Chapter Thirty-One
Justice
“I sure am gonna miss ya, Papa,” Hannah says, her face pinched with sadness as she sits on my father’s lap in the living room.
“Awe, Hannah J., I’ll miss you too but we’ll still see each other. I’ll come visit real soon, I promise.”
Despite his assurance, you can tell this is killing him.
I know the feeling. It’s killing me too but I also know it’s for the best. The last five days have been hard on everyone, especially Ryanne.
I want to get her out of here and away from it all.
She’s been hurt enough and I refuse to add to it by making her stay in a town where there is nothing but bad memories for her.
As least I will be able to leave with the peace of mind that justice has been served.
Thanks to Gwen, the evidence Agent Jameson was able to collect has exposed the founding families for the ruthless bastards they are, not that it came as a surprise to the citizens of Winchester.
There was even enough circumstantial evidence for the arrest of August and Vivian Lockwood for the death of Ryanne’s real mother, Abigail.
We have every intention of giving her the proper burial she deserves. Hopefully that will also give Ryanne some closure and she can put the bad memories of her upbringing behind her so she can start focusing on the much happier future I intend to give her.
The town blew up over the news of Toder’s and Derek’s deaths.
In the end, Craig came through for us and chalked it up to one of Derek’s shady dealings gone bad with Toder showing up at the wrong time.
I assume most know it’s bullshit and probably even know who did it.
A good reminder why to never fuck with our family.
Jameson was among the skeptics but never pressed the matter. By the time he saw the amount of shit those corrupt assholes had done he knew the world was better off without them. He ended up being a good guy and someone we can trust if we ever need the help again.
Craig has been appointed sheriff temporarily until the next election. I have no doubt he will come out on top and remain where he is now. He deserves it and Winchester will be a hell of a lot better off with him in charge.
Leaving the kitchen, I give my father and Hannah some time alone and head out onto the front porch where Knox sits alone, smoking a cigarette, looking like he’s about to come out of his skin. Guilt slams into me knowing I’m the cause of it.
I light up a cigarette of my own and take the spot next to him, close enough that our shoulders touch, a small sense of comfort washing over me. Brax and I always try to make it a point since we know it’s the only form of contact he gets.
“All packed up?” he asks, his gaze remaining on the flat land before us.
“Yeah.” The one word is all I can manage at the moment, the tightness in my chest restricting my throat.
“I get it, you know.” He takes a long drag of his cigarette, his eyes continuing to avoid mine. “I didn’t before but I do now. I saw it in the way you were with her that night. Ryanne is good for you and your family has to come first.”
“You’re my family, too,” I tell him. “Nothing will ever change that.”
He finally looks at me, revealing just how hard this is for him, the demons he fights daily exposed and punching me in the gut.
I hook a hand behind his neck, reeling him in close. “I’m here for you, man. You hear me? We might not be fighting those demons the same way anymore but it doesn’t change the fact that I love you and I’m here for you. Always, Knox. Brothers forever. Got it?”
He nods, expression solemn. “Yeah, I got it.”
Braxten steps out the front door just then, wearing nothing but his boxers, stretching and yawning. “What are you pansies up to out here?”
“Where the fuck are your clothes?” I ask. “My kid is inside.”
He smirks, lifting a brow. “Scared she’s gonna find out I have more muscles than you?”
I grunt, unamused by his smart ass, but have to admit I’ll miss him, the both of them, a lot.
He takes the spot beside me. “So you’re really leaving us, huh?”
“I’m not leaving you. I’ll be back to visit and you guys can come see us. I think you’ll like it there,” I say, though I’m not sure whom I’m trying to convince more, them or myself.
“Maybe but it’s not home.”
The word hangs between us, a reminder of just how much everything has changed. My brothers will always be my family and this my first home, but I have another family now and my home is wherever they are. I’ve never been more certain about that but it doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.
“I wanted it to work here,” I tell them, “I really did, but I can’t put Ryanne through any more. Everything changed after that fucker…” My words trail off as I find myself unable to say it, unable to think about it. If I could kill the bastard all over again I would.
“Hey, man, we understand,” Brax says. “It sucks but we get it and we want her to be happy, too. I’m just glad that fucker is burning in hell somewhere.”
