Trent (Redemption Romance Book 4) (7 page)

Mom had obsessed those four years I was in school, reading every frightening story about girls being attacked on campuses around the country. They enrolled me in every self-defense class they could find, and even wanted to send me a dog, though I wasn’t allowed to have one at school or in the apartment I lived in.

There was no doubt my parents spoiled me, they wanted nothing but my happiness. How could I ever burden them, or tell them about our miscarriage? It would have broken their hearts.

Our lunch this week wasn’t possible, because, with Aurora away, I couldn’t leave the store. Even if Dawn came in early enough for me to go, I didn’t want to leave her alone any longer than I had to. I knew that she could handle it, as she had to do in the evenings all week, but Thursdays at lunch time could be brutal. A lot of women came into the store to find the perfect outfit for their weekend plans. Leaving Dawn alone with that would be unforgivable.

After opening the store, my cell phone still held to my ear, I finally disengaged with my mom, as Gillian walked in. She looked frazzled, which was not normal for her at all. I did a quick scan and didn’t see anything overtly wrong. she wasn’t carrying a coffee or a pastry bag, though. Usually, when she stopped by for a visit, she would bring something fun, or something new for us to try. Now, she looked upset, possibly even worried.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, as she closed the front door behind her and leaned against the counter.

“Yeah,” she answered distractedly and shook her head in the negative at the same time.

I waited a few seconds, wanting to see if she would share on her own, or if she needed me to coax her. Before I made the decision, she moved toward me and ran her hand over the top of her head, like she was smoothing back her hair, that was always held tightly in a long ponytail or up in a bun. Her hair was meticulously neat, held firmly back, I knew so that none got into the delectable food she prepared.

“I’m kind of freaked out,” she started, and paused, then looked around the store to make sure we were alone. “I just got a call from my cousin’s neighbor. Something is wrong, and I have no idea what.”

“Missy, my cousin, has always been a mess, but manageable. She had a little girl two years ago and seemed to straighten up after that.”

I nodded in encouragement when she paused, staring up at the ceiling as if trying to figure something out. She waited a few seconds and finished.

“Anyway, Missy seemed to get herself together, she was working and stuff, my aunt was taking care of Kelly, but then my aunt got sick. So, the neighbor was watching her when my cousin went to work. After my Aunt died last winter, the neighbor said that Missy started getting home from work later and later, so late sometimes, that she’d just have Kelly sleep over. She noticed that a few times, Kelly hadn’t had a bath, or seemed like she hadn’t eaten. So, of course, she took care of that, but now, Missy is gone. She left for work yesterday morning, and hasn’t been back.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I told her inanely, since obviously, she already knew that. “Are they in Oklahoma?” I asked, trying to remember where she’d gone for the funeral several months ago.

Shaking her head, she told me. “No, Shreveport.”

Nodding my understanding, I thought that was at least one good thing, Shreveport was a much faster trip, if she had to run over there and see what was happening with her cousin.

“I’d totally offer to go with you, but with Aurora...” I started, but she cut me off.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m going to see if I can find my cousin and guess what’s going on with her. If I have to, I’ll go over the weekend, unless something really bad happens. The neighbor said she’s good to watch Kelly. She’s got a little girl about the same age, and keeping one more isn’t a big deal.

“Thank God,” I replied, shaking my head in amazement at how people could be so careless with their children. I knew that my parents were overprotective to the extreme, and if I’d been lucky enough to have one of my own, I probably would have been the same. Maybe, what my parents did and what I would have done wouldn’t have been perfect, but I'd never, not for one second, ever doubted how much my parents loved me, or the fact that they’d do absolutely anything for me. Without a doubt, if I called my mom at two in the morning, and asked for a pack of gum, she’d get up and bring it to me. Of course, I’d never do that, and I’d never take advantage of them that way, but that was the amount of faith I had in them.

After Gillian and I talked a bit longer, she left, and I thought about what Trent had said. Maybe he was right. Maybe we could adopt a couple of children someday, children who didn’t know the love of good parents like I did.

When Dawn walked into the store later that afternoon, I noticed a very rosy glow on her cheeks and had to stifle a laugh. “Well, looks like someone’s man went into work late this morning,” I teased her, a definite smirk on my face.

She blushed and turned away from me, to stow her purse. “He has a night shoot scheduled,” Dawn explained, to my utter amusement.

“I can see that,” knowing that they spent some serious time together that morning. “Have you gotten the entire house Christened yet?”

“Almost, we haven’t done anything in the extra bedrooms, because someday - well, that’s just gross.”

“You don’t want to fuck in the bedrooms that will someday be your kids’ rooms? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes, it seems kind of creepy to me. But otherwise, we’ve gotten about everything else. Happy now?” She asked, with just a hint of attitude in her voice.

“About time,” I muttered since I had been harassing her since they’d moved in and had gotten engaged. During the down time at the store, all of us talked sex, a lot. “You need to get those rooms too, though. It’s for luck. You'll want to Christen them now and not later when the kids are in there, or like when you’re painting one pink and the other one blue.”

Dawn crinkled her nose at me but didn’t get a chance to reply, because two women came in. They were looking for something to wear to a formal baby shower scheduled for the weekend. I didn’t know how formal a baby shower could be, but we helped them find the perfect outfits and from there, the day exploded into craziness. By the time I dragged my tired ass out, it was after six. Though Dawn had told me multiple times just to go, it was insane. There was no way I could leave her with nine women shopping, two in the fitting rooms and three waiting to check out. I got her through and finally drove home.

Walking into the empty house, I remembered that it was Wednesday, the night Trent taught the self-defense class with Christine Gates. Before, I’d wondered if she had a thing for Trent, then found out that she and Jake had dated a while back. After seeing her reaction when anyone mentioned Jake's name, I knew that she’d had a major thing for him. Poor girl, he’d been a hot mess back then. I didn’t know how Hope had pulled his stubborn head from his ass, but she’d done it.

