Chapter 6
chapter
six
Wren
The last forty-eight hours have been a whirlwind. Starting with my phone call to Liam and ending with him driving me, my son, and my sister to my house in Big Wood.
Well, technically NOT my house, just where I’ve lived for the last eight years.
I’m worried about Keller. He’s not used to so much stimulation all at one time. I keep expecting him to have an outburst, but he’s been a complete champ. Las Vegas is definitely not made for kids on the spectrum with sensory processing issues. Thank God for noise-cancelling headphones.
Liam turns into the driveway, then frowns. He looks behind us, then at the house.
“This looks like you’re practically in the Bishops’ back yard,” he says.
Winnie snorts. “Ya think?”
Super helpful, that one. I take a sobering breath, then open my car door.
“I’ll take Keller to his room and start packing his stuff,” my sister says.
“Thank you. Let me know if he needs me.”
“Will do, but we’ll be fine.”
I nod. Liam grabs the big plastic totes from the back of the large SUV he rented.
Once we get inside, it’s like I’m seeing the house for the first time. There’s nothing in here that reflects me, save the family pictures on the refrigerator. Brenda never failed to mention how cluttered they made the kitchen look, but I didn’t care.
I love all the pictures of my son growing up over the last seven years. And pictures of him with his dad. Some with me and Colt, too, back when things were better.
All of the furniture is high-end and frankly, not very comfortable. Liam sets down the crates and separates them, tossing the lids to one corner in the living room.
“Hey Songbird? You okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He walks to me and pulls me in for a hug. Those strong arms of his wrap around my body, pressing me tight to his. “It’s okay to be sad. This has been your home.”
I release a chuckle. “I’m not sad. Overwhelmed, maybe, not definitely not sad.” I look up into his face—that gorgeous face and those dark as night brown eyes, the one-day stubble that’s dark against his cheeks and chin. “I’m sorry you had to do this for us. I never want to be an inconvenience or a burden. But I need you to know how much I appreciate you sacrificing everything for me.”
He pulls back a little, his hands gripping my biceps. He searches my face, his features drawn tight in a frown.
“Let’s get one thing straight. I am not sacrificing anything. You and Keller becoming my family is a blessing. I promise you that.” He stares into my eyes for a while before he speaks again. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything,” I say.
“Why did you ask me? I’m assuming you know other men who would’ve jumped at the chance to be your husband. Men you’ve seen more than a handful of times over the last several years.”
“I asked you because I trust you. I felt pretty certain you'd say yes because you're that guy. The reliable, steadfast one.”
“I said yes because I've always wanted to be something you need.”
When he says things like that, it makes my heart flutter with hope. I know Liam would never willingly hurt me, but I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t afraid of that.
He kisses my forehead, then steps away from me. “Now then, I have the movers and moving truck scheduled for tomorrow.” He holds out a pad of brightly colored sticky notes. Stick one of these on any of the bigger pieces you want to bring with us.”
I stare down at the squares in my hand and then shake my head. I hold them back out to him.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
“None of the things in this house are mine. Everything belongs to Brenda and Butch,” I say.
Liam’s frown deepens. “I don’t understand. You have no pieces of furniture that you picked out? Or any you want to keep?”
“Even if I wanted to keep anything, which I do not, Brenda would have a fit.”
“Why is it their stuff, though?”
“This marriage was very crowded. I don’t think I have time to explain it right now. There’s no doubt in my mind that they will have seen the car park in the driveway. Not to mention, they run the cameras at my doorbell and back door. So they’ll know I’m back. They won’t wait long to drive over here.”
He rubs at the back of his neck. “They have the app linked to your doorbell camera?”
I nod. “I know, it sounds crazy. In any case, the number of missed calls and texts I’ve received from them—and their lawyer—in the last two days lets me know that they’re watching. They knew I was gone. Didn’t know where, but knew I’d taken Keller and left town. They’re not pleased.”
“Well too fucking bad,” Liam says, his voice dark and ominous. “You don’t have to tell me everything now, but eventually I need to know.”
“Why? None of it matters anymore,” I say. “The attorney I spoke to made it clear that if I were married, they’d have no grounds for petitioning for full custody. No matter what they’ve been saying about me.”
“It matters to me. I want to know what your life has been like since I foolishly left you here.” He steps closer and lowers his voice. “I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but if Colt were alive right now I’d wring his damn neck.”
