Chapter 74
74
The closer they got to her hometown, the more tense Faith grew. She was dressed in her adult clothes again, which was a shame in his opinion. But she hadn’t wanted to turn up to her family farm wearing a butterfly onesie.
Reaching up, she touched the new hair clip he’d bought her. She’d said she didn’t need a good luck charm anymore, but he wanted her to have one anyway.
The possessive caveman in him liked that she had one that he’d given her. He liked providing for her. Giving her whatever she needed.
So he didn’t like that she was stressed about this. Not one bit.
Reuben tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He’d make sure that no one upset her. Or they’d answer to him. Family or not.
“This is an awfully nice rental car.”
He grinned. It was. It was the best he could buy. He had an impression to make.
“You doing all right, baby?” he asked. “We don’t have to go.”
“No, they’re expecting us. And I need to do this. I’m just nervous.”
As they passed the welcome to Public, Missouri sign, he had to grin. Someone had blacked out the L in public, so it read, Welcome to Pubic, Missouri.
He drove through the quaint town. It had a wide main street and cute shops on either side. Everything was well-maintained, which made him think that the graffiti on the town sign was new.
“We should check into the motel,” Faith said.
He glanced over to find she had her fingers tightly interlaced.
“We’ll go there after, baby. You need to get this out of the way.”
She nodded stiffly and gave him directions. Reaching over, he grabbed hold of her hands in his.
“You need to breathe, baby. Remember, you’re not alone. I’m here to look after you, support you.”
“You’re right. I’m not sure why I’m so tense. My family are good people.”
“That’s good.” It was. But he wanted to know why they hadn’t come after her.
They drove up a long driveway to a gorgeous old farmhouse.
“Why are all these cars here?” she asked, looking around. “Is something going on?”
He hummed and got out. Coming around the front of the car, he opened her door and undid her belt. She never forgot to wait for him to help her in and out of the car anymore.
Helping her down, he led her up to the door. She seemed reluctant to move forward. When they got to the front door, she seemed to think about knocking, but then she opened the door. They stepped in, but everything was quiet.
He glanced around. The house was clean and tidy, though obviously old and worn.
“They must be outside.” She walked forward, and he was content to follow. When they stepped out onto the back porch, it was obvious what was going on.
There was a huge banner with ‘Welcome home, Faith!’ written on it. Tables were groaning with food and drinks and vases of camellias. Suddenly, at least thirty people popped up to yell, “Surprise.”
Unfortunately, Faith got a fright. Probably because of everything that had happened recently. Screaming, she turned and jumped into his arms. He held her tight, one arm under her ass, the other around her back.
Cradling her to him, he spoke to her quietly, soothingly, while her entire family looked on in shock as she cried.
“Danny, I told you the surprise part wasn’t a good idea.” A woman who looked like an older version of Faith stepped forward. She was wearing a flowery dress that was a bit worn but flattering.
An older man walked forward with her, looking at Reuben suspiciously. “She always liked them when she was younger, Anna. Makes me think something else is going on. And what happened to her wrist? Who’re you, young man?”
Three younger versions of Faith’s dad stepped forward as well, frowns on their faces as they moved in front of the women and children. They all had Faith’s eyes, although only her mom had her ringlets.
“Hello, I’m Reuben Jones. I’m Faith’s boyfriend. She’s had a hard few weeks. She had an accident and broke her wrist. And I’m afraid that surprises and sudden loud noises aren’t a good idea.” He spoke in a firm but not unkind voice. However, a few of the women still moved back, clutching children.
Hmm. He’d need to work on that.
Faith stirred and looked up at him. “Did I just burst into tears over a surprise party?”
He smiled down at her disgruntled face. “Yes, baby.”
“Wow. And I thought you were the party pooper.”
He burst into laughter.
“Eloise seems to like your man. I’ve never seen her to take to anyone else like that. She dislikes most people,” her mom said, taking a seat next to her.
Faith looked over at Reuben. Her youngest niece, Eloise, was two and she was a hellion. Her parents were run ragged chasing around after her.
And right now, she was nestled in Reuben’s lap, her messy face pressed to his white shirt as she slept. Reuben glanced over at her and winked. Lance, her oldest brother and Eloise’s dad, was talking to him about something. Probably farming.
