Chapter 17

(Aaron)

The way her body tenses after I asked about what to expect on this trip, I knew it wasn’t going to be one of those lighthearted going home sort of visits. After hearing the story she told about her parents and stepmother, I have a feeling that her childhood was far worse than mine. Not that mine was bad by any means; it was just very restricted until I met Quinn.

My parents fought over loosening the rules after I met him. Dad was on my side, trying to convince mom that later bedtimes, letting me roam further than the backyard during the school week, and allowing me to have friends over would be good for me. Mom insisted that the rules didn’t need to be changed until I was older.

Older meant once I was in high school. Once I was in the last four years of school, she agreed that I should have more responsibilities, like a job to pay for the car I would want. Yet there would be strict rules where that was concerned, too.

Quinn was my saving grace just as much as I was for him.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We will face what is to come when we get there.”

“I’m not really worried about Grant. It is my mother that I am worried about. She is the reason I don’t go home often. Her ideas for how my life should be are outdated and sexist. My choice to sign up for the military damn near gave her a heart attack. It was a man’s job, according to her.”

Most of the branches of the military still think that way.

“What did she want you to do for a living?”

“Teacher or a nurse. She wanted me to marry a doctor or a lawyer, have two kids and a dog, and live in a two-story house with a white picket fence. That is the ideal life, according to my mother.”

I laugh, which makes her lift her head off my shoulder to look at me. It is dark in my room, but I can feel her gaze on me. I keep stroking my hand up and down her hip.

“What?” she asks.

“None of that sounds like you. The house you live in is close to that, but the rest sounds more like my mom than it does you.”

She kisses my shoulder, then lays her head on the pillow instead of back on my shoulder. “Thank you for that. It makes me happy that you know me so well.”

“What kind of house would you want to live in if you had a choice?” I ask nervously. I would love for her to move in here with me eventually once our relationship is more solid than it is now.

The silence from her isn’t helping my nerves at all. I roll over so that I can look at her, bringing her hand up between our bodies so I can lay a soft kiss across her knuckles when she rolls over onto her side, too. Now that we are facing each other, I can see her features a bit better.

She has her lower lip between her teeth, like she is thinking. That makes me feel a little better, but I’m still nervous as heck. When she smiles at me, I feel my heart flutter in a way that only she can make it.

“What I have seen of your house is pretty close to what I imagine for a house I would want to live in. I like my house, but it isn’t quite what I want. I only picked it because of the gated community. I feel safer there than I did at my old apartment.”

I almost blurted out that she should just move in here with me, but even I think it is too soon for us to live together. One day, I would love for her to always be right here by my side while I fall asleep with my arms around her. We will get there eventually.

“Well, you are welcome here anytime you want.”

“What did your parents think about you renting a house close by for them to live in for a while?”

“My mother was not happy about it. She wanted to stay here. We had a big fight about it, but Dad intervened and told her to just stop trying to control everything. He told her that just being close instead of back home is enough for him.”

“Your mother loves you very much.”

“I know, but she has this need to control everything she possibly can, and when things don’t go her way or get out of her control, things get ugly. She gets mad or cries. It was not fun when I was younger, and it still isn’t.”

Rylan wiggles closer to me so she can snuggle against my chest. I wrap my free hand around her, then kiss the top of her head. She kisses my chest as we fall into silence.

“Let’s get some sleep. We leave early, and it is a long flight.”

“We can sleep on the jet,” she says, pushing me onto my back and straddling me.

The sight of her above me like that takes my breath away. I groan when she starts to rock her hips against me. She grabs my hands, bringing them up to her glorious breasts. I happily obliged her by squeezing both of them.

We spent the rest of the night making love. The whisper of silk on skin, soft moans of pleasure, and the sound of us moaning each other’s names fill the room as we get lost in each other. The rest of the world will have to wait until tomorrow.

**********

The next morning was a flurry of activity, as everyone in my house was rushing to get ready. My parents left before I woke up, which bothered me a little that they didn’t let me take them to the airport. It didn't come as a surprise to me that they left like that after all the harsh words said yesterday.

My mom left a note on the coffee machine telling me that she loved me, to have a safe trip, and that she would see me in a few weeks. I sent her a text telling her that I loved her and thanking her for having the forethought to set the timer on the coffee pot. I also sent my dad a message asking him to call me when they get home so I know they made it safely and that I would do the same when we landed in South Carolina.

Once I had my car loaded up with all our bags after locking the house up and setting the alarm, we headed to the private airstrip where G&C Enterprises houses our jet. When we got on the jet thirty minutes later, I could tell that Rylan was starting to look nervous. I sit next to her after stowing all our bags away.

I place my hand on her knee, which keeps bouncing up and down, showing her nerves.

“Hey, relax, baby.”

“I can’t. Is it too late to not go?”

“Look at me, Rylan.”

She turns her head to look at me. Her beautiful blue eyes are wide, and if I didn’t know any better, she looks scared. I cup her face in both my hands, forcing her to stare into my eyes when she would have looked away.

“I am right here with you, baby. I got you. Whatever your mother says or does while we are there, I have your back. You are not alone anymore.”

“You are the first and only boyfriend I have ever thought of bringing home to meet my mother. Her opinion doesn’t matter to me; that isn’t why I am nervous. We are not married, which is a big deal with my mother, who is a massive narcissist and hypocrite.”

