31. Maisie
Chapter 31
Maisie
Hey, you got a minute to chat?
I bite my lip while I watch the three dots dance while Jem replies. I got the idea to instigate a date night with Harlan. After the emotional rollercoaster of the last few days, we could use the down time. Time for just us.
Sure, what’s up?
Do you think you could watch Audra for a few hours tonight?
Nerves swirl in my stomach. I’ve never instigated time away from my daughter. I’ve never been away from her for more than a few hours, and even that was Harlan’s idea. I’m not entirely used to the idea of it yet. But I want time with Harlan, uninterrupted time, which means I have to let go a little.
*GIF of girl rubbing hands together* I thought you’d never ask. Of course I can watch her for you. Hot date with Harlan?
I wanted to have a quiet night with him, maybe make him dinner and watch a movie.
And ravish him silly.
*laugh crying emoji* Maybe...
Yaaaas queen. I love that for you. I get off at three, should be home right after if you wanted to drop her off?
That works, I can come pick her up around eight? Is that okay?
Why don’t we keep her for the night for you? You can bring over that little playpen thing and come pick her up in the morning. I’m off tomorrow so it doesn’t even have to be early.
My stomach drops at the suggestion, and I take a second to breathe through the involuntary response.
Oh gosh. I don’t want you to have to watch her on your day off.
Between Harlan and his brothers I have to fight tooth and nail for that baby, you will not deny me baby snuggles!
Maybe that’s not a bad idea. Jem loves Audra. She’ll keep her safe. She’s right here in town. It’s not like they’re going to the moon.
Haha. Okay... If you’re sure. She’s been sleeping pretty good lately, but can still wake up in the middle of the night.
That’s totally fine, it’s good practice for me and Boone anyway.
Is there something you want to share with the class?
*blushing emoji* Not yet. But maybe soon?
Eeeeep. Are you serious?!
Yeah, we’ve been talking about it…
And practicing I take it?
So much practicing. That might be my favorite part.
And Boone holding Audra?
*GIF of explosion*
^^actual footage of my ovaries.
LOL. Okay then. Have fun with your ovaries exploding. I’ll bring her by this afternoon.
I park Harlan’s SUV next to the cart return at the only grocery store in town. The sun is shining, and if I could describe walking on a cloud, it would be me right now.
Harlan went into the station for his shift, and after making plans with Jem, I checked Harlan’s fridge and pantry before loading Audra into the car for a supply run.
Steak, grilled mushroom caps, giant baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. The menu for tonight is perfect for the summer weather, and I know the company is already going to be great. I rented a couple of action flicks on my online video account for after dinner, and now plans of not having my daughter overnight for the first time in her life fill me with excitement instead of the dread I expected.
My baby’s first sleep over.
That alone is enough to make me emotional. And not just because it’s a milestone for her, but because I have people in my life who I can trust with the precious parts of my life.
A breeze blows through the lot after I get Audra into her stroller, and a chill snakes up my spine.
I quickly glance around but don’t see anything out of the ordinary. But the hair on the back of my neck raises. Almost like I’m being watched. There are some tourists milling about town — and how weird is it that I can tell them from apart from the citizens of town — but nothing that pings my danger radar. Kids are playing in the gazebo and park in the square their mom’s chatting and scrolling on their phones. Nothing dangerous. Nothing that can explain the sudden apprehension coursing through my chest.
I brush off the feeling and push Audra through the parking lot toward the grocery store.
Jerry Singer’s standing on the walk with a push broom, sweeping in front of the door as I approach.
“Hey, Maisie. How are you fine ladies doing this morning?” He smiles at Audra who’s slapping her hands against the tray of her stroller.
“We’re good, Jerry. How are you?” The few times that I’ve gotten into the grocery store, we’ve chatted a little bit. His family has owned this store for years, and he and his wife plan to pass it down to their son when he gets home from college.
“Still upright and breathing, can’t complain.” He pulls the door open for me, and I laugh as I walk through.
Making my way through the aisles, I start to grab what I need for dinner and stow it in the little undercarriage of the stroller when a familiar beard catches my attention.
“Duke. Hey.”
He’s got his attention trained on the onions in front of him, but at his name, he glances over and smiles.
“Hey, Mais.”
Out of all of Harlan’s brothers, Duke is the quietest. Other than his impassioned speech at dinner the other night, I don’t think I’ve heard him string a whole paragraph together.
“What’s for dinner?” I ask with what I hope is a friendly smile.
