Chapter 13
“Pumpkin.”
I heard my mom call my name, but I refused to roll over. I heard her footsteps coming before she sat on the bed.
“Get up, baby. I know you miss your man, but we have a full day ahead of us.”
“Ma, I don’t feel like doing anything. Besides, Kannon asked me to keep a low profile until he comes back. It’s been three days. Now I’m worried sick about him.”
“What in the world is going on, Carteay? Why in the world did y’all show up out the blue like this? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
I took a deep breath as I rolled around to face my mama. “I want out of my deal.”
“Why, baby? What happened?”
“It’s a long story. Just know that I want out before the baby comes. I don’t even want the stress of dealing with them during my pregnancy.”
“Well, I can’t blame you for that. So what are you doing to get out of your contract?”
“Kannon wants me to let him handle it. They’ve being doing some weird stuff, and he’s worried about me. That’s why he brought me here.”
“What kind of weird stuff, baby?”
“I’m pretty sure somebody drugged me at the studio one day,” I revealed.
“Carteay, what the hell?”
“I know. Kannon has been staying close to me since it happened. Ceasar had the nerve to threaten to tell the media that I overdosed. He’s trying to ruin me. He said he would do it if I crossed him.”
“Oh, baby,” my mom said, pulling me into her arms.
“He says he’s gonna fix it, Mama.” I sobbed into her shirt.
“I take it you trust him.”
“I do. I’m just so worried about him. Somebody shot at us. The day we came here, someone shot at us.”
“What the hell? Did you call the cops?”
“Ceasar and his minions are crafty. He would have just had someone pretending to be a crazed fan to come forward and say it was them.”
“Baby, you should have told me what they were putting you through. I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“I didn’t want you worrying about me. Now everything feels so out of control. I can’t believe this is my life, Ma. If Kannon wasn’t there, I hate to imagine where I would be right now. I couldn’t even think straight, and he was the one dodging the bullets. I hadn’t even got out of the truck yet.”
“Sounds like they were trying to get him. You sure it wasn’t somebody he already had an issue with?”
“We were meeting Tyler. He was the only one who I told we would be there. Cyrus claims Tyler told him about the meeting, and he was coming there to talk to us and try to call Kannon off because he’s been helping me keep him away from me.”
“Why does Kannon need to keep him away from you? You two had a bad breakup or something? I just saw y’all on TV, and you show up with a whole new man.”
“It’s a long story, Ma. Just know that we are done and that’s that.”
“Do you think he had something to do with it?”
“I don’t know if he’s in on it or not. He says he mentioned coming to meet with me to Ceasar.”
“What did he want to talk to you about?” she asked.
“Some discrepancies in our contracts, so he said. We didn’t make it to the meeting.
As soon as that shooting started, Kannon shoved me back in the truck and jumped on the road.
We came straight here. Now he’s out there doing God knows what to protect me.
I can’t even call him because he left his phone here. I found it on the nightstand.”
“I’m sure he did that for a reason.”
“I know he did, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying. He should have called me by now, Mama.”
“Sometimes, no news is good news. I know you trust him because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have brought him here. If you trust him to protect you, then trust him to make it back here in one piece.”
“I do, but he needs to hurry.” I pouted.
“Poke your lip in and get up.”
“I don’t feel like getting up right now, Ma. Just leave me to rot a little while longer.”
“No, ma’am. Get up. We’re taking a trip. There is an apple orchard that makes the best apple fritters I can’t wait to get to.”
“Ma, I can’t take a trip right now. I gotta lay low until he calls.”
“This was his idea, baby. That guy Blaine came in with a message.”
“From Kannon?” I asked, perking up.
My mom laughed a little as she answered. “Yes, from your baby. He sent an itinerary for us. I told you we have a full day ahead of us.”
That made me blush. “Kannon sent an itinerary?” I asked again, just to make sure.
“Yes. We have a rug making class, then a pottery class before lunch at a farm to table apple orchard that makes homemade apple butter and jam.”
“And Kannon planned this?”
“Yes, baby, but there is a two-hour drive, so as much as I love answering your questions, you gotta get up.”
“Two hours to pick apples and make rugs?”
