There was nothing left standing in our way.

We’d get through the next few weeks together, then it would be smooth sailing. A physical pain in my chest brought my hand to my heart.

I fucking miss you, brother.

Chapter Twenty- Seven

Violet.

It was our last night in California. Our flight left early the next morning and Jaxon was standing outside of Cooper’s house arguing with his mother. Cooper thought it was funny, then again, I had learned Cooper had to be the most laidback person I’d ever met, until someone crossed the line of the law. I’d learned that when Cooper Cain was pissed he gave Zane Lewis a run for his money. He believed in protecting the underdog almost as much as he loved his family.

Last night Jaxon had gone over all the details of what had happened. I watched as Cooper became angrier and angrier; the lines on his forehead deepened, his brow pulled together, and the pulsing in his neck was visible. If Jaxon hadn’t already killed Ortega, I had no doubt Cooper would have been on the next flight to Brazil. I loved how the Cain men were so protective. I was going to miss Cooper when we left, though he did say he’d come out in a few months to visit us. Us! Not Jaxon, us.

Hope had more than taken root and grown into something more. I wanted a future with Jaxon. When I told him that last night, he pulled me close, tangled our feet together like he always did, and said thank fuck. Then he’d asked me a question that scrambled my brain. He wanted me to move in with him. He told me all about his big colonial and there was plenty of space if I wanted my own bedroom for a while. He wanted me to think about it and give him an answer when I was ready. I wanted to blurt out I was ready now. I wanted nothing more than to move in with him. I wanted to put the past behind me, start fresh, and not go back to living my sad lonely life. And that thought had stopped me in my tracks. I needed time to think, time to explore my feelings and make sure I wasn’t using Jaxon to escape what I considered a half-life. I didn’t want to do that to him. He was a good man and deserved only the best of intentions. I needed to be one-hundred-percent certain I was with him for the right reasons.

I couldn’t worry about any of that now when Jaxon was arguing with his mom because of me. When she’d pulled into the driveway Jaxon gave Cooper a death stare that was so intense I was surprised Cooper hadn’t burst into flames. After telling Cooper he was going to kick his ass after he’d dealt with his mom, he hung his head and stomped outside.