Alone with You

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Gwen

“W hat are you going to do with it?” Truett asked.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, emotion thick in my voice.

“Baby,” he soothed, curling me into his chest. “It doesn’t match. I see it. You see it. Customers are going to see it too.”

“I know, but it’s your booth. Her booth. Nathanial’s booth. And if I’m being honest, I kind of feel like it’s our booth now too.” I stomped my foot. “Dammit, how am I the one sentimental over a booth that I would have trashed not even a month ago?”

He chuckled. “You don’t have to make a decision now. It’s not connected to the wall anymore. We can work around it for a while longer. Trashing it isn’t the only option. I can take it back to the house or—”

“No,” I replied quickly and firmly. “I don’t even want you in that house, much less to help you fill it with more memories of the past.”

He nodded, understanding in his eyes even if his face was still sheepish.

“You’re right. We’ll figure it out. We have too much to do today to be standing here, stressing over this.”

The restaurant was a flurry of activity as the date of our grand opening grew closer. It was all hands on deck for the next couple of weeks, and having Truett there to help me was a welcome relief. While I focused on the menu and getting the new employees hired and trained, he was taking care of last-minute repairs and finishing touches.

The space had been completely transformed, and while it had taken a lot longer than I had anticipated, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the results.

When I’d first taken ownership of The Grille, it was a dated space that lacked charm or personality. Looking back, I understood why Angela and Dylan had been so skeptical.

But I’d had a vision, and as I glanced around, I realized that my dream space had come together flawlessly.

As you walked through the front door, your eyes were drawn to the back wall, where a chalkboard was centered among the weathered brick, adding a rustic feel to the entire space. I’d positioned the bar directly in front of that wall so that it would be the star of the café, with its sparkling black countertop and creamy off-white base.

To your left, there was a collection of high-top tables that would soon be surrounded by barstools covered in rich black leather, and to the right was a row of booths, all connected by a single farmhouse table.

The Rosewood Café really felt like a place where people of all ages would gather, whether it was for a cup of coffee or a hearty dinner. It felt comfortable, like a second home where stories were shared and memories were made.

I was still in Truett’s arms when a man in a polo shirt with a Belton Security logo embroidered on the top right called out from near the door. “Mrs. Weaver, you should be good to go.”

Truett let out a low grumble at the use of Weaver and then kissed me on the top of my head before releasing me. “Excellent.”

I stood there watching, gratitude swelling in my chest. It wasn’t that I couldn’t have handled this on my own. There was no doubt in my mind that I would have been successful without his assistance. It was the fact that he gave it so easily, so freely, and never once made me feel like I needed to give him something in return.

Truett just jumped right in wherever he was needed and took care of what had to be done, which at the moment was working with the security company to have our new cameras and alarm installed.

There was a quick conversation between the two men, and then Truett shook his hand and escorted him out the door, locking it behind him.

Nate was still at Dylan’s, so Truett and I had been there since seven. My body was sated from making love to him the night before, but I could not get enough of that man.

Finally alone again in the restaurant for only a few more minutes, I pressed my lips to his, letting out a moan when his large hand grasped the back of my head, anchoring my mouth against his. He licked at my lips and they parted for him, granting him full access to explore my mouth. He tasted like vanilla, coffee, and every hope and dream I had for this place all rolled into one.

“You have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now?” he growled, his eyes scanning the entire length of my body.

I arched an eyebrow. I was dressed in an oversized T-shirt—one I’d bought online thinking it was a crop top—that covered most of my jogging shorts. My hair was in a messy bun, and I was fairly certain I’d forgotten to remove my makeup the night before. There was no chance in hell that the way I looked could be classified as anything other than homeless, but that didn’t stop me from asking, “Could you elaborate on that for me?”

He chuckled, moving behind me to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling my back flush with his chest.

His lips on my neck sent a tingle down my spine, the vibration of his low groan shooting straight to my core. His hands found the hem of my shirt before he skimmed his fingers along my ribs. “I haven’t caught a case of amnesia since last night, baby. I know exactly what you’re hiding under that shirt. Any fucking hotter and this whole place would spontaneously combust.”

As he continued to trail kisses along the column of my throat, I arched my lower back, pressing my ass into his groin.

“Mmmm…” I moaned. “You’re a tease. I have way too much to do for you to get me all worked up right now.”

He spun me so that my breasts pillowed against him. “I didn’t start that. If anyone’s a tease, it’s you.”

I grinned, looping my arms around his waist as I rolled my hips. As I tipped my head back, my tongue darted out to wet my lips. “I would never tease you.”

His eyes zeroed in on my mouth. “Yes. Yes, you would. And you’d enjoy the hell out of doing it too.”

I laughed and pushed to my toes, giving him a quick peck on the lips before wriggling from his grasp. Chances were, another minute of our back-and-forth while wrapped in his arms and hours of my workday would be lost forever.

I walked to the bar, looked at the stack of papers, and sighed.

“What’s all this?” he asked.

