Chapter 18
If it has tires or tits, you’re gonna have a problem with it.
— Germaine to Quinn
QUINN
“ What’s the verdict?”
I looked up at my father, who’d shown up out of nowhere.
That was his MO , though.
I couldn’t remember a time that I’d ever been able to successfully sneak out of my parents’ house. I’d tried, multiple times, yet was always caught.
My dad had some secret, superhuman gift that allowed him to be unseen until he wanted to be. Oh , and to know when his children were acting up, or needed something.
“ She’s allowed to leave today,” I said as I watched through the door as Ande held her hand out to Shayne .
I scrubbed a hand down my face, feeling tired as hell, but knowing that there would be no end in sight for me.
Once I got her settled, I had to get into the office.
I’d spent the last couple of days with her at her bedside in the hospital as they monitored her closely.
When Elliette had pushed her into the car, Shayne had gone flying backward. When she’d hit the SUV , she’d broken a rib on her right side. Sometime during or after that, the rib had shifted and punctured her lung.
The doctors had given her strict orders to take ten days of bed rest while her body recovered from her ordeal.
She’d gotten four of them, and Ande would ensure that she continued to rest as I went into work tonight for a couple of hours.
“ We released Elliette ,” he said instead of commenting on the status of Shayne’s hospital stay.
I tensed, feeling my neck stiffen, as I said, “ I figured that was coming.”
“ Judge bonded her out. She has a court date set for four weeks. In the meantime, she’s on unpaid leave pending investigation from DPD . Chief already said that he doesn’t expect her to be able to prove that the roughness was necessary. Especially considering we pulled her bodycam footage,” Dad said as he turned his back to the room.
That was because Shayne was now walking very carefully to the bathroom, and the back side of her gown was hanging wide ass open.
My lips tipped up as I saw her perfectly ample, panty-covered ass.
Her panties were white with red hearts.
They were adorable, even though Shayne disliked when I pointed that out.
Then again, she’d disliked a lot of stuff I’d done over the past four days.
Mainly my refusal to go to work and leave her alone.
I’d tried that, and knew how it’d worked out.
“ I ran over the bodycam footage myself,” he said, breaking into my thoughts. “ It didn’t look good. There’s no way she can justify what happened.”
I scratched the top of my head. “ Were y’all able to get into Shayne’s house?”
“ Yes ,” he answered. “ I picked up the plate pieces and pottery remains of everything else that was broken. Put everything in separate boxes like you asked. I also packed up her room for you with your mom. Everything is in the guest bedroom at your place.”
I nodded, knowing she’d be pissed as hell when she got to my place and saw that.
“ And your mom went by the store and ordered groceries,” he continued. “ She’s going to drop it by tonight after her shift is through.”
I scratched my head. “ Is she going to stay with Ande and Shayne a while?”
“ Affirmative ,” he answered. “ But now that y’all are back together, she won’t keep avoiding the house, will she?”
I scrunched up my nose as I said, “ I have to convince her to believe that we’re together before I can subject her to the entire Carter clan.”
He slapped me on the back, a chuckle exiting his throat.
“ She’s good for you, kid,” he told me. “ She may be mad as a hornet right now, but she still belongs to our family.”
The door to the bathroom opened up, and Ande exited first, Shayne’s IV pole in one hand and the tubes and wires that’d been connected to Shayne in the other.
After dropping a few things into the trash and leaving some of it hooked up to the pole, Ande turned to me and nodded, letting me know that they were ready.
Just as I processed that look, Shayne’s nurse started heading down the hallway toward us.
I stepped aside as she smiled and headed into the room, papers dangling from her hand.
“ All right, darlin’,” the nurse said. “ Here are your discharge papers and your instructions on how to treat the next few days and weeks.”
I took them from the nurse and tucked them into my back pocket.
My dad came in and settled up against the door frame as he waited for me to ask questions and confirm a few things.
Thirty minutes later, we were pulling up into the brand-new concrete driveway of my new place, Ande and my dad following in Ande’s car.
“ This is beautiful,” Shayne said quietly as she took it all in.
“ I know,” I grinned. “ I went with what I thought you might like color wise. Do you like it?”
