Chapter 26
TATE
“I can’t believe you did that,” I joked after letting Matty out of the truck.
“Every kid needs a dog,” Hawke murmured as he came around the front of the truck and brushed his lips over mine.
He put his arm around me and we watched Matty carry the puppy across the driveway to a grassy area next to the house.
“Besides, it was meant to be,” Hawke said as he linked his fingers with mine and started leading me towards the house.
I was exhausted from the day’s events and even though it was still light out, I knew there wouldn’t be any issue with getting Matty to bed early because he was beyond tired.
At least he had been until Hawke had stopped to speak to a neighbor of his who’d been parked near the grocery store we’d stopped at to grab some dinner from.
The plan had been for Hawke to run in and grab a frozen pizza, but one look at the puppy the old rancher had been holding in his arms and Matty had begged to get out of the truck so he could play with it.
I’d ended up going into the store to get the food and by the time I’d come back out, the rancher was gone and Matty was happily holding the small yellow puppy in his arms. Hawke had explained that it was the last of a surprise litter the rancher was trying to find homes for and the woman he’d been planning to give the puppy to had failed to show to pick it up.
Hawke had looked stricken when he’d remembered what he’d said about it being a decision we needed to make together, but I’d let him off with a smile and a shake of my head and had sent him back inside the store to pick up some puppy food while Matty had run through a list of superhero names and finally settled on another X-Men favorite, Storm, for the female puppy.
The day after Matty and I had arrived in Wyoming, we’d said our goodbyes to Ronan, Seth, Mav and Bullet.
Ronan and Seth were headed home to Seattle for some alone time while Mav had plans to explore some of the mountain passes on his huge Harley Davidson motorcycle while he waited for his next assignment.
I’d learned very little about the heavily tattooed man with the long black hair except that he fit the stereotypical biker to a T.
Hawke had told me that he knew little about Mav’s personal life, but I hadn’t missed the respect he held for the man.
The fact that he didn’t appear to have a home to return to had bothered me greatly, but he’d declined our invitation to dinner the night Seth and Ronan had left.
We’d spent much of that day exploring the town of Rocky Point and the surrounding area and at one point when we’d taken a short walk to check out Hawke’s property, he’d taken my hand and veered us off the trail we’d been on.
I hadn’t had any clue what he’d wanted to show me and Matty, but it had become clear when we’d entered a clearing by a small lake and there had been a single headstone beneath the branches of a huge tree.
Hawke hadn’t said much as we’d stood there, other than to explain that he and Revay had spent most of their summer vacations playing in the lake and laying on the sand dreaming of what their future would hold.
Matty had been uncharacteristically solemn and I’d nearly lost it when he’d moved around me to stand on Hawke’s other side so he could hold his hand too.
Hawke and I had spent the rest of the night after Matty had gone to bed talking about our plans for the future and I’d been both worried and excited when he’d said he thought Seattle would be a good place for us to settle.
I’d tried to tell him that we could make a life in Rocky Point after Matty’s treatment was finished, but he’d refused, saying that we needed a fresh start…
all of us. His only request had been that I be okay with him not selling the property since it was where Revay was buried.
And when I’d asked about his pursuit of Buck and Denny, he’d simply told me it was over and I’d left it at that.
We’d made love again that night, but unlike the other times we’d been together, it was unhurried and we spent more time just exploring each other in a way that wasn’t completely sexual.
I’d discovered that for all his brawn and beauty, Hawke was supremely ticklish and Hawke had enjoyed finding every one of my erogenous zones and exploiting them.
The next morning we’d ended up deciding on a spur of the moment trip to Yellowstone National Park which was just a couple of hours away.
Matty had been in heaven as we’d explored the park both on foot and by car, but the highlight of the trip had been when we’d spotted a black bear and her two cubs crossing the road about a hundred yards from our car.
We’d spent the night in a hotel and had spent the rest of today exploring before finally heading home.
Hence the exhaustion.
We’d just reached the porch when I heard Matty calling for me followed by a comment about him not being able to find the puppy.
“It’s okay, I’ll go,” I said to Hawke as he started to follow me. “Can you put the pizza in while I check on him?”
