Chapter 34
Nearly four months had passed since we’d come back to Tennessee. Aspen had finished school and passed into the next grade. She was moving into the second grade, and we celebrated her birthday two months ago; she turned seven.
Quinn was working with Benji, getting everything going.
Ravik had a lot of businesses that he ran, with the help of the pack members running them.
Quinn and Raphael had helped Ravik out enough to know how most of the things operated.
Benji did too, and between the three of them, they were able to share what they each knew.
Benji had finally gotten the hang of everything in the last month.
He was trying to work on getting out into the dating scene, but balancing his new role seemed hard.
The last four months had brought a lot of peace, but also a lot of sorrow.
My mother and Paxton hadn’t done anything to work on themselves.
I’d tried to get someone to come over and talk with them, but they kicked them out the door.
I wanted to help them, but I refused to drown myself doing it.
I no longer brought Aspen over for visits because neither of them could stay sober for the entire visit.
I was still unsettled about something. I felt free.
I knew I was free. I knew this was my home, but it didn’t feel like home like the cabin had.
I called Callie and Lina every other day.
Callie would share her adventures around Louisiana and catching up with various family members.
Lina would share about teaching Callie and how wonderful it was to teach future midwives.
She would casually mention how it would be nice to add another one on.
Quinn’s birthday was coming up at the end of this month—June thirtieth. Our birthdays were a week apart. He’d mentioned going to Louisiana for our birthdays.
Quinn had been gone all day helping Benji handle an issue with one of the businesses.
Aspen had been playing, running in and out.
She found a friend in one of the neighbors.
They were a little older than her, but they got along.
She would play with her for a little while before making her way home, sit with me for a bit, then run off again.
Quinn came home around midday, and Aspen ran across the yards and slammed into him, gripping his legs before he made it inside the door.
I stood at the doorway. My favorite thing was to greet him with a hug and a kiss as soon as he got home.
No matter our moods, we vowed to take the time for each other. To show each other love, regardless.
Aspen had run off again to play; she was a fickle little thing. I was happy to see her happy and thriving. Tantrums were almost a thing of the past, and nightmares were a rarity.
Quinn sat down on the couch and pulled me into his arms.
“How was your day, love?” he said.
“Good, the same ol’. She has been playing with her friends most of the day, but she would run back here and give me cuddles, then run off again,” I said.
“Have you thought much more about our birthday trip?” he asked.
“What if… we just… moved there?” I asked.
“Move there? Like, stay there forever?”
“I don’t want to say forever, because that feels sooo permanent, but like for a long while,” I said.
“What prompted this?” he asked.
“Something I’ve been thinking on a lot lately,” I said.
“Hmm…”
“What’s hmm?” I asked.
“Just funny you said that, because I’ve thought about it a lot since we came back here, just never thought you would agree to it, so I wasn’t gonna mention it,” he said.
“Well, that’s silly, to never bring it up,” I told him.
“Maybe, but if you didn’t want to go, I was fine staying here,” he said.
“I just don’t think there is anything here for me…” I said.
“What about your mom? Your brother?” he asked.
“If they ever decided to get better, then I’d bring Aspen here for visits, but right now, they aren’t my responsibility. Aspen and I are,” I said.
“When were you thinking?” he said.
“Whenever you wanted,” I replied. “I miss Callie and Lina. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss them, but I really do.”
“I, too, miss them both, so I understand,” he said.
“It’s not that I don’t feel like this is my home, but something is missing. I felt more at home there, and now that we’re truly free… I want to really feel at home,” I told him.
“The biggest weight just lifted off of my chest,” he said.
“Mine too… obviously, I wasn’t going without you, but I just feel like it’s the right thing for both of us,” I told him.
“I’m going to call Lina,” he exclaimed.
Everything started to move quickly. During dinner that evening, we talked with Aspen about moving and how she felt. She was ecstatic and wanted to leave right then.
Quinn left to shift two days later. That evening, I’d spent hours on the phone talking to Lina.
She’d been ecstatic about us coming to stay for good.
So much so that she’d already found us a three-bedroom home to rent that was close to her house.
