Chapter 32
I’m cuddled up on the couch in front of the fireplace with Pumpkin when West gets back.
A storm started about an hour ago, and I’ve been watching the rain drizzle down the big window panes, thinking about what to do.
I know who’s been watching me. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to remember the car.
I guess it was just a part of my past I tried to forget.
I know the right thing to do is tell West. But I’m scared. I never thought this day would come. Where I would have to tell my story. I think about calling Nick. He’ll know what to do.
“Sorry I’m late.” West bends down, giving me a soft kiss.
“It’s okay.” I smile up at him.
“I brought dinner. Come on, let’s go eat.”
I get up off the couch, following West into the kitchen, where I sit down and reach for a slice of the pizza he brought.
“So, I have to ask you something, and I don’t want you to be alarmed,” West says once we’ve got settled.
My body stills, and I think this is it. He knows.
“O-Okay,” I stutter, bracing for what he’s about to ask.
“Do you remember that day you found that necklace on your porch?”
Not at all what I was expecting, I relax and nod. Of course I remember. That was the very first day he kissed me.
“Did you ever ask Harper if it belonged to her?”
I shake my head. “No, it sort of slipped my mind. How come?”
West places down his burger and looks at me intently. “You mentioned finding other jewelry too?”
“West, what’s going on?”
He scrubs his jaw and sighs. “One of our victims has been identified. Her name was Rachel Murphy.”
I chew my food, waiting for him to elaborate. Is this name supposed to be someone I recognize? I swallow my bite. “I don’t understand.”
“RM.”
“R…M?” I question, entirely lost by this conversation. And then it hits me. I feel my face drain of colour, and I gasp. “Oh God.”
West reaches out and grips my hand in his.
“Y-you don’t think that other ring could have been from another victim, do you?” I ask, afraid of what he’s going to say.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s looking that way, though.”
“What does this mean?” My voice cracks, and my mind whirls. This can’t be a coincidence. It has to be Adam.
I’m restless and unsettled for the rest of the evening. When we finally crawl into bed, I drift off with a heavy mind.
I’m snuggled into West’s chest when my hand grazes something cold and wet. Opening my eyes, I let out a terrified scream as I take in his blood-covered body and empty eyes. I scoot back from the bed, and a shadow steps out from the corner of the room.
“What did you do?!” I scream as Adam stalks closer.
An evil smile spreads across his face. “What I told you before, Hadley. If I can’t have you. No one can.”
He lunges, and I scream.
“Jade. Jade, wake up, baby.”
My eyes snap open, and as they adjust to the room and West above me, my rapidly racing heart slows down. It was just a dream.
“Hey, you’re all right. I’m here. It was just a dream.” West’s voice soothes me, and I begin to cry at the thought of losing him.
“I got you.” He cradles me into his arms and plays with my hair until I eventually drift back off.
I roll over, turning into a hard wall of warmth, and it takes me a moment to realize the wall is West. My eyes shoot open, and I gasp as I remember the dream from last night.
I watch the rise and fall of his chest and relax.
Snuggling into him, he snakes his arm around me and I peek over at the clock when I see the sun only just beginning to rise.
It’s 5a.m. Giving up on falling back asleep, I let my mind spiral.
I need to tell West about my past and who I am. If this is really Adam, and he has found me, I can’t put the people I’ve grown to love in danger. I won’t do it again. I don’t think I could survive a second time if anything happened to them.
I have loved the life I’ve built here in Lavender Falls, and I am so incredibly proud of what Sarah and I have accomplished with the bakery, but if I need to run and leave it all behind, I will. I’m not risking their lives. And I know that if I asked for help, Nick would come.
When the sun has risen and shines through the bedroom window, I quietly creep from bed and head downstairs to take solace out on the patio.
The birds chirp and the river flows by, creating a little piece of heaven while I think about what to do. I have fallen so in love with West, and it would kill me to walk away from this. But is it better for me to tell him the truth and put him at risk? Or should I run now before it’s all too late?
The slide of the patio door has me glancing up to the top of the deck, where I see West step outside carrying a mug of coffee.