Reuben was likely bored out of his mind. Yet, he didn’t seem in a rush to leave.
After her embarrassing breakdown, Faith had pulled herself together and introduced Reuben to everyone. She’d been hugged half to death.
Then, the neighbors had started to turn up, and introductions started all over again. She hadn’t realized so many people would want to see her. Although a number of them seemed to want to gawk at Reuben.
But she hadn’t had a chance to sit and talk to her parents alone. Reuben had hovered for the first two hours, probably worried that she’d break down again.
He was overprotective. And she loved him for it.
Her dad took a seat to her left.
“He’s an . . . interesting fella,” her dad said carefully. “Nothing like Matt.”
“No, nothing like Matt.”
“That’s a point in his favor,” Grandpa Jake said gruffly. “Didn’t like that weasel.”
She smiled weakly over at her grandfather. “I know you didn’t, Grandpa.” She interlocked her fingers together, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry I haven’t been calling. That I haven’t visited. It was just hard.”
Her mom put her hand over Faith’s. “Oh, honey, it’s not you that should be apologizing to us but the other way around. We should have come to see you. But at first, we wanted to give you some space to come to terms with everything. We didn’t want you to run any further.”
“And money has been tight here,” her dad admitted. “The workload is still there, and I just don’t have money for help. It’s no excuse and we were planning to come soon.”
“But every time we talked to Cammie, she said you were busy and didn’t want us there,” her mom said. “Brett even saved up enough money to come visit but when he spoke to Cammie she told him that you’d said not to come.”
That bitch.
Betrayal made her heart race. “Cammie said that?”
Her mom nodded, eyes glistening.
“Cammie and I aren’t friends anymore. She was . . . she was using me for money. And now I find out that she was lying to you, I don’t think we can ever be friends again.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” her mom said. “I shouldn’t have listened to her.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault. I did want to see you. I just didn’t know how to reach out and tell you that because I was so ashamed of losing your money.”
“Oh, sweetie, that wasn’t your fault,” her mom said, wrapping her arms around her.
“We never blamed you or were upset with you,” her father told her gruffly.
“I hate that you thought we were,” her mom said. “And we didn’t want you to know how bad things were because we didn’t want you to feel awful.”
“Plus, we were ashamed.” Her father dropped his head and Faith reached over to hug him.
“I guess we’re all at fault. No more, though. I missed you guys so much. All of you.”
“Anyway, the shop failing had nothing to do with you. It was all Matt’s fault,” her father said. “Asshole.”
“What do you mean? Matt isn’t an asshole.”
“He is, Faith,” Rod, her second oldest brother said as he and Brett walked up to them.
Brett nodded. “A complete dick. We’d give him a hiding if he’d fight like a man, but he runs away when he sees us coming.”
She was aware of Reuben walking toward her; he had set Eloise down somewhere.
“There you are,” her grandpa said, frowning at him. “What sort of car is that you’re driving?”
“A rental,” Reuben said smoothly, sitting across from her.
Grandpa Jake grunted. “You’re a city boy.”
“I am.”
“You think you can take care of our Faith?”
She groaned at her Grandpa’s questions.
Reuben met her gaze, looking unfazed. “I can, and I will.”
“How’s that?” Grandpa Jake asked.
“By destroying anyone who harms her.”
Everyone gaped at Reuben.
Grandpa Jake nodded. “You’ll do. Better than that other weasel.”
“You’re talking about Matt?” Reuben asked.
“Yes, the asshole stole all the money from Faith’s shop,” Brett said.
“What are you talking about? No, the shop just went bankrupt.”
“Yeah? Then how come he’s got so much cash to wave about?” Lance said, coming up behind Reuben. “Him and Shelby.”
“What?” she asked. “My nemesisisis, Shelby Colby-Dolby?”
Her family didn’t blink at her mispronunciation of nemesis. They were used to her Little peeking out.
“It’s just Shelby Colby now. She’s separated from Bart. Matt started living with her a few months ago,” Brett said.
“But it wouldn’t surprise me if they were together earlier than that,” Rod added.
“What? Do you think he was cheating on me?” she asked.
They all gave her sympathetic looks.
“Boy’s an idiot, that’s clear,” Grandpa Jake said. “Other than your penchant for trying to please everyone and your fear of thunderstorms, you’re a damn good catch.”
