Chapter Eight
Torren got the girls and Tana settled in his house before he called Sawyer for help.
He felt oddly at peace having all his bedrooms filled with the three most important people in his life.
He gave the twins the option of sharing a room or each having their own.
At first, independent Elizabeth wanted her own space, but then she saw the bunk beds that Torren had Tag pick up earlier that morning and assembled in his spare room.
He loved how he could always count on his brother having his back.
After he told Tag about what happened, his twin brother jumped into action and got the girls’ room set up.
He even got them a matching dresser to share.
Torren was betting that Piper had a hand in picking out the pink comforters and the curtains that now covered his window.
He was sure that he would hear a whole bunch of shit from his brother and their friends for having a pink room in his house.
But, if things worked out the way that he hoped, the new color would stay put along with the little girls who were mesmerized by the cotton candy-colored room.
He went to his back patio to call Sawyer and fill him in on everything, even though Tag probably called all the guys to fill them in.
Whenever one of their own was in trouble, Tag, Sawyer, and Aaron could always be counted on to help save the day.
Unfortunately, this time Torren worried that the day wasn’t going to be fixed so easily.
“Hey, man. Tag filled me in. I’ve been waiting for your call to finish the police report.
Is now a good time to stop over?” Sawyer’s cut-to-the-chase, get-it-done attitude always made Torren smile.
He was more laid back, but his friend liked to take charge and move things along.
It was kind of how Sawyer’s relationship with Lorna progressed.
“Yeah, now is a good time. Tana is making some dinner, and the girls are playing in the room that Tag set up for them.”
Sawyer hummed his approval. “Sounds way too domestic to be describing a scene you’re a part of, Tor. You sure you’re not being held against your will or anything?” Sawyer laughed at his own joke, but Torren found him less funny.
“Very funny, but no. I want this, Sawyer. I’m ready to settle down and have a family—it just took me a little while to get to this point.
I know that everyone is having a good laugh about my current situation, but I’m happy.
Tana and her girls make me happy, man.” Torren almost had to ask if Sawyer was still on the other end of the line; he was so quiet.
“I’m sorry, Tor. I’m happy for you. Really, I am. It just all seems so sudden and completely out of left field,” Sawyer said.
“Sure, I see that, but isn’t that the way it went down for you, Aaron, and even Tag after you met the women that you fell in love with?” Sawyer whistled, and Torren wished he could take back his words. What he was feeling for Tana was no one else’s business.
“So, it’s love then?” Sawyer asked.
Torren sighed into the phone. “Yes, it’s love. At least for me. Tana says she is falling for me, whatever that means.” He could feel himself getting grumpier by the minute for having this conversation.
“Sometimes, women like Tana just need a little extra time. After Tag sent me over this guy’s plates, I did some digging. It’s Tana’s ex-husband all right, and from all of the police and hospital reports, he really did a number on your poor girl,” Sawyer said.
Torren closed his eyes, trying to suppress the urge to punch something. He knew that Tana had a bad marriage; hell, he even knew that the son of a bitch beat her up, but for her to have filed police reports that no one followed up on pissed him off.
“No one helped her?” Tag questioned. Sawyer huffed a breath into the phone, and Torren knew that the whole situation pissed him off, too.
“No one could have done anything about this asshole. Her mother tried to help Tana, but that didn’t sit well with good old Matt.
Five days ago, Tana’s mother was hospitalized for multiple contusions and a broken arm.
She told the local authorities about her ex-son-in-law showing up at her house, trying to find out where his wife was. ”
“Ex-wife,” Torren growled.
“Ex-wife,” Sawyer amended. “Anyway, when she wouldn’t tell him where Tana and his girls were, he beat her up pretty badly.
She’ll be fine; the hospital is just keeping her another day or so.
” “Fuck,” Torren spat. “I’ve got to tell Tana, and she’s not going to take it well.
Hell, she’ll probably go off half-cocked trying to get back to her mother. ”
“We can’t let that happen, Tor. Her ex is probably hoping to separate you from her and the girls.
He has threatened to kill them all, according to the statements that Tana and her mother gave to the police.
He also tried to make good on the threat a while back, but your girl cleaned his clock with the lid of a toilet bowl tank.
By the way—that made me chuckle.” Torren couldn’t help his laugh.
Sawyer was right—the thought of little Tana knocking out a man with a slab of porcelain was hilarious.
“I’ll convince her to stay put even if I have to sit on her,” Torren promised.
He knew that Matt Cahoon had to be smart—how else would he have gotten away with so much for this long?
The only reason he served any time was that Tana was feisty enough to put a stop to him trying to hurt her or her girls.
Torren knew that Tana was strong, but the thought of her being able to take care of herself and her girls turned him on.
Hell, everything about Tana turned him on.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and concentrate on the problem at hand.
“I’ll be over in about fifteen minutes,” Sawyer said and ended the call. Torren turned to find Tana standing by the back door.
“How much did you hear, honey?” Torren crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. Judging from her tears, she heard a good deal of his conversation with Sawyer.
“Almost all of it,” she sobbed. “My mother will be all right?” Tana wrapped her arms around Torren’s middle and squeezed him as if holding onto a lifeline. That was exactly what he wanted to be for her—the person that she knew that she could turn to no matter what.
“I will contact the hospital, and we will make sure you get to talk to your mom, honey. For now, you and the girls are staying here. I won’t risk putting you in harm’s way or letting that asshole trap you. When this is all over, we can go visit your mom together.”
Tana nodded, “I’d like that very much. I think that she’ll like you.” Torren groaned at the thought of meeting her mother.
“I’ve never met anyone’s mom before, well, at least not in a boyfriend/girlfriend capacity.
” Torren wrinkled his nose and made a face, causing Tana to laugh.
He loved it when she laughed; the sound was magical.
He also loved being the one to make her happy.
Torren wanted to be that for her—the one person she could turn to when she felt down.
They just needed to get past her ex-husband trying to hurt her or her girls.
Then, he would spend the rest of his life trying to coax a laugh out of his beautiful Tana.
“Well, I think you’ll be a big hit. My momma has a thing for big, strong, handsome men.” Tana winked at him, and he pulled her up for a quick kiss.
“Are the girls settled?” Torren asked.
“Yes. They love their room. Thank you for arranging all of this. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy.
” Torren smiled, trying to picture Tag putting together a set of bunk beds while his very pregnant wife sat in the corner while barking directions at him and telling him what he was doing wrong.
That was his payback for all the shit he was going to get from his friends.
“I made dinner. I hope baked chicken is all right,” Tana said. Torren’s mouth nearly started to water. The thought of a home-cooked meal made his stomach growl. He already knew that Tana was a great cook; he just hoped that he could figure out what he did right to earn him a home-cooked meal.
“I love chicken any way you want to make it, honey,” Torren growled, making her giggle again.
“You sure do love your food, don’t you?” Tana asked, looking him up and down.
“I didn’t get to be this size by accident, baby,” he teased. “We'd better go in and have dinner before everyone gets here. Knowing Sawyer, he’ll drag along Lorna and the baby to keep the girls' company while we all talk about your ex,” Torren said.
Tana nodded, “I’ll be grateful for the girls to be distracted.
They don’t need to know what is going on—they’ve been through enough.
I plan to keep them out of this mess and straighten my life out once and for all.
” Torren watched as Tana made her way into his kitchen, looking like she was supposed to be there in his place, making dinner for them like they were a real family.
He just hoped like hell that once Tana straightened out her life, she would still have a space for him in it.