Chapter 25
Monroe
“Who the heck could that be?”
Another week had passed. It was Saturday morning and Stone and I had spent the night at my place last night. After his win last Saturday, we spent the next two nights at my place. Then, we were back at his place. Since my exhibition was this weekend, I used that to my advantage and asked Stone if he’d mind spending the next couple nights at the condo. It had nothing to do with the exhibition. Secretly, I just liked having him in my bed. I am convinced that the only reason I managed the nights without him mid-week was because I could smell him on my sheets. It was almost as good as being wrapped up in his arms all night.
Stone and I had dinner that we cooked together last night and settled in for a quiet, relaxing night with a movie. We followed this up with lots of bedtime activities.
We woke up not long ago, had morning-time activities, and had just made our way out into the kitchen to make breakfast. This morning’s breakfast, like last night’s dinner, was a joint cooking effort. I worked on the eggs and bacon while Stone tended to the toast, fruit, and beverages. He wasn’t a coffee drinker, which I thought was further indication that we belonged together. I hated coffee. Stone liked orange juice with his breakfast; I preferred hot green tea.
While we were making breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Nikki spent the night out with Luke and had her own key, so I knew it wasn’t her. I moved from in front of the stove and started walking to the door.
“Can you keep your eye on the bacon?” I called to Stone as I walked out of the kitchen.
“Got it.”
When I opened the door, my internal organs simultaneously shifted their position in my body. My heart was in my throat; my stomach at my feet. On one hand, I was thrilled to see Vaughn standing in front of me; however, I had a feeling there would be repercussions from him finding Stone here first thing in the morning.
It should be noted that I was expecting my entire family to come out and visit me this weekend. They knew I had my exhibition on Sunday and wanted to come out to support me. In addition, my parents hadn’t seen me since I moved weeks ago. Stone and I had planned to go out to dinner with them so he could meet everyone. I suggested dinner out because I figured there was less chance of anyone losing their shit in public. The problem now was that they weren’t set to arrive until sometime later this evening; yet, Vaughn was standing at my front door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, shocked.
Vaughn laughed, took two steps inside, and replied, “Good morning to you, too.”
I gave him a hug and responded, “I’m sorry; I just wasn’t expecting you guys to arrive until tonight. What’s going on?”
“I knew everyone was planning to come out tonight, but after the week we’ve had at home I thought it would be good to come here early and prepare you.”
My eyes rounded and my body tensed.
“It’ll be alright,” Vaughn started as he put his arm around my shoulders. “I didn’t want you getting blindsided, though. Figured we could come up with a plan.”
Something not good was going on. A bit of relief flooded through me at the knowledge that Vaughn had come out early to prepare me for whatever it was. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his waist and said, “Thank you, Vaughn.”
The minute the words were out of my mouth, Vaughn’s body went rigid.
I pulled back to look at him when I saw that he was looking past me toward the direction of the kitchen. His expression was impassive. I turned and saw Stone standing there looking at us. When I looked back to Vaughn, his eyes came to me, held mine a moment, and went back to Stone.
Shit.
“Um, Vaughn,” I barely croaked out.
Vaughn completely ignored me when he narrowed his eyes and asked Stone, “Did you spend the night here with her last night?”
“Yep,” Stone answered.
Double shit.
“What is your endgame?” Vaughn pressed.
“Not a game to me, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told Deacon. We can discuss my intentions with your sister if you’d like, but that discussion is one that does not result in her ending up in tears. If you can manage that, the three of us can have the conversation over breakfast. If not, you can join us for breakfast after which you and I can have a talk while Monroe goes to take a shower.”
Vaughn’s eyes lingered on Stone’s a minute before he brought them to mine.
“You’re lucky I came out here early and on my own, Monroe. Deacon was set to come with me, but I talked him out of it, thankfully. I’ve got to admit I’m relieved I had the forethought to come out and give you a heads up. You guys are going to need me on your side, so we better go have breakfast and figure out if we can make that happen.”
I let out the breath I had been holding and said, “Thanks, Vaughn.”
We all went back out into the kitchen where I saw that Stone had finished cooking the bacon. I quickly threw on a bunch of eggs for the three of us while Stone made more toast. Vaughn was a coffee drinker, so we turned the pot on. A few minutes later, we were sitting down for breakfast. Stone and I sat on one side of the table while Vaughn was on the other.
Nobody spoke for quite some time and my nerves were on edge. I couldn’t handle the silence anymore so I simply declared, “Okay, give it to me straight. What are we dealing with, Vaughn?”
“Mom’s over the moon; nothing to worry about there. Remi is quiet…pretty sure he’s processing everything. You likely won’t know anything for certain with him until he comes out and gets the meeting out of the way. Dad and Deacon, though? Not good.”
