Chapter 21
Win
“You’re really gonna let the kid go?” The question was full of disbelief. So was the expression on Alistair’s face. “That’s merciful of you.”
I finished signing the paperwork he was waiting on and pushed it across the desk. My younger brother wasn’t the only person questioning my decision to let Ky and his mother go now that both of them had effectively dropped off the map.
“The only people who know if he had a hand in stashing Winnie at the drydock aren’t saying a word.” My niece insisted Ky wasn’t there that day. Paul Harvey refused to utter a single word about the kidnapping and extortion. And the Kents vanished in the middle of the night after I paid them a hefty sum for agreeing to do the DNA test that proved he was not Channing’s child, and for Ky’s help locating Winnie. “He’s the reason we found her as quickly as we did. I have to think, if he was manipulated into helping him take her, Ky felt guilty enough about it to make things right as quickly as possible. It’s not like the kid has it easy. His real father is locked up indefinitely, and his adoptive father is on the run. What sort of example have the men in his life left for him to follow? And ultimately, he did the right thing in the end.” I got to my feet and shut down my computer. I couldn’t wait until this office was my brother’s, and I was the one sitting comfortably on the other side of the desk. “I have a strong sense that I haven’t seen the last of that kid.” I couldn’t explain why I knew deep down in my gut Ky was going to be a recurring problem. I tapped the paperwork with a finger and told Alistair, “This is solid work. Keep it up.” I was relieved he was the one who had to work late, because I had a date with my wife.
We’d been so busy in the aftermath of the recent nightmare; we’d hardly seen one another. Between the legal matters and personal ones, Channing was like a top spinning out of control. It felt as if there hadn’t been a moment for either of us to address the fact that we were in love. I wanted to move our marriage from one that only existed on paper to one that filled every corner of our lives. However, this time I couldn’t force her. I had to let her decide how we moved forward. I dragged her kicking and screaming down an aisle once, and all it caused was heartache. I hoped she was willing to walk toward me with her arms wide open this time around.
Channing refused to see her father, even though his legal representative kept reaching out, begging for her to show leniency and help him out financially. She was softer when dealing with her mother, who was also facing a slew of criminal charges. Georgie Harvey was vacillating between being a hateful, angry monster, and being so repentant she wanted to die. Channing recognized there had to be repercussions for her mother’s actions, but she couldn’t stomach the thought of her mother going to prison. I offered to pay for her legal counsel, but Channing refused. In a move that was sure to infuriate her father, she allowed her mother to keep all the personal assets she was forced to sign over under duress. She forced me to take her name off of everything I’d secretly accumulated for her over the course of our marriage, and she let her mom have her meager savings and what had accumulated in her account while she worked for Alistair. It wasn’t a fortune by any means, but it was enough to hire a skilled attorney and take care of Georgie’s most pressing needs.
There was no happy ending for either of our immediate families, so it was up to us to rewrite the story. We needed a story dedicated to us.
When I walked out of the building, Rocco was waiting with the SUV. The big, bald man had been sullen and withdrawn ever since that night. He gave me his resignation letter the day Winnie was released from the hospital. I was on the fence about letting him quit, but eventually I realized it wasn’t my choice to make. I could guilt him into staying for my own selfish reasons, but I wasn’t going to do that to him. He’d become more like family than an employee, which had led to a lack of vigilance. I told him he had my blessing with whatever he wanted to do in the future, but he couldn’t leave until he had the perfect replacement hired and trained. So far, he’d denied over fifty applicants and constantly grumbled about there being no reliable options. He was stuck taking care of us for now, even though his remorse was so thick, it surrounded him like a dark fog.
We all had to live with regret but keep moving forward. That included Archie. My brother was inconsolable. He couldn’t bear the thought that he nearly lost his daughter. He hated himself for being easily manipulated. His mental state declined to such a degree that he required monitoring twenty-four-seven. It didn’t help matters that Winnie became withdrawn and sullen after the incident. She behaved like she did when we lived at Halliday manor with my mother, and she was under constant scrutiny. Channing immediately took her to see a psychologist and insisted on trying different types of therapy, but thus far, nothing brought back the bright and cheerful young woman we’d only gotten for a short amount of time. I thought it was very telling that she didn’t ask about Ky or her grandparents at all. It was like any trace of optimism and trust in others had been violently ripped out of her.
“It’s just a date night at home tonight?” The gruff question came from the driver’s seat.
I nodded. “It’s been so chaotic and stressful; we both wanted a quiet night at home. Winnie went to the opera with Beverly and Salome. They’re having a girls’ night followed by a trip to the salon tomorrow. Winnie was talking about dying her hair pink.” No secret whose influence that was. Too bad Ky vanished and wouldn’t get to see his lingering effect on my niece.
