Page 14 of Tattered Souls (Whispering Falls #2)

Garrick

I stood there as I washed my hands at the sink in the kitchen.

If this had been any other woman, I would have told her to call her girls.

But this was Tatum.

My Tink.

The woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with.

I heard Tatum walking down the hall from the spare bedroom. Yeah, she wouldn’t be in there for long.

I turned my head once I dried my hands off and saw she was in some black cut-off shorts with rips in them, her dark blue Converse, and a tight dark blue tank top.

Thankful as fuck, the island blocked my lower half, and I had time to run engine specs through my brain to get my dick to stand down.

Yeah, it’s been almost a year and a half since I got laid, ever since the night I met Tatum for the first time.

And I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

She saw me and smiled. “So, I’m ready. What’s the plan for today?”

I’ve been waiting ever since she opened the cards.

I wanted her to be completely healed so she could enjoy today.

I told her to clear her day today because we were doing something.

Dom had the garage this week, because after everything went down with Tatum, I took the week off as vacation time.

Would it have been nice to get away for a few days?

Sure.

But would it have been better than spending time with Tatum?

Not even fucking close.

I winked, “You got the gift cards?”

She shook her head, then her eyes flared.

I winked, “Go get ‘em.”

“Garrick,” she said softly.

I shook my head. “Don’t know you as well as I’d like. But I’m going to. And I figure that you're embarrassed, and you won’t use ‘em unless you absolutely have to, and then you’ll more than likely feel like shit because of it. Am I right?”

She sighed, then ran her fingers through her hair, causing the strands to shimmer as the sun that was coming through the windows hit them.

“You're not going to let this go. Are you?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Negative. Go on, baby. Go get ‘em.”

Her eyes widened, and I knew why.

That was the first time I called her baby, yeah, she liked it. My woman liked it a lot.

Noted.

Once she had all the gift cards, yes, I asked her to make sure she did.

I headed to the front door as I tagged my keys to my SUV.

I opened the door, and a man was standing there with his fist up, about to knock, with his other hand in his jeans pocket.

He had black hair, a mustache, and fuck me, he looked like the woman I was in love with.

Tatum was at my back, and I felt her tense.

I knew who this motherfucker was, and he had a date he didn’t know about.

“Step back from me, baby, don’t want you to get hurt,” I said.

Tatum moved to the side to my left.

Fucking perfect.

My arm was up, and my fist was in his face.

There you go.

There’s your date with my fist in your face.

The man brought his hand up to his nose, which was now gushing blood.

The white shirt he had on that had seen better days with holes in the bottom of it, had the goddamn balls to say, “Deserved that.”

I growled, “No, motherfucker, you deserve worse.”

The man sighed, then, through a bloody nose, he said, “I just want to talk.”

“No. You don’t get to speak to her. You don’t get to look at her. As far as she’s concerned, you're nothing but a sperm donor.”

“I deserved that, but despite what you think, she’s still my girl.”

I shook my head. “No. She’s mine.”

That was when the man sneered, after he wiped the blood from his nose with his shirt.

“I can make it to where I get her away from you,” he said.

I grinned, evilly with a look I only reserve for motherfuckers who are very close to meeting their maker, “They’ll put my body in a body bag before I allow you anywhere near her.”

He read my tone.

He read my face.

Then his body sagged.

He sighed, “Knew I fucked up with her. With her brother. Just didn’t realize how bad. Doc told me I had six months after I got out of jail. Told me I needed to make peace with my demons. Couldn’t find Granger to do that, but I will. Came here first.”

I growled, “Next thing you can do is to stop talking.”

Then my woman opened her mouth and said, “Like everything in our lives, you didn’t care. All you care about is your booze and your drugs.”

He opened his mouth, but my woman beat him to it. “Granger passed away a few months ago.”

The man actually looked shocked. “Oh, umm. I didn’t... I... I didn’t know that.”

“And before you ask, which I know you're going to do. He didn’t leave you anything.” My woman said.

I grinned inwardly. Yeah, my little kitten had claws.

The man, whose name I didn’t know, didn’t fucking want to know, had the nerve to look slightly sullen.

