Chapter 29 #2
“Savvy, it’s good to see you out of the hospital,” Romans says.
Grey growls. Loudly.
Savvy sighs. “I’ll tell you what I’ve been telling Grey. It wasn’t your fault, Roman. You were hired to do a job, and you did everything you could have done…given the circumstances.”
Roman swallows and breaks eye contact, focusing on the ground.
“Damn stubborn assholes,” Savvy mutters as their other friend joins them.
“Now that’s something I hear a lot of,” Elle says, holding out her hand to Grant. “Hi, I’m Elle, we met briefly…before. Welcome to Happiness. We’re not usually this, ah, intense.”
“Yes, we are,” Madi corrects. “But we’re also excellent hosts. You guys must be starving. I’ve got lunch ready at the inn, and—” She glances at the wagon. “Pie. Obviously. We’re just dropping off some extras for Blissy to sell off for the girls’ basketball team.”
“I love pie.” Freaking Chase. He just can’t help but be goofily charming.
“Great,” Madi beams up at him. “Help me drag these inside, and then we can head over to the inn for lunch.”
“We’d like that,” Sterling says, and even he appears more relaxed than I’ve seen him in days. Perhaps there’s something in the air here.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Madi says, handing them a pie for each hand. “Get these to Blissy. I’ve got rooms ready for you at the inn, hot food, and approximately seven thousand questions.”
“Madi,” Clover groans.
“What?” she huffs, still taking my measure.
“I’m just being honest. You show up from your road trip with five hot men, one of whom looks as though he’s declared himself your possessive boyfriend who won’t let you out of his sight, and in this case, I don’t mind that particular trait, but did you seriously think I wouldn’t have questions? ”
“Boyfriend?” Chase mouths at me while waggling his eyebrows. He stopped maturing at the age of thirteen.
I flip him off behind Clover’s back, carry the pies inside, then follow Clover’s directions back to the inn.
Madi leads the way, and even though I’ve been here before, it hits different when I look at it as a family home and not something I have to secure.
Roman’s gaze darts from one window to the next, and I relax even further, knowing he’s doing the job I’m not prepared to do right now—not when I’m so…invested.
Madi’s place may double as an inn, but it’s more of a home than any place I’ve ever owned.
The hardwood floors gleam, but it’s the photographs on every wall showing the family they’ve created that stops me in my tracks.
No wonder Clover feels so comfortable around these people. If the photos are any indication, this entire damn town adopted her and never let her go.
“Your rooms are upstairs, and don’t even think about telling me you’re staying at the old cracked-up Airbnb.
” She scolds Grant with a finger pointed at his chest. “Moose was over there yesterday. He said there isn’t even hot water.
And hear me when I say this, we’re all sticking together this time. ”
She winks, and one of my cousins audibly gulps. “Clover and Valen will be on the third floor. On the second floor, I’ve got three doubles and two singles available. You boys work out sleeping arrangements while I finish setting the table.”
“I’ll help,” Clover says, following her friend.
“No, you won’t.” Savvy grabs her arm. “You’re going to sit on that couch and tell us everything. Don’t even think about arguing.” She waves at herself in her wheelchair. “I almost died for my secrets. We’re not doing that shit anymore. Learn from my mistakes, Clover, and let us in.”
Clover appears so lost as she stares around the room, her gaze falling on me.
“Go,” I tell her, since we have teams surrounding the property. “I’ll referee the room negotiations.”
Chase scoffs.
“You can’t even correctly call a touchdown,” Grant mutters as Clover’s pulled into the sitting room, Elle and Savvy flanking her like bodyguards would.
As much as I don’t want to leave her side, I know she needs this time with them, so I begrudgingly follow my idiots up the stairs while she talks to hers.
Twenty minutes later, we’re seated around a dining table that rivals the conference tables at Harrington Bank and Trust in Charlotte, and food covers every inch of available space.
Clover wasn’t exaggerating about Madi’s stress cooking. There’s fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, gravy, sweet tea, mac and cheese that’s still bubbling in the pan, and something she calls funeral potatoes that Chief immediately declares as the best thing he’s ever eaten.
“Good to have you back, Chief.” Madi smiles. “Pops was missing you.”
“Bull hooey,” her grandfather, Pops, scoffs from the head of the table. “He wants to have adventures, he can have ’em. Not like I missed his ornery ass or nothing.”
“Sure,” Chief says around a mouthful of potatoes. “Whatever you say.”
Pops holds his fork like a weapon and scowls down the table. “I didn’t miss ya, you numb nut. I just don’t want to have to pick up your body somewhere. It woulda upset the girls, and then I’da killed ya myself, you old fuck.”
“Who are you calling old?” Chief fires back. I’ve landed in a weird version of The Golden Girls. “You’ve got five years on me.”
“Enough, you two,” Braxton chides the two oldest men at the table while gently cradling a newborn to his chest with ease.
It sets off a spark of…something as I stare at him, at how naturally he maneuvers with a tiny human in his arms. “We all know you missed each other, and we’re not dealing in that masculine toxicity crap anymore, so admit you were worried about each other, missed each other, and are happy to have each other back, and move on. ”
Pops scoffs but nods. “What he said. Glad ya didn’t die.”
“Glad I didn’t die too. Poker tomorrow night?” Chief asks as though they weren’t just bickering like an old married couple.
“Yup. Braxton’ll get our beers.”
Braxton rolls his eyes. “Sure thing, Pops.”