Rocco grunted. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror. His were filled with apprehension. “You’re okay with her being away from home? Do you think it’s safe? ”
I shrugged. “I can’t put her in a bubble for the rest of her life. Her therapist told us she needed to get out of the house and see for herself that the whole world isn’t out to get her. All of the threats she’s faced have come from her own backyard. I sent plenty of security to keep an eye on them.”
“Hopefully they do a better job than I did.”
I kicked the back of the seat and told him to knock it off. Self-pity wasn’t a good look on such a fierce man. “Archie trusted the wrong person, and so did we. I was so happy to have my little brother back, I missed the signs that he was vulnerable to an outside attack. You aren’t the only one who misjudged the Harveys.” I was guilty of doing that exact thing from birth through the most current catastrophe. “Cut yourself some slack.”
Learning to forgive human faults was one of the best things I’d learned from Channing. Having a heart full of hate wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life. I saw where that road led with my mother. I wanted a more peaceful and fulfilling ending. I wanted the mark I left on the world to be bright and beautiful, not a scorched mark where nothing could grow or thrive.
I jogged up the front steps of the brownstone and followed my nose into the kitchen. I couldn’t lie and say it smelled heavenly, because it smelled like Satan was whipping up something in the fires of hell. Acrid smoke filled the space, and Channing was standing on one of the expensive bar stools, waving a towel in front of the fire alarm so it didn’t go off. I took off my jacket and pulled off my tie. I caught her around the waist and held her in a princess carry so she didn’t topple off the chair and crack her head open. The fire alarm started blaring a minute later, and I had to put her down to answer the call from the security company asking if we needed assistance.
Channing pouted as she dumped whatever was burning into the sink. Once I got off the phone, I walked up to her and hugged her from behind. I liked how well she fit into my arms and how easy it was to rest my head on top of hers.
“Why didn’t you just order something?” Date night was supposed to be romantic and relaxing. I didn’t expect her to make something from scratch before I got home. She was talented in the kitchen, but we’d started to take turns cooking. I figure we both deserved a night off. Even more so, since this was the first time she’d ever ruined a meal and filled the house with smoke.
“I thought I would throw something simple together.” She blew out a frustrated breath that sent her strawberries-and-cream hair dancing across her forehead. She still had an angry red line that ran down her pale cheek from where her mother slashed her face. I asked her if she planned to have cosmetic surgery once it was fully healed to reduce the appearance. She never gave me a straight answer. She just looked at my ruined hands and told me she would think about it down the road. Not that it mattered one way or the other. A small mark did nothing to take away from her unique charm and endearing appeal. In fact, the slight imperfection made her stand out. It was hard to imagine that I ever dared to consider her an ordinary woman. “I’m not wife-ing as hard as I thought I could. ”
She sighed with relief when the smoke detectors shut off. I chuckled at her cute but clearly disgruntled face. I offered to run and grab something to eat to salvage our date, but she shooed me away and said she was determined to figure something out. Instead of letting her burn the house down, I rolled up my sleeves, took off my watch, and helped her make an easy chicken and rice dish. It was a mellow and comforting meal, and for the first time since I pulled Channing into my orbit, it felt like she was content to be there. For once, she was leaning toward me and not pulling away. I appreciated the homey meal and warm atmosphere more than any Michelin-rated restaurant I’d been to.
I opened an expensive bottle of wine for us to share. I noticed she drank less than normal, and when I offered to do the dishes, she took the opportunity to take the bottle and told me to meet her upstairs. Obviously, my mind and dick detoured to erotic thoughts, and I didn’t sense that she seemed nervous as she disappeared.
I rushed through cleaning up, but before I could run up the stairs, I stopped to read a text from Winnie. Regardless of what was happening in my life, I was always going to make her my priority. I needed her to know that I was going to come for her, and I would find her no matter what. I was worried because she was supposed to be at the opera, and the use of phones was deeply frowned upon. However, if she needed me to come get her, I would drop everything and go bring her home.
I was confused when all the message said was:
~ Don’t screw this up, Uncle Win .
I was typing back a befuddled response when Channing called my name. I set the phone aside to hurry upstairs. but I froze in place when I saw small candles on each of the stairs and colorful rose petals leading the way to our room. It looked like something out of a cheesy rom-com; my heart flipped, and my mind went blank. I followed the dimly lit trail up the stairs and through the bedroom, noticing the clichéd but highly effective romantic decorations that filled the space. My pulse pounded, and I couldn’t stop the wide grin that broke out on my face.
I’d never been wooed before.
Sure, there were countless people who tried to seduce me. Tried to tempt me. Tried to coerce me. But no one had ever attempted to make my heart flutter and move me in a way that was undeniably memorable. If I knew how to swoon, that is exactly what I would be doing.