“You weren’t in bed,” he says, handing me the cup. “Here, let me start a fire. Everything is damp out here. Are you cold?”
I snuggle into the blanket I brought with me and shake my head. “The cool air feels nice.”
“I hope you got some sleep last night?’ he questions, sitting down next to me.
“Sorry about that,” I apologize, feeling embarrassed.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Not right now.” I smile sadly, nestling into him.
We sit in silence, enjoying the calm of the morning as I look out at the water and let my worries go for another day.
It’s a quiet day. West and I spend most of it in his room lost in one another.
After Mason, I wasn’t sure I’d ever have this kind of intimacy, but West has kept his word.
He worships my body and makes me feel beautiful, scars and all.
I’m not sure how I will give this up. In such a short amount of time, West has got me to open up in more ways than I ever imagined.
He is the kindest man with the biggest heart, and I fear that he is going to hate me when he learns that I’ve been lying to him.
Warm, strong arms, wrap around me and I lean into him.
“It smells amazing in here,” he says, peeking over my shoulder.
We’ve been invited over to Cade’s house for dinner tonight, so I thought I’d make a pie to bring.
I chose to do a lemon blueberry after West mentioned it being Cade’s favourite.
I finish adding the blueberries to the top, and then with a few hours to spare, we spend the rest of the afternoon back in West’s bedroom entangled in each other.
Since Cade just lives across the road, West pulls out his side-by-side for a quick ride there.
I haven’t been in a side-by-side since I was a teenager.
I forgot how much fun it was to feel the wind in your hair.
Pie secure on my lap, we pull up in front of Cade’s house and I notice a few others parked next to ours.
My stomach sinks at the realization this might be the last time I see his family. I feel like I’m deceiving them all and my stomach rolls with guilt and shame.
Hopping out of the side-by-side, I place my feet on the gravel road and look up in awe at Cade’s place. His house is just as beautiful as West’s, but in a totally different way.
I’ve seen it a handful of times from the road, but never up close.
Nestled on rows and rows of rolling fields sits a stunning two story white farmhouse with black trimmings and a big wrap-around deck.
There is a giant two bay garage on one side and a red barn on the other.
Though I don’t see any animals, the driveway is lined with white fencing.
“Yay! Uncle West is here!” shouts a tiny voice that I recognize as West’s niece.
The kids come barreling around the house, launching themselves into West’s arms.
“Hey, you little tornadoes. You remember Jade?” West asks, turning them around to face me.
“Hi, Jade,” the little boy, Hudson greets me.
“Hi!” Maysie says, sliding down to the ground and wrapping her tiny little arms around my legs. I blink down at the little girl and smile. She’s got bright-blue eyes and a tangle of blonde hair in what I presume was once a braid.
“Hello, you two.” I grin at both children. “I sure like your tutu, Maysie.”
She glances down at her pink bodysuit and fluffy skirt before giving a twirl. “Thanks!”
“Okay, you little ballerina, let’s head inside, shall we?” West redirects the children, and Hudson walks hand in hand with West while Maysie twirls and chasses to the steps.
“Hey, Jade?” Maysie questions, coming to a stop at the top of the porch.
“Yes, Maysie?”
“Do you think I could be the flower girl at your wedding to my uncle?”
I let out a strangled choke, my feet stuttering, catching on a step. West grabs my arm and pie, quickly steadying me so I don’t fall or drop it.
“You guys are getting married?” Hudson asks, eyes flitting back and forth between West and me.
Unable to form words, I stand there frozen. West gets down to eye level and pulls both kids forward. “Jade is just my girlfriend for right now, but I promise when there is a wedding, we would love to have you two be a part of it, okay?”
My heart beats at his words.
“Okay,” both kids say in unison before shrugging and heading inside.
“You good?” West asks with a smirk.
“Yeah. Mhm. Good.”
“Come on.” He chuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”
After saying hello to everyone, Wren drags me outside where we take a seat on the big swing that hangs from the roof of the porch.
“How you doing, Jade?”
I look out at the landscape, unsure how to answer. I’m scared, confused, and most of all, so damn happy.
“I’m okay.” I sigh after a few minutes of collecting my thoughts.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but you’re safe with West. He’ll protect you if you need protecting.”
