CHAPTER TWENTY -THREE

Beau

Three weeks later

 

When we got the court date letter two weeks ago, I knew today, I would have to do something to cheer up my woman.

She’s been acting like it’s no big deal, putting on a brave face, but I know she’s been fearing Noah getting away with it, even if she doesn’t say it. I’ve seen it in the way she bites her nails, how she checks her emails for updates from her lawyer, and how she will ask Collings if everything is okay.

The past week has been hard on her. She’s hardly eaten or slept, and a few times I’ve woken up to her in a cold sweat. 

When we were informed other victims were being called forward, she started to relax. She admitted one night, after we’d finished in bed, how she was glad they were coming. She didn’t feel as alone with them standing by her side.

Faith became friends with Carol―my old next-door neighbour―when I introduced them to one another a week ago. She’d come down for the court case, and to catch up with me before. We had kept in touch via texting, but other than that, I’ve only seen her once since I moved out to find who had victimised her.

Her son Mathew, who had also come down to testify against Noah, was here. He may not have seen him clearly the night he was attacked, but he’d had glimpses and heard him speak. For that, Carol wanted her son to feel comfortable before taking the stand.

After meeting up with him and taking him out for a game of football, I can see the difference in him. He’s not the boy he was before the attack, but he isn’t the boy he he’d been after either. He’s been through a lot, but he seems to be doing much better.

I testified last week; telling the jury about the information I had found out about Noah from the time I took on the case to the very end.

I’d had to fight not to jump over the barrier separating him from us and knocking the fucker out. He was cold, calculating, his eyes always assessing the room. He tried to intimidate the women, glaring their way, but none of them paid him attention.

When Faith went to the stand this morning, I was there for her, but not long after, I left, getting ready for her surprise. It was hard when all I’d wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and protect her from that monster. He’s no longer a threat to her, but the rage still simmering inside me feels fresh. I don’t think I’ll ever not be protective of her.

Over the past few months, since meeting Faith, my life has changed for the better. I’d never expected to be in a serious relationship with anyone, but for some reason, she pulled me in from the very first time she’d screamed in my face. I knew just looking into her mesmerising eyes that I’d never be the same again. She’s surprised me at every turn, her nutty side coming out the more we hung out. I wouldn’t change who she is for the world, not even her family. It’s what makes Faith, Faith, and I can accept that with no problems.

After Noah was released from hospital and taken into custody, my excuse as to why I was staying with Faith was up.

My excuse had been valid at first, but the real reason I pushed to stay with her while she recovered after her attack was so I could be close to her all the time. I couldn’t get enough of the girl who had wormed her way under my skin.

Our time spent together was something I deeply treasured and never took for granted.

My clothes and shit were still lying around her flat, so when she didn’t move them or broach the subject of when I was leaving, I hadn’t either. I was a coward. I didn’t want her to tell me she wanted her space back, especially after finding out from her sister that her flat was her haven away from the family.

So instead of pulling on my big girl pants, I did the only respectable thing a man can do; I moved all my stuff into her flat.

When she noticed, her eyes seemed to light up, all the tension over the court case leaving her. She’d asked me if I had moved in while she was out, and I answered yes before going back to cooking us dinner. From the corner of my eye I’d watched her smile, her eyes filling up with tears.

I’d had to hide my face, so she didn’t see me grinning like a damn maniac. I was just too fucking pleased she didn’t argue and ask me to take my stuff back.

The group of women and the entire Carter family come walking out of the court house, shaking my thoughts from my mind. They’re smiling, so I take that as a good sign as my eyes glance to Faith and Carol. They’re crying, pulling each other into a hug before stepping back and smiling.

I immediately relax. For a second, I’d contemplated going into the courthouse to find the fucker and end him.

Faith notices me at the bottom of the court steps and grins widely before running at me. I brace for her impact, clinging to her when she throws herself at me, wrapping her legs around my waist.

God, she feels so fucking good my cock stirs. It always does when she’s around.

“Baby,” I whisper, her smile infectious.

“He’s going away for a very long time.”

I laugh at the pure joy on her face. “Good.”

She bites her lip. “We’re going out to celebrate. Are you coming, or do you still have work to do?”

The flash of hurt nearly has me confessing where I’ve been all morning, but there’s no way I’m fucking this surprise up.

I glance over her shoulder to where her mum and dad are standing, wrapped in each other’s arms. Her dad gives me a chin lift, which I return before glancing back at Faith.

Fuck, she’s beautiful. Her eyes are red from where she’s been crying. My woman has a big heart and no doubt got affected by everyone’s own accounts of Noah’s misgivings today.

“No, I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” she asks, doing that cute head tilt that I love so much.

“Yeah, come on.”

“What about the others?”

“Your mum and dad will inform them. They know all about it. Even helped me.”

That has her smiling and giving a quick glance towards her parents. “They did, huh?”

“Yep, now come on, before it gets even colder.”

 

*** *** ***

 

“You’re bringing me to the cemetery?” she asks in disbelief. The way her eyes lower in disappointment has me biting back a grin. “You’re not going to turn into a serial killer now, are ya? I kind of like having you around.”

