Estelle In Denver (In Denver Series Book 2) (14 page)

“I want to be loved,” she says, and that is it, I can’t keep the tears at bay anymore. “You are loved.”

“I know, but I want a boyfriend. I know I’m not ready, but I want to go out on a date to a nice restaurant, have him pull out my chair and kiss my hand. You know, like in the romance books. I want to feel protected and cherished. I don’t want to be forced, I want someone to send me flowers and poems." I have to giggle at that.

“Ok, Anastasia, we will work on your goal also.”

Shortly after that, the plane lands, and we head to the store. We buy Anastasia her violin and then continue to the house. The girls get settled in the guesthouse and then come to the main house to meet Patrick. He remains seated while they come in.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Patrick Franklin. I am a psychologist like my wife. I have treated both Kennedy and Estelle, and if you let me, I would like to help you while you are here. Your therapy will be in a series of different sections. Mel, will handle some parts, while I will help you deal with some life skills and learning to handle being out and around men. I want to teach you that not all men hurt you or take from you. I would never hurt you, and in time I will prove that to you. I understand you have discussed short term goals and some long term goals. I will help you in any way possible.” The girls look at each other with concern in their eyes I know it will be hard for them to learn to trust but Patrick has a way of breaking through people’s walls. The girls say their goodbyes and return to the guest room.

Within the next week, I’ve closed on the house on my father's street and have met with Rose to discuss my house. I give her my keys and we go over the decorating plan once last time. Heading to The Mad Batter, I sit in a booth and order a German chocolate coffee and a chocolate chip muffin.

“It must be serious for you to be indulging in that much chocolate," a familiar voice says.

I smile and look up from my iPad. “It’s serious, but not bad. How have you been, Rhydian?” I’m happy to see him, the sound of his voice makes my heart beat faster and I realize the dull ache in my heart I’ve been feeling is gone.

“I’ve been doing ok, I’ve been better. I hear you will start the master’s program soon. I’m proud of you, Estelle." He says looking at me with longing.

“Yeah, I’m starting classes next semester. I will work with the Franklins until our rehabilitation center opens. Would you like to join me for some coffee?” 

“Yes, I would love to,” he says with that smile I have always loved so much.

He sits across from me. We eat our muffins in silence, when I hear the door chime and a tiny blonde comes in. “Seriously, Rhydian? I’ve been waiting in the car for like twenty minutes now.” Oh, no, there is the ache again only now it feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart.

“Oh my god, you're Estelle. This is great," she is jumping up and down like a crazy person. “Your right, Rhydian, she is beautiful. She looks like one of these old-fashioned, Italian film stars."

“Is that so, Rhydian?” I say with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. They aren’t on a date, he hasn’t moved on either.

I look to his companion “I’m sorry, I don't know your name, would you like to join us?”

“Fucking yeah! I want to join you."

“Ashleigh, watch your mouth," Rhydian say jokingly.

“Ah, Ashleigh, as in Ashleigh Hawke?” I inquire.

“Yes. How did you know my last name?" she asked.

“Let’s just say I have heard you being described as having pouty lips and a tight, little body," I try to suppress my chuckle, but it doesn’t work.

She blushes. “Who said that?” Oh, she talks a good game, but she is inexperienced. That’s an interesting tidbit I can relay to my friend.

I nod my head. “Nope, I’m not getting in trouble by spilling the beans.” The three of us spend the next few minutes laughing.

“Ashleigh, thank you so much for finding me. I never got a chance to thank you, but really, I don't know if I would have ever escaped if it hadn't been for you.” I say gratefully.

“I didn’t do it for you, to be honest, but I did it for Rhydian. He was the only person to ever have my back; I needed to have his.”

“It was nice seeing you again, Estelle, but we have to head to a meeting at the office,” Rhydian says. When they get to the door, I see Ashleigh elbow him in the ribs and nod her head in my direction.

I went back to reading Conquering Alexandria by C.M. Steele, when I heard a throat clear. “Umm, Estelle I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me sometime this week? I know you're probably…”

“Tonight!" I say, interrupting Rhydian. “I would like to have dinner tonight!” I know I sound overly excited so I calm myself down.

