Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
GYPSY
Everything began to change over the next few weeks. And most all of it was for the better.
That first night I’d asked Marco to stay over at my place had been the catalyst for things to come. He didn’t return to his apartment unless it was to pick up more clothes, and after a week of seeing his duffle lying on my closet floor, I’d finally had enough.
Marco walked into the room to find his stuff dumped out on my bed. “What are you doing?” he’d asked, looking at me with curiosity as I folded his t-shirts into a pile.
Walking up to him, I shoved the stack of tees into his chest and informed him, “Put these in the second drawer, please. Your jeans and shoes are in the closet. Socks and underwear are in the top drawer of the dresser.”
He stood motionless, staring at me like I’d lost my mind while I went back to the bed and continued sorting through his things. “Uh... Gypsy, baby. This your way of saying you want me to move in with you?”
Spinning back around, I swiped a loose strand of hair out of my face and planted my hands on my hips. “You like your apartment?”
The corner of his mouth trembled as he bit back a grin and replied, “Not particularly.”
“You prefer staying here with us?”
The humor fled his expression, replaced by that tenderness that made me swoon. “You know I do.”
“Then it’s settled. Instead of living out of a duffle bag, your stuff will have a permanent place now. Problem solved.”
It wasn’t the most elegant invitation, but I was still feeling my way around this whole relationship thing.
Fortunately, Marco didn’t seem to mind my blunt command, and after shoving his belongings to the floor so he could spend the next hour letting me know just how much he liked my offer, he made a trip back to his apartment to get the rest of his stuff, and that was it. He was officially moved in.
Sure, it wasn’t the ideal living situation, and my trailer wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was home. When I told Odette that Marco was moving in, she’d burst into tears and hugged me so hard my ribs squeaked.
“My precious Gypsy girl is finally getting’ everything she deserves!” she’d cried.
Marco picked up takeout from the diner on his way back from the apartment, and Odette came over to join us all in a celebratory dinner. All my family around one table, basking in all the good that surrounded us made it the best meal I’d ever had.
Another change was that Rhodes had made a decision about what he was going to do once he graduated the following year.
Apparently, unbeknownst to me, it was something he’d been thinking about for a quite some time.
And after several long, private conversations with Marco—conversations my man refused to share with me because he didn’t want to break my brother’s trust—Rhodes announced he was joining the Army.
I’d been terrified at first, saying anything I could to try and talk him out of it.
But my brother had never been prone to rash decisions, and once he made his mind up about something, it was impossible to sway him from it.
There had been a lot of tears and a few blowups—all on my part—but with Marco’s help, I eventually came to see that this was something to be proud of.
My brother was starting his journey to becoming the man he wanted to be.
And it wasn’t lost on any of us that that man was an awful lot like Marco.
That filled him with so much pride that he’d walked around with a swelled chest for a week.
I’d worried at what the lack of income from Pink Palace would do to my family, but once Marco had moved in, he’d strong armed his way into paying the majority of the bills, insisting that was part of him taking care of us.
It had led to an argument, but he’d eventually won by pointing out that this was one of those times I needed to lean on someone else for help.
It was foreign territory for me, and not an easy pill to swallow, but with Marco’s help, the burden of taking care of everything and everyone around me had been cut in half. It was like a weight had been lifted off my chest, and I could finally breathe for the first time in twenty-five years.
After spending some time considering my job options, I’d finally decided that it was time for me to put my pride away and do what my friends so desperately wanted me to do.
I asked for help.
I reached out to Nona first, asking if she knew of anybody willing to take a chance on someone who might only have minimal experience but was a fast learner and hard worker. My friend jumped at the chance to help, saying she knew the perfect place.
Turned out, that perfect place was her salon, Pure Elegance.
The girl who worked her front desk had moved to Chicago with her boyfriend, and Nona offered me the position on the spot, saying the first person her clients saw was the girl at the front desk, and with a head of hair like mine, I’d triple her business in no time.
