40. Aubrey
Chapter 40
Aubrey
A s Caleb and I stride out of the police station, hand in hand, in the cool, early-morning sunshine, we’re both exhausted, sleep-deprived, and ravenously hungry. But mostly, relieved .
Thankfully, Paula quickly located a Montana lawyer for Caleb last night, a guy in classic cowboy boots and a Stetson hat who sped in from Billings on a moment’s notice to save the day.
“Don’t say a word till I get there,” the lawyer growled at Caleb over the phone. “Not even to ask for a fucking cup of coffee.”
Once the Billings lawyer arrived at the Prairie Springs police station and he’d had the opportunity to confer with his famous client, he gave Caleb the green light to give a detailed statement in a small back room. And while Caleb did that, I sat nervously on an orange, rickety chair in a tiny waiting room, rocking back and forth to keep myself from puking from stress.
I didn’t want to have worst-case scenario thoughts while sitting alone in that claustrophobic room on a plastic chair. But I couldn’t help myself. I imagined the judge reversing her prior order and ruling that Caleb henceforth couldn’t interact with his daughter unless supervised. I imagined Caleb being hauled away for murder, and Raine spending her formative years visiting her daddy in prison. But to my relief, after only about an hour in that back room, Caleb and his Montana lawyer emerged, trailed by two detectives—and all of them were smiling and looking downright chummy.
“I’m free to go,” Caleb announced on an exhale, opening his arms to me, and I leaped up from my orange chair and hurtled into them.
“No charges will be filed,” the Montana lawyer confirmed. “We all agree it was a classic case of self-defense.”
“Thank you, thank you,” I said to the Billings lawyer, lurching at him for a hug. Hell, I was so damned relieved and grateful, I even hugged the two detectives, rather than shaking their offered hands. And now, as the sun comes up, Caleb and I are walking toward Big Betty, eager to get home and into bed and put this crazy night behind us forever.
I’ve got the car keys in my pocket, since I drove the truck here, while Caleb drove with the responding officer; so I pull them out and slide into the driver’s side, while Caleb wordlessly slumps into the seat across from me. Normally, whenever we’re driving somewhere together, Caleb gets behind Big Betty’s wheel, which suits me fine. I don’t like to drive all that much. But after the long, stressful night Caleb’s endured, we don’t even need to talk about who’s taking the wheel this time.
“Man, I could use a stiff drink,” Caleb grumbles, leaning against the head rest of the passenger seat with his eyes closed.
My heart stops. “I’ll arrange an emergency Zoom call with Gina for this afternoon, while you catch up on sleep.”
Caleb opens his eyes and looks at me blankly.
“You said you want to drink.”
“No, I said I could use a drink. It’s a figure of speech. All I meant is it’s been a long fucking night and if I were still drinking, which I’m not, this would be one of the times I’d throw back a tall one.” He pats my arm. “I’m not in any danger of falling off the wagon, babe. Don’t worry about that.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“You’d tell me, right?”
“I would. But don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“If that changes, you’ll tell me, right? You’ll come straight to me and confess and never, ever hide it, so I can help you?”
Caleb sighs. “Of course. Please, Aubrey. I’m tired. Can we just go home now?”
I exhale. “Lemme call my parents real quick to tell them the good news.” I pull out my phone to make the call, but Caleb touches my arm to stop me.
“Hang on. Come to think of it, there’s something I should tell you, before we do anything else.”
I lower my phone to my lap and hold his gaze, my heart thumping.
Caleb murmurs, “Good, bad, ugly. That’s what I promised you.”
“Ralph didn’t aim his gun at you,” I blurt. It’s what I’ve been suspecting, since the moment I saw his dead body in the bushes. If I know my man, he didn’t wait for Ralph to aim a gun at him before firing. No, I’d bet anything Caleb took his shot before letting that happen.
Caleb nods slowly. “Ralph wasn’t even holding his gun when I shot him. It was stuffed in his belt, because he had both hands on the crowbar.”
I take a shallow breath. “I had a feeling.”
His nostrils flare. “After I shot him, I used my sleeve to lift his gun out of his belt and place it in his dead hand.”
