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“I’m on board with that,” I said, winking at my girl.
The ladies all giggle. Then when Embry piped up, laughter could be heard down the block.
“Even I have someone to kiss.” She was eyeballing Dexter who dashed behind his dad's legs.
“And on that note,” Braxton said, clearly trying to make sure his daughter didn’t run out of the house and follow through with the kissing session, “here’s your pizza.”
He handed the pizza to Alley and kissed Jurnee as he told her to behave. She just gave him a silly smile and followed her friend and daughter into the house. Then, Gyth laid one on Summer and they all said their goodbyes.
Once they had loaded their kids and headed out, Teal stepped out onto the front porch after handing Denver over to Gemma who had been quietly watching the exchange. Not her usual behavior. She was a lot like Alley at times so I hoped everything was okay.
My woman and I pulled the front door shut which didn’t do much good since the blinds in the windows were rattling with prying eyes peeking out, but I didn’t give a shit. We made out like teenagers for ten minutes before she finally went inside.
I’d been damn glad we went last.
That may tie me over for a little while.
But I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t admit I couldn’t wait until morning when she and Denver were all mine again.
So, when I got a goodnight kiss from my girl that I wasn’t expecting, I was damn happy.
ChapterThirty-Five
TEAL
Kace was on edge.
During all the conversations at the sleepover, a plan had been hatched to go out the following Saturday for just a few hours to take me dancing. The ladies were bound and determined to help me make up for lost time and show me all the things I’d been missing. And Kace was all for it until Monday morning rolled around.
He’d been trying to talk me out of it ever since.
We’d gone back to work and the guys were all back from Florida so a meeting was called to go over what happened while they were there. I could tell they wanted to talk without me but that wasn’t happening and Kace had told me he wouldn’t keep stuff from me.
At first, I thought about running and hiding once I heard what the men had to say, but I knew I’d be doing that forever and would never find what I had here.
Family.
So even though I was scared, I was doing my best to not let it control me. Which meant I insisted we were still going out dancing.
“Honey, I want to take you, but keeping you safe is more important.”
I understood why he thought I needed to be protected. It wasn’t what Thad had said when the guys were there that had left them all with a bad feeling. He’d acted as if he couldn’t care less what they had to say and told them to get off his property after they explained who they were and why they were there. They also made it clear they had proof of the abuse and it would be in his best interest to sign the papers and stay out of mine and Denver’s lives.
No, it was the neighbor's comment.
It was eerie but I tried to shove it to the back of my mind.
The guys had watched and waited for Thad to leave the following day after speaking to him. None of them had gotten a good vibe from him at all and wanted to see if they could get any other info. Lyric had gone to the house next door with some bullshit story he’d spun, the cop in him going to work.
We didn’t socialize with the people who lived around us and I told Landon that when we went over stuff. I’d also told him about the last beating I received, the day before leaving town after Thad had caught me talking to the new gentleman that had moved into the house beside us with his wife. That was who they’d spoken with. He told them that after he hadn’t seen me since that day, he’d asked Thad in passing if I was okay.
Thad had told him I died.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that my ex was planning my death and just getting a head start on what he would tell people. I sucked in a breath as the thought crossed my mind. And while I feared that coming true, I wasn’t just scared for myself.
It was also for my son, Kace, and my friends.
The loneliness which once plagued me every day since the day I watched my mother be laid to rest had disappeared when they all came into my life and I didn’t want anything to happen to any of them. Nor did I want to leave them.