“ I love it,” she admitted. “ The sage green and the white really look great together.”
I knew that.
Back when we were solid in our relationship, she’d mentioned how one day she wanted a farmhouse with a wraparound porch. She wanted two brown rocking chairs on the porch with a concrete path around the entirety of the house.
I had the outside looking like she wanted, but the inside was, sadly, a bare shell.
I hadn’t had time to fix it up.
It had the furniture from my apartment in it, but none of it had a home. Other things had taken priority, mainly Shayne .
I got out just as Ande reached Shayne’s side of the car and opened it.
Ande helped Shayne out, and the two of them walked up the porch steps toward my place. Our place.
She may not know it yet, but this house was her dream house.
I’d listened to every single thing she’d talked about since the day we met. I knew her wants, desires, dreams, and hopes.
And one of those dreams was to have a place that we could put a white picket fence around the front yard. Where we could get a couple of dogs and take them for a walk through a safe neighborhood. A place where our kids and our nieces and nephews could play in relative safety right in the street if they wanted to.
And just that thought alone was enough to make my heart pang.
The miscarriage, I decided, was the worst part of this entire ordeal for Shayne .
She didn’t talk about it at all, but every once in a while I’d find her absently rubbing her lower belly, a look of sadness in her eyes.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what she was thinking about.
“ You get her in with that therapist that was recommended?” he asked.
“ No ,” I admitted. “ I …”
A motorcycle sounded, and I watched as a man with a bushy salt and pepper beard rode toward us. On the back of his bike was a woman wearing a bandana over her flowing hair, with a vase of flowers in her hand.
Silas McKenzie .
The owner of Angel Flight , and Shayne’s boss.
He watched me observe him as he pulled to a stop next to the curb and got off.
He took the flowers from the woman’s hand, then offered his free one to help her get off.
Just the sight of the two of them together, so obviously in love, made me long to have Shayne on the back of my bike, giving her the same treatment.
I hadn’t had her on a motorcycle with me in years, and that was one of the things I missed the most. Having her wrapped around me for hours while we drove anywhere and everywhere, exploring the area, was one of the best memories that I had of the two of us together.
It was on a trip exactly like that when I’d found Sunnyvale , the place where we’d started building our houses.
It was close enough to Dallas proper that I could get to work within the thirty minutes they wanted us to live, and still rural enough to give us that small town feel.
“ Silas ,” I offered him my hand.
I didn’t know the man well.
He was more a man that you knew of, at least for me.
My dad knew him fairly well, though, seeing as they were from the same generation.
“ Quinn ,” he held out his hand and took my own. “ This is my wife, Sawyer . We came to drop off some get well flowers and check on our flight medic.”
I nearly groaned.
“ It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. My sister talks fondly of all the sweets you send to the station.” I offered my hand, which she took and shook quickly before dropping it. “ She’s better, but she’s still gonna be off for another few weeks,” I admitted. “ The rest of her injuries prior to her rib breaking would’ve been okay, but the rib… They’re worried about it still. It was a bad break.”
Silas nodded, and I gestured for them all to come inside.
They fell into step beside and behind me as I explained the rest of what happened before we entered the house.
I felt my heart seize in my chest when I saw Shayne sitting in my favorite, worn out recliner. Just like she used to do in my room once upon a lifetime ago.
God , those memories felt like shots to the chest.
I rubbed it absently as Sawyer and Silas walked into the house, my dad hanging back with me.
“ I feel like we just reversed in time to when I used to catch you sneaking her into your room,” Dad mused as he shouldered me out of the way and kept walking farther inside.
“ I never snuck her into my room,” I lied.
I would continue to lie about that until my deathbed.
“ You so totally did,” I heard from behind me.
I looked at my sister and flashed her a wink. “ Nope . You must be getting me confused with a different brother.”
She poked me between the shoulder blades before bumping me with her hip on the way past.
“ What are you two doing here?” Shayne beamed.
“ We’re here to make sure that you’re alive,” Silas told her bluntly. “ We’ve heard quite a few horror stories.” He looked back at me and narrowed his eyes, as if he hadn’t liked what he heard.
We exchanged a look.
Me acknowledging that I’d fucked up. And him telling me that I’d fucked up.