I kick my feet, making the swing move. I haven’t told Wren, or anyone for that matter, how I feel about West, but I’m sure she can sense it. “I feel safe with him. There is no other place I’d want to be.”
She smiles and pulls me to her side. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
A few moments later, Cade hollers, “Dinner’s ready!”
Filing into the kitchen, we each go to take a seat when Maisey waves her little arms in the air. “Jade! Over here. Will you sit beside me?” she asks, patting the empty spot next to her.
I smile and make my way over there. “Why, I’d love to”
We’re halfway through our meal when a loud meow has West jolting beside me.
“What the fuck is that thing doing in the house?” West glares at his brother.
“Uh-oh,” Maysie says under her breath, leaning into me. “Medusa isn’t allowed in the house when Uncle West is here. He’s scared of her.”
I giggle behind my fork when a giant orange ball darts under the table. The cat is a beautiful orange Persian that has a bunch of hair clips in its fur.
“Cade!” West shouts, bringing his feet up onto his chair. “Get that fucking demon cat out of here!”
“Kids.” Cade glowers. “Who let Medusa into the house?”
“She needed to go to the salon, Daddy. Doesn’t she look beautiful?” Maysie asks excitedly next to me, making me giggle.
“Outside. Now, Maysie.”
“I’ll get her,” I say, pushing away from the table.
“Baby, you don’t wanna do that. She will bite your face off,” West says, placing a hand on my arm.
“Jade isn’t a baby, Uncle West.” Little brows furrow on Maysie’s face, and the table chuckles, making my cheeks heat.
“It’s okay. I’ve got it,” I say, getting down onto my hands and knees.
“Hey there, sweet girl,” I say to the cat that’s curled up under Wren’s chair.
“If that cat bites her, it’s dead,” I hear West tell his brother, and I roll my eyes, focusing on getting closer to Medusa. She sniffs my hand and then nudges it with her head. I stroke her fur until she purrs, and then I scoop her into my arms, and pull her out from under the table.
“You aren’t so bad are you sweetheart?” I coo into her fur.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Beau says.
“Jade, don’t trust that thing,” West says, looking at me with wide eyes.
“Awe, she isn’t so bad. Just looking for attention,” I tell the table.
“The kids are the only ones she allows to pick her up,” Wren says, looking at the cat in my arms. “I once had to get stitches from trying to pick her up.”
Hayes reaches out to pet it, and the cat curls into my chest, hissing.
“See!” West shouts.
“Okay, I’ll put her outside.” I chuckle, sliding the glass door open and setting her down.
Once I’m seated back at the table, Hayes speaks up. “So, baby, hey?”
“Hayes. You leave your brother alone,” Astrid scolds her youngest son.
“Why does everyone keep saying baby?” Maysie asks, her little face scrunched in confusion. “Does Jade have a baby in her belly?”
If my cheeks weren’t red already, they are definitely scarlet now.
“No, sweetie. It’s just a term of endearment. Like how Papa calls me hunny,” Astrid explains to the little girl.
She thinks about it then shrugs, already over it. “Did Uncle West tell you I get to be a flower girl at his and Jade’s wedding?”
All eyes around the table go wide as they look between me and West, who’s rubbing his hands down in his face.
“Maysie daisy, we already talked about this. Jade and I aren’t getting married right now.”
“Right now? So there is a chance?” Hayes drawls, holding back a laugh.
“Knock it off, bonehead. Your brother is going to have a stroke here. Leave him alone,” Beau scolds, smacking the side of Hayes’s head.
“So, what’s for dessert?” Wren asks, saving West and I from this awkward conversation.
“Jade brought pie,” Cade says, getting up.
We all help clear the table and put away the dirty dishes before sitting back down for pie.
“Oh my, Jade. This is delightful,” Astrid compliments around a spoonful of the pie.
Just then, West’s phone rings, halting all talk.
“Sorry, I gotta take this,” he says, stepping away.
A moment later, the sliding glass door is whipped open as West’s eyes land on Cade.
“It’s Natalie,” he says in shock. “She’s awake.”