“The better question would be: what is it not? Applications, tax forms, sample menus, schedules, vendor lists…” I grabbed the single sheet of notebook paper and waved it toward him. “And let’s not forget, Lucille’s time-off requests.”

“Place isn’t even open and she’s already putting in requests?”

I looked at her scribbled handwriting and nodded. “Yep. She needs to make sure I haven’t forgotten about her standing hair appointments on the second Tuesday of each month.”

He laughed. “Sounds about right. Hey, that reminds me. I called the guy about the blinds. They assured me the delivery would be here before ten this morning.”

“Thank you! That was on my list of things to follow up with.” I dug through the papers until I found the legal pad that held my never-ending to-do list. Making a show of it, I scribbled out the word blinds and beamed at him. “One down, twenty thousand to go.”

He took the pad from my hands and scanned it. “Assemble barstools. I’ll get to work on those if there’s nothing else you want me to do?” He waggled his eyebrows and leaned in so that his mouth was at my ear. “Like, say, in the office?”

A jolt of desire ran through me. The offer was more than tempting, but I fought the urge to say screw it and drag him to the back.

“Later,” I whispered. “I promise.”

With a wink, Truett dropped the pad of paper on the counter and set to work locating the boxes of stools.

For the next hour, I placed orders with beverage vendors and followed up with emails to local farms I’d reached out to while Truett assembled barstools in record time. We worked in a comfortable silence, Truett dropping a sweet kiss on my head with every stool he completed.

When a knock at the door sounded, I pushed to my feet and scurried over, noting that it was already ten thirty and the blinds were late. But at this rate, I was just thankful they’d arrived today.

“Hey!” I said to the man standing on the other side of the door. He was dressed in khaki pants and a button-down with a tie—not exactly what I expected for someone about to do manual labor. But I didn’t care if he’d been in boxer shorts as long as it meant the newspaper was finally coming down.

“Gwendolyn Weaver?” he asked.

I smiled and nodded. “That’s me.”

He shoved a handful of papers in my direction. “You’ve been served.”

“I’ve been what?” I asked as I took the papers from his outstretched hand.

“Have a nice day.” The man spun on his heel, leaving me standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

“Blind people finally here?” Truett asked as he came to a stop behind me, peering down the street. “Where’d they go?”

Still unsure of what had just happened, I closed the door and skirted around him, making my way over to the booth.

He followed, concern creasing his brow as he settled into the opposite side. “What’s that?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured as I began to scan the document.

With every word I read, my pounding heart roared in my ears.

At the top, on the left-hand corner of the page, Jeff’s name was listed with the word plaintiff beside it, my name directly below with the title defendant underneath.

The oxygen was stripped from my lungs as I realized it was a motion for an emergency custody hearing.

I squeezed my eyes shut, certain I’d misread it, but when I opened them again, the same frightening sentence was staring back at me.

“Gwen, look at me.” Truett’s hand covered mine.

I managed to tear my gaze away from the document in my hand and met his worry-filled eyes.

“What is that?”

My throat was dry, which made the effort to answer and say the words aloud nearly impossible. “Jeff…” I trailed off, looking back down at the court order.

A growl tore from Truett’s throat. “Jeff what?”

I swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that threatened to overtake me. “Jeff’s trying to get full custody of Nate.”

In the blink of an eye, Truett was on his feet, the papers I’d been holding ripped from my hand as he seethed, “You’re fucking shitting me.”

I shook my head, my chest tight.

It didn’t make sense.

Why would he try to take Nate away from me?

Truett’s eyes were full of fury as he quickly read the documents. With the flick of his wrist, he tossed them back to the table. “This is bullshit.”

I snatched them up and fully read them this time, going slowly, word for word.

Truett paced beside me, inventing new cuss words.

“It says that he feels Nate is in immediate risk of emotional harm or substantial bodily injury,” I croaked, disbelief knotting my stomach. I kept reading, frantic for answers.

And then everything stopped as I saw Truett’s name at the bottom.

And then it got worse. It stated that there was video evidence of Truett assaulting Jeff.

And then it got worse again. It stated that a PI had taken pictures of Truett at my house, claiming that Truett had moved in with me and Nate.

“Oh, God.” I slapped a hand over my mouth as Truett sidled up beside me, reading over my shoulder.

Holy shit, Jeff was really going to do this. He knew all about Truett. Everything he’d been through. One of the things I’d loved about him when we’d first met was that he had been sensitive about my past and supportive of keeping Kaitlyn’s memory alive with Nate.

And now, he was going to try to take Nate away from me?

I looked up to Truett, hoping he would have the answers. Instead, his jaw was set in a hard line, guilt written all over his features.

“That motherfucker.”

“This is ridiculous,” I said. “You’re not a threat to Nate.”

He laughed without humor and stabbed a hand through his hair. “This isn’t about Nate. He knows we’re back together. I told him you were mine. He’s jealous and his ego is bruised. This is the only way that pussy can hurt me—by hurting you.”