“Uh, thanks, Grandpa.”
“Of course, can’t blame you for getting scared of storms when you got stuck outside in one that time at my place. Couldn’t hear me calling over the noise. Found you when it had passed, you’d hidden under a tree. Not your smartest idea.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Dad!” her mom snapped. “You never told me that!”
Her grandpa scratched at his chin. “Didn’t I? Well, I probably had my reasons.”
Her mom looked like she was about to explode. Even though Faith wished her grandfather had said something earlier, at least she knew why she was scared now.
Seemed like everything was coming out now.
“I’ve been looking into Matt,” Reuben said, shocking her.
“You have?”
“Hmm. And I’ve had someone check into his finances.”
“You can do that?” her dad asked.
“Well, not me.” Reuben grinned. “And for a man without a job, Matt has a lot of money.”
“I was sending him some,” she said.
Her family all glared at her, but she kept her gaze on Reuben.
“He’s got more than what you sent him, baby. He just bought a brand-new Jeep. And went on a trip to Vegas.”
“I’m going to be sick. I trusted him, and he swindled me.”
Reuben crouched in front of her and took her hands in his. “Look at me. This is not your fault.”
“I lost everyone’s money!”
“Money we freely gave, Faith,” her father said. “We’re not upset with you.”
“But I overheard you talking about how tight things were. And putting off retirement.”
“Oh honey,” her mom said, eyes filling with tears. “You heard that? We never expected you to pay that money back. It was an investment in your future. We’ve just had a bad couple of years is all.”
“But none of that is on you, Faith.”
“We’ve never been upset with you, Faith,” Rod told her.
“We love you, Squirt,” Lance added.
“I just feel so ashamed.”
Reuben reached up and wiped her tears away. “I know you do, but you’ve nothing to feel ashamed about.”
“You really think Matt took that money? That the business was doing all right?”
“He did the accounts?” Reuben asked.
“Yes,” she said. “On his laptop.”
“You going to try and prove he stole Faith’s money?” her father demanded as she heard a car door slam. Was someone else here? Folks were giving them space, busy dancing and eating. But she didn’t feel like greeting anyone else.
“Well, it would likely take a forensic accountant to prove that. But my friend who was looking into him did discover something interesting. Matt Bower’s actual name is Matthew Lowell. And he has some outstanding warrants in Utah for scamming some elderly people out of their life savings.”
Oh my God.
“I’m going to be sick. I can’t believe I let him dupe me like that.” She put her hand on her tummy. And then she glanced up and saw the man himself walking toward her. A fake smile on his face.
And Shelby Colby, her nemesis since kindergarten, was plastered to his side.
Standing, she watched him walk closer.
“That bastard,” her dad said, standing as well.
“Let me handle this, please, Daniel,” Reuben said to her dad.
“Faith, hey. It’s so good to see you . . . after everything,” Matt said.
Had he ever loved her? She studied him carefully. How had she never noticed how beady his eyes were? And why couldn’t he look her in the eyes?
God, she’d felt bad about how things had ended. She’d even sent him money.
“Faith, easy,” Reuben murmured.
He had something up his sleeve, so she took in a deep breath and nodded.
“Hi, everyone. Isn’t it nice of Faith to visit? I know she’s been working hard in the big city to make up for her mistakes.”
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Oh no, he fucking didn’t.
“Hi.” Reuben stepped forward. “I’m Reuben Jones.”
“Hi, are you a friend of Faith’s?” Matt asked, eyeing Reuben.
Shelby Colby smiled and stuck her chest out. But Reuben didn’t even look her way. Faith gave her a dirty look. She’d always wanted what Faith had.
“Friend, no.” Reuben laughed. “I’m her fiancée.”
“She don’t have no ring,” Shelby Colby said, as she blew a bubble with her gum.
Gross.
“I knew I was forgetting something.” Reuben spun around toward Faith and got down on one knee. Then he drew a velvet bag from his pocket, holding it up.
“It doesn’t even come in a ring box,” Shelby Colby said with a sneer.
“I didn’t want anyone seeing a box in my pocket and guessing,” Reuben told Faith.
She didn’t care what it came in. All she cared about was whether this was real or not.