The pay was great and there were no night shifts.
It was a dream come true, and the best part was that I could quit my job at the grocery store as well.
The thought of only having to work one job that would pay enough to support me and my family had been a little overwhelming, and I might have broken down into a big blubbering mess as I accepted and nearly hugged the life out of Nona.
But what I loved most out of all the wonderful things happening in my life was that every time Marco kissed me—which was a lot—he’d pull back and stare into my eyes for several seconds.
Then he’d smile and whisper, “No more wall.” That was his way of telling me he knew I’d given him all of me, and that he treasured it.
The only thing adding a shadow to the wonderful changes taking place was my growing concern for McKenna.
From my constant questioning of Xander, I knew she was still working at the club, and still tied up with Malachi Black.
She and I talked on occasion, but the conversations never lasted very long, and I was always left with more anxiety than when they’d started.
I didn’t know what was happening with the investigation into Black, but I couldn’t wait for it to be over so my sweet friend would finally be safe.
I trusted Marco when he told me they were keeping an eye on her and that she was okay, just like I trusted him when he promised he was going to give me a great life.
I just hadn’t realized I was going to get so much greatness so quickly.
Some days I was overwhelmed with just how happy I was, but even those days were better than any that came before him.
And that happiness was still filling me to near bursting as I pointed my minivan into one of the parking spots in front of Alpha Omega Investigations and killed the engine.
I’d left my job at the grocery store early so I’d have a week off between that and starting my new one at Pure Elegance.
Marco said I deserved some downtime, and while the idea of a week with absolutely nothing to do but rest and relax had initially sounded like bliss, I was only two days in and going out of my mind with boredom.
The oldest kids were at school, and Odette was still watching Raleigh during the day, demanding I make the absolute most of my free time—whether I wanted to or not.
There wasn’t a single spot of the house that hadn’t been scrubbed to gleaming. The pantry and fridge were stocked full, so there was no reason to go to the grocery store. And every piece of clothing had been washed, ironed, folded, or hung.
For the first time in my life I had nothing to do, and I was quickly discovering I hated it. So when my man called earlier and asked me to come by, I’d jumped at the chance to have something to do.
“Hey, Rox?” I greeted with a bright smile as I pushed through the glass door into the lobby.
She looked up from her computer and smiled. “Hey there, darlin’. As much as I’d love to gab with you right now, Marco’s been expecting you, and he’s kinda antsy.”
My head cocked to the side on confusion. “He has?”
She nodded in response. “He’s in Linc’s office, and I’m under strict orders to send you right in.”
I was thrown by that strange proclamation. “Um... Okay.” With a furrowed brow, I took a step toward the office, the happiness I’d been feeling just seconds ago mired in anxiety.
I barely had a chance to rap my knuckles against the door before it was thrown open. “Hey, girasol,” Marco said quietly. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to my lips, then took my hand and pulled me inside.
The door closed behind us with a soft snick, and my feet instantly glued themselves to the floor as I looked around.
Lincoln and Xander were both in the room, but it was the unfamiliar woman sitting in front of the big desk that gave me the most pause.
Her perfectly styled hair and smart business suit gave the impression of importance and screamed power.
“What’s going on?” I asked, shakily, turning back to Marco.
Instead of answering, he put his palm to the small of my back and gently pushed me forward. “Why don’t you take a seat.”
I moved woodenly toward the chair beside the woman and dropped down heavily. Marco rested his hips against the edge of Lincoln’s desk, crossed his arms over his chest, and proceeded to drop a bomb that left me utterly speechless.
“A few weeks ago, I asked Xander to look into your parents. I wanted their location, but I also wanted him to find anything we could use against them in a custody battle.”
“Custody battle?” I squeaked.
He continued like I hadn’t spoken. “The main goal in the search was to find enough against them to get them to sign over all their rights to the kids so they’d be legally yours.
But on the off chance that doesn’t work out, I wanted to be sure we have everything we need to guarantee we win if this goes before a judge. ”