“Pasta and sausage. It’s a one pot meal that I like to throw on since it gives me a lot of leftovers.”
“Nice. I also downloaded that new Tally Monroe album. It’s good.”
At that, Duke’s grin creases his cheeks, a dimple in the right side coming out to tease.
“Told you I’d convert you to a country lover.”
I laugh and hold up a hand. “I wouldn’t go that far, but she’s good. I’ll give you that.”
“What is this, a party in produce?” A familiar voice sounds from behind me. I turn and find Jedd, Rhett and Finch standing behind us with their own shopping carts.
“I guess so.” I laugh. The four of them together are imposing as hell, but I’m more than comfortable with them, given the time we’ve spent together .
“I was actually going to call you. I got the check for the camper sale from the junkyard,” he says as Rhett squats down and runs a hand over Audra’s head. She lets out a squeal and slaps her hands harder to the tray of her stroller before holding her arms up.
“Sorry, sweet pea, can’t pick you up right now,” Rhett says.
Goosebumps break out down my arms. The feeling of being watched is back. I glance around the grocery store. There’s a mom and her two kids in a cart by the lettuce, and a man in a ball cap standing near the deli. Nothing that should be pinging my radar like this. But the itch between my shoulder blades feels like someone is watching me.
“Maisie. You okay?” Duke asks.
I turn back to the men, nodding absently as I look around, trying to pinpoint the direction my unease is coming from.
“Yeah. Fine. Sorry. Spaced out for a second there.”
Jedd’s eyes rake over my features, and he shares a glance with his brothers. Duke pulls out his phone and taps on the screen.
I shove the itchy feeling away.
Get it together, Maisie. No one is watching you.
“I’ll swing by the shop after I’m done here to grab the check, if that’s okay?”
“Sure. Did you want some company for your shopping? What are you grabbing?” Jedd asks, eyeing the produce in the bottom of the stroller.
“Just a couple of steaks for dinner. I got everything else.”
“I’d love to help with that. I’m great at picking out the best meat,” Finch chimes in .
I wave him away and snort. “I think I have it handled.”
“That’s what she said,” Rhett barks out on a laugh.
His brothers snicker, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from joining in. Finch shoves Rhett. “Stop it. You’re being dirty minded.”
Rhett holds his hands up. “You are the one who said it, bro, not me.”
Finch grins at us. “Yeah. I guess I did, didn’t I? But you’re the ones who took it wrong.”
“Yeah, Finch, go help her pick out her meat. I’m sure Harlan would love that.” Duke taps away on his phone. “Let me just text him that you’re helping his woman with a meat issue.”
“Don’t you dare,” Finch cries, launching himself at Duke’s phone. Jedd and Rhett both pull their phones out of their pockets and start to fire off their own messages. My own phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and I know that they’re putting the messages in the family group chat.
Family. I’m starting to have a family. And that makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time.
Duke shoves Finch away from him as Rhett and Jedd snicker at their phones.
I roll my eyes — because boys. “I can pick out steak all on my own, thank you very much. I’ll leave you hooligans to…” I wave a hand at them playing pushy shovey. “Do whatever you need to do.”
“Wait! I didn’t get to say hi to my best girl,” Jedd says before crouching down in front of the stroller.
Audra squeals and holds her arms out to Jedd. Out of all of the brothers, she’s taken to him the most after Harlan, and from what I can see, it’s a mutual love affair.
“Hey, there, pretty lady. You helping Mama get some food? I bet you’re gonna love steak.” He glances at me. “Can she even eat steak yet?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. But soon, if her teeth keep coming in the way they are right now, but she’s actually spending the night with Jem and Boone.”
A blush covers my face as I say it, and they don’t waste the chance to capitalize on my slip.
“Ohhhh. Date night at Harlan’s house. A home-cooked meal with a pretty lady.”
“Hopefully he changed his sheets recently,” Rhett crows. Then whispers to me, “Bachelor life, ya know?”
Duke just grins at me before tossing a flirty wink my way.
“Stop, you guys. It’s just dinner and the John Wick movies.”
“Steak and shoot ’em up movies?” Finch clutches his chest. “A woman after my own heart. How attached are you to my brother, because I’m tempted to steal you away.” He flirts harmlessly.
I roll my eyes again. “I’m going now. You boys have fun with your shopping.”
Audra’s stroller turns as I push away and head toward the back of the store where the meat counter is, chuckling along the way. Those freaking guys. I swear. They crack me up every time.