I lean in and kiss his cheek. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, just not now.”
“We’ve got a long drive from here back to Texas, so we’ll have plenty of time to talk. Now tell me what we can pack.”
“My clothes, I guess, though they’re not exactly my style.”
“Pick the ones you like or are most comfortable, and we’ll buy you new stuff when we get home. What about Keller’s things?”
“I mean, they bought him a lot of things over the years, but most of what they got him is in the garage. Guns and two different ATVs, lots of sporting equipment, that kind of thing.
“So basically all the stuff that he’s clearly not into at all,” Liam says.
How has he managed to know that about my son when they’ve only ever spent time together over a computer screen during video chats? “All of his favorite things are in his room. His puzzles, models, and building blocks. Winnie will know what to pack.”
“Knock-knock,” Brenda singsongs from the doorway.
“I’m guessing that happens frequently?” Liam says quietly. “The popping in without calling first?”
I just nod, then turn to face my mother-in-law. As usual, she’s dressed in a pantsuit ala Hilary Clinton circa 2016. I told her that once, and I thought her head might explode. In any case, today’s is peach. I hate peach; the color, the smell. She’s probably why, considering she uses some fancy lotion and powder from France, I think, and it’s all peach scented.
“Hello, Brenda,” I say. Then I motion to Liam, who’s now standing very close to me. The front of his body brushing against my behind. “You remember Liam.”
At the mention of his name, he leans down and brushes a kiss against my neck.
And that’s when Butch walks in. Unlike his wife, Butch likes to dress like a wealthy cowboy. Starched jeans, pointed boots in any kind of leather you can imagine. He must have sixty pairs. The button-down shirt and a belt buckle that would make Texas proud.
“What have we here?” he asks as he steps inside.
Liam pats me on the hip as he steps around me. He walks straight up to Colt’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, so nice to see you again. It’s been a while.”
“It has been a very long while,” Brenda says, emphasizing the ‘very.’
“Liam was on active duty until just the last two years,” I say. They can belittle me all they want, but I’ll be damned if they discredit all of the sacrifices Liam has made.
“What is going on here?” Butch asks, clearly done with the charade of niceties.
Liam grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “I finally convinced her to marry me. I’ve been asking for years, haven’t I, baby?”
I smile up at him. “You sure have.”
“Well, you’ll have to get an annulment. She is a Bishop,” Brenda says.
“Actually, now I’m a Gregory,” I say. “And so is Keller, Liam’s filed a petition in Texas to legally adopt him.”
“Texas, why on Earth would he file there?” Butch asks.
“Because that’s where I live, sir,” Liam says. “Where my family will live with me.”
“Now see here, son,” Butch hits that last word hard. “We always did like you, Liam. We knew you were a good influence on our boy. But this,” he wags his finger between Liam and me. “This is a goddamn mistake. You don’t know what you’re doing. I’m sure she’s fed you so many lies, you don’t know which way is up. Trust us, we know how she can be.”
Panic claws at my throat with Butch’s words. What if they convince Liam and he does annul our union? What will I do then? Flee the country, if possible.
“I’d remind you that you’re in the presence of a lady, two if you count your wife,” Liam says. “There’s no need to use vulgarities.”
Brenda steps forward. “You don’t know how fragile and unstable she is. She needs us around to support her and Keller. She’s just not up for raising a kid on her own. Especially with the medication,” she whispers that last word like it’s offensive, “she takes.”
“Brenda, we’ve been over this. I take anxiety medication and something for my ADHD. It’s not like I’m addicted to pain pills,” I snap.
Brenda’s eyes flash with anger, and she steps forward.
This time, Liam moves my body so I’m behind his.
“I’m here now, she’s my wife, mine to care for. She won’t need you anymore. But as far as I can tell, she has done better raising Keller alone these past few years than she was able to when Colt was alive. Because she had to take care of him too.”
“If you think you’re going to marry Wren just to get your hands on Colt’s money, you’re sorely mistaken! Keller’s money is in a trust, and you’ll never be able to touch it. And since Wren married you, she won’t be getting anything from us anymore either,” Brenda says.
“You expect us to believe you just appeared in her life and now you want to play family?” Butch asks.
“I’m not playing. I AM her family. And she and Keller are mine.”