Pieces For You (44 page)

“Trying to set the bar low so I won’t disappoint.  I’m going to warm up some broth for you and get your next round of pain meds.”

Meg grabbed my hand when I turned to leave, whispering, “Thank you.”

I nodded and continued toward the kitchen.  It felt good to focus on someone other than myself, not as a form of escape, but to help another person in need.  My past was no longer controlling me; it didn’t consume my every thought and emotion.  I had finally reached a point in my recovery that I’d healed enough to reach out and support those who supported me…and it felt incredible.

"I'm an optimist, brought up on the belief that if you wait to the end of the story, you get to see the good people live happily ever after."  -Cat Stevens

It was three weeks post-surgery and Meg was recovering well.  Griffin and I still had to scold her for trying to lift anything heavier than a mug of coffee, but the doctor was pleased with her prognosis.  I knew she was trying to do everything she was physically capable of to compensate for the rent-free living arrangements.  I turned a blind eye to her emptying the dishwasher and wiping down the kitchen counters because I knew she felt she needed to contribute for the sake of her pride, but I was forced to lay down the law when I caught her trying to clean the bathroom two weeks after surgery.

Griffin had been helping in every way possible by refilling prescriptions, grocery shopping, and getting rid of Meg’s old furniture, with her blessing.  We were finally going to spend the night at his house to enjoy some alone time.  I was excited to take a break and just be us.  I didn’t mind helping Meg, nor did Griffin.  Both of us were guiltlessly indebted to her—she had, after all, saved my life—but I was tired of having sex on mute.  It was distracting trying to remain quiet.  I was looking forward to a night of uninhibited wild monkey love at maximum volume. 

We were saying our goodbyes to Meg, who was lounging on the couch, when the doorbell rang.  Needless to say, we weren’t expecting company.  Griffin and I both headed for the door, eager to get rid of whatever obstacle dared to threaten our plans.  My socks skidded on the wood floors and I crashed into Griffin.

“Whoa, love,” he said while steadying me.  “In a rush?”

“Like you’re not?  Please.”

With a laugh, he opened the door to Hunter and Everleigh’s smiling faces. 

“Hi guys, we were driving by on our way home and decided to say ‘hi,’” Ev said.

Griffin invited them in and we all exchanged hugs and greetings.  I hoped they weren’t expecting us to hang around for long…it wasn’t gonna happen.

“Did you two have plans for the evening?” Ev asked, while toying with her hair in a very un-Ev-like fashion.

“Actually, we were just headed out.  Date night,” Griffin replied.

“Babe, we’re interrupting their plans,” Ev said to Hunter, stroking his chest.

“That’s okay, we can hang out for a few minutes,” I replied. 

What was with her?  She was acting like a complete spaz.  Beside me, Griffin chuckled.  Okay, I was clearly missing something.

“Oh my, I’m so tired,” Ev said, covering her mouth for a dramatic yawn.

Holy mother of all that is sparkly!  There on her left hand was a gorgeous rock.  And not just any rock…an elegant emerald-cut diamond with a simple baguette on each side of the delicate white gold band.  It had to be at least two carats—Hunter did me proud.

“Ohmygod!”  I squealed.

“I wanna see, too.  Don’t make the invalid get up…bring the party to me,” Meg called from the great room.

I turned to Hunter, grabbing Ev’s hand and holding it in front of his face.  “This is a job well done,” I said, shaking Ev’s hand for emphasis.  “I’ll even forgive you for not asking my permission first.”

“Uh, Sam, it’s attached and I’m rather fond of my hand,” Ev said in defense of the limb I had claimed.

“Sorry, I would have asked your blessing, but you would have blown the surprise,” Hunter said apologetically.

“I would not!”

“Lo-baby, you would have,” Griffin said as he pried Ev’s hand from my clutches.

“Wait a freaking minute…you knew?” I said, turning to Griffin, shocked he’d withheld such huge news from me.  “And you didn’t tell me?”

“Couldn’t break the guy code on this one, love.  Besides, you would have slipped and never forgiven yourself for ruining the surprise.”

“How did he ask…tell me everything.”

Ev opened her mouth to speak when we heard a grunt from the other room. 

“One sec, Meg will want to hear, too,” I said.

When we entered the great room, we found Meg standing next to the couch, looking breathless and pained.

“Told you it was too soon to stop taking the pain medication,” I told her.

“Thanks, Nurse Ratchet,” Meg replied testily.

“See what a difficult patient she is…such a grump,” I teased.  In reality, any display of grumpiness was a rarity with Meg.

A pillow came whizzing toward my face but was snatched from the air seconds before impact.  I leaned over and pulled Griffin’s mouth to mine, rewarding his heroics with a kiss.

“Okay, spill it,” I prompted Ev.

“We found a house we both loved and made an offer a few days ago—which was rejected.  I was bummed because the place was perfect…for several reasons.  Hunter didn’t feel we should increase our offer, so we walked away from it,” Ev said, sticking out her lip in a pout.  “We agreed only to buy if we both loved it and were comfortable with the price.  I was bummed—that house was freakin’ perfect—so Hunter took me to dinner last night to cheer me up.  Maroni’s was incredible, by the way.  After dinner, he drove to the house and made me follow him to the porch.”