Alright, so that was pretty much what I had expected.
“And you?” I muttered.
“I love you, kid. Wasn’t expecting to find what I did here this morning and, I’m not going to lie, it has thrown me a bit. I think it’s finally hit me that you’re no longer a little girl; that’s not an easy pill to swallow. I want what’s best for you. That includes whatever is going to make you happy. If Stone makes you happy then I’m going to do what I can to get to know him.”
Vaughn turned his attention to Stone.
“She’s precious. Not just to me, but to our entire family. I’m not happy about some things that I’ve heard you have done or said to or about her, but if you two have talked through those things and she forgives you, that’s all that matters. I’m willing to do my part to support her…to support the both of you in what’s happening between the two of you, but I’m asking that you respect what she is to us. I want you to understand that there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for her and when she hurts, our family feels that deep. I need you to give me your word that you plan to treat her like the gem that she is and that you’ll protect her and her heart as fiercely as we would.”
My eyes had filled with tears and I couldn’t swallow past the lump in my throat. God, I loved my family.
“You don’t have to tell me how lucky I am to have someone like Monroe in my life. I know what she is; I know just how special she is. As I’ve already said to her, I know we’ve not had the best start, but I’m not going anywhere. I love her more than I could even begin to tell you. You have my word that she will always be my top priority and that I am going to do everything I’ve got to do to make sure she has everything she wants. Guarding her heart and protecting her spirit are of the greatest importance to me. I promise you, she’ll be safe with me.”
Now the tears were spilling down my cheeks and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. God, I loved Stone, too.
A small sound escaped my lips and two of the most important men in my life turned their attention to me.
One of Stone’s arms was immediately wrapping around my back while his hand on the other arm came up to swipe at my tears. “Angel, the goal was for you to not break down into tears during breakfast.”
Stone pulled me into his chest. I managed to say, “I’m so happy. They’re happy tears.”
I heard Vaughn mumble, “Women.”
Stone’s body vibrated with laughter.
“Okay, I’m fine now,” I stressed to them after a minute.
“Good. Finish eating your breakfast, baby,” Stone urged.
I turned back toward my plate, picked up a piece of bacon, and took a bite. The rest of breakfast went off without a hitch. Stone and Vaughn took some time getting to know each other, but mostly, I couldn’t concentrate on their conversation. I was too worried about what would happen when the rest of my family arrived later that day.
Vaughn, Stone, and I spent the afternoon together and Stone offered to have Vaughn come over to his house. I think he wanted to make sure someone in my family knew where I was spending a lot of my time and that it was a safe place. By late afternoon, Vaughn took off to check into the hotel. Afterward, he was picking up the rest of my family at the airport. He said he’d take them all to the hotel to get settled and ready for our dinner that evening.
Following Vaughn’s departure, Stone got ready. This was only after he had his way with me. After, he took me back to my place so that I could get ready. Stone and I had been spending a lot of time at his place, but most of my cosmetics and things for making myself look pretty were still at the condo. When I explained this to him he told me I needed to bring them over to his place, or that I needed to buy another ‘set’ for when I was with him.
“That would be crazy. The makeup alone would run me a fortune, Stone.”
“What?” he asked.
“Makeup isn’t cheap. I never know what mood will strike me when I do put it on, so if I bought duplicates of what I have now, it would cost a couple hundred dollars. I’ll just try to cart it back and forth when I know that I’m going to need it.”
“Two things, baby. First, you don’t need it at all. You like how it makes you feel, I get that. Don’t wear it because you think you need to, angel. You’re just as beautiful without it. Second, it’s a pain in the ass to pack your stuff and carry it back and forth between each place. I’ll get you what you need and I don’t care what it costs.”
“You are not buying my makeup, too. You’ve already purchased too much stuff as it is.”
“You said it was a couple hundred dollars, Monroe. It’s not a big deal.”
“Maybe not to you, but considering you spent what you did on the security system for my studio, I think you’ve already purchased plenty for me.”
“How do you know what I paid for the security system? If Levi shared that with you…” he trailed off.
I quickly chimed in, “No, Levi didn’t tell me. My brothers knew. The day of my grand opening after everyone left I showed them around the studio. Vaughn had already seen it when he came out to visit me the first time, but Remi and Deacon hadn’t. We were standing in one of the rooms and Vaughn noticed the monitor on the wall that wasn’t there originally. They were asking me about it and were concerned that I had spent so much money. I explained to them that I had no clue what it cost because you are the one that insisted on paying for it. They informed me that it was somewhere between ten to twelve thousand which, by the way, is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Stone shook his head with a grin on his face and wondered, “Oh yeah? What did you want to talk about?”
