Chapter 1
AIYANA
“Isaw your smile from the parking lot.” Yolanda teased as I walked into the post office.
“Is it here?” I really hoped so, because I had received nothing in three days.
Maybe to some, I seemed desperate. However, I was dating a man I only had access to through letters.
We’d been talking for almost nine months.
I knew lots of things about him. Things he said he’d never shared with anyone else.
And the last letter I sent had a picture of me with my girls inside.
I never showed pictures of my girls when I dated, but somehow Wyatt seemed special in a way that had me exposing myself to him.
Now, I was just curious about what he thought.
“Aiyana?” Yolanda’s expression made me think I was missing something that she’d said or done.
“I’m sorry. What’d you say?” I shook my head to get rid of the fog that had settled.
“Do you have your key?” Post office box. That’s what she was asking about.
“Yes!” I scurried off to the area where the boxes were, key in hand, hoping that there was a letter inside.
I unlocked the box to find not one but two hefty envelopes from Wyatt. I celebrated with a little shimmy, some bouncing shoulder shrugs, and a smile as wide as the ocean. He’d written to me twice!
When I got back to the counter, I held up both envelopes and Yolanda’s smile brightened as well.
“Are you going to read them?” She knew I wasn’t. I never did. I had a ritual for opening my letters and she knew it.
“I’ll call you later, Yolanda.” I batted my eyelashes before walking out the door.
“You better call me and let me know what it says!” She yelled after me.
I would. Couldn’t help it after I got letters from Wyatt. He was so intense that I couldn’t help to wonder if it was me or if the words on the paper meant exactly what I interpreted them to be. Was it possible to claim someone you haven’t met in person and had never touched?
I drove home, glancing at the envelopes as if the answer from my prom date was inside.
After getting coffee and a cheese danish, I was ready for my quality time with Wyatt.
I brought out my toggle box that held my favorite pens, stationery, and postage.
I lit candles at the dining room table, and I took a deep breath. God, let him be worth waiting for.
Just as I was about to pierce the envelope with the bite from my letter opener, the doorbell sounded. Don’t throw a fit though you seriously want to.
Going to the door, I checked the peephole and window to see no one there.
There wasn’t a box, from what I could tell.
Maybe it was someone at the wrong house.
I went to go sit back down and the doorbell rang again.
Returning quickly, I still didn’t see anyone.
Opening the door, I never expected to see a dead animal waiting on the doormat.
I closed the door quickly and called the police.
Being a small town, they came quickly because nothing else was going on. They removed it and the stained rug. Didn’t matter because I could still see how the squirrel had been maimed.
“Ms. Green, would you mind walking us through things one more time?” the officer asked.
I didn’t care to be bothered with repeating myself, but I did. And when he left, we were no closer to the truth. Something nagged at me. It was Charles, but I refused to go back to those thoughts.
Charles was a man that I’d dated from the BDSM community I was in back in Kansas.
He was nice enough. The sex between us was decent, but there was no spark.
A lack of chemistry. I broke things off, deciding he wasn’t the right dominant for me.
I’ve always dated within my community, so I knew the signs to look for with being compatible.
But I didn’t want a boyfriend. I wanted someone who controlled every part of me so well that I didn’t realize it was happening.
I wanted to be owned and cherished so I could give that back to him.
Also, owning and cherishing him, too. That’s how true submission and dominance worked.
We belonged to each other, offering the ying to their yang.
Charles wasn’t that. Neither was the twins’ father, Marcus, but that was a different story.
Charles was obsessive and wouldn’t let things go.
He stalked me until I uprooted and moved here to Orangeton, Kentucky, shortly after the twins were born.
Marcus died in a fatal car accident while I was pregnant.
But our one-night stand didn’t make me attached to him.
He was a good man and promised to take care of his children.
It was still sad when I heard about it. I made a vow that the next man in my life could be there for my girls the way I thought Marcus would be.
Then Charles showed up acting crazy and I made a run for it.
That was nine months ago. Surely, he’d forgotten about a woman who was no longer interested.
Unable to shake the thoughts I was thinking, I took a shower to wash away the filth that seemed to cover my skin.
I scrubbed until my deep sepia skin reddened even more from all the abuse to it as I tried to spare my soul from being tarnished by the day’s events.
I used moisturizer to restore new life into it.
Ready to start anew. Fresh clothes and even a plan to leave my house for fresh air motivated every move I made.
I picked the girls up early, abandoning the workload waiting on me at home.
I needed to have their goodness fill me up and distract me.