“Really?” he says, seemingly surprised.

“Yes, really. What time should I be ready?” I ask. I say coolly but bubbling with excitement inside.

“About seven. Am I picking you up on Anderson Street?” he confirms with a wide grin.

“Yes, I am not moving into the new place until all the renovations are done," I say with an equally wide grin.

“Ok, I will see you tonight,” he says then bows. I start laughing as he spins around and head to the door.

“See you tonight.” I call after him still laughing.

A date, that’s a good start. Rhydian and I are on new ground right now. We are starting fresh with a date. I have butterflies as I get ready with the girls in my room.

“Do you love him?” Oksana asks while brushing my hair.

“Yes, I do. I have always loved him, but he needed to really find out if he loved me.”

“Are you going to have sex with him?” Zasha stares out the window towards the back yard. “What is it like to be with someone you love?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to see how things turn out. I think it’s different when it’s with someone you love.” I know this is a weird conversation to have with a fifteen year old girl, but I realize she isn’t a child and she has been the victim of repeated rapes since she was eleven. Therefore I tell her what I feel. “I think that’s where we went wrong. We rushed everything the first time. We thought when we met again we knew each other, but we really didn’t. This is going to be our shot to get to know each other, and it will either work or I will move on.”

Mel was standing in the door. “I’m really happy you're giving Rhydian a chance to make this right. I’m telling you this as your friend and not your therapist, I think you guys went too heavy too fast. You knew each other for what amounted to a few weeks and moved in. You didn’t have a foundation and now you get a chance to build that foundation, but you need to remember to be very clear about what you want and expect. Also ask him to also be clear with his expectations. You guys have gone through so much, it really should be smooth sailing. You have feelings for each other and now you both have the skills to deal and work on a healthy and happy relationship.”

I smile when I hear the doorbell ring. The girls run down the stairs and wait on the staircase when Patrick opens the door.

“Rhydian.” Patrick sounds like an annoyed father meeting his daughter’s date.

“Good evening, Patrick. I’m here to pick up Estelle for our date.” He says nervously.

“Where are you taking our Estelle?” Patrick asks.

“I’m talking her to this new fusion restaurant in town.” he responds.

“Well, have fun. You too Estelle. We will see you tonight, correct?” Patrick confirms.

“Yesssssss, Patrick,” I say with an eye roll. “I will be home no later than eleven. Are you happy?” I say with a chuckle and an eye roll, I’m channeling my inner teen.

Mel and Patrick both say “very” at the same time, and we hear the girl’s giggles from the staircase.

“So, this new restaurant, what is it fused with exactly?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s like Hawaiian and Asian, so I’m thinking soy sauce and pineapple,” he responds with a slight grimace on his face. I think he is about as excited about fusions as I am, so I make another suggestion.

“Can we not go there? I would really just like a steak with nothing fused on, except maybe some onions and mushrooms.”

He turns to me with a grin. “Yeah, I think steak sounds like an excellent idea.”

When we pull up to Porter’s Steak House, and are seated as soon as the hostess sees Rhydian, being a Kerrigan in Denver does have its perks. Once we have ordered we finally have time to talk. . ”So what’s been going on, Rhydian?”

“Not much. I made Ashleigh a partner the other week. I realized that she is a part of the business I can’t function without, the other employees look up to her, and truth be told, she is great at recruiting young, eager programmers that are willing to stop hacking illegally to come work for my company. I should have made her a partner a long time ago, but I let my ego get in the way. I didn’t want Kerrigan Security to be anything but Kerrigan Security. Now it's Kerrigan & Hawke Security and I’m fine with that. Also, after years of pressure, Killian decided it was time to get the Cochlear implant. He had his surgery about six weeks ago, and he is still getting used to hearing again. The kids are all doing well, they have formed some little group and are performing all over the area, and they call themselves K3. They are really good too. Stacy has started dating this architect named Avery; he has a super cute daughter named Quincy, who is in love with the triplets. She treats them like little dolls. Other than that, nothing much has changed. What about you?”