“We will deal with whatever she throws at us as it comes, okay? Don’t get worked up over what she may or may not do or say. Take a deep breath for me, then let it out.”

She closes her eyes, then does what I ask her to. Her head falls on my shoulder, so I squeeze her hand gently. The flight attendant comes by to make sure we are all buckled in and walks to the cockpit to tell the pilot we are all ready to go.

He comes over the PA system to announce the flight time and that we are taking off now.

Five hours later, we landed at the airport in Charleston, South Carolina. Thanks to flying private, we don’t have to go through airport security when we land. There is an SUV and a driver waiting for us when we debark the plane.

Rosalie smiles at me as we get in the car. “That was the most relaxing plane ride I have ever been on. Thank you for offering up your company’s jet for this, even though it isn’t work-related.”

“Perks of being one of the owners of the company. Personal and work business tend to not matter. Besides, my partner is not using the jet for work trips anytime soon, since his wife is very pregnant with twins.”

She looks at Rylan with a smirk.

“What?” Rylan asks as her knee starts bouncing with nerves again.

“Mom will swallow her tongue when she realizes that you did far better than a doctor or a lawyer.”

Rylan snickers at that statement, and thankfully, her knee stops bouncing. I tap the back of the driver’s seat to signal that we are ready to head to the police station. We all agreed that heading there first would be the best course of action.

Rosalie called her neighbor to see if the woman could meet us there so that she could give her statement to the police. She was already close to the station, so she agreed to meet us there. That makes this part so much easier.

This time, by the time we reach the station, it is Rosalie who is visibly nervous. She is twisting the strap of her purse and biting her lower lip. Her facial bruising is still very obvious, which will work in her favor to garner sympathy from the police.

Rylan grabs her sister’s hand as we all stop right outside the doors. She turns Rosalie to face her, then places her hands on her shoulders. Rosalie takes a deep breath, nods her head, and they share a hug.

I know the two sisters have never really been close, but from what I have seen over the last few days, they have grown closer. This could be a good thing for both of them. Rylan will have someone to talk to other than Annie or Shawna; if Shawna ever shows up from wherever it is, she ran off too.

“Alright, let’s get this over with before I chicken out,” Rosalie says as she steps away from her sister.

I open the door for them, then follow closely behind as we enter the station. Rosalie walks straight to the waiting area, where an elderly woman is sitting. The woman stands up to hug her when she stops in front of her chair. This must be her neighbor.

“Oh, dear, those bruises look horrid. I took pictures of the yard, and I have a video of the attack from my outdoor security camera. We have enough evidence to make him pay for his actions this time.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Brown. I forgot that you have cameras around your house.”

“We put them up after that damn...”

“Rosalie?” A male voice calls from behind us.

I watch as her body visibly stiffens, which makes me turn to face the man in question. In the entranceway is a tall man in scrubs and a lab coat. He has dark hair and brown eyes, and he is staring at Rosalie’s back like he has seen a ghost.

She turns around slowly; her skin has gone pale, and she reaches out blindly for Rylan’s hand. From the way she has reacted, this must be her husband, Grant. I step between them before he can take a step forward.

“That is close enough,” I tell him.

“Who the hell are you? That is my wife, and this is none of your damn business.”

“That may be, but she is clearly afraid of you, so I suggest you back off.”

“Is there a problem here?” the female officer at the entrance desk asks loudly as she comes around the desk, like she will intervene if needed.

I glance over my shoulder at Rosalie to give her a look that says it is her chance to do what she came here to do. Rylan leads her over to the front desk, and as she does, Grant moves toward them with his fists clenched at his sides, but I block him so he can’t reach her. What fool comes into a police station and acts like this?

“What can I help you with, ma’am?” The officer asks.

“I want to press assault charges against that man there,” Rosalie points at Grant. “He did this to my face and neck; there are more bruises on my back too from where he kicked me.”

“Rosie, honey, you fell. I didn’t hit you.” Grant says it in a very aggressive tone.

“I have proof and an eyewitness.”

The officer signals for her duty mate to come up to the desk. “Take him back to interrogation one while I take her statement and view the evidence with her in the other room.”

“Rosie, damnit, this is not how we handle things.”

“It is now, Grant.”

The officer walks to Grant so he can escort him back to an interrogation room. As he does, Grant turns around and runs out the door. The officer gets on his radio to make the call for backup for a fleeing suspect, only to smile soon after as two more officers, who must have been just outside, escorted Grant back into the station.

That was the shortest escape attempt I have ever seen.

I suppress a chuckle as they escort a very angry Grant back to interrogation.

“Alright now, let’s get you back to a room so I can take your statement. Do you have any evidence with you other than the obvious? We will also have to take pictures for our records.”

“Yes, that is fine. Can my sister come back with me?” Rosalie asks after Mrs. Brown hands her the small USB stick she had in her hand.

“If it makes you feel more comfortable, then yes.”

Rosalie nods, and then the female officer, Deputy Williams, leads them both back to a room to get the ball rolling. I take a seat with Mrs. Brown in the waiting area since there is nothing else I can do from here.

An idea pops into my head as I sit down, so I stand back up, then walk outside to make a phone call. Rosalie will need an attorney when she files for divorce. Annora has said good things about her attorney, so I call her to see if she could give me her lawyer’s number. I receive a call from her lawyer a few minutes later, telling me that she will take Rosalie as a client and to have her call when she was ready to proceed with filing.

I hope she doesn’t think I am overstepping.