Rome
I sit on Raven’s bed while Courtney sleeps and stare at the picture of my family on the nightstand. Mom, with her dark hair and fair skin, was so beautiful and undeserving of our father’s wrath. All she wanted to do was protect us from him.
“You mustn’t upset your daddy,” she coos as she strokes my dark hair away from my eyes. “He gets angry easily. You let me handle him.”
I frown at my mom. By handling him, she means letting him whoop up on her. Earlier this evening, I’d had enough. I screamed at him to stop despite the horrified stares of both Mom and Raven.
He stopped all right.
Turned all of his anger on me instead.
I thought I could take it. I was finally a teenager after all. Almost as tall as Dad and probably still growing.
But Dad is a monster when he drinks. Violent and crazy and strong. He slung me so hard against the kitchen table I was sure I broke a rib. And as I gasped for air, he yanked me by the back of the shirt and rammed his fist into my back. I’d collapsed in a heap. When I came to, he was gone and Mom was nursing me back to health.
“I hate him, Mom,” I choke out.
Her gaze flits to Raven sitting in the recliner nearby. “Angel, can you get your brother an ice pack?”
Raven pops out of the chair and runs to the kitchen. As soon as she’s gone, Mom stares me dead in the eye.
“You won’t have to deal with that sonofabitch forever, son. I swear to you. I’m going to fix things.” Her ferocious green eyes are nothing like the helpless woman I’m used to seeing. She’s fire and fury and rage. And as Raven reenters the living room, Mom’s smile slides back into place. “Thank you, baby.”
“You look just like her,” Courtney murmurs sleepily from the doorway. She’s wearing my T-shirt. It’s white and a little small for her new pregnant body. The curves of her larger tits and swollen stomach are a fucking delight in the shirt.
I pat the bed beside me, mostly because I want her near me. She shuffles over to me and sits. I wrap my arm around her and kiss the top of her head.
“I want to go through Raven’s things,” I mutter. “It’s time.”
She lets out a ragged sigh and looks up at me with teary eyes. “Are you sure?”
“The babies need a nursery.”
“You’re really serious about keeping us?” she asks, hope making her voice sweeter than honey.
“More like you’re never getting away,” I tease and kiss her supple mouth. “Ever.”
Her lips tug into a grin. “Being your captive is pretty enticing.” She clutches my hand. “They could have your old room. It’s practically empty anyway. We don’t have to put them in here.”
“I want them here,” I assure her. “Plus, Raven would get a kick out of them taking her room.”
“Okay. We can start when you’re ready. But…” She bites on her lip.
“Don’t say but. Buts are fucking awful. They come before something the recipient doesn’t want to hear,” I grumble in a dramatic way.
She giggles. “Oh my God. It’s not bad. I just…” A long pause. “I can’t help until after Thanksgiving.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Her eyes roll at my statement. “You are a stalker. How did you know I was leaving town?”
“I called the diner and interrogated Edna. Her old Honda needed new brakes.”
“That hussy traded info on me for new brakes?”
I laugh and hug her to me. “I asked her really sweetly. You know old ladies can’t resist my charm. When Raven used to work there, Edna would hook me up with free pie all the time.”
Her brows pinch together as she regards me. “Mom won’t like it, though. Granddad and Nana won’t either.” Tears pool in her eyes, making them seem more crystal blue than ever. “After the trial…after all that happened…”
“I’m not their favorite person. I get it. But they’ll have to get over it, Courtney. We’re a family now.” I rub her stomach, a sense of pride surging through me. “Fate has a fucked-up sense of humor. But the joke is on her because we’re happy. We’ll make it.”
“Okay. We leave tomorrow after Keith works the lunch shift.”
“The shop is closing for a few days for the holidays anyway. I’ll pack a bag and then take you back to your house. We won’t give them an option to say no,” I tell her firmly.
“Mom may try to kill you.”
I shrug. “She can try.”
She straightens her spine and gives me a determined look. “Mom will have to accept this.”
“Damn straight.”
“I’m no longer a sheep. I’m a wolf.”
I love the fierce glint in her eyes.
“You’ve always been a wolf, baby. You just didn’t know it yet.”
“Absolutely not,” Courtney’s mom snaps as soon as she walks into the house and sees her daughter practically sitting in my lap on the sofa.
Keith touches her shoulder and shoots me an agitated look.
“Mom,” Courtney warns. “We’ve reconciled. Everything is going to be okay now.”
I clench my teeth together. I want to say a thousand things, but now’s not the right time. My girl needs to be the one to stand up to her mom.
“He crushed you!” her mother screeches.
“Calm down, Leanna,” Keith says in a firm tone. “Hear Court out.”