“She kept arguing with me that I was going to get us arrested.  I had to remind her that the house was vacant, and I’m an FBI agent,” Hunter said, clearly entertained by Ev’s concern.

“Anyway…he said he just wanted to look in the window.  I thought he was reconsidering our offer.  Next thing I know he’s carrying me through the front door.  There were candles and flowers everywhere, and ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ was playing…the Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina version, my favorite.  He got down on one knee and took my hands.  Then he promised to help fill the house with a lifetime of memories, children, and love if I would agree be his wife.”

Tears gathered in my eyes as I pictured the scene.  It was the proposal, life, and happily-ever-after she deserved.

“I said yes, of course.  Then he explained that our offer
was
accepted and we were officially in contract.  He lied to me so he could propose in our future home.  He’s lucky the realtor and current owners are romantics and accommodated his grand plan.”

“This is amazing.  You are engaged
and
found the house of your dreams!  Griff, grab a bottle of champagne.  We have to toast!” I said.  “Now, tell me about the house.”

Ev and Hunter exchanged a secretive smile.

“It’s a colonial, four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths.  The backyard is perfect for kids,” Ev said.

“And it’s very close to Higher Yearning, which will make it easy for Ev,” Hunter added.

“The best part is the neighborhood.  All the neighbors seem amazing.  We saw a ton of young families when we were there.  There’s only one house a few doors down from us that seems questionable,” Ev added.

Griffin’s laughter filtered in from the kitchen.

“What am I missing?” Meg and I asked in unison.

“We’re going to be Griffin’s neighbors…well, a block away, but still pretty close,” Ev said.

Meg, Griffin, and I spent the next hour celebrating with the happy couple, but we eventually made our previously planned escape.  Griffin pointed out Huntleigh’s new house when we drove past, and I was pleased to see it was as perfect as they had described.  We spent the rest of the night privately celebrating all of the joys and blessings life had provided us.  We didn’t accomplish my goal of destroying every room in the house that night, but we certainly made a good effort.

The next three months passed in a whirlwind of activity—my graduation from Hensley, planning Ev’s wedding (a traditional affair at the insistence of Hunter’s family), helping Huntleigh move, and my enrollment in culinary school…it’s been one event or project after another.  Griffin and I stole as many moments as possible, greedy for one another’s undivided attention.  Without the distraction of serial killers, threats, and hit men, we were able to focus on our relationship, learning all the pieces of one another and how they fit together.  I fell deeper in love with Griffin every single day.  He never failed to prove his love and commitment to me in both action and words.  Each time I swore I couldn’t fall any further, a new piece of him would be revealed and I’d plummet deeper, welcoming every second of the free-fall.  Our bond, the blend of commitment, respect, and love, was the epoxy Griff had likened us to months ago.  

I only saw Thia once a month and most of our sessions were spent catching up and addressing minor issues that arose between sessions. 

Meg made a full recovery and became a fully integrated member of our clan.  She came to The Stop every Thursday and was always around to grab coffee or dinner.  She was not only my roommate, but a dear friend.  She made every effort to show her appreciation, despite my assurances that she was not a burden.  She never offered an explanation for the hovel she had been living in or her financial difficulties, and I didn’t push—she would tell me when she was ready.  She was usually so happy and carefree, it was easy to forget the secret we had witnessed.

Hunter came over one day to warn me that the SEC was preparing to announce Mr. Whitney’s arrest and forthcoming indictment.  It wasn’t a surprise; we all knew the time was coming, but I was apprehensive of the media firestorm.  I knew I wouldn’t escape their attention completely, no matter what precautions I took.  Thankfully, my procedural hearing to legally change my name was scheduled for the next week.  My lawyer was confident the judge would waive the requirement to publish the name change prior to it becoming official, in light of the circumstances.  This time next week, I would be Samantha Melany Carsen.  I decided to also forgo my middle names, which were traditional Whitney names, and take Meme’s first name instead.  Ev was incredibly supportive when I told her about my selected names, reminding me that we had always been sisters and the name change was only an outward symbol of what we already knew.  The irony was that we would only share the last name for a few months before Ev became Everleigh Rose Charles.

The media coverage of the-jackass-formerly-known-as-my-father’s Ponzi scheme was out of control.  For months, I couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing his face.  Any interest in me faded quickly, until news of his attempt to kill me was leaked.  Once again I was thrust into the spotlight and, while it was a nuisance, the coverage provided a platform for me to advocate for reform to protect women on college campuses and increase university accountability.  Griffin supported me every step of the way without complaining about the circus my life had become.  Eventually, after he was sentenced to life without parole, public interest died down.

Through it all, I never heard from my mother.  Not. A. Word.  There was a small part of me that had hoped she would approach me to make amends once she was free of my father’s influence, but that never occurred.  I couldn’t bring myself to contact her.  While she was innocent of the attempt on my life, her years of abandonment were impossible for me to forget.  Maybe one day I would be ready to speak with her, but I was not there yet.

We were lying in bed early one morning, my body draped across Griffin’s as usual, when his sexy voice interrupted my silent enjoyment of his company.

“You know what I was thinking the other day?” Griffin asked.

“What?” I mumbled into his chest, too relaxed to engage in guessing games.

“We never made it to Turks and Caicos.”

That’s right, he had mentioned us taking a vacation months ago, after I had received the last threat.  So much had happened since then, I’d completely forgotten.