Staring at the shitshow before us, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to have a grandfather growing up. Hell, what would it have been like to have an active father?
My skin tingles, and I scan the table to find who’s watching me. Greyson. The prick still blames us for Savvy’s condition, even though he’s the one who tried to send her entire protection detail home. If it hadn’t been for Roman’s quick thinking, Savvy might not even be here.
“Thank you for taking care of Clover,” he says. Surprise must register on my face because he lifts a brow, silently daring me to argue.
“You don’t have to thank me for that. Clover’s my priority.”
“Good.” His gaze narrows. He’s a shark in his world, but so am I. “Don’t fuck it up. We all love her, which means if anything happens to her, it’ll happen to you too. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” I say, unwilling to keep the slight mockery from my tone. It’s cute that he thinks he could do anything but cut me a check to protect his ass.
“Excellent.” His tone suggests anything but. “I’m sure we’ll get along fine then.”
This is Clover’s family. And I’m starting to understand that bringing her here wasn’t just for her physical safety, it was for her emotional well-being too.
“So,” Savvy says once everyone’s settled, eating, and the chatter is down to murmurs. “Let’s address the elephant in the room. You’re all here because someone’s after Clover.”
Clover’s hand freezes with her fork halfway to her mouth.
“Savvy,” Elle says gently. “Maybe we should—”
“No, it’s okay.” Clover sets down her fork, then pinches the material of her jeans with her thumb and forefinger. “You all deserve to know what you’re getting into by letting us stay here.”
“Letting you?” Madi’s voice is sharp—it doesn’t suit her. “Clover, this is your home. You don’t need permission to be here.”
“But I’m bringing danger—”
“That we’ll deal with,” Braxton says simply as he shifts his baby higher on his chest as though he’s already protecting him. Clover’s body stiffens, telling me she saw it too. “We’ll handle it together, Clover. That’s what family does.”
Clover turns to me, and I nod even as her distress seeps into my skin.
I hold her hand as she tells them the tale—because that’s exactly what it sounds like, fiction.
By the time she’s done, Madi’s crying again but calms when Braxton places the baby in her arms. Elle’s gone pale, and Savvy looks like she’s contemplating murder but can’t decide if I’m her target or if she’s aiming for the woman who calls herself my mother.
“That bitch,” Savvy hisses.
“Savannah,” Elle gasps.
“What? She’s stalking our Clover. She tried to kill her, for fuck’s sake. She’s a bitch, and I stand by my assessment.”
“I like her.” Chase points his knife toward Savvy with a smile that’s sure to get him in trouble sooner rather than later, and Greyson fires back with a death glare that has my cousin chuckling like an asshole.
“When she comes here,” Clover says quietly, silencing the room. “And she will come. I need you all to promise me that you’ll stay away from her, stay out of the way, and let Valen and Roman’s teams handle it.”
“I’m not making that promise,” Savvy blurts.
“Savvy—”
“No, I mean it. To an extent, yes, we will take all necessary precautions, but if you think we’re going to just hide while someone threatens you? I mean, come on, Clover. Did you hit your head? There’s not a chance we’ll sit on our hands if there’s something we can do.”
“And you have law enforcement involved?” Greyson asks pointedly.
“We have a contact with the FBI we’re working with,” Grant says.
“They’re actively involved in the investigation?” Greyson pushes.
I bite my tongue.
“They know what we can tell them so far,” Sterling says. “We have reason to believe there’s…video evidence that would be…harmful if released. A video that Terra controls.”
“Harmful to whom?” Greyson growls.
“Me. Clover. My cousins. We don’t fucking know yet. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take until we know more. Are you?” I throw at him.
Greyson’s gaze jumps from me to Clover, and he slowly shakes his head. “You know it’s not.”
“If it was just about me, I would do things differently,” I say, softening my tone. “It’s not a risk I’ll take when it comes to Clover, so until Grant has more information, we work as a team to contain Terra.”
Greyson nods, but his glare could melt glaciers.
“I’ve got a shotgun,” Pops offers. “Old, but mighty and scary as hell.”
“Pops,” Madi groans. “That thing would probably backfire.”
“It’ll do the trick if push comes to shove,” Chief says, defending his friend, and I can see how easily this conversation could spiral. “But we’ve got local and federal authorities on speed dial too.”
“We have plans and contingency plans in place,” Roman says, and I offer him a grateful nod. The last thing I need is a town full of armed septuagenarians protecting my woman’s honor.
“Well,” Elle says firmly. “We have our own plans in place too. I set up an emergency text tree specifically for Clover. If any strangers wander through our town, we’ll know within minutes.”
“A text tree?” Grant’s amused despite himself. He doesn’t find humor in much these days.
“Welcome to Happiness,” Clover says, now flashing her radiant smile. A fist releases its hold on my heart at the sight. “Where everybody knows your business before you do.”
“That’s a great idea for the welcome sign,” Pops shouts.
I’m not sure he has another volume setting.
“Yup, you should enter it into the running,” Chief agrees.
“This town’s amazing.” Chase laughs.
“It is,” Savvy agrees. “But it’s also the safest place you could be because everyone’s watching your business.” She grins, and it’s unsettling. I wouldn’t want to be the one to cross her.
Glancing around the table—at Clover’s friends who became her family, at my cousins and even Chief, who’s somehow become mine too, at the fierce protectiveness radiating from every determined gaze—I believe her.
There’s no safer place to be than Happiness.