Hawke nodded. “Can you grab my phone from the truck on your way back? I need to charge it.”
“I told you not to show him those games on your phone,” I said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, you did,” Hawke acknowledged. “What can I say, the kid’s got me wrapped around his finger. How was I supposed to know he’d play them till the phone died?” Hawke groused as he climbed the porch stairs. “Besides, I’m not the one who forgot my phone all together.”
I shot him a dirty look and began walking towards the side of the house where I’d last seen Matty headed with the puppy.
A twinge of concern went through me when I didn’t see him anywhere and I began walking across the field towards a large, run down barn that Hawke had warned Matty not to play around.
“Matty!”
The lack of a response had me picking up my pace.
“Matty, you answer me right now!” I shouted.
I knew I was likely overreacting, but the thought that Matty could have climbed up into the hayloft and fallen through a broken floorboard flashed through my mind and I began running.
I called his name again, but there was still no answer.
And when I saw the barn door partially opened, I was gutted with fear and I shouted for Hawke.
But when I slid the door open wide enough so that I could fit through it, I was nowhere near prepared for the sight that greeted me.
Because there standing just behind my son in the middle of the barn pressing a gun against Matty’s head, was Denny.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Matty said, his voice uneven, and I knew he was just seconds away from crying.
At some point he’d found Storm because he was holding the quiet puppy in his arms. “It’s okay, buddy. Just hold on to Storm and be real still and quiet while the grown-ups talk.”
Despite my warning not to move, Matty nodded, but that was all he did. I lifted my eyes to Denny and shook my head. “Denny, please. He’s just a kid. Just let him leave and you and I can talk.”
“You shouldn’t have taken him, Chrissy,” Denny said, his hand shaking as he held the gun. “Pops, he was…you just shouldn’t have taken him.”
I glanced around the barn as subtly as I could, but didn’t see Buck anywhere.
But I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Denny wouldn’t have had the forethought to do this on his own.
Denny’s eyes were wide and glassy and I suspected he was high or just coming down off of something.
And that fact alone had sheer terror rolling through me.
Because Denny was wholly unpredictable when he was in that condition.
“I had to, Denny. You know what Buck would have done to him. What he would have turned him into. ”
Denny pulled the gun away from Matty’s head so he could wipe his brow with his arm. A sliver of relief went through me when he lowered the gun to his side instead of putting it back to Matty’s head. But he still had his other hand clamped down on Matty’s shoulder.
“Things didn’t go well for me when he got home and found the kid gone,” Denny said accusingly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that when I took him.”
Denny grew more agitated as he shook his head. “I told that stupid bitch to stay away.”
I dropped my eyes to Matty as Denny seemed to get lost in himself and I gave my son what I hoped was a reassuring smile and a brief nod. Matty was clearly terrified, but he managed a small nod.
Denny was still ranting and I could tell he was getting more and more frustrated so I said, “Denny, talk to me. Who are you talking about?”
My brother looked at me as if he’d just now noticed my presence and I was surprised to see his face actually fall. “I really loved her, you know?”
“Who?”
“She was supposed to be the one. We were gonna be a family. You remember that, don’t you Chrissy?” Denny said, his voice actually sounding dejected.
If the circumstances had been any different, I actually might have felt sorry for him.
“Daddy’s name is Tate,” Matty suddenly interjected, but instead of putting the gun back to Matty’s head, Denny actually looked down at Matty strangely and then turned him and knelt down in front of him.
“He’s not your daddy, Matthew,” Denny said as he reached up with the hand that was holding the gun and tried to stroke Matty’s face. Matty flinched and pulled his face away before Denny could make contact.
“Denny,” I said desperately and I took several steps forward to get Denny’s attention. The move worked and Denny jumped up and pointed his gun at me. “Talk to me, Denny,” I ordered as I held out my hands.
“Fuck!” Denny bit out and he lowered the gun again. “This is all your fault! I could have convinced Buck not to…”
Denny started shaking his head and then he slammed his closed fist against his chest. It was a move I’d seen him do countless times when he was pissed and trying to get control of himself.