“ Those horror stories weren’t true,” Shayne said, quickly looking away from Silas to his wife. “ I’m glad to see you, Sawyer . How are you?”
“ I’ve got to say, I’m doing a hell of a lot better than you,” she teased as she walked forward and placed the vase of flowers onto the table next to Shayne’s chair.
“ I have to ask,” Ande said as she took up the seat next to Shayne . “ How did you get those over here on a motorcycle?”
“ We found the closest flower shop to the house,” Silas answered.
“ I’m surprised you found it. GPS usually sends you way out of the way.” Ande crossed her legs.
I was more curious how he found the actual location.
The address wasn’t even on Google yet, which was why my sister had trouble finding the subdivision when Quaid , Quincy , and I had first moved in.
But more so, I hadn’t given him my address, and it was likely that Shayne hadn’t had time to, either.
Then again, I didn’t question Silas McKenzie about anything.
The man was an enigma.
“ I have ways,” Silas said cryptically. “ How long did they say you were going to be out? I have a friend who’s gonna cover for me, but he doesn’t like being away from his wife and kids that long.”
“ I should be up and running in about two weeks,” Shayne answered. “ Is it Cleo ?”
Who was this Cleo character? And why did her knowing another man’s name piss me the fuck off?
“ It’s Cleo ,” Sawyer confirmed. “ And don’t let Silas make you feel bad. Rue , Cleo’s wife, is heading down here with him. They’re going to treat it like a mini-vacation. And since Rue is in love with spoiling her grandchildren, she’s going to treat this trip like an extended shopping spree.”
Well , that made me feel infinitely better. At least the fucker was old enough to have grandkids, meaning I could calm my tits.
Or , maybe just one of them.
“ I’ll bet.” She looked past them to me. “ Are you going to stand there looking intimidating, or are you going to offer our guests a beverage?”
My lips twitched. “ I’ll definitely offer them a beverage.”
I left them in the living room after getting their drink orders, unsurprised when I found Silas and my dad following me.
“ What’s the verdict with the woman who beat her up?” he paused. “ And does it seem weird that Shayne never fought back?”
“ Well ,” I gave him a recap of what happened during the warrant. “ It wasn’t like she could’ve fought back for that one. Not without being slapped with resisting arrest.” I ran my hand over the back of my neck aggressively. “ Elliette Garrison , the officer who hurt her, was released on bond last night after meeting with the judge.”
“ So y’all pressed charges?” he asked.
“ She did, for both instances,” I answered.
“ And what’s the status of this case?” he asked. “ What’s with the brother? Is the DA going to write off any involvement on Shayne’s end?”
I sighed. “ The new DA is a complete and total asshole and is out to prove his worth. He’s punishing everyone who’ll bring him clout to the nth degree. Hell , there was a lady in court yesterday who was given a misdemeanor for jaywalking.”
Dad crossed his arms, looking annoyed. “ Leslie Tanner is a fuckin’ lunatic. Last week he charged a new mom with child endangerment because she, and I quote, left her in a car. The mom didn’t leave her in a car, though. She was in the car with her. With the windows down. However , when the cops were called, it was when the woman had just parked. When the cops showed up, it was a rookie who felt like it was too hot outside and the baby was suffering. The DA ran with it, even though the baby was in a diaper, it was seventy-five degrees out, and the mom was with the baby.”
“ Sounds like you need to get rid of the DA ,” Silas grumbled.
“ Yeah ,” I sighed. “ It’s just unfortunate with all of this that he’s going to be the one deciding whether or not to press charges against her.”
We talked some more about what was about to happen with everything regarding her case after I delivered drinks to the ladies in the living room.
“ I’ll have a few friends look into it,” he said. “ I got some buddies with the DEA . If they take over the case, then it’ll be charged on a federal level. Then they’ll decide whether or not to rope Shayne into the charges.”
I couldn’t ever say that I was happy for something to be charged federally instead of locally, but this might be the one and only time.
“ That would be great,” I said. “ As of yet, I’m thinking he won’t have enough evidence. But I don’t want her to go through any bullshit after everything else.”
“ Agreed ,” Dad grumbled. “ I’d also love to talk to a few of my judge friends and see if they’d even take the case if Tanner tries to push it through.”