“Really?” she whispered.
“Really. The timing might be . . . planned. But the question is real. Although it’s not really a question, but a command.” His voice grew louder. “Faith Blossom, the day I met you I knew I was in trouble because I couldn’t keep my eyes off you. The most beautiful, sweet woman to walk into my office and I knew you had to be mine. That’s why I need you to marry me, so I know that you’ll be mine forever. My heart. My girl. The other part of my soul.” Opening the bag, he drew out the most beautiful ring. It was a huge oval-shaped pink diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds. “Marry me.”
And it wasn’t a question, although most people might think it was. But she still answered. “Yes.”
He slid the ring onto her right ring finger since her left was in a cast and her fingers were still swollen. Then he then stood, gathering her close to kiss her. Hard. Fast. Deep.
“How long have you two even known each other?” Matt demanded. “Is this for real?”
She glanced over to see him watching, his face red and filled with anger. Shelby Colby was standing at his side, but he was no longer touching her. She was glaring at the ring like it offended her.
Good. Because she offended Faith.
“What right do you have to ask that?” she asked. “It’s not like you ever actually cared about me. You were only using me for money.”
“That’s not true. I loved you. I think we should talk, Faith. Just me and you.”
She made a scoffing noise. “That’s not happening. And, love me? Right. That’s why you stole from me, made me believe that the shop failing was all my fault, oh, and kept taking money from me. You’re a . . . you’re a fucking jerk!”
Everyone sucked in a shocked breath.
She said it. And she wasn’t taking it back.
“Well, he’s my jerk now,” Shelby crowed. Then she frowned. “Wait.”
“You always were dumb, Shelby,” Faith told her. “The two of you deserve each other.”
“Faith, this isn’t like you. This is him.” Matt glared at Reuben. “I know you’re only upset because you care about me.”
“No, Matt. This is me. This is me being furious with you for everything you did to me. But not because I care about you. It’s because you ruined my dream and damaged my relationship with my family. Are you even a Daddy Dom?”
He looked ill. “God, no. I was just pretending to keep you with me.”
God. She was such an idiot.
“And were you sleeping with her while you were with me?” She gestured toward Shelby.
Matt grimaced. She took that as a yes.
“Well. I guess I should be grateful that you didn’t give me any diseases. God knows, Shelby’s had them all.”
“Hey, you bitch!” Shelby jumped toward her, but Reuben quickly stood in front of her while Matt grabbed Shelby.
“Let me go! Let me at that bitch!”
“Enough!” her father roared.
Faith stared over at him in shock. It wasn’t like her dad to ever raise his voice. Even Shelby grew quiet.
“I have been quiet for too long. You.” Her father pointed at Matt. “You are going to pay for what you’ve done to my daughter and our family.”
“Yeah?” Matt sneered. “What are you going to do? You’re just an old, washed-up, powerless farmer.”
“My dad won’t need to do anything,” Faith told him as she step. “Because I am going to ruin you.”
“You are?” He laughed. “Faith, you couldn’t even kill a spider in the shower. What are you going to do to me?”
“Well, first, you’re going to jail,” Reuben said, wrapping his arm around her.
“What?” Matt demanded.
“Hmm. But I don’t think that’s enough. I’m going to have to see what else I can do to make your life a complete and utter misery. I know plenty of people who can torture you in jail. Every. Single. Day.”
Faith swallowed heavily. She’d once loved this man. But he’d been emotionally abusive. He’d nearly destroyed her relationship with her family. He’d made her feel useless and a failure.
Yeah, he deserved everything he got.
Faith spotted the sheriff coming around the side of the house.
“I’m not going to jail, and you can’t harm me,” Matt said.
“Really? Because I discovered that you had some outstanding warrants in Utah. And Tennessee.”
Matt took a step back, just as the sheriff grabbed him and started reading him his rights.
“Faith! Faith, tell them to stop this!” Matt cried as he was led away.
She wondered if that would be the last she’d hear from him . . . somehow, she thought it might be. People who upset or hurt her had a habit of disappearing.
Faith turned away and into the arms of the man she loved with her entire soul held her close and whispered to her about how amazing and wonderful and beautiful she was.
She’d had to go through some horrible things to get to this . . . but it was all worth it for the man of her dreams.