I process for a brief moment, and then take Caleb’s hand. Suspecting Caleb took his shot was one thing; but knowing it for a fact, knowing my man didn’t hesitate to protect his family, is another. Indeed, this electrifying news only makes me love and respect Caleb, all the more.
“What about the duffel bag?” I ask, barely breathing.
Caleb shakes his head. “I didn’t plant that or anything in it. That was all Ralph.”
I exhale. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“I couldn’t tell you last night because our neighbor was there. And then the police. But I want you to know, I think of my promise to tell you everything—good, bad, and ugly—as a sacred vow.”
My chest heaves. “It’s a vow for me, too.” I touch his cheek and he closes his eyes at my touch. “What you did was nothing but good, baby. Not bad or ugly at all.”
Caleb opens his exhausted eyes. “You’re not scared of me now?”
“ Scared of you? Caleb, I’m nothing but proud of you. Grateful for what you did to protect us.”
“I knew we’d always live in fear, if I didn’t seize my chance.”
“No doubt about it. They wouldn’t have kept him long, and he would have kept coming at us, again and again.”
“That was my thinking. At first, anyway. When I pulled the trigger, I don’t think I was thinking at all, honestly.” He takes a deep breath. “Ralph said something horrible about Claudia. And then, he mentioned Raine. And the second Raine’s name left his mouth, I saw him doing to her what he used to do to Claudia. And I just . . . snapped. My body took over and my brain went into a trance.”
I nod. “If I’d been in your shoes, I can only hope I would have been brave enough—and a good enough shot—to do exactly what you did.”
“I was so scared you wouldn’t understand.”
“I do. And I couldn’t love you more than I do right now.” A tidal wave of emotion slams into me. Love for Caleb and Raine. Grief and love for Claudia.
“I’m so relieved,” he whispers.
“Honey, you should talk about this with a counselor. The stuff you can, anyway. You know, so you don’t get PTSD.”
He scoffs. “Trust me, I won’t lose a minute’s sleep over this. Not now that I know you support me.”
“I don’t think a lack of regret is the only factor in terms of PTSD. I think it’s complicated.”
Caleb shrugs. “You heard our neighbor. That fucker came after my family with obviously lethal intentions, and I did what I had to do to protect what’s mine. Honestly, I’d do it again, a thousand times over, without a single regret.”
My heart is exploding with love for him. I don’t know what to say, so I simply whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He pulls me to him for a tender kiss. And when he releases me, he presses his forehead against mine. “I’ll always protect you and Raine. Please, never doubt that.”
“I never will.” I kiss his cheek. “Come on. Let’s get you home and to bed. I’m sure you’re going to sleep for hours.”
When we got home from the police station, Caleb and I crawl into bed, both of us intending to crash after our long, sleepless night.
But when we’re lying nose to nose, I kiss him. And he kisses me back.
And the next thing I know, we’re both naked and Caleb is on top of me, sinking himself inside me. As he thrusts, I wrap myself around his torso and inhale his masculine scent. Sink my fingernails into his bare back. Revel in his strength. His courage. His love.
Caleb’s thrusts are greedy and animalistic now, my mouth ravenous as it devours his. I caress his hair, back, and shoulders, as he claims me without holding back.
Our walls are non-existent now. There are no secrets left to keep. He’s got me. All of me. And I’ve got him the exact same way. Good, bad, ugly. Although, when it comes to Caleb, I don’t think there’s an ugly bone in his beautiful body.
“ Aubrey ,” Caleb grits out, as he moves his body in and out. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you so much,” I choke out, my voice stretched and desperate.
A current of electricity explodes between our bodies, as our souls fuse and an eternal commitment is forged. I thought those romantic carvings on the tree outside were the perfect testament of Caleb’s eternal love and devotion. The biggest grand gesture possible. But now that he’s gone and done that primal, secret thing to protect our family from harm, forever, I feel like my very soul has joined with his. We’re in this together now. Forever.
Caleb loves me, and his daughter, with every ounce of him, including the most primal parts. The wildest, most untamed parts that shouldn’t be named, unless it’s in secret, hushed whispers. And now, Caleb knows I love him back, every part of him, the exact same way.
He’s mine. I’m his. We’re a family now.
Forever .