Chapter 28 #2
Julian held out a hand that Cresley gratefully took.
He helped her up and guided her to the doorway, where she stopped to look back at her sleeping child.
Would the events of this day change who he was?
God, she hoped not, because he was absolutely perfect.
He’d have questions, and she’d give him honest answers and get him into therapy.
She’d do whatever it took to guide him through this.
Hearing that Carson was asking for her was the only thing that could’ve gotten her to leave Ty’s side, but with the others willing to check on him, she felt okay about going downstairs.
Julian deposited her on the sofa next to Carson, who reached out to her.
She grasped his hand and met his gaze, offering a wan smile.
“You want to eat something?” he asked.
“I could try.”
She’d no sooner said those words than Kate appeared with a tray for her, complete with a glass of wine. “I wasn’t sure what you like to drink,” Kate said with a warm smile.
“The wine is perfect. Thank you.”
“Our pleasure.”
When Cresley took a bite of the tasty pasta, the flavors exploded on her tongue, and suddenly, she was ravenous. “This is delicious.”
“Mom’s pasta was one of our favorites back in the day,” Carson said.
“I need to cook for you guys more often,” Kate said. “Reinstitute Sunday dinners.”
“My RSVP is a yes,” Spencer said, making everyone laugh.
“Is anyone else as shocked as I am to be hanging out with Cresley Dane or that she seems to truly dig Carson?” Jackson asked.
The others erupted in laughter.
“Haha,” Carson said.
“I do dig Carson,” Cresley said, “although he’s probably had more than enough of me after this last week.”
“I haven’t had nearly enough of you,” Carson said with a meaningful smile for her.
“Ew,” Jack said. “Way to make it gross, bro.”
“You started it, idiot.”
“I apologize for my children,” Kate said. “I did what I could with them.”
“We came out this way,” Kaidan said. “And it’s gotten much worse as we get older, so we like to apologize to new people in advance. Sorry, Isla and Cresley.”
Julian, who had his arm around Isla while they shared a plate of pasta, pretended to put a hand over her ear. “Don’t listen to them. We’re not all like her.”
“Oh please, Julian,” Jordan said. “When did you grow up and find Jesus?”
“I grew up and found Isla,” he said with a goofy smile. “She made me all better.”
“Honestly, Julian,” Isla said as her face flushed with embarrassment.
“Dad, I ought to get you home before they lock you out,” Corbin said to Spencer.
“I’m not going anywhere right when things are getting interesting around here.”
“Show’s over, citizens,” Carson said. “Everyone out.”
“Do I need to remind you that this is my house, young man?”
“You remind me of that every day, old man. We appreciate you all coming and cooking, but Cres and I need to decompress. It’s been a day and a half.”
“Will you call if you need anything?” Kate asked.
“Nope,” Carson said.
“Thank you for the delicious meal,” Cresley said to Kate.
“You’re very welcome. I’ll check on you tomorrow, Carson, and if you don’t want me to just show up, you’ll respond to my texts. Got me?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Same goes for the rest of us,” Kaidan said when she stood to leave with Kate.
“Whatever,” Carson said. “Get out. All of you.”
“This is the thanks we get for worrying about you,” Jordan said.
“You’ll get over it. Back to normal around here.”
“Thanks again for not dying,” Gillian said when she leaned in to kiss Carson’s cheek.
“Anything for you, pumpkin.”
“Why is he nice to her and an asshole to the rest of us?” Ethan asked.
“Because she’s lovely, and you’re not,” Carson said. “Any other questions?”
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Jackson said. “No more faking sick to get out of work.”
“Who died and made you the boss?” Corbin asked.
“Thankfully, no one, but he’s mooching the sick leave policy.”
“I think we can give him another week to rest up and recover before we start talking about work,” Corbin said.
“What a baby,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes as he walked toward the door.
“Don’t listen to him,” Kate said. “He’s very thankful you’re safe and on the mend. We all are.”
“I know. Thank you for coming over and cooking.”
“The kitchen is all clean. Just put your plates in and start the dishwasher.”
“We will. Now, everyone go home and get some sleep.”
“We’ll check in tomorrow,” Julian said.
“I’ll grab the dinner I made you earlier and bring it over for tomorrow,” Isla said.