I turn the corner away from them and start to eye the steaks in the glass case. The butcher is busy in the back with something, so I pull my phone out to wait a few minutes before I get the last thing on my list.
Mentally, I put together a bag for Audra as I scroll through my email. Plans for tonight unfurl, and I can’t wait to have Harlan to myself. Maybe I can sneak into Giselle’s on my way back and pick up some racy lingerie to surprise Harlan with. There was a lace teddy in the display earlier this week that I bet would make him swallow his whole tongue.
Pulling up our text exchange, I type out a message to Harlan.
What time do you think you’ll be finished tonight?”
The three dots dance for a second before his reply pops up.
Probably around four, should be home by five at the latest.
Perfect. Bring your appetite.
*Selfie standing in the grocery store.*
You got it, Sunshine. Love you.
Love you too.
Typing the words makes me even more giddy. There’s a light in me that’s been slowly coming back during my time in Everette, and now it feels like a lighthouse beacon, calling the ships home.
Home.
Everette and Harlan are my home.
“Not a fucking word.” A hand grabs my arm and squeezes painfully as ice shards shoot through me.
The bottom of my stomach drops in dread.
I whip around. The man in the cap from the deli.
“Well if it isn’t my traitorous cunt of a woman.”
Sean.
Terror and panic collide and coil through me as I try to tug my arm away. Sean tightens his hold until I can feel each of his fingers pressing ruthlessly into my skin and a short whimper gasps out of me.
“Stop struggling. You’re gonna act real natural and we’re going to go somewhere private so we can talk. ” The threat in his tone is unmistakable.
Fear has my breath backing up in my lungs and my heart beating a drum against my breastbone, stealing my air, my voice, until tears from the pain of his fingers digging into me pool in my eyes. He pulls against my arm, steering me away from the deli counter, and my feet stumble forward.
“Can’t say I expected to find you in some Podunk town.” He glances at the stroller and leers at me. “Keeping fucking secrets again, are we?”
“Sean,” I gasp out, the word watery in dread as he stares at the stroller in disgust.
“Shut up,” he hisses. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to walk out of here with me and get into my fucking truck, and then when we’re nice and alone , we’ll talk about you skipping town on me and that fucking thing.” He nods to Audra and my fear turns to rage.
Without thinking about it, I lift my foot and stomp my heel onto the tip of his sneaker and shove him with my shoulder. He lets out a muffled curse but doesn’t let go of my arm. I shift to put myself between him and my daughter and yell, “Let me go.” I don’t let go of the stroller with my other arm. I can’t let go of it. Of Audra, not even to push this asshole away.
He shakes me. “Shut the fuck up, bitch.”
“No! Let me go!” I scream. I won’t be quiet this time. I won’t go silently into whatever hell he has planned.
I yank at my arm harder. I don’t care if I have bruises for weeks. It’s the last time he’s ever going to put his hands on me again. The last time he’s ever going to hurt me .
A fight like I’ve never felt rises in me, and I struggle against him harder, hollering my head off.
“Get your hands off her.” Jedd’s voice is laced with menace as he and his brothers come crashing around the corner, their carts forgotten.
Suddenly, the hold on my arm is gone, and Duke is yanking Sean away from me and muscling him back with an arm around his throat. Rhett and Finch back him away until there are feet separating us.
Jedd gathers me in his arms. “You okay, Mais?”
A choked sob claws its way up my throat as I nod. Audra’s shrill cry has me backing up until I can see her, and I unbuckle her. Pulling her into my arms, I soothe her until she calms down.
“Let me go, you piece of shit. She’s mine.” Sean’s struggling against Duke but can’t pull away. His face is red, and there’s so much rage and hate on his face. Gone is the confident cocky cop that tortured me, in its place is this pathetic shell of a man. He’s thinner than the last time I saw him with dark circles under his eyes and a maniacal gleam in the depths of his gaze.
“I’m not yours.” The words start out quietly but get louder as I scream. “I’ve never been yours and I will never be yours again.”
Sean lets out a yell that sends chills racing down my spine and struggles against Duke more until Rhett and Finch shove him back.
A siren in the distance gets louder and louder until it’s all but screaming through the store.
Harlan.
Harlan’s here.
He barrels around the corner to me, and in seconds, me and Audra are in his arms. Our shield against the world .
“Are you okay, Sunshine?” He whispers the question against me before dropping a kiss to Audra’s head. “Is she okay? Did he hurt either of you?”
I shake my head. The pain in my arm forgotten. Everything right in my universe just from being in his arms.