Written with You (The Regret Duet #2)(61)

“But then came Willow. She doesn’t look at me like a monster. To her, I’m not Malcom’s son. Or the kid responsible for the shooting. I’m just me. Flawed, fucked up, and gasping for oxygen. And she’s okay with that. So you go. Get the hell off my driveway. Go home. Keep your secrets. But don’t you dare come here asking me what the hell is wrong with me. You know what’s wrong with me. And you, of all people, should know that when you find a single sliver of happy you hold on to it.” I paused long enough to catch my breath. “Get used to Willow. She’s not going anywhere. Not now. Not ever. Do you understand?”

His jaw ticked as he held my stare. “Oh, I understand, brother. I understand completely. Maybe you deserve her after all.” Reaching out, he grabbed Jenn’s hand and gave her a sharp tug. “Let’s go.”

“Trent, wait,” she urged.

“Let’s. Go,” he rumbled, marching away, dragging her behind him.

She caught my gaze over her shoulder and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I pointed at Trent’s back. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that.”

She rolled her eyes and trotted to keep up with her husband. She gingerly got into the SUV while he stormed around, complete with slamming the door.

This wasn’t our first argument. It wouldn’t be the last, either.

But it would be the last until he could figure out how to accept my family.

A family that now included Willow.





WILLOW


Caven was in a mood as we drove to my house to meet the police. He held my hand and tried his best to cover it with a smile, but the pissed-off energy rolling off him was damn near suffocating.

He’d told me that Trent had showed up.

He’d told me that Trent had acted like a dick.

He’d told me that he’d told Trent to leave until he could stop being a dick.

None of these things surprised me, though I was rather excited about the latter because Trent was in fact a dick, so I didn’t think I’d have to put up with him again any time soon.

This was a huge relief.

So, while we rode to my house with pissed off rolling off Caven, my smile was genuine and my breaths were easy, though this did make me feel a tad guilty.

But only a tad.

As we pulled into my driveway, that relief disappeared and a giant ball of anxiety took its place. There was crime scene tape covering my front door and three police cars in my driveway. I’m sure old man Jerry next door was loving this. He’d probably already shoved a letter in my mailbox comparing crime before I’d moved in to crime after, including stats about his plummeting property value because of me. The man didn’t know how to recycle, but he could produce a strongly worded letter at the drop of a hat.

“You okay?” Caven asked as he put the car in park.

“Yeah. Though I’m probably going to have to move.”

“He’s dead, babe. He’s not going to come back to cause you any trouble.”

“Yeah, but Jerry’s not. And he might look old but trust me, his shit-list is a dangerous place to be. There’s a reason I got this house for a steal.”

He chuckled. “So, you’re okay?”

I gave his hand a squeeze. “Are you? After what happened with Trent?”

He kissed the back of my knuckle. “Yeah, babe. I’m good. I promise. Let’s get this over with so we can get Rosie and head into the city for brunch.”

“Can we maybe hit Central Park too? My dad used to take us there sometimes on the weekends. His old bakery is still off Times Square. I hear the guy who bought it is an asshole, but they still sell bear claws. I’d love to get Rosie one and then show her where Hadley and I used to play out back.”

Catching me at the back of the neck, he met me halfway over the center console and kissed me. Chaste and sweet, but it was Caven, so it was also filled with absolute love. “Then it sounds like, after brunch, we’ll be getting bear claws and hitting Central Park.”

I smiled huge and stared into his blue eyes. It didn’t matter that my life was pretty much in total disarray and we were sitting in front of my house with police tape across the front door. I thought maybe Hadley had always been right. I was the lucky one.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Willow.”

“You have to call me Hadley, remember?”

He pursed his lips. “I’ll call you babe, baby, sweetheart, beautiful, and maybe even gorgeous. But I’m not calling you Hadley. Okay?”

I didn’t argue because I liked all of those. “Fair enough.”

He kissed me again, and then we both climbed out of the car. He immediately took my hand again as we strolled up the front sidewalk, where three young officers were standing around talking.

“Mrs. Banks,” the youngest of the three greeted when we got close.

I was either getting old or the PD was fishing from the junior police academy swimming pool.

“That’s me. This is my, um…” I flashed a smile at Caven. “My boyfriend, Caven Hunt.”

Stoic Caven’s lip twitched just like old times and it caused butterflies in my stomach. It wasn’t very long ago that he had been standing in that very same spot, angry and worried that I was there to take his daughter. I’d never in a million years dreamed we’d be standing there holding hands, committed and in love, on the cusp of starting a life together.