I didn’t know what had happened between him and Christine, but didn't even notice her when she was around, and she had acted almost heartbroken. It didn’t make sense, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever know the whole story. She certainly wasn’t talking.

Things were slightly less awkward since Christine had been one of the officers involved when Hope had been beaten severely by her ex-boyfriend. Christine had witnessed Jake and Hope together multiple times over the months since and seemed to let go of whatever torch she was holding for him, after all that.

Now I knew her a little better, though not well. She’d been teaching this class for a couple of years with Trent. He’d started to help out after he and Gavin had left the Marine Corps and had gotten their jobs with the Sherriff’s Office. I knew that Trent’s dad had been abusive to both Trent’s mom and his sister, though he didn’t talk about it much. I knew that his dad had gone to jail and now had no relationship with any of them.

One of the things I admired most about Trent was that he was extremely dedicated to empowering women and giving them the tools they needed to protect themselves. It was one of the million things I loved and admired most about him.

I would be eating alone tonight, so I decided that grilled cheese would fit the bill. Maybe if I was feeling productive, I’d even make myself a bowl of tomato soup to go with it. My plans were simple. I was exhausted already and not even half way through my week. I was seriously looking forward to chilling out with my cat and an entire season of "Vikings."

When I finally fished the phone out of my purse, I was shocked to see the eleven missed texts and two calls. It had only been forty minutes since I last checked it, so I had no idea what could have gone sideways already. A chill crawled down my spine, worry flooding my veins and that the thought that something could have happened to Trent at work.

Opening the missed calls screen, I hit most recent one from Dawn. Her calm voice upon answering soothed my worry. I had braced myself for a frantic, frightened woman.

“What’s wrong?” I asked quickly after she answered.

“Trent called. He was trying to get ahold of you.”

“Is something going on?” I had no idea why him trying to find me would fill my phone with so many missed communications.

“He and Gavin are being called in. Nothing crazy that I know of, not sure, but the sergeant pulled Gavin out of training for it.”

After disconnecting with Dawn, I called Trent and when it went straight to voicemail, sent him a text to let him know I was home safe and that Snowball said hi. I quickly scrolled through the texts he had sent and didn't see anything I needed to worry about. Mostly, he was asking where I was, if I was okay and letting me know he wasn't going to make the self-defense class. Fortunately, I knew that sometimes Dan Dupree, another McKinney officer would help Christine if Trent and Gavin couldn't be there.

Once I read through the final message, my body relaxed and I started to think back. The last time he’d tried that hard to find me had been the night Nolan died. Trent had been a mess, of course, and it was the only time I’d willingly spent time with him after I’d locked him out of my house. By the time Aurora texted me that night, I already knew what was going on, but couldn’t tell her. I didn’t want the focus to be on Trent and me when it needed to be on her and Luke. They had needed every bit of our support and focus during those weeks.

That night Trent had come over after texting me repeatedly. He had needed me, and regardless of the fact that I was trying so hard to save him from a life with me, I couldn’t turn my back on him when he was hurting. He came inside my little house that night, and we held onto each other on the couch while we talked quietly. I’d cried as he told me stories about Nolan and their time in the Marines.

I knew some about Nolan’s struggles once he’d gotten home already, everyone in town did. Nolan was a local hero, our small town story of strength, loss, and bravery. Once he was back state-side, Nolan's life was practically immortalized.

It was after I started working with Aurora, that she and I had become such close friends, and I’d learned the more intimate details of Nolan’s lingering pain and depression. I wondered, after he died, what a burden the community put on him. Did he feel like a hero? I doubted that he saw himself in the same way the rest of us did.

Trent had fallen asleep on my couch holding me tight, his head nestled against my chest. I stayed awake for a long time, relishing the feel of him holding me again. It had only been a couple of weeks, but I’d missed him like crazy. I knew, even then, that there was no person in the world I’d ever want besides Trent. It probably wouldn’t make a lot of sense to anyone else, why I’d pushed him away, but how could I hold him? How could I saddle him with a life with me, a life without the possibility of the children I knew he wanted. I was a lot of things, but selfish wasn’t one of them, no matter what impression other people may have about me.

It had been difficult for me to squirm out of his arms the following morning and get into the store early. I’d known that Aurora needed me to cover the store. Though the hours had been long, it was just what I needed at the time.

I hated the pain that Trent, Aurora, and everyone was going through. I was able to hide my own pain in my work. Trent hadn’t come back to me after that, and I’d wondered if he ever would.

My cell rang in my hand, pulling me back from my past. Glancing down I saw it was Trent.

“Yeah?” I asked, distracted, still lost in the pain of my past.

“Hey sweets, you okay?”

"Oh, yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I'm living the glamorous life over here, fuzzy socks and grilled cheese” I tried teasing him since he sounded tense.

“Shit, nothing, just checking. Sorry.”

There was something off, something wrong. I could hear it in his voice. “Trent?” I asked, not sure what to ask, having no idea what it could be.

“Yeah, hey, I’ve got a call out so I’ll call you when I can, okay?”

“No, what is it?” I asked, injecting demand into my voice.

“Nothing, there was an accident, it was a car like yours, then you didn’t answer. That’s all, promise.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. I could understand his concern, and I probably didn’t want to know more. It sounded like the outcome was bad.

We finished talking and hung up, and I got on with the night. I’d confirmed Sunday dinner with Trent via text message earlier in the day, so I called my parents back spoke to my dad for a few minutes and confirmed our plans. I hoped that Trent was ready for my overly demonstrative, protective and nosey parents.