Tobias made good on his threat, and by the time the sun rose, Liddie was deliciously sore, wonderfully exhausted, and deliriously happy. They did finally get some sleep, but she kept waking up. She was going to chalk it up to no longer being used to sharing a bed with someone, but she’d slept fine at the hotel. She sat up in bed and stretched.

“That is gorgeous, you know. Seeing you in the altogether in my bed in the morning.” Tobias grinned at her. “Mornin’, darlin’. I feel like having some breakfast.”

“I bet. You need to refuel, honey.” She snagged a shirt off the floor, then she felt Tobias’s big hands encircle her waist and pull her against him, his face directly between her knees.

“Oh yeah, this will get me energized,” she heard him say before he tasted her.

He’d wrapped his lips around her nub, teasing it with his tongue, when his phone rang. He pulled his head back, listening hard. The phone rang again, and he shook his head.

“I need to answer that. No one calls the house unless it’s an emergency.”

Liddie rolled off of him, and he grabbed the receiver. “Hello? Yeah, uh, yeah. Here she is.” Tobias handed the phone over to Liddie. “It’s Ace.”

Liddie’s breath caught in her throat as she reached for the phone with a shaky hand. “Ace, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

“Liddie, breathe, first of all. Take a deep breath for me.”

She did. Then she took another deep breath before saying, “Okay, what’s going on, Ace?”

“You need to get dressed and get to the house, honey. Bunny picked Tally and Chloe up at the Chattanooga Airport, but they’ll be back in about half an hour. I don’t know what’s happened, but he told me to call you and have you come to the house. Bring Tobias, too.”

“Okay, we’ll be there as soon as we can. Love you, Uncle Ace.”

Liddie recapped her short conversation as she pulled her clothes on. Tobias started dressing the moment she mentioned Tally. Within five minutes, they were in the car and Tobias was calling his pet sitter to watch the girls for another day. Liddie grasped Tobias’s hand in both of hers as if her grip on his hand was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

Bunny’s car was in the driveway when Tobias pulled in, and Liddie was out of the car and running toward the house almost before Tobias put the car in park. She burst through the door, instinctively heading toward the kitchen and frantically calling out her loved ones’ names. Tally turned her head, and Liddie crumpled against Tobias, who had appeared, as if by magic, behind her.

“Mama, I’m so sorry. I didn’t listen. I didn’t listen to you . . .”

Liddie went to her only child and wrapped her in her arms. “It’s okay, Tallulah. You’re safe. You’re both safe.” She gently cupped Tally’s face in her hands. “Oh, baby, I am so sorry.” She took in all the damage to her beautiful baby girl’s face. “Does it hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Tally shook her head. “They said I didn’t have a concussion but to keep an eye on things. I . . . kind of left the hospital without telling anyone and went and got Chloe. Then we headed here.”

“Where is that fucker?” All eyes swiveled to Tobias, who still stood in the doorway, his face dark with fury.

“He’s in jail. Or that’s where he was when we got to the airport.” Chloe was sitting next to Bunny, her back ramrod straight and her chin jutting out defiantly. “I hope he rots in there.”

“Chloe was so brave and smart,” Tally sniffled. “Tell them what you did.”

Chloe’s neck reddened, but she told the group how she used the money in her savings account to pay for the plane tickets so her father wouldn’t see a charge on the joint credit cards or bank account. She’d also made the decision to fly into Chattanooga, and not Atlanta.

“Chattanooga is closer, really. And Dad probably won’t think about that.”

“Chloe, would you look at me?” Tobias spoke gently to Liddie’s granddaughter. When she looked at him, still standing strong but wavering, Tobias nodded at her and said, “You did right by your mother. You did everything exactly right. You are a brave, brave girl.”

“Thank you,” Chloe whispered and then burst into tears. She got up from her chair and went to Liddie and Tally. The three women held each other in the kitchen, giving and receiving strength from one another, until finally, Tally pulled away from the embrace.

“Mama, I’m about to drop. All I want to do is sleep for about a million years.”

Liddie pushed her daughter’s hair back from her face. “You can take a nap, but we’ll come and rouse you every hour for a while, just to make sure.”

“I’ll do it,” Chloe said, but Tally cut her off.

“No, you need to rest, too. Mimi will do it. No arguing.”

“Hmph.”

Liddie managed a little smile. “That’s my girl.” She sighed and shook her head. “Oh my Lord.  We’ll deal with all of this when you get up from your naps. Let’s go. Upstairs with you.”

´*•.¸(*•.¸ *¸.•*´)¸.•*´

Liddie sat bolt upright, unsure where she was. The events of the morning came rushing back to her, and she began to go upstairs to see Tally, when she noticed her sitting at the kitchen table with a large mug of soup in front of her.

“Hey, baby.” Liddie slid into the chair next to her daughter. “You feeling better?”

Tally nodded. “Much.” She picked at a knot in the oilcloth table covering. “Tobias is a good man.”

“Yes, he is. But I don’t want to talk about Tobias right now—”

“I do. Daddy . . . was not a very good man. I’ve come to realize that. He treated you horribly.”

“And I took it. I didn’t have to. That was my choice.”

Tally huffed a laugh. “Maybe. Maybe not. But Tobias would never do you like that. Ever.”

“No, he wouldn’t.”

“Good.” She played with her spoon. “He wants to marry you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Liddie laughed, a little bit hysterically.

“I do. He told me. You should do it, Mom. You spent your whole adult life being told you weren’t quite good enough, and now you’re with this man who thinks you hung the moon. You gotta grab that. You deserve to be with someone who is as in love with you as you are with him.”

“When did you get so smart, Tallulah Douglas?”

“I don’t know. I think I got it from my mom.” Tally smiled, wincing slightly when her lip split again. “I think I might need to lie down again.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I’ll put these dishes away. You go on upstairs.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Tally patted her mother’s hand, then got up stiffly and left the kitchen.

Liddie was cleaning up the counter when she heard Tobias’s heavy footsteps tread into the kitchen. She turned and found him hovering in the doorway, looking unsure.

“Hey, Liddie.”

Liddie looked at him and then dropped the dish towel she was holding and ran to Tobias. She jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Toby.”

“Yes?”

She loosened her hold on him, just a little. “Yes, I will run away with you.”

Tobias rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to hear those words for thirty years, Liddie.”

“I’ve wanted to say them for at least that long.” She took a deep breath. “Now kiss me, Toby.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And he did.