Yep. That sounded like Jeff. God knew he had no problem hurting me. But Nate? He knew that our son would end up collateral damage. And he did it anyway. This was a new low even for Jeff.

Rage surged through my veins. “No. He can’t do this. He doesn’t have a leg to stand on. You didn’t even get charged with anything.”

He hung his head. “No, and I’m sure that lit his ass on fire. But Folly was there. The windows were open. I’m sure that’s the video he has.” He scrubbed his beard with his hand. “You said it yourself. He knows every judge in this town. He’ll have no problem getting what he wants as long as I’m in the picture.” Unable to meet my eyes, he said simply, “I won’t be the one to cost you another child.”

For the second time that morning, it felt like all the oxygen was sucked from the room. He didn’t have to elaborate. I knew that look. I knew his thought process. I knew all too well what would follow.

He was convinced that he was the reason we’d lost Nathanial and Kaitlyn. That he was responsible for them being taken from me—from us.

And then he’d left me. Making life-altering decisions that were never his to make.

I stared at him, unable to formulate a single sentence as my mind swirled. A myriad of emotions washed through me.

Anger.

Fear.

Frustration.

I’d waited for years to be able to get to a place of happiness and contentment. Just a few moments ago, I’d thought I’d finally made it.

Everything had been falling into place.

My restaurant was set to open soon. I had friends that were more like family. My son was healthy. Most of all, I’d gotten the answers I’d so desperately needed from Truett.

And with one single sheet of paper, it was all being ripped away.

Jeff was going to try to take my child from me.

And Truett was going to walk away again to keep that from happening.

He dropped into a squat in front of where I sat frozen in the booth and squeezed my thigh. “Gwen, baby. Look at me.”

I brought my gaze to his, not really seeing, as I prepared for the worst. I was going to lose everything all over again.

“What’s going through your mind right now?” he asked.

“You’re going to abandon me again, aren’t you?” My voice was flat, the anxiety in my chest nearly suffocating me.

His head snapped back as though I’d slapped him. “Is that what you think?”

I finally focused on his face, seeing him clearly. His eyes swam with worry, uncertainty causing the lines on his forehead to deepen. “You said you weren’t going to be the reason I lose Nate.”

“I’m not,” he said firmly, “because that asshole is not taking him from you and I sure as hell am not leaving you.” His fingers flexed into my thighs, the squeeze grounding me. “I’m the reason for this mess. I’ll be the one to fix it.” He spoke with such conviction, I saw the man I’d fallen in love with again. The man who was confident and strong. The man who believed in himself.

“How?” I asked, fear washing over me. “The emergency hearing is tomorrow.”

He pulled his phone out, typing out a quick text before shoving it back into his pocket. “I don’t know yet. But I will.” Sheer determination coated every word he said. “This is bullshit, and it’s going to be hard. But we’ve faced way harder.”

“And I lost you in the process,” I croaked out.

He shook his head adamantly. “I lost myself, Gwen. I won’t make that mistake again. There is nothing—and I mean nothing—I won’t do to hold onto you. I want this with you. I need this with you. I will never let anything or anyone—including myself—take you away from me again.”

A part of me believed him.

A part of me was scared to trust him again.

And then a part of me realized that Truett wasn’t the only one who needed help. I still carried my demons from the past. I wasn’t trapped in a house, but the trauma of losing my entire life still lived inside me. I was just slightly better at hiding it.

“Gwen,” he prompted when I hadn’t said anything. “I’m gonna take care of this. I’m gonna take care of you. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

“Good.”

For several minutes, he stayed positioned in front of me, rubbing my thighs and murmuring reassurances while I tried not to let my mind spiral out of control.

When Lucille knocked on the front door, Truett pushed to his feet and dropped a chaste kiss on the top of my head.

“You good to stay with her? I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”

Panic sliced through me. “You’re not going to Jeff, are you?”

He shook his head and frowned. “I’d love nothing more than to get my hands on him again. But that would only make things worse. Besides, I think I need to start a little closer to home.”

“Are you coming back?” I called after him.

He walked backward to the door. “Always. But I don’t think it’s a good idea if I stay with you tonight.”

My heart sank, but better judgment told me he was right. No use giving Jeff anything more to try and use against us.

He placed his hand over his heart. “But I’ll be there in the morning. I swear.”

He let Lucille in, and before she had the chance to even say hello, he ordered, “Get on the phone and call Dylan and Angela. Stay with her until they get here, and then make sure one of you goes home with her tonight. I do not want her to be alone. Do you understand me?”

She flicked her confused gaze between us. “I hear you. Is everything okay?”

“It will be,” he assured her.

I watched as he walked out the door and waited on the outside for Lucille to lock it behind him. I held his gaze. I had no clue where he was going or how he was going to fix this. Nerves rolled in my stomach, and suddenly, I felt like I was right back at that mall, a glass door dividing us as he prepared to wage war. Only this time, as he walked away, it wasn’t an apology he gave me.

“ I love you ,” he mouthed.

And never had I believed something more.