We went to the park, having a picnic that was less about creating memories they’d actually hang on to, and more about me needing bonding time.
My spirits couldn’t help but be lifted by these two beautiful, deep dimpled bundles of goodness staring up at me.
Sonyè was the lighter, more bashful child of mine.
She was also the youngest. Sonja was a mini replica of me.
Outgoing and full of sass. Protective of her little sister and unafraid to show how much fight she had in her.
That kept me feeling powerless. With Charles, I could never find him.
He didn’t show his face or pop up in places where someone else could see how crazy he was.
His identity was fake and the reason they couldn’t catch him back in Kansas.
Almost like he was nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
But as I sat here with my girls, none of that mattered.
Just the twinkle in their light brown, almost amber, eyes.
And when they both fell asleep from too much laughter and fun with their mother, I cleaned up our mess and loaded them into the car.
Once I got them safely into bed, I felt the fatigue settling into my body.
Deciding to read Wyatt’s letters tomorrow, I let sleep find me instead.
A bump that seemed to come from nowhere woke me up much later.
Opening my eyes immediately, I scanned the room, but found nothing out of place.
Checking the entire house, the only alarming thing was a shadow that I thought I saw outside.
Not sold that going outside was the best option.
I called the police and asked for someone to come check things out.
They found nothing, but I wasn’t sold so easily.
Instead, I began packing, just in case. It wasn’t like when I’d left before.
The twins were young, and I had little of anything for them.
Now, there were all kinds of things around.
None of them were as important as their lives, but I wanted to make sure I met their needs.
Especially since I wasn’t sitting on huge savings.
When I was at a place where I felt good about what I could grab if I needed to, I found enough peace to sleep.
That didn’t last long when I went to leave to take the girls to daycare and there was another dead animal on my porch, a note, and destroyed one of my flower pots.
I called the police again, but after they left with their same song and dance left behind, a statement about kids in the neighborhood, and the note not meaning a thing, I nodded politely.
I’m watching you. Wasn’t enough of a warning for them.
As soon as the dust settled outside from their vehicles, I packed up my Blazer as quickly as possible.
The perk of having an indoor garage is that nobody could see the frenzy in which I took items outside. Nobody knew the plan.
Everything was packed down tight, leaving no space in the car that I hadn’t tried to utilize.
The last two things that I put inside were my babies and my toggle box of letters.
I hadn’t given up on Wyatt. In fact, I wished he was here to make it all better.
His sharpshooting skills would come in handy now.
I also don’t think that Charles would have still been stalking me with Wyatt around. At least I hoped.
Taking one last look around, I closed up the house completely, set the alarm, and got into the car.
Goodbye, freedom. After stopping to give Yolanda a hug, the key to my post office box, and a promise to call and explain everything, I got on the highway with no destination in mind.
Instead, I put as much distance between Orangeton and myself as possible.
The rest, I’d figure out when I could breathe easier. That wasn’t right now.
The next day, after loading up my car from staying in a motel I’d stopped at.
I decided I needed a definite destination.
Unsure where that was, the toggle box caught my attention.
When I opened it, the first thing I noticed was an open letter.
The last one he’d sent before the two new ones arrived.
Pulling at the cream-colored paper, the first thing I noticed was his name.
I traced the preprinted letters while wishing for the universe to hear my cry for help.
Then I read the address underneath. The one to his home.
A vacant house in North Carolina. One where he’d told me his cleaning lady quit.
I closed the letter, pushing the crazy idea I had away.
My heart raced and I couldn’t stop the whirling thoughts from talking me into this idea.
It would only be temporary. Enough time for me to hide out, get my paycheck, and then I could find me a place.
Then I could be close when he came home.
Not so much that he’d feel suffocated, but easy enough for us to date and take things slow.
I wanted more with him. Taking this step felt harmless.
He would not be back for another three to six months.
I’d be well gone, and he’d never know I was there.
Mind made up, I put the car in drive and set off with a working plan unfolding in my mind.
Healing Berets Series, Book 3 : Love Catered Series, Book 8
He’s never been in a relationship. She’s hiding from her past.
When Love Catered matched them, Aiyana asked him to take things slow.
No pictures or calls. Just letters. In return, she promised to meet him in person when he finished his final military tour.
If they were still compatible she was open to exploring more.
Wyatt’s already claimed her. Would that change when he finds out what she’s hiding?
She makes him possessive.
He makes her yearn.
The raw emotions are enough to make them both run away. Or will they stay and fight together?
Get Heart’s Salvation here.