I laugh, throwing my head back. My woman is sassy and can bounce back from anything―even a date in a cemetery. “Your mum said this was your favourite place to be when you want to forget everything.”

Her eyes mist and pain flashes behind them. “Yeah. Both my great-grandma’s and great-grandpa are buried here. They’re in plots next to each other.”

I rub her back as we walk down the footpath to where they are buried. Her mum had brought me here a few days ago. And then this morning, after Faith gave her statement, I came to set everything up.

I am worried about it raining. It’s getting colder, wetter, and darker earlier with Christmas a month away. Luckily, the rain has stayed away, but the sky is still dark with the promise.

We’re only a few graves down when I hear her gasp. “Oh, my God, you did this?” she asks, turning to look at me.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, I nod, hoping I did the right thing by bringing her here. When her mum suggested it to me I had been a bit wary, wondering if she was pulling my chain. Turns out, she wasn’t. Her sister, Lily, confirmed it, saying Faith would come out here all the time to talk to them.

If this doesn’t go as planned, I do have another surprise up my sleeve. I was going to wait until Christmas, but when I got the phone call I had been waiting for, I decided I couldn’t wait.

“Yeah, it’s why I left court this morning after you gave your statement.”

I light the candles that are already on their graves and add some battery-operated star lights to cover the ground and stone, wanting to give us more light. I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here, and I didn’t want to sit in the dark, at night, in a graveyard.

I’m a chicken shit when it comes to the supernatural, and I’m supposed to be a badass policeman.

“It’s beautiful. Did you make us dinner too?” she asks, surprised when she sees the basket I had waiting for us. 

I shrug, feeling my cheeks heat. “It’s just some baguettes and cake until we get home. I also got you some WKD. I knew you’d need a drink after today.”

“This is beautiful and just what I needed. Thank you.”

“Hold on,” I tell her, grabbing the plastic tarp out of the bag and placing it on the ground. Once it’s done, I grab the blanket, doing the same before getting the two others for us to wrap around each other.

“You thought of everything.”

I laugh. “This is okay?”

“Yeah,” she whispers, before turning to the two graves. Her one pair of great-grandparents were buried together, wanting it that way. Her other great-grandma is on the other side, her stone just as beautiful. “Hey Grandma, Nan, Grandpa. I want you to meet Beau, my boyfriend, the guy I told you about.”

I cuddle her against my chest, resting my chin on the top of her head as I listen to her fill them in on everything they’ve missed. My heart feels heavy at knowing she’s spoken about me here before. It’s something special to her, and for her to welcome me into it, just makes everything we have more spectacular.

Once she’s finished telling them about the case, I hear her breath hitch and know she’s crying.

“Hey, don’t cry, baby, it’s over.” I kiss her forehead before moving to the corner of her eye, sucking the tear into my mouth.

“I can’t help it. It’s really over.”

“It will be, baby. I want you to get me the cake out of the basket. We’ll have the baguettes later.”

She doesn’t question my sudden change in subject. She never does. She’s trusts blindly, and I know I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to her that she made the right choice.

“Beau!” she gasps, a sob tearing from her throat.

Okay, so not the reaction I’d been hoping for.

Shit.

“Faith, I—I—I’m sorry. I thought―”

“Shut up!” she chokes out, her pained eyes finding mine. God, she takes my breath away. “How?”

I take the chain out of her dainty fingers and unclasp it to place it around her neck. “I called in a favour with Collings to get it out of evidence quicker. I knew how much this meant to you. You’ve been trying to keep your pain hidden over not getting it back, so I got it for you.”

Her tears fall silently down her cheeks as she continues to hold the heart pendant in her fingers. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Beau. I can’t—thank you. I didn’t even know they had recovered it.”

And the moment I’ve been waiting for, the moment I’ve made myself sick with worry over, is about to happen.

“I love you, Faith Carter.”

I’ve never said it to another person, other than my parents—and that was when I was a kid. Now, I only say it to my mum over the phone.

I’ve known for a while that my feelings for Faith were more than I’d let on. It wasn’t just one thing, but a million and one things that made me fall for the sassy, caring, funny, intelligent woman. It snuck on me, knocking the breath out of me, and each time she’d do something cute, the words would be on the tip of my tongue. The first time we made love, and every time since then, has been the same, each time becoming harder and harder to not blurt those three words out.

Why I never told her until now, I don’t know. It wasn’t that I wasn’t sure, because I knew I was. I’d spent the majority of my teens and twenties screwing around with other women, and some I even cared for. But my feelings for Faith are different. They can’t be measured or explained, only felt. And when I realised that I knew, from the deepest part of me, that I loved her.

Her head snaps up, the locket falling from her fingers and resting against her chest. “You love me?”

Again, not the reaction I’d been hoping for. I had imagined her throwing her arms around me, sobbing that she loved me too, but at the minute, she looks dazed, and immediately a little confused.

Even without her reply, I know I’ll never take those words back. I meant them, and she deserves to hear them, even if she doesn’t love me back. “I do, so fucking much.”

“You really love me?”

She looks so fucking adorable as tears pool in her eyes that I pull her towards me, placing her down in my lap. “Yes, baby.”