“Channing?” I didn’t see her, so I followed the flowers out onto our patio. The space was decked out like the rest of the room, complete with mood lighting and more flowers in more colors than I’d ever seen in my life. The wine was sitting on the table and there were two empty glasses. I looked around for the woman behind the extravagant setup and called her name again. It dawned on me that the reason she ruined dinner was because she was nervous and anticipating this moment.
“I was going to put a ring in the wine glass and have you find it while drinking. But then I started to worry you might swallow it and choke. I couldn’t picture a less romantic proposal than that.” She was leaning against the doorway, watching my reaction. She tapped her lips with a finger and smirked at me. “That’s not true. Being offered a lot of money to marry someone is probably the worst way to propose.”
I lifted an eyebrow and offered a soft apology. “I’m sorry. I can’t be good at everything.”
She pushed off the frame and moved so she was standing in front of me. She tilted her head back and stared at me with wide, eager eyes. I could see the entire galaxy and everything that ever mattered in the swirling hazel depths. “That’s okay. I’ve had a lot of awful proposals, so I figured if I just do the opposite, it’ll turn out all right.”
I inhaled when she dropped to a knee in front of me and held up a ring that looked like it belonged to an ancient king at some point.
“Winchester Halliday, will you marry me? Not because you have to. But because you want to.”
I was breathless and lightheaded. Never in a million years did I imagine she would be the one to take this type of initiative. I thought I was going to have to diligently work for years to prove to her I could be the husband she wanted and deserved.
I took the ring from her and put it on my finger. It was a perfect fit, even if it was something that clashed with my normal style.
“I got the ring in Europe while you were in the hospital. I found it in a little shop in Rome. I don’t know why it called to me, but it did. I couldn’t leave without it. The owner told me it belonged to a Roman Emperor. That was probably a lie. But it’s not anymore. I wanted to marry you before I knew I wanted to marry you. I want your answer to be ‘yes’ with everything in me, Chester. You’ve worked so hard and lived out other people’s dreams for so long, it’s your turn to be Peter Pan. I’ll happily be your Tinker Bell.” She made a fluttering motion with her hands that made me laugh. For this being arguably the most poignant moment of my life, it felt light and airy. It was full of color and life. As important as this time was, it still felt fun. It was a memory I knew I would look back on with a smile and was going to be a story I’d enjoy telling anyone who would listen. Especially the family I knew we were going to build together. I needed to tell my niece I definitely wouldn’t screw this up.
Channing wanted kids of her own. She didn’t keep that desire a secret. I was happy to give her what she wanted, because in this life, she was the only woman I ever saw being the mother of my children, be they biological or not.
“You can’t ever be Tinker Bell, because I love you desperately.” There were no unrequited feelings where she was concerned. I reached down and pulled her to her feet. I wrapped her up in a rib-cracking hug and whispered, “Yes. Of course I’ll marry you. Re-marry you.” I wasn’t going to let it slide that we were already husband and wife as far as I was concerned. I chuckled and moved back so I could hold her face in my hands. “If I allowed myself to have a dream proposal, this would be it, Harvey. In return, I’ll give you your dream wedding.”
One that wasn’t in a hurry at the courthouse. One where she could share with those she loved. One with a million photos and memories she wouldn’t want to forget. I would get this one right and make sure she never had a reason to regret agreeing to be my wife.
After my impassioned promise, I put every ounce of my heart and soul into the kiss we shared.
It was a kiss that tied us together forever. Channing was the only thing I’d ever wanted to keep for myself, and I defied all odds to make her mine. She was the first thing I’d ever had to really work for, and the reward for my effort was sweeter than I ever imagined.
It was a bonus that it was also a kiss that made my cock hard and could make me forget my name.
“I can’t believe I have a wedding ring before you do.” I glanced at the ornate accessory and vowed that the only way it was coming off my hand was if I lost the whole finger. “I’m going to fix that immediately.”
Channing wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me much softer than I’d kissed her. It finally felt like the start of something between us…and not the inevitable end.
“I don’t care when I get a ring. I care why I’m getting it.” Her eyebrows lifted and a playful smile tugged at her lips. “Funny enough, for as many times as I’ve been married, I’ve never had or worn a wedding ring.”
I loved it was another major first I could give her in her already full life. She’d been denied the traditional marriage experience in the past and was left with a bitter taste in her mouth. In fact, she had so many more experiences than I did; I needed to learn from her. It was well past time I left the ivory tower and experienced what it was like to live a life with both feet firmly planted on the ground. I no longer sought to be revered for my wealth and feared for my influence. I didn’t want my name to move mountains. I wanted it to help others reach the peak. What I desired most was to feel every bit of raw, rough reality alongside the woman who taught me it was better to feel everything than it was to be afraid of being powerless.
The best way to bring a god down to earth was to let them fall in love with a mortal.