“Along with Toder,” Knox grits. “I wish I could have made him suffer before driving that bullet into his skull.”
He and I both. If we had any idea those bastards were the ones responsible for the scars my father bears, bullets would have flown long ago, which is probably why he never told us.
Over the years we asked, especially the first time we saw him without his shirt on and realized just how deep those scars ran.
He was always tight-lipped about it. In the end we figured they came from the short time he was in the military, something he rarely spoke about.
Now that we know the truth, we’re left wondering why he never killed them from the start. It’s a conversation we will eventually broach with him, but for now, the last week has been enough on us all, including my father.
The front door swings open and out runs Hannah. Both Knox and I hurry to put out our cigarettes as she jumps on Braxten’s back, arms wrapping around his neck. “Uncle Brax, why are you naked?”
He flips her over his shoulder, making her cry out in laughter as he lays her across his lap. “Why are you so pretty?”
“It’s just the way I was born,” she says, making us all chuckle before turning her face my way. “Daddy, can I go with Papa to say goodbye to all the animals before we leave?”
“Yeah, baby. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” She sits up and lays a loud smacking kiss on my cheek then kisses her hand and places it on the side of Knox’s face before climbing off Braxten. “See ya later, alligators.” The words float behind her as she runs over to my dad, taking his hand and heading for the cows.
“Man, I’m really going to miss her,” Braxten says, his mouth set in a grim line.
I look over at Knox to see him touching the spot where Hannah’s hand just was, the emotions on his face as powerful as if she wrapped her arms around him, something she hasn’t done since that first night.
It’s as if she senses his boundaries on her own, ones she’s been testing daily.
It’s been good for him, but then again, she’s good for everyone.
Unable to sit here and wallow any longer, I clap Brax on the shoulder and stand. “I’ll be back, I’m going to check on Ryanne.” I leave them in silence, my feet taking me across the yard. As much as I would love to prolong the inevitable it will only make it harder.
Entering the house, I call out for her.
“I’m in the bathroom,” she answers, her voice muffled beyond the door. When she opens it, revealing herself, the heaviness that’s been weighing on me vanishes, everything righting in my world.
She’s all I need. Her and Hannah, and everything else will fall into place.
“You ready?” I ask.
She shakes her head, and it’s then I notice her troubled expression.
Concern has me pushing forward. “What is it? What’s wrong?
” I cup the side of her face, careful of the bruise that mars her cheek.
Her split lip is almost healed but the fading wound still has rage coursing through me every time I see it.
We haven’t spoken a lot about what that bastard did to her.
She hasn’t wanted to talk about it and I’ve respected that.
Instead, we’ve been focusing on ourselves and getting things back to the way they were.
“I don’t want to leave,” she reveals, gazing up at me softly. “I want to stay and make this work, and I know you do, too.”
If I knew her quietly spoken words weren’t for my sake, I’d be happy right now but I know better. I know exactly why she’s doing this. “We talked about this and the decision has been made. I’m not going to force you to stay here any longer.”
“You’re not. I mean it, Justice, I really want to stay.
I’ve been thinking a lot about it the last few days,” she says.
“Hannah is happy here. She’s already made a friend in Amelia and I have one in Jessica.
Something I haven’t had in years. And your family— our family,” she corrects herself, “I don’t want to leave them behind. ”
I search her face, her honesty staring back at me. “Where’s this coming from? What changed your mind?”
Biting her lip nervously, she grabs something off the counter and hands it to me. A white stick with two pink lines appearing in a small window.
“What’s this?” I ask, staring down at it in confusion.
“A pregnancy test.”
My eyes snap to hers, every muscle in my body stilling with hope. “What did you say?” Unsure if I heard her right.
A small smile claims her lips, the most genuine one I’ve seen on her in days. “I’m pregnant.”
It takes a moment for what she says to register, but once it does I sink to my knees before her, my hand slipping under her tank top and smoothing over her flat stomach. “My baby is in here?” The question barely makes it past my throat.
She nods, tears forming in her eyes.
I lean in, pressing my lips to her soft skin. I’ve never wanted to worship and cherish a part of her body more than I do in this moment.