“You have to let me pay you back for that. I don’t have all the money now, but I can make payments to you. I’ve done okay for myself, but I don’t have that kind of cash sitting around.”
“I don’t want your money, Monroe. Besides, we already worked out payment on the security system. Don’t you remember the lingerie you wore for me?”
“That lingerie didn’t even cost a hundred dollars. That’s hardly an even payment.”
“The lingerie might not have been worth a lot, but it was on you. I can’t put a price tag on you, angel. If you ask me, I’m the one that made out in that deal.”
My heart melted.
“Stone…” I whispered.
“I mean that, Monroe. I don’t give a shit about the money; your safety is more important. There isn’t any amount of money that I wouldn’t pay to make sure you were safe. To that end, I can spare a couple bucks on makeup, especially if it means you’ll be in my bed more often.”
I had no response to that, so our conversation on money and makeup ended there. So, now we were back at the condo and I was getting ready. Stone, thankfully, stayed out in the family room watching television while I did my thing and got ready.
I got dressed, did my hair, and was putting on the final touches of my makeup on when I started feeling funny in my belly. Nerves were taking over. This was my family and I knew they loved me, but I didn’t want my dad or Deacon making him feel uncomfortable. I took one last look in the mirror, took a deep breath, and walked out of my bedroom.
“Ready to face the music?” I worried as I stepped into the family room.
“You look beautiful, angel,” Stone commented as he stood off the couch and walked over to kiss me.
“Thank you.”
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
With that, we locked up and left to go to meet my family.
We arrived on time and found that my parents and brothers had not yet arrived. Stone and I went in and got seated at a table. We weren’t even seated for a full two minutes and I was already fidgeting in my seat.
“Relax, Monroe.”
“I can’t. I just want tonight to go well. I want them to see you the way that I see you.”
Stone’s face softened and he pulled me into him. He kissed the top of my head and held me tight. That’s when we heard someone clear their throat. I immediately pulled my head away from Stone and looked up to find my mom, dad, and brothers standing at our table.
Stone and I both stood as I went over to hug my parents. I hadn’t seen them in several weeks and I missed them terribly. My mom wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “It’s so cold out here; it’s nothing like home. I’m happy you’ve found someone who looks like he can keep you warm. That kiss on your head...I can see that he loves you, darling.”
“Thanks, mama,” I whispered back.
“Shelly, you think you can give me a chance to hold my baby girl?”
I couldn’t help but smile.
I pulled back from my mom and looked to my dad. He didn’t give me a chance to say anything. He simply wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.
“Missed you so much, baby girl.”
“I’ve missed you, too. I’m so happy you are all here.”
A moment later, my father loosened his hold on me and I took a step back next to Stone.
“Mom. Dad. This is Stone. Stone, these are my parents, Michelle and Logan.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Stone said as he held his hand out to my mother.
She didn’t take his hand. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. I saw his shoulders tense. I knew my mom well enough to know she was very likely whispering something to him. Seconds later, his shoulders relaxed.
Yep.
She said something to help rid him of the tension.
When he pulled back from my mom, Stone looked to my father. He held out his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Archer.”
My father held Stone’s eyes a while before he finally stuck his hand out to shake Stone’s. He had been sizing him up. I didn’t like it. I wanted to avoid any further silent scrutiny of Stone, so I moved along.
“Stone, you obviously remember Vaughn.”
He nodded.
“This is Remi, my oldest brother.”
Remi shook Stone’s hand and nodded to him, but stayed quiet.
“And this is Deacon,” I announced.
Stone stuck his hand out to Deacon and greeted him, “Nice to finally meet you.”
Deacon didn’t accept Stone’s hand and merely retorted, “Wish I could say the same.”
“Deacon,” I muttered.
His eyes came to mine, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and kissed the top of my head.
“It’s good to see you, kid.”
This was awkward.
Extremely awkward.
Thankfully, my mom spoke up and got everyone’s attention.
“After that flight and a day of traveling, I’m starved. Let’s sit so we can order.”
Everyone moved to sit. My eyes shifted to Vaughn’s. He gave me a look that told me he tried to work on this before they arrived, but clearly hadn’t had much luck.
We all spent the next couple minutes perusing the menu and finally placing our orders. After the waitress brought us our drinks, my father asked me how things were going at the studio. I filled everyone in and told them how fortunate I had been to have such a great turnout the night of the grand opening. My parents were thrilled to hear that my reputation had preceded me and that I had so much success after only weeks of being here.
Our food arrived and everyone, with the exception of Deacon and my dad, talked about things at home. My mom filled me in on all the latest neighborhood gossip. Remi talked a bit about work, but not in detail. Vaughn added to that, but tried to steer the conversation into a place that would hopefully lighten the tension. He gave us his latest female drama. It worked to help lighten the mood for me, but Deacon was still brooding.