Leanna scowls at me but gives her daughter a clipped nod. Courtney rises to her feet and I follow suit. Being that she’s pregnant now, I notice that she moves a lot slower. I hover behind her, afraid she might collapse. But my strong, fiery girl doesn’t waver.
“He’s the father of my babies,” Courtney murmurs. “And I love him. We went through some rough patches, but we both want to work it out. I’m going to move in with him after our trip to see Granddad and Nana.”
Leanna covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head as tears stream down her cheeks. “H-He took everything from you.”
Courtney lifts her chin and walks over to her mother. “Rome did nothing of the sort and you know it. What I did…” Her voice wobbles. “Was irresponsible and wrong. There were repercussions and consequences. Raven died because of me. His family deserved some restitution and peace of mind—it was the least I could give them. One day I’m going to pay you back, Mom.”
“I don’t care about the money,” Leanna cries out. “I care about you and my grandchildren.”
Courtney throws her arms around her mother. “I know, Mom. It’s going to be okay. I swear it. Rome and I were always meant to be together. We just didn’t know it yet. But we’re together. I’m happiest when I’m with him. He wants to work at this every bit as much as I do. I’ve been drifting for so long…this is the first time I feel as though I’m anchored.”
I walk up behind Courtney and meet Leanna’s teary gaze. “I made some mistakes. Hurting Courtney is one I’ll always regret. I love her and I want to take care of her.”
Leanna sniffles and glares at me. “You hurt her again and I’ll make your life a living hell, boy. Don’t you dare test me either.”
I feel her warning all the way down to my toes.
“I only want to make her life better,” I utter as I pull Courtney against my chest. My palms slide to her stomach and I kiss the top of her head. “She deserves to be happy.”
Leanna’s fury dissolves some and her lip wobbles. “You’re an adult, baby girl, so you’re allowed to do as you please. But it’s going to take more than a few nice words to change how I feel about the man you love. And don’t feel for one minute that you have to stay because he’s the father. If you need help, Keith and I will help you. You have options, honey.”
“Thank you, Mom. I love you. Just please, for me, give Rome a chance.”
Leanna lets out a deep sigh. “We’ll leave in a half hour. Get your stuff packed into the trunk.”
Courtney reaches out and takes her mother’s hand. “I’d like to have some time to talk to Rome. We’ll follow you and Keith. Okay?”
Resigned, Leanna nods. She looks at me and frowns. “Don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t,” I vow.
With that, she storms up the stairs.
“She’ll warm up,” Keith assures us both. I remember when he’d been Raven’s boss. She’d said nothing but nice things about him. Since he’s Courtney’s new stepdad—apparently he and her mom married while we were on our breakup—I’ll want to stay on his good side.
“Thank you, sir.”
He smirks and ruffles Courtney’s hair. “Don’t keep your mother waiting.”
“While the girls go shopping, the boys come here,” Courtney’s granddad, Fred, says as he motions around the cigar shop. “Family tradition.”
Keith laughs. “So until the two of us showed up this year for Thanksgiving, you went by yourself?”
“Damn straight,” the old man says, grinning wickedly.
I smile with the cigar between my teeth. I haven’t lit it. Probably won’t either. I’m just enjoying being a part of a family, even if some of them haven’t fully warmed to me yet. When we’d arrived on Wednesday, Leanna refused to speak to me. She even had her mother, Gloria, giving me the snub. Fred was jovial and always smiling. He didn’t treat me like an outcast. And since I’d known Keith from before because of Raven, he’s also warmed to me fairly quickly. But yesterday, as the women cooked the Thanksgiving meal, I wormed my way into Gloria’s heart when I asked if I could help. I love to cook—it was something my mom taught me how to do and ever since I’ve done it to feel closer to her. Even Leanna softened when I told them why I love it. Now, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and the boys are left to their own devices while the women shop.
“Thank you both for welcoming me,” I say as I pluck the unlit cigar from my lips. “It means a lot.”
Keith smiles at me. Gentle and kind. Nothing like my father was. Courtney’s lucky to have him as her stepdad now.
“The ladies in this family run in packs. Wolves I tell ya,” Fred grumbles. “They’ll eat your heart out and make you like it.”
I grin. “What does that make us?”
“Lovesick fools. What do you kids these days call it? Masokisser or somethin’?” Fred asks, a white eyebrow lifted in question. “I’m a masokisser and Gloria cracks the blasted whip.”
I dart an amused look Keith’s way. His face turns pink. “Masochists, Fred. And let’s just stick to lovesick fools.”
Fred mutters under his breath, seemingly agitated, but the twinkle in his blue eyes that match Courtney’s exactly tells me he’s just busting our chops.