Quinn told her that he preferred a three-bedroom, but a two-bedroom would also work.
He tasked her and Callie with finding a home that was suitable for us.
While the cabin was amazing, and we both loved it, we both agreed that with Aspen, we needed a little bit more space than one bedroom.
Lina said the house would be ready to move into in five days.
I wasn’t sure if Quinn was quite ready to move that fast or not.
Was I ready to move that fast? Was that enough time to get everything wrapped up?
We didn’t really have anything that was pressing.
It was summer, and Aspen wasn’t in school.
Quinn didn’t work a formal job. I stayed home.
We didn’t have much in the house, and Quinn had already said the house could be packed in a day with some of the pack members helping.
My mind raced with questions as I fell asleep.
I woke up to the smell of breakfast, which was quite the usual post-shift. He often woke me up by cooking breakfast. He stated that sometimes he would sleep while he was in his wolf form, and other times he didn’t. Sometimes the pack played games in the woods, stalking and hunting each other.
“Good morning, my love,” I told him, as I walked into the kitchen.
He turned around and flashed me a smile. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“I talked to Lina last night,” I said.
“You talk to her every night I shift,” he said, and then laughed.
“True,” I said, before letting out a small laugh. “They already found us a house, a three-bedroom.”
“Oh?” he said.
“It’s ready for us on Friday.”
“This Friday?”
“Yeah, I guess she’s eager,” I said.
“I’m fine with going then, but are you ready that soon?” he asked.
“I mean, I don’t really have anything tying me here,” I said.
“What about your mom and Aspen?” he asked.
“She doesn’t have any say over her once the judge granted me full custody last month.
I have the right to allow her visitation on my terms. I’ll send them a letter with our new number once we move, and if she gets sober, then we can always bring Aspen for a visit and visit our friends,” I said.
Quinn had paid for a lawyer, and apparently, knowing the judge had benefits.
“And your friends?”
“Maggie and Josie have barely talked to me since we got back. They are spending their time partying… and that’s not me anymore. And Brenden isn’t a relationship that benefits me,” I said.
“Okay… then it’s settled. I’ll get a truck, and I’ll have a handful of the guys over to pack our stuff,” he said.
“My delicates are off limits,” I said, flashing him a wink.
“They wouldn’t dare.”
I joined in and helped him finish cooking breakfast. We had finished putting food on plates for the three of us when Aspen stumbled into the dining room, hair a mess, sniffing the air.
“Good morning, sweet girl,” I said.
She headed to her chair and plopped down.
“Sooooo… Aspen, are you ready to move in two days?” Quinn asked.
Her head perked up really quickly. “Two days?” she shot out.
My eyes also widened slightly. This was real. Very real and happening very quickly.
“Yep. We will pack up all of our stuff today and tomorrow, and then get there Thursday night and get into our new home on Friday,” Quinn said.
“YES!” she shouted out.
“Then it’s been decided,” he said.
The next two days flew by. After we had breakfast, Quinn started calling some friends and working on plans. Our largest obstacle was that we had three vehicles to take down there, and Quinn wanted us to all ride together.
After going back and forth, he came up with a plan. Hyder was going to drive the moving truck with another friend of theirs. They would dolly my car up in the moving truck. We would tow the Civic with our truck. Then, like when Hyder helped Callie, he would return, bringing the moving truck back.
Within hours, we had a moving truck in front of our house.
Various people were coming in, packing, and moving things.
We left some clothes and our mattresses to load up the morning that we left.
While the guys were loading all of the heavy things in, Aspen and I went into town to get some small activities for her to do on the car ride.
We also got some snacks and drinks for her.
She picked coloring books and some Barbie dolls.
If Quinn had been here, she probably would have walked out with a lot more. He didn’t want to admit it, but she had him wrapped around her fingers more than me. He didn’t let her run over either of us, either, but he also didn’t tell her no when it came to buying her toys or snacks.
Thursday morning arrived quickly. We had been moving nonstop since we made the decision. Quinn decided to let Hyder rent the Tennessee house out. Hyder mentioned letting Daxyn be his roommate so that he could get some independence.