Chapter 17
Seventeen
Hannah
I’ve had a lot of bad days in my life. The list is long. One of the worst was the night my father sold me to Presley. I thought I would die that night. Instead, I lived. The next time I had a bad day, it was significantly worse. That was the night Jeremy forced himself on me.
Third on the list was the fourth day I spent walking to get me and Eve to safety. But that day also ranks as one of the best days of my life because that’s the day Aaric found me and brought me to his home.
Today was worse than any of those days. The entire time Presley was holding me with a gun to my temple, I was worried about my baby girl. What if he’d shot me, and she’d had to grow up without a mother?
I’m still trembling, and I don’t know how many days or weeks it will take before I’m able to go to sleep.
Without a word, Aaric brought the bassinet out of storage and reattached it to the side of our bed. Eve has been sleeping in her own room for a week, but my husband knew I needed her close tonight. There was no way I could put her down in another room. Not tonight.
It’s late, and I’m propped up on one elbow on the side of the bed, watching my daughter sleep. She has no idea what happened today. Thank heavens.
For the first hour or so, I kept worrying that she would be scarred from screaming for so long without anyone coming to her rescue. It broke my heart. We’ve never let her cry it out. It’s not our parenting style. When Eve cries, we pick her up.
We didn’t, though. Not today. Today, she was left wailing in the car seat for so long that it hurts my heart. I was sobbing uncontrollably as I crawled into the back seat, unfastened her, and pulled her into my arms. I kept kissing her face and telling her how sorry I was.
It took Aaric all afternoon to reassure me that Eve would not remember this. He promises me that she will be her normal, happy, giggling self tomorrow.
I trust him, but I’m still trembling.
He slides up behind me in the bed and wraps an arm around me, kissing my shoulder. “She’s so precious,” he whispers. “I love watching her sleep.”
“Yeah.” I lean into him. “She’s the best baby in the whole world. It tore my heart out hearing her cry like that.”
“I know, honey. I was hurting, too. Vanguard is lucky I didn’t hit him hard enough to kill him. It took every ounce of self-restraint not to.” He kisses my shoulder again, nibbling on it.
“What do you think will happen to him?” she asks.
“Well, considering the fact that the sheriff seemed to fully believe your story even before Vanguard tried to kidnap you today, I’d say he’s going to prison.
I was worried that Sherman might not take your complaint seriously.
I don’t know the man well. He could have been one of the good ol’ boys and suggested whatever happened to you was deserved.
Instead, he listened to you and headed straight out to Vanguard’s house. That’s huge.”
“I’m going to have to testify, aren’t I?”
“Probably, honey. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll be brave. People around here need to know that they can’t buy women and keep them as slaves. Their ancestors may have gotten away with it, but these are modern times. That behavior has got to stop.”
“I’m so damn proud of you, sunshine.”
I roll toward my husband and blow out a deep breath. “He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“Nope.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.
“Everyone who hurt me is either dead or in prison.”
“Yes. You’re safe now, Hannah.”
I run a finger across his chest, staring at his firm pecs. “You mentioned earlier that you wanted to teach me to drive…”
Aaric slides a hand around to cup my butt and haul me closer to him. “Whenever you’re ready, sunshine.”
“The thought sends me into a bit of a panic right now. Can we revisit it later?” I hope he won’t mind.
“Of course, honey. Take your time.”
“The roads are winding, and I freaked out a bit when you blew that tire. I know you’re trying to help me be independent, and I appreciate it. I do. I don’t want to let you down.”
Aaric kisses me gently. “You’ll never let me down, Hannah.
Never . I don’t care whether you learn to drive or not.
If and when you’re ready, I’ll help you.
If you never want to drive, that’s okay.
” He nibbles a path to my ear. “Do you understand how much I love you?” he whispers.
“It’s unconditional. You can’t do anything to change how I feel about you. ”
I inhale deeply. “Okay.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t tell me something.
You’ll never upset me, honey. If you don’t want to drive, you won’t drive.
The world is your oyster. Whatever you want to explore, I’ll make it happen.
However, I still want to point out that if you want to jump out of a plane and parachute to the ground, you’ll have to do that without me. ” He grins.
I giggle. “I’ll stay on the ground with you, thank you very much.”
“I’m so glad you fell into my arms and agreed to be my wife.”
“Me, too.” I snuggle closer, if that’s possible. I can’t stop smiling.
I’m one very lucky woman.