This motherfucker.

I moved and got right in his face.

He backed up a step, and I said, “We don’t give a fuck.

You’ve been gone. Stay gone. You pass on, fucking do it knowing your son died to save his best friend.

You go knowing that my woman is happy. And she got that way because she finally had enough of having men put their fucking hands on her who didn’t deserve to even breathe in her air.

But also, because I’m going to make it that way.

Now, get the fuck off my property and out of my woman’s breathing room. ”

I stood there as I watched his face, his brain processing things.

He looked at me, then to my side. He finally did the smartest thing of his life. He turned around, walked down our porch steps, and then climbed into a beater and drove off.

I watched him leave, then turned my head to look down at Tatum, and I winked. “You ready, Tink?”

She nodded.

Five hours later, nine stores, and my woman had used the gift cards.

Most of it went like this.

“You like it, get it,” I said.

“But where would I wear it?” she asked.

“Around the house. Around town. To fucking Timbuktu for all I care. You like it, get it.”

Or it went like this.

“Do you like this?” she asked.

I nodded, “Yeah, baby. Like it a lot.”

She would smile.

Or it also went like this.

“Sir, can I help you?” the woman at the store asked.

I nodded, “Yeah, you can treat my woman like they do in Pretty Woman and bend to her will. Make her smile. That’s all I care about.”

It also went like this... which was my favorite.

The woman walked over to us and smiled up at me. “Hi there, handsome. How can I assist you?”

“You can assist us by not batting your shitty excuse of eyelash extensions at him,” Tatum growled.

Every time that happened, I had to hold back a chuckle.

We had taken all her new things back to the house, and she told me that tonight was girls’ night.

I knew that Carter would be there to keep an eye on Harlee and the rest of the women. Mom and Dad had Granger.

It looked like he had a hand tonight.

Once Tatum changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a glittery gold top that looked amazing on her, we headed to Virgin Mary’s.

It was about an hour or so into the night when I looked from what Carter was saying to where the girls were.

I narrowed my eyes at the fucker who was about to lose the ability to see and talk. Hell, if I was feeling charitable, he’d lose the use of his dick too.

My woman had already told him twice that she wasn’t interested.

And then, the fucker did it. He leaned forward again, and that was when I’d had enough.

I set my bottle down, stood, and then headed over to the bar where she was standing with Harlee, Lila, Talia, and Everly.

I wrapped my arms around Tatum’s waist and felt her body relax into mine.

It’s alright, baby. I’m right here.

Bending my neck, I placed a kiss on the top of her head. Then I looked at the fucker, and asked, “Problem?”

He paled, shook his head, and then moved away.

Oh, but that wasn’t enough.

Moving Tatum so she was behind me, I stepped forward and then crowded into the bastard’s space. “Saw my woman point at me, twice. Saw her tell you no, twice. She has to do it another time. I’m going to enjoy beating the ever-loving shit out of you. We clear?”

The man had the good sense to nod, and then he moved away.

I turned back to Tatum, bent my neck, and pressed a kiss on the top of her head and said, “Have fun, baby.”

Then I moved back to the table, only for Carter to smirk at me, and as I sat down, he said, “Like this side of you.”

Birdie came by then, smiled at us, then set a drink down in front of me. “Your woman told me exactly how to make this drink and asked me to bring this to you.”

“Did she actually call herself my woman?” I asked.

Birdie grinned, “She sure did. Said since you claimed her, it was only fair that she claimed you back.”

I grinned, then looked at Tatum, who looked nervous and was biting her lip.

I winked at her, and then brought the glass to my lips, and took a sip.

I stilled.

No. fucking. Way.

How the fuck had she remembered that?

It was the drink I made the first time I met her.

I took another sip, making sure I was right.

And I was.

Tatum didn’t know it, but she just ensured my brain started designing a ring.

My ring.

On a very important finger.

Didn’t matter that I hadn’t kissed her yet.

Didn’t matter that I hadn’t felt my dick being hugged by her pussy.

No, none of that mattered, because she was going to be my wife.

Then I’d get it all.

And I wouldn’t settle for less.

Not when it came to her.