Page 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
ADON
She stirs in my arms, and I grip her tight to my chest. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“But I have to pee.”
“Just go.”
One of her spring green eyes peers up at me with a question pinching her brow. I let my own eyes crack open and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
She laughs, then slaps at my bare chest. “I’ll be right back.” With a graceful move, she leaps toward the bathroom, then reemerges and gets right back into place. The spot she belongs. Warm and right at my side.
I stretch and pull her up as I situate my back against the headboard, then grab my phone. “Oh shit.”
“What?” she asks.
“They got him!”
“Let me see!”
I hold the screen for her, and she reads the headline of the front page of Northview News aloud. “Professor poisons wife as a perverse lesson. It says he did it! They aren’t covering it up! Hmm, no mention of Sean, though. Do you think he agreed to the plea so his son could get away with everything?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that he’ll never get near you again. I’ll make sure of it.”
She practically jumps on the bed and snatches my phone from my hand. “Oh my god, Adon! Breaking news. Sean Harrison, son of prominent local professor, has been found dead in his family home. Police suspect self-inflicted injuries, which were corroborated by the deceased’s note. Mr. Harrison had just received word of his father’s arrest for suspected murder.”
Together, we slump against the mattress and stare at one another. “Hate to say it, but I guess that problem took care of itself,” I say.
“Yeah…I wonder how Maeve is going to take the news.”
We don’t have to wait long to know. Maeve and Piper’s mother frantically texts her all morning, hoping she’ll meet them at her mother’s house.
Piper seems worried until I tell her, “There’s no way I’m letting you go in there alone. I’m never leaving you with those people again.”
She jumps into my arms and wraps herself around me. “I love you, daddy.”
My lips brush her cheek as I smile and hold her tighter. “I love you, too, my baby.”
Piper’s mother’s home is exactly how I would picture it: stuffy, too clean, and smells like cheap perfume. Maeve’s face is red and puffy as she greets us from the kitchen island. Piper’s mother glances up at me with a pouty bottom lip, then sticks out her hand and flutters her lashes at me.
“Hi, Cora Hendricks. You are?”
I don’t bother giving her a handshake, maintaining a grasp on Piper’s shoulders as I simply nod instead. “I’m Adon Griffin, your daughter’s boyfriend.”
“Oh my,” she says, pressing her open palm to her chest. “Aren’t you a little bit too old for her?”
Piper grimaces and straightens up, then grabs my hand in hers, but doesn’t say anything. I know she only wanted to come today for one reason, and I’m here to support her through it.
Maeve sniffs and grabs her sister in a mock hug. “Oh, it’s so awful, Piper. I’m not sure who will take me to the Greek formal this year.”
It doesn’t surprise me that she’s so vapid, but her sole concern still makes me shake my head subtly.
Piper takes a step back into me, away from her sister. “Listen, I only came here to tell you both something. You, my dear sister, have terrible taste in men. First with Noah, who raped me, and you, Mother, for choosing a man like my father.”
Both gasp and open their mouths to argue, but Piper takes the floor by holding up a finger. “You can deny everything all you want, but the fact remains, you allowed me to get hurt for years. And I’m not going to take your abuse anymore just because we share blood.”
“Throwing away your family for some man, Piper? How tired.” Her mother rolls her eyes at us both.
“He’s not just some man— ” Piper says, but I interrupt.
With a grip on her waist, I pull her closer to me, press my lips to the top of her pink head and say, “Right. I’m her family.”
Her fingers latch onto one of mine and squeeze in response.
She doesn’t know it yet, but the ring has been burning a hole in my pocket. I can’t wait to give it to her.
“Let’s go.” Piper turns and walks toward the front door, and I follow, but then pause when we reach the stairs.
“Do you want to go up there?”
I hear the deep breath she takes as she considers the second floor and her old room. The memories are practically a vision within her eyes as they scan the house. Finally, she shrugs. “Nope. It’s meaningless now. Not even a bad memory. It’s just there . Like it happened to someone else. Not to the Piper who stands here with you.”
Heat radiates over my eyes as I behold her power. When she looks at me, a bright smile crosses her lips like she’s just won a prize. “Come on,” she says. “Let’s go to my real home.”
We get in the truck, but I drive the back roads and take my time, nervously gripping the steering wheel.
“Adon, it’s been on this stupid commercial for a minute. Can I change the channel?” she asks.
My thoughts are brought back to the present as I nod at the radio. “Sure, change it.”
She hesitates for a moment while eyeing me suspiciously, then selects a new station. Still jazz, though, and that makes my heart warm enough to tell her what I need to.
“So, I did something. And I need to tell you before we move forward.”
Her eyebrows stitch together, and she slinks back against her door. “What?”
One of my palms rubs against my jeans to swipe off the sweat. “I found Noah.”
A gasp parts her lips as she whispers, “Yeah?”
“He was in medical school.”
“Was…”
Perhaps the pause before my reply is too great, but I take the time to swallow and stare straight ahead. I can’t even look at her. “I took care of him.”
She’s still and silent for so long; I glance over at her while stopped at a red light. “ Took care…”
I let the words hang in the air without explaining.
Her voice is tiny when she asks, “Will anyone find out?—”
“No. And this is the last time I ever want to talk about it.”
Once we reach my driveway, I put the truck in park and wait while peering into the open garage. I’m afraid to peek over at her. To see any sort of change in her demeanor. What if she’s afraid of me now? What if she feels differently?
A little finger slides under my hand as it rests on my lap. When it does, I finally lift my head and take her in. Instead of fear, she holds an expression of awe. “You didn’t cheat on me.”
My brow lowers. “What? No. What the fuck? Never. I’m just letting you know where I was instead of at that hockey game.”
Her pert pink lips curl into a smile. “Oh. Okay. I’m thinking of making more cinnamon rolls today.”
As she bops inside, she makes a spin, her vintage skirt flying up around her waist. She crooks a finger to beckon me inside. I sit in my truck, stunned by her reaction. Or lack thereof.
She’s the safest person I’ve ever felt to spill every thought and emotion to. A smile crosses my face. I did it. I opened up, and it makes me realize…
Piper and I are perfect together.
Her little body dances toward the door, and I hurry to catch up. I break into a sprint, and she squeals as I chase her inside. Just as she darts for the kitchen, I snatch her up into my arms and place her on a counter, then step between her legs.
“Rosy, you need to behave, or daddy will need to punish you.”
“Hmm, maybe I want him to.”
My lips meet hers in a soft kiss before I pull back. A glint crosses her eyes as she waits for me to say something.
But I just gather her up, toss her over my shoulder, and race up the stairs with her jostling and giggling on my shoulder. My palm swats her ass, and she screams my name.
“You’re going to get it hard, little girl. You ready for it?”
“Always.”