“And make sure you grab a couple of bottles of apple wine for when the strawberry comes, whatever that means.”
That was him all right. I was pretty sure he tossed that part in just to make sure I knew he was in on the plan.
“OK. Let me get myself together. I’ll be right out.”
I sat on the enormous back porch, rocking back and forth and trying to soothe myself.
I was exhausted, but I couldn’t fall asleep for the life of me.
Under Kannon’s direct orders, my mom, Candice, and I had been staying in a cabin for the past three days.
After the first eventful day of apple picking and a pottery making fiasco, we didn’t drive back home.
Blaine brought us to a beautiful cabin on the lake. According to him, Kannon thought it would be a good idea for us to change locations. Cabin felt like an understatement. It was a luxury lake house with a dock and private lake in the back. I was going to have to add a lake to my list.
He even had brunch planned for us each morning before we journeyed out to whatever adventure awaited.
It felt good to be in a place where every single person didn’t know who I was.
As much as I enjoyed the fame, I loved my peace and privacy as well.
Kannon was doing a good job of keeping us busy, but that didn’t stop me from missing him, and it damn sure didn’t stop me from worrying.
Even when Kannon wasn’t around, I was under his influence.
I laughed to myself as I sipped from the warm cup of dessert tea.
I would have to tell Kannon that the lemon loaf flavor was a hit.
Hopefully, drinking something warm would help me relax.
I could say that I was tired as a dog. Worrying about Kannon made the sleep I so desperately needed elusive.
The thud of a footstep made me spring to my feet. Silently, I prayed that it was Blaine or else I was going to have to put some of that tai chi training to work. All my defenses shattered when I realized that it was him.
“Kannon!” I shrieked as reality set in.
“Shh! Your mom is downstairs asleep.” A crooked smile curved his lips as he moved closer. He didn’t have to walk far because I rushed him, meeting him halfway.
Kannon chuckled, catching me as I jumped into his arms. I wrapped my legs around him tight. One of his hands slipped to the back of my head, fisting my hair and pulling my mouth to his. Our kiss was rushed and clumsy as I cupped his face in my hands, making sure he didn’t disappear.
“I got something for you, baby,” he said when he finally pulled away.
“What is it?” I asked, smiling at his devilish grin.
He walked over and filled the seat I had just been occupying, holding me so that I straddled his lap as he got settled. Once we were good, he lifted his hand and extended a roll of papers.
“What is this?”
“Look at it, Carteay,” he said with a low chuckle.
As I scanned the few words on the paper, my eyes stung with tears. “Kannon, is this real?”
“As promised, my love.”
The way he said it so casually did little to reflect the gravity of the situation.
I was free. Kannon had set me free. As much as I knew it upset Kannon to see it, I didn’t try to stop myself from crying.
He held my body against his chest and rested his chin on top of my head as I cried it out.
His huge hands stroked my back in slow passes as I let him soothe me.
“Thank you so much,” I said when I was finally able to talk.
“I told you I would do it, Carteay. Thank you for trusting me with your life.”
“I was so worried about you. What about Ceasar and his goons?”
“I told you to never worry about another man as long as I live. Now, let’s talk about the important things. I missed you. How is my son?”
“He’s good, and we both missed the hell out of you. Kannon, did you—”
“Don’t worry yourself about that, Carrie. You’re free now, and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re right.” I nodded.
“Cheyenne wants to meet with you soon.”
“About what? I don’t want anything to do with her or that conniving husband of hers. I’m taking a break and focusing on being a mom for a while.”
“She helped us, Carteay. Even if you never rock with her, I’m not letting you give up on your dream.
You can take a break as long as you want to, but don’t feel like you have to do that because of the baby.
I promised to support you through this, baby.
I meant that. You’re not quitting your dream because of a couple of monsters.
Your man is a demon slayer. I got you. I think I’ve proven that. ”
“You really have.” I agreed with a smile.
“Now let’s get to sleep. I haven’t slept worth a damn while I was gone.”
“Obviously, I haven’t either,” I said, resting my head on his chest as he stood to carry me inside.
“You having trouble sleeping in your new house?” he asked, making me pop my head up to look at him. His waiting grin was to be expected.
“What?”