“Well, as you could see, I have three houseguests now. They were there with me when I was taken. He was collecting us. They were having a hard time in California, so we brought them here. They just want to have normal teenage lives, but they have only ever known captivity. I was going to actually call Rose and see if maybe her three kids could come over and hang out at the house. The two younger girls want to go to school. Greenly had them abducted as children and never bothered to educate them. They have basic reading and basic math skills, the older girl taught them everything she knew. They want to go to high school, so we have a lot to do in the next couple months if they are going to start school in August. They are intelligent, so I have no doubt they will be able to catch up.”

“You know, they could go to homeschool and do activities at the school. I had a friend in high school that was homeschooled and he came to play sports and do the clubs after school. Maybe you can transition them in the next couple weeks to do that.”

“That’s an awesome idea. I didn't even know that was a possibility. Thanks, Rhydian, for the advice.” We have a really great dinner.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” He asks. “I was thinking we can go over to the Golden Triangle Park.”

“Yes, that sounds like fun." We get back in his car and drive to the park to go for a walk. Neither one of us has made an attempt at any physical contact so far. “Rhydian, you seem like you have something on your mind? Let's not go down this path again, please. If you need to say something, then just do it.” I say holding my breath, until he speaks.

“Actually, I wanted to talk about everything that happened between us. I wanted to talk about the abduction and why I was so upset. And I wanted to talk to you about how I still feel about you, Estelle. So here goes. After you got back from Cresthaven I didn’t want to let you go again. I know you think that what I felt for you was for Stella only, but it’s not. I think after everything you went through, I thought that maybe I wouldn’t be enough to help you heal, to make you feel whole, and you're right when you told me your recovery wasn’t about my feelings. I took a while to understand what you meant, but I do now. When everything happened with Michael, I felt like I got dragged into his problems, but my focus should have been you, it should have been us. I have to admit, I wasn’t ready for a commitment a few months ago. I think us living together and getting engaged was great in theory, but when it came time to do it, things fell to pieces because we weren’t clear about what we wanted, so I'm making myself clear now. I love you, Estelle and I want to be with you. I want to date you exclusively and I want us to work on building a foundation. I want you to be part of my life, and I want to be part of yours. I have missed you these last few month, but it gave me some time to work on me and my shit while you worked on yours. This is me, Defining The Relationship” he says with conviction.

“I heard you loud and clear. Now it’s my turn; you weren’t the only one rushing full steam ahead. I should not have moved my stuff into your house and the day we fought, I shouldn’t have let my temper get the best of me. I should have tried to stay and talk it out. That being said, you made a valid point. I always ran to Kennedy and Tristan, and as much as I wanted to stay, I wasn’t standing on my own two feet. I was using them as a crutch, and I was using you as a way to, I don’t know, maybe I was using you as a way to focus on something other than what my real issues were. I can’t say what those issues are because I’m still working on me, Rhydian, and I want to build that foundation with you, but it has to be at a pace that works for both of us. No moving things in, no engagement, and until we are sure we belong together, no sex” I say blushing.

“I understand. Does kissing count as sex?” he asks with a boyish grin.

“No, it doesn’t and I’m overdue for some kisses.” I'm holding his hand, and decide I will test the boundaries. I make a sudden stop to face him. I go up on my tiptoes and place a peck on his lips, then the side of his mouth, and last on his cheek. He seems ok with that, so I go again, but in reverse order this time, and instead of a peck on the lips. I linger there for a minute and pull back again. Yet again, he doesn't seem to mind so finally I say fuck it.

I grab his cheeks, place my lips back on his, and coax his mouth open with my tongue. He lets me take the lead so as to not push me. So I delve deeper into his mouth, circling his tongue with mine, enticing a nice moan out of him. After a few minutes of this and him getting hard, he pulls back and says, “Princess, we’ve got to stop. A man can only take so much temptation. We don’t want to get carried away, we don’t want to take it there. But trust and believe we will when the time is right for us again. There will be no stopping what will happen between us.” I realize I lost my head, but he does that to me, making me forget myself.