Finally, my mom said, “So, Stone, I hear that you are a snowboarder?”
“That’s right, Mrs. Archer.”
“Oh, please, dear. Call me Shelly. Mrs. Archer is his mother,” she teased as she pointed toward my dad.
Stone dipped his chin at her request.
“How long have you been doing that?” my mom pressed.
“I started riding when I was a little kid with a couple of my friends. We all went from being amateurs to professional riders pretty quickly. My friend, Wes, opened his own company that now manufacturer’s boards and accessories. He’s engaged to Charley. Zane, who’s engaged to Emme, rides halfpipe like I do. Our other friend, Luke, does big air.”
“Wow,” my mom marveled, even though I knew she had no idea what Stone was talking about.
“Stone just won a contest last weekend that was right here in Rising Sun. The season is over for him now, but you’ll have to come back out next season to watch him ride. It’s amazing.”
“I’d love to come back out and watch. I can’t wait.”
I heard a noise from the end of the table where Deacon was seated. We all turned our attention to him.
“Is something wrong?” I asked him.
He shook his head, “No. I just think it’s comical that you and mom are sitting there planning a trip for next winter.”
“Deacon,” Vaughn warned.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Monroe, you’re assuming this guy isn’t going to walk out on you before then.”
I gasped.
“Not sure why you’re shocked, kid. It’s not like he hasn’t had you in tears and broken your heart several times already.”
My eyes welled with tears. I could appreciate that Deacon was worried about me, but I hated that he wasn’t even trying to give Stone a chance. I didn’t have a chance to think of a response before Stone spoke.
“Was hoping it wasn’t going to get to this point, but I’ll tell you again what I said to you on the phone. You have issues with me, you deal with me on them. You do not put that shit on her. I can respect the fact that you are protective over her, but I’m not going to allow you to be protective in a way that hurts her.”
“You mean like you did?” Deacon retorted. “If you cared about her so much, why did you pull the shit you did before? Allowed her to fall in love with you only to walk away from her. She deserves better than you. How do we know you aren’t going to walk away and break her heart again?”
“You don’t, but she’s all that I’ve got.”
Oh God.
“She’s so important to me that I’m going to give you, someone who doesn’t fucking deserve it right now, something that nobody other than Monroe has ever gotten from me because I think you need to understand just how much of an angel she is to me.”
Oh God.
“Stone,” I murmured, putting my hand to his forearm.
When his eyes came to mine, I insisted, “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do, angel. If this is what it takes, then this is what it takes.”
Stone turned his attention back to Deacon and continued, “When I was thirteen years old, my father died. He was a police officer and was killed in the line of duty. Two years later, my mom decided she couldn’t hack life anymore without my father so she swallowed a bottle of pills and took her own life. Apparently, I wasn’t fucking enough for her. I realize Monroe is a big part of your family, but she is it for me. She’s all that I’ve got. My biggest fear is that she’ll wake up one day and realize what you said is true. She’ll see that she settled for someone who wasn’t worthy of her love. I’m scared shitless that I could go my whole life trying to express to her how much she means to me and I’m afraid she’s never going to feel it all. She’s your sister, Deacon, and your daughter, Mr. Archer, and I realize your only concern is her. I’m fucking over the moon that she’s got the support of a good family to take her back, but you’ve got to know, she’s the only one I’ve got to take mine. I’m not giving her up. I wasn’t with her for two weeks…two weeks, and it was then when I understood. For the first time in my life I finally understood the pain my mother went through without my father. I’m sorry, but I’d rather be dead than live my life without Monroe.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Stone stood, threw a bunch of bills on the table, and turned to me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
When he pulled back from me, he cupped my jaw and finished, “Baby, you want to stay and spend time with your family I understand, but I need to get out of here. Call me when you finish and I’ll come back to get you.”
I shook my head, put my hand to his bicep, and answered, “I’m going with you.”
Stone’s body went solid.
My eyes went back to the table and I looked at each member of my family. I felt the tears threatening to fall as my throat got tight. “Mama, thank you for being happy for me. Vaughn, I love that you support me no matter what. Remi, I’m glad you didn’t jump to any conclusions about Stone before meeting him. I wish you were more welcoming to him, but I hope now that you see that he loves me. Daddy, I expected more from you and now I’m left feeling disappointed that you have no faith in me to make good choices in my life. And Deacon…I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to say. You are so worried about Stone breaking my heart, but right now, you and dad are the ones who are doing it.”
I looked back up at Stone and requested softly, “Please take me home, handsome.”
He nodded and put his hand to the small of my back.
Then, we left the restaurant and my hopes for a smooth meeting with my family behind.