While everyone’s smiling, I decide now is the time. I clear my throat and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m going to marry Courtney.”
Keith’s brows lift and Fred smirks.
“Well, I should say so, young man,” Fred says. “You’ve done put your babies in her. Us old folk call marriage makin’ an honest woman out of her. Go on now, you won’t find us holdin’ you back.”
Keith nods his head. “I agree. Leanna will learn to live with it.”
I rise and toss some twenties on the table to pay our drink tab. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to go shopping.”
Fred snorts and Keith shakes his head in amusement.
“Rather impulsive, boy. I like you,” Fred says with a laugh as he stands. “Let’s go get that girl a ring.”
“Why her?” Leanna asks me, the bite in her voice gone. She’s resigned to the idea of her daughter and me together.
“She’s the only one I see. The only one I’ve ever seen. I love her.”
I can hear Courtney in the living room getting on to her granddad for cheating at their card game and I can’t help but smile. Leanna smiles too as she plucks the shiny ring from my hand.
“It’s beautiful,” she says softly.
“She deserves so much more than I can give her but that won’t stop me from trying.”
Leanna purses her lips together as she inspects the engagement ring. “What are your plans for your future? Is the shop it? My daughter wants to go to college. She can barely keep up her shifts at the diner because she’s carrying your children. Are you really in this for richer or poorer? Because if you’re not, let her off easy. She’s suffered a lot this past year and I want her to find happiness.” Her eyes get glassy with tears. “She wants to help people…like Raven.”
I take Leanna’s hand and clutch it. “I’ll make sure that she gets an education. If I have to quit school to take care of the babies while she goes at night, I will.”
“Oh, nonsense,” she says with a teary laugh. “Keith and I will babysit. You both need to go to school. What is it exactly you’re going for? I mean, you have the shop already. It’s always busy, so I know you’re making profits.”
I release her hand and take the ring back. “It’s probably stupid.”
She frowns. “Of all the things I’ve seen lately, whatever you’re going to school for is by far the least stupid, I can assure you.”
I laugh and my heart constricts when her eyes twinkle with amusement much like Courtney’s do. “Mechanical Engineering. I’ve…” With an embarrassed groan, I stuff the ring in my pocket and pull out my wallet. Inside, I find a folded slip of paper. A drawing. “I had an idea for a new transmission design. It will make more effective use of the engine’s torque and keep the engine operating at not only an appropriate speed, but an optimal one. Better than any design on any vehicle I’ve worked on. I want to take these ideas and convert them from paper to machine. I’ve already sent in a request for a patent on this transmission.”
Her brow lifts as she inspects the paper. “Wow, that’s um, incredibly detailed.”
I beam at her. “I’ve been working on it for over a year now. I figure in another four to six, this transmission could be something I can create and test.” Shrugging my shoulders, I take the paper back and fold it up. “Maybe it’s lame, but I know it will work. It could be the future for a lot of vehicles.”
She gives me a shy smile. “You looked just like her. Rhonda would look just like that when she was on a roll about something she loved.” Her wistful expression is a sucker punch to my gut.
“You knew my mom?”
She swallows and her blond brows crash together. “We went to high school together and were pretty good friends. But then she got mixed up with Eddie and I started dating Paul. The guys didn’t get along. We drifted apart and it wasn’t for another few years that we ran into each other again. Both of us big and pregnant—her much bigger of course because she was carrying twins. It was bittersweet. She seemed happy.”
“Was my dad always mean to her?” I choke out, overcome with sudden emotion.
She shakes her head. “Your daddy was good to her, but then I heard through the rumor mill that he’d taken to drinking. When I’d run into her at school functions, she wasn’t the girl I remember. Much sadder.” She reaches forward and grips my bicep. “But then she’d look at her twins and her entire face would light up. You two made her so happy.”
I blink away the tears that are threatening. Before I realize what’s happening, she wraps me up in a hug that feels much like the ones Mom used to give. I slump against Courtney’s mother, desperate for the motherly affection I no longer have access to. She pats my back and whispers assurances to me that strengthen my soul.
I’m going to be much better than my father.
Courtney deserves the best and I will make sure I give it to her.
Leanna pulls away and gives me an accepting smile. “You have my blessing and support, Rome. I know I’ve given you some trouble, but that’s my baby in there. I’ve watched her slowly die from the inside out. It wasn’t until she connected with you that I saw her smile again. Hope, something I thought had long since been dashed out, shone beautifully in her eyes again. I just want her to be happy. And if happiness is with Eddie and Rhonda Murray’s son, then so be it.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, my voice gruff. “I won’t disappoint you.”
“I truly believe you won’t.”