“I can’t wait to try your chicken parm,” Carson said. “Thanks again for coming to San Diego, you guys. Way above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” Julian said as he guided Isla toward the door.
“Call me tomorrow,” Spencer said on his way out.
“I will. No spying while I have guests.”
“You ruin all my fun.”
“I mean it, Gramps. You don’t want to see something you can never unsee.”
“On that note,” Gillian said, “I’m out.”
Corbin and Spencer followed her out, and when Carson heard the door to the garage click shut behind them, he exhaled a sigh of relief. “Sorry about them.”
“I think they’re fabulous,” Cresley said. “Every one of them.”
“Ugh, they’re total pains in my ass.”
“You don’t really think that. You’re grateful they care.”
“I wish they cared a little less.”
“Give them a break. You nearly got yourself killed today. Again.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about all of it.”
“If you’re blaming yourself for any of this, you’re going to piss me off.”
“It’s hard to not feel responsible for you being badly injured, kidnapped, re-injured…”
“You’re not responsible, and it’ll be a great story to tell at parties.”
Cresley frowned as she moved both their trays to the coffee table. “I’ll never want to tell this story to anyone.”
“We’ll have to tell it over and over to the cops and in court and everywhere else until he’s locked away for good.”
“That’s the only place I’ll ever tell it.” She shuddered. “As long as I live, I’ll never forget the sight of him walking away with Ty and me not being able to stop him.”
“Keep thinking about how you ambushed him, grabbed Ty and ran. You did that.”
“I only had the nerve to do it because I knew you had a gun and the police were on the way.”
“You would’ve done it either way. I’m sure of it. And Ty saw you come running for him without a thought for yourself or your own safety. That’s what he’ll remember.”
“I hope he’s not permanently changed.”
“We’ll be there for him and make sure he’s got all the tools he needs to process this.”
“I understand if it’s way too much for you.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me right after I bought us yet another second chance?”
“No, but…”
“No buts. If you’re not done with me after hearing the stuff he said about my past, then I’m not done with you either.”
“Why would I be done with you over that?”
“He aired out all the ugly. I can’t even think about it without wanting to die that both of you had to hear that shit.”
“It doesn’t change anything for us. I already knew you were a recovering addict. I didn’t need that jackass to tell me it probably got ugly at times.”
“Still… I wouldn’t blame you if it was too much, especially after what you went through with your mom.”
“It’s not. Your story is nothing like hers. She never once tried to get help or even acknowledge she had a problem.”
“Those are the toughest cases.”
“I was close enough to it to know what it took to go from that to making such an extraordinary success of your life.”
“I had a lot of help, mostly from my family, which had the resources to get me the best of everything. I know how lucky that makes me.”
“It does make you lucky, and I’m glad you can see that, but all the support and luck in the world wouldn’t have made any difference if you hadn’t been determined to get better. The greatest effort of all came from within you, and I love that you pay it forward to others who need help.”
“That feels like the least I can do.”
“It’s more than a lot of people would do.”
“Sometimes I think one of the reasons I’ve stayed so stubbornly single is because the thought of explaining that mess was unimaginable.”
“I’ve seen it up close, unfortunately, and I have tremendous respect for people who manage to pull themselves out of the grip of addiction and go on to have productive lives.”
“That’s a very generous point of view, and I appreciate it.”
“Will you promise me that if you ever start to feel yourself stumble on that front, you’ll talk to me about it?”
“I can’t conceive of any scenario that would put me back there.”
“Which is very comforting, but I still want you to promise me.”
He didn’t believe in making promises when it came to his recovery, but for her—and only her—he’d make an exception. “I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“So what now?” Carson asked.
“Now we rest and recover and figure out what’s next.”
“Are we doing that together or separately?” Carson asked tentatively. “And either answer is fine. I want you to be honest.”
“Do you know what I thought about the whole time we were in the car with Marlon?”
“What’s that?”
“How all I wanted was to come home with you and Ty, just us three, hanging out, cooking dinner, watching movies, snuggling in and being together. I could’ve wished for anything in those long hours, but that’s what I kept coming back to. You, me and Ty.”
“That sounds perfect to me.”
“Then let’s do that and worry about the rest when the time comes, okay?”
He was beyond relieved to know there’d be more with her and Ty, because that was all he wanted, too. “Okay.”