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Finally, he pulled himself together and looked at me once more. “You have no clue how happy I am to hear that, man. You’ve had us scared for years. I thought you might never come out of the downward spiral you were in, and after all the shit we went through together, everything we saw and survived, we thought we’d end up losin’ you after all.”
“She managed to pull me out of the darkness. But I’ve still got some shit to work through. But maybe it would help if I talked to you and Gage about it.”
“You say when and where, and we’ll be there, brother. Any time, any place.”
I felt like shit for putting my two closest friends through hell these past few years, but something told me we weren’t going to have any problems getting past that now.
The ladies came back, Deva carrying my son in her arms, and I’d never seen a vision more right in my whole life. Until that very moment, I’d been content to let things with Cash’sbirth mom play out naturally, but that was going to change very soon. Deva was the mother my boy deserved. She loved him with all her heart, and he adored her just as much. Those two were my family, and I’d make damn sure nothing would tear it apart. Deanne didn’t know it, but the day she’d shown up on my doorstep had been the start of a better life for my son. And that life wouldn’t involve a woman so careless that she’d dump her child off simply so she could be free to go out and party.
“Ready to go home, guys?” I asked as I reached out for Deva’s hand.
She didn’t hesitate to lace her delicate fingers with mine. “Absolutely.”
Chapter
Thirty-One
DEVA
I slickedon a quick layer of gloss and gave myself one last look in the mirror. I’d done pretty good, if I did say so myself. The makeup I’d applied was light, only meant to highlight my natural features as opposed to changing or covering anything. I’d even gotten pretty good at taming my unruly hair.
This, of course, was all thanks to my new network of friends. In the past month since Laeth and I had made things official, my circle of friends had managed to grow by leaps and bounds. I still had Lyric, of course, as my bestie—a word I’d learned from her—and Myra and I were closer than ever. Cash, Laeth, and I did family dinners at Bennett’s and her house once a week without fail, even if the others couldn’t make it.
But Laeth had already had a family of his choosing before I’d come into the picture, and the moment he made it known I was his, they’d insisted on bringing me into the fold.
Lark and Aurora had given me countless tips on all things hair and makeup. Farah, a woman who loved to shop, asked me to go with her on a regular basis, so I also had a better feel for my own personal style, and had fun trying new things. Willow would join Cash and me for lunch a couple times aweek, the quiet woman who’d rooted for me from the beginning quickly becoming a close confidant. Poppy and I shared a love of cooking and baking and got together every other weekend to trade recipes and play around in the kitchen. Then Shane and I had started coordinating regular playdates with Brantley and Cash. Brant might have been older, but the two saw each other as family, and he was very protective of his younger cousin.
The more time passed, the more I began to feel these people weren’t just friends. Like Laeth, they were becoming the family of my heart. The one I chose.
Not a single one judged my past. They didn’t blink at the mention of the Fellowship of the Enlightened, and they were quickly showing that their loyalty came without conditions. It was something I’d never had in all my life, and sometimes I still had to pinch myself to remember it was real.
Flipping off the light, I exited the bathroom connected to what was now Laeth’s and my room. Since that first night, he’d refused to let me go back to the room that had been designated as mine as soon as I’d moved in, declaring that now that he knew what it felt like to fall asleep with me in his arms, there was no way in hell he would do without. A small part of me wondered if maybe we were moving too fast, but I’d quickly and efficiently silenced that doubt. I’d spent too much of my life unhappy, day after day, drowning in misery that was brought on by others. I wouldn’t do it anymore. If something made me happy, I was holding tight to it with both hands.
I moved to our closet and slipped my feet into a comfy pair of flats. I’d gotten a little better at walking in heels, thanks to Lyric’s insistence I wear them during our ladies’ nights that now consisted of our new group. But I still preferred comfort over style most of the time.
My cellphone went into the back pocket of my jeans, where I always carried it out of habit, but I still grabbed my pursebecause, at Laeth’s insistence, I’d started carrying a can of pepper spray with me whenever he wasn’t around. It was more than a bit of overkill, but if it put his mind at ease, I was willing to do it, especially since the nightmares had grown less and less frequent. After he told me about them, he’d gotten together with Jensen and Gage and confessed to them what had been messing with his head for so long. It had been a very long, much needed discussion among the three of them, but it seemed to have helped. In the past month, his relationship with his closest friends had gotten even better; he’d only had one nightmare, and he’d managed to shake it off much faster than he had the other ones.
“All right,” I called as I stepped out of the mouth of the hallway. “I’m heading out. I’ll be home in a few hours.”
Laeth looked at me over the back of the couch where he and Cash were currently snuggled together, watching some movie with superheroes and stuff that I really had no interest in.
Lyric and I had decided a couple weeks ago that we wanted to share our love of romance novels with fellow readers, and had decided the best way to do that was to start a book club. Today was our first meeting, and my level of excitement was ridiculously high. When we’d told the rest of our friends, they’d jumped to join, so it would be Lyric, Myra, Aurora, Farah, Lark, Shane, Poppy, Willow, and me.
“This is stupid,” Laeth grumbled, rising from the couch and coming around toward me. He grabbed hold of my hips, pulling me against him before reaching around and locking his hands at the small of my back. “Just let me drive you, for Christ’s sake. It would be faster and a hell of a lot safer. You know I can’t stand you walking everywhere.”
Our driving lessons had been put on the back burner recently, but I wasn’t complaining because the reason for it was my burgeoning social schedule. There just hadn’t been muchtime for the two of us to practice. Needless to say, my enjoyment of walking around town was still a point of contention for him.
I placed my palms on his chest and rose up on my tiptoes to place a kiss against his lips. The longer we were together, the more comfortable I was at initiating affection. It helped that every time I did, he looked at me like he’d just gotten an award or something.
“It’ll be fine. It’s the middle of the day on a Saturday. There will be people all over the streets. The weather is beautiful, and, even though I think it’s ridiculous, I have the pepper spray you gave me.” I patted the purse hanging at my side from the strap on my shoulder. I’ll be perfectly safe.”
He grunted, still looking unhappy at the idea, but I knew he wouldn’t fight me too hard. He knew I enjoyed my time outdoors. That was why there was currently the start of a very nice vegetable garden in the backyard.
“Fine,” he relented a few seconds later. “But if this thing goes long and it’s getting dark by the time you get out, you catch a ride with someone else or call me. Got it?”
“Got it. I promise.”
I gave him one last kiss before breaking from his hold, moved to the couch, and leaned over the back to blow a raspberry against Cash’s cheek. He giggled hysterically. “Silly Day-Day.”