Dad and Silas talked some more, and I walked into the mouth of the living room and leaned my shoulder against the door jamb, watching and listening.
“ What are you going to do with yourself for two weeks?” Sawyer asked Shayne .
“ I’m going to relax, I guess.” Shayne snickered. “ I don’t have a choice.”
“ No , you don’t,” Ande agreed. “ I’ll be here when I’m off. So will everyone else. We’ll keep you entertained.”
“ Everyone else?” Sawyer asked.
“ I …” Before Ande could answer, the front door opened, and Gable and Garrett walked in. “ My brothers.”
“ How many of them?” Sawyer whispered, but it wasn’t quiet enough because we all still heard.
“ There are nine kids total,” Garrett answered. “ Well , eight now, I guess. Our sister passed away.”
“ Oh , no,” Sawyer said quietly. “ I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Garrett took the apology but didn’t comment anymore. He came right up to me and said, “ Followed Elliette to the airport.”
My stomach sank.
“ She was arrested before she could get on the plane to the Caymans ,” he reported. “ Judge will hold her now for planning to break her bail.”
I blew out a relieved breath. “ How did you know she’d run?”
“ I sat on her house all night,” he answered. “ Felt the itch, I guess. And I was on duty, so there was nothing else to do.”
Relief warred with anger inside of me.
I didn’t think it was possible to hate someone so freakin’ much, but Elliette had accomplished the unthinkable.
Gable stayed to chat with the ladies for a few minutes, and Garrett joined us in the kitchen for a beer, relaying what he’d shared with me.
Silas grunted. “ Hopefully they don’t fall for the sob act again.”
“ Agreed ,” I grumbled darkly. “ I’m not too sure why the fuck they allowed it in the first place after I said she was a danger to Shayne .”
“ Need a restraining order,” Dad suggested. “ That way if she gets a slap on the wrist, she won’t be able to get near our girl.”
My eyes once again went to ‘my girl’ and I noticed how tired she was looking all of a sudden.
She liked that there were people here for her, but she was lagging badly.
I stepped away from the discussion and headed into the living room, walking right through the middle of everyone before scooping Shayne up and saying, “ Nap time, Soleada .”
Shayne placed her hand on my neck and said, “ I’m okay, Quinn .”
I didn’t bother arguing.
I carried her right into my room and shut the door.
She was already shaking her head, her eyes looking heavier and heavier by the second, yet still more than capable of showing me her displeasure.
“ I don’t think this is necessary,” she commented as I placed her in my bed.
I pulled the covers back, then shifted her body to her side of the bed.
Dragging the covers back up to her belly, I said, “ I think it is. You need the rest so you can heal.”
When I went to pull away, she caught my hand and held onto it, her eyes going around the room.
“ You …”
I knew what she saw.
The black wall behind the bed. The dark coffee colored molding around the room. The bedspread, which was also coffee colored. The other three walls that were white.
“ You …” she started again.
“ I made it what you wanted,” I told her honestly, kicking my boots off and crawling into the bed beside her. “ Everything about this house is everything we ever talked about it being.”
She shook her head, her eyes welling with unshed tears. “ Quinn . I don’t know what to say.”
I smoothed a few hairs out of her face before saying, “ It’s only ever been you, Soleada . I’m just a dumbass for thinking I could make a change without checking with you first.”
One of those tears spilled over as she said, “ I’m scared.”
Her honesty felt like I’d taken a kick straight to the stomach.
Hell , that’s all I felt like I was experiencing these days. Gut punches.
“ I’m scared, too,” I told her. “ I’m scared that you’ll leave me after deciding I’m too much work. I’m scared that you’ll hate this place. I’m scared that you won’t give me a second chance. I’m scared that you’ll never forgive me for not telling you about that warrant where you got hurt. I’m scared that you won’t forgive me for putting your brother in jail. I’m scared about a whole fuckin’ lot of things.”
She leaned her head on my chest for the longest of times before saying, “ I think I’ll take you up on that nap.”
It wasn’t quite the words I wanted to hear, but they were good enough for now.
“ Sleep ,” I ordered. “ I’ll be right here when you wake up.”