Chapter 26
Cole
“T his is definitely the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’ve ever owned, but you have to stop with the gifts, Cole,” Lauren informed me as she ran a finger over the sapphire necklace I’d given her a few days ago.
“Why?” I asked as I stroked her hair.
It was a Saturday, and we were both lazing near the river, Cash and Daisy grazing nearby.
We’d been dating for over a month now, and this was one of our favorite ways to spend the day.
It was April, and we were getting a warming trend, so we’d headed out to our favorite spot.
Lauren and I had already made a lot of fond memories here, both lustful and sweet.
For some reason, we seemed to do a lot of talking here…among other things.
Probably because it was quiet and peaceful, with almost no distractions.
I was lying on my back in the grass, and Lauren was right beside me with her head on my chest.
“You buy me something at least once a week,” she protested. “Sometimes more than once a week. And they’re not inexpensive and thoughtful gifts. Okay, they are thoughtful, but they’re also expensive.”
“Not for me,” I told her. “You needed that fancy new laptop for work, so that wasn’t really a gift.
The trip to New York to see a Broadway show was a date.
You can’t really count that as a gift. The earrings look beautiful on you, and that necklace had to be yours because it matches your eyes.
It’s not like you never buy me anything or do anything for me. ”
More often than not, Lauren shopped and cooked meals when we were together. She also spontaneously picked up stuff from the bakery for me or a cinnamon roll and coffee at The Mug And Jug. She brought me a lot of gifts that I didn’t know I needed until she gave them to me.
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t buy you things that cost more than my vehicle. I know you can afford it, but I’m really not used to getting a lot of expensive gifts.”
“Get used to it,” I told her.
Lauren and I didn’t fight very often, but I refused to hold back when I saw something that I knew should be hers.
It would suck.
“Can we manage to keep the gift purchases down to once a month?” she asked sweetly.
“I suppose I could do that most of the time,” I conceded unhappily.
The truth was, I never wanted to do anything that made Lauren unhappy or uncomfortable.
We hadn’t really been together for that long.
She’d get used to the whole billionaire thing eventually.
“Have I told you what an amazing man you are today?” she asked.
Hell, I was probably starting to get conceited because she told me that so damn often.
Still…
“Maybe you told me earlier,” I grumbled.
A guy could never hear the woman he cared about say that often enough.
“You’re the most incredible guy I’ve ever known,” she told me.
I grinned like a fool as I tightened my arm around her, acknowledging to myself that since I’d met her, I was actually discovering what happiness meant.
Yeah, I’d once said that peace and normality was enough, but that was before I’d known Lauren.
It had taken an incredible woman to make me realize that solitude wasn’t really for me.
In a matter of weeks, she’d become necessary to my happiness.
I didn’t really want to be just dating anymore.
I wanted to be with her whenever possible.
I wanted to sleep in the same bed every night instead of just on the weekends.
For the first time in my life, I wanted a real partner, someone who was in my life, in my home, and in my bed.
If I thought she’d say yes, I would have asked her to move in with me already.
I also would have put an enormous diamond on her finger instead of just sapphires around her neck.
Lauren was mine, and she was always going to be mine.
I saw no reason to delay something that was definitely going to happen in the future.
But I was a rational guy, and I knew it was way too soon to spring the idea of marriage on Lauren.
The last thing I needed was to screw up my chances of her giving me the answer I wanted.
I knew she eventually wanted a husband.
She’d also mentioned wanting kids, so I knew she wasn’t going to object to that either.
I just didn’t think she was going to be ready to say yes to all of that in a matter of weeks.
I couldn’t say that we really didn’t know each other that well.
Hell, I’d discussed things with Lauren that I’d never told anyone before in my life.
She’d shared a lot more with me, too, over the last month.
Her feelings.
Her fears.
Her dreams for the future.
We’d become more than just lovers.
We were best friends.
She was my everything.
There was no damn way this woman wasn’t going to become my wife. I was just going to have to give her time to get used to the idea of sharing space with me full time.
She spent three nights a week at my place.
Maybe I could start spending a few nights during the week at her house.
I suddenly heard my phone ding from an incoming text.
Lauren sat up. “Do you think it’s important?”
I pulled myself into a sitting position and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Normally, I probably would have ignored a text message for a while, but it was Saturday.
The only person who texted me on the weekend was Asher, and we had a situation pending right now.
My whole body tensed as I read the text.
“What’s wrong?” Lauren asked in an urgent voice.
“It’s confirmed,” I told her. “The remains found on Millie’s property belong to my mom.”
Skeletal remains had been found two weeks ago on Millie’s property after Asher had ordered the LIDAR for the route that would have been traveled between our ranch and Millie’s on foot.
Asher and I had both given a sample of our DNA for identification purposes.
It had taken a while, but the results were now scientifically and undeniably confirmed.
My mother had been buried almost exactly halfway through that route to Millie’s house from our property.
There had been a bullet hole in her skull, so her cause of death was no mystery.
My father had killed my mother in cold blood.
We’d never know exactly what had happened, but at least we’d found our mother.
“It’s over,” Lauren said softly as she wrapped her arms around me. “Somehow, he must have found out that she planned on leaving him. Or maybe she told him.”
There was no other explanation.
If someone else had killed my mother, my father certainly wouldn’t have covered it up with a lie.
“Fuck!” I cursed as I wrapped my arms around Lauren. “At least she’s not missing anymore. All of the craziness and all of the searches can stop. She can be put to rest with the respect and dignity she always deserved. Asher’s obsession can finally end, and he can find some peace.”
I knew my brother.
Finding our mother had become an obsession for him a long time ago.
Yeah, he’d rationalized that there was a chance he’d never find her, but I knew he’d never completely accepted that.
Asher had always felt that obligation to find her, and it had rested heavily on his soul.
Putting my mother to rest would finally end that obsession for him and give him a more normal life.
I was also hoping it would stop him from being so damn haunted by the past.
“What about you?” Lauren questioned quietly.
The tension flowed out of my body. “I’m glad we found her. Maybe I don’t remember her and our past with her like Asher does, but she’s my mom. I know she loved us. The not knowing never sat right with me.”
Even though I remembered very little about my mother, my connection with her had always been there.
I’d needed that resolution, too, but I’d never wanted to hope too much that it was ever going to happen.
“My father is forever going to be branded a murderer after this,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Is that going to bother you?” she asked. “At least it will be a Remington who’s actually guilty of killing someone.”
I shook my head. “I don’t give a shit. I just want to do right by the parent who actually gave a damn about me and Asher.”
We stayed like that for a long time: Lauren trying to comfort me, and me taking all of that affection with the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, Asher would finally find the peace he deserved.