“I love you too, Beau. So much. I’ve wanted to tell you before now, but I didn’t want to be the first one to say it.” She pauses, taking a deep breath before her round eyes find mine, never wavering. “All my life I’ve looked for my Prince Charming. I was taught good things didn’t come to those who wait, but to those who worked their arses off, so I promised myself I wouldn’t give up until I found him. I wanted a man who was protective like my dad, loyal like uncle Mason, strong like uncle Malik, kind like uncle Myles and make me laugh like uncle Max. It was my uncle Malik who gave me the idea.”

Her eyes are bright, shining with happiness. “He did?”

“Yeah.” She laughs, her gaze drifting like she’s remembering something. “It was Denny and Mason’s wedding day. I remember asking each of my uncles if they’d be my prince.” I growl, making her laugh. “Each turned me down gently, but when I got to Malik, something he said made me want something more. Thinking back, I don’t even remember what it was, just the feeling I felt when he said it. After that, I watched how they were with their wives, and with each of them, I knew I wanted my future partner to have a part of them inside them.

“Before I met you, I had given up believing he exited. But you’ve protected me, stayed by my side, and even got me out of jail. You’ve stayed strong when my family has tried to scare you. You’ve cared for me from the very second I met you and every day since then. You’ve made me laugh when all I’ve wanted to do is cry. You, Beau Johnson, are who I’ve been searching for my whole life.”

Her words leave a lump in my throat and my eyes begin to burn. Without thought, I take her face in my hands and kiss her. I show her with our kiss how much her words mean to me. There’s nothing I could say that could trump what she said―nothing.

For the rest of my life I will remember this moment. Nothing could erase what she shared today, nothing.

Pulling back, I take in a deep breath before opening my eyes to look at her. It still amazes me how much her beauty startles me.

“Fuck, I love you so much.”

Her smile is breath-taking. “I love you too, Beau.”

My surprise jumps into my head, and like fate was watching down on me, this is the perfect moment to tell her.

“There’s something else I have to tell you.”

Her eyebrow raises as she looks at me adorably. “What? That you have a wife and kids stashed in some secret lair?”

I have to raise my own eyebrow at that, even if a chuckle does slip free. She comes up with the most ridiculous shit, but it’s who she is. “Um, no!”

She sags in my lap, her lips twitching while she pretends to be relieved. “Good. I would hate to cut a bitch.”

I laugh at the words coming from her mouth. I swear, every time a foul word comes out of her mouth it sounds funny. She’s too sweet and delicate-looking to seem serious when she’s saying them. It’s like hearing a toddler swear.

“We wouldn’t want that.”

She shakes her head, pouting. “Nope, we wouldn’t. So, what is this surprise? Gimme.”

I grin when she starts to smile. “I was talking with your dad―”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. From now on, you, my mum and my dad can’t talk. I don’t know if I’m comfortable with it yet.”

I laugh a little at her trying to be serious. I can tell she doesn’t mean it. She’s glad I’m getting along with her parents. If there’s one thing I learnt about her, it’s that her family mean the world to her. I don’t think she would truly accept someone into her life if they didn’t approve. It would tear her apart.

“Before you go placing ban notices on me, listen to what I have to say.”

She tilts her head, her lips puckering. “Okay, go on. I’m listening.”

“So, as I was saying. I was talking to your dad about the dogs. They’re too big to be cooped up in our flat.” I pause, watching as she becomes apprehensive and wary. “I asked him if he knew of any places―”

“I’m not getting rid of my babies. You can forget it,” she blurts out, trying to slip off me.

“Baby, I’m not asking you to. Jesus, do you ever wait for me to finish?” I ask, smiling at her.

“Sorry.”

“He explained about your dream project and I have to agree with him, it’s a brilliant idea. One that would need a lot of work to start up.”

“Um, okay?” Her eyes scrunch together.

“Faith, baby, I bought us a house on Barrington Fields. It’s close enough you are still near your family and far enough that you won’t have neighbours complaining.”

“What?” Her mouth hangs open, shock clear on her pretty little face.

“You can open your own dog shelter.”

She shakes her head, her hands landing on my shoulders and squeezing. “You bought us a house?”

At her rising voice, I wince. “Yeah. I want us to be together. Your flat isn’t big enough for us and two dogs. And if I know you like I think I know you, those two won’t be the end of it.”

“You bought us a house?” Her voice is a whisper now and I begin to worry, but when her eyes find mine, there’re tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Yeah.”

She bursts into tears, flinging herself at me like she can’t get close enough. “I take what I said back.” My heart is in my throat, and I pray I didn’t hear her correctly. “You can totally talk to my parents whenever you want.”

I sigh, falling on my back with her on top of me, my eyes closing in relief. “God, you scared me then.” I open my eyes, watching for her reaction as tears continue to fall. “How about it, are you willing to move in with me?”

Her round eyes take me in, her expression soft and full of love. “Beau Johnson, I would follow you anywhere you asked me to. I love you.”

Hearing her say it again is another beat to my heart. I’ll never take those words for granted, or Faith.

“I love you too, Faith Carter.”