Mending Hope (Contemporary Western Romance) (License to Love Series:Book 2) (7 page)

“We have no objection to that either,” the defense responded, “As long as he is able to get the mental health care he needs, we don’t object to it being spent in shackles in a place far away from any and all access to the Internet.”

Alyssa looked at Chuck’s face while Sanders’ brother spoke.  The entire room was tuned into what the lawyer was saying, but she caught sight of his brother’s face when he agreed to keep him confined and away from the Internet, and she knew that he was not happy with the situation.  He’d been wearing a smile when he came into the courtroom, but now he was downright scowling at his brother’s agreement to the restrictions. 

The lines of his face were so contorted for a moment that Alyssa found herself somewhat concerned for the safety of Sanders’ brother.  Then his face went slack again, and all traces of his aggression seemed to vanish.  Alyssa almost would have thought she was imagining it, if he didn’t lean back a little and catch her looking at him.  When she was trapped in his gaze, she knew that the rage she’d seen was real and that it was boiling over underneath his calm, placid exterior. 

Woody took in a sharp breath next to her, and she looked up at him, realizing that he had caught this most recent encounter as well.  His jaw was firmly set, and she saw a small pulse on his neck.  She knew that he was holding back his anger, and so she leaned into him and whispered.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him while lightly patting his forearm.  “He can’t do anything now.”  Woody nodded, but he did not unclench his jaw for the remainder of the time they were in the courthouse.

The rest of the time was spent hashing out the details for Sander’s schedule.  The hearing concluded with the announcement that the court would reconvene the case in two weeks after he’d been through a full psychiatric workup.  While nothing else eventful happened, Alyssa spent the remainder of the time thinking about that look of pure rage.  She could only imagine what he would have done to Clara if Shad, Woody and the guards hadn’t been there to intervene.

Without realizing it, she moved in closer to Woody and firmly rested her head on the side of his shoulder as the hearing ended.  When he pulled her tightly to him, she sighed, content in knowing that she was finally finding her way in the world. 

Even as the final gavel bang echoed through the room, Woody found that he couldn’t relax completely.  He had seen evil today, and for the first time in his life he found himself completely on edge.  As they filed out of the courtroom, he took Alyssa by the hand and led her off to the side. 

“I told Shad that we would meet up with them after a little bit,” Woody told her.

Alyssa brushed a stray piece of hair back behind her ear and nodded.  “Does this have to do with what you wanted to show me?” she asked.

“Yes,” was all he said, but when he turned and went to the car, she followed.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell her. 

As they drove out to the cemetery they passed the place where Shad had first found Clara on the side of the road.  Woody knew Shad had been visiting the graveyard that day even though he’d never told Woody.  The only reason they were
ever
on this road was to visit the cemetery, so when Woody had come out to tow the car, he’d gone ahead and checked to find fresh flowers on the headstones.

Now as he pulled up, he noticed there were more flowers in front of the joint headstone for their parents’ graves.  It was not that Woody didn’t like to come out here, but every time he did so he had to come to grips with the date on his mother’s headstone.  As they pulled up to the row where his parents were buried he took a deep breath and got out of the car.

He didn’t look back to see if Alyssa got out as well, but he let out a pent up breath when he heard the car door close behind him.  His vision blurred as the date came into view. Her death, his birthday intricately bound to each other.

There were no words that would come to him, nothing he thought he could say that would help ease the problems his mother’s death had inflicted on his family.  Because she had died giving birth to him, every mean word their father said, every time Melinda had to give up something to mother them, he had felt responsible. 

It was hard to mourn someone you didn’t even know and yet he had, every day of his entire life. 

Alyssa knelt down next to him in front of the tombstone and put her hand over his.  She said nothing.  After a few moments of silence Woody cleared his throat.  He wasn’t sure where to start, so he pointed to the death date on his mom’s grave.

“That’s my birthday,” Woody started. “My mom died from a hemorrhage and bled out shortly after I was born.  The doctor didn’t find it until it was too late.”

Woody fought back the tears as he continued.  “It was always so hard seeing what my family had to give up, seeing what they went through because of me.  I always felt like I was more of a burden to them than anything else.” 

Woody looked into Alyssa’s eyes and took her hands as he told her the next part.  “That fear of what happened to my family when I was born is why I have never considered having children.  Every time I get in a relationship and the talk turns to family and kids, I cannot think of anything else except this date.”

“Well then, I guess it’s good that we found each other,” Alyssa smiled and squeezed his hand.  Instead of saying anything else or asking him a lot of questions, she just continued to sit next to him in silence. 

Woody thought about saying a thousand different things, thought about telling her that he’d thought about adoption, that there were so many other ways to build a family.  But after a moment he realized that the silence was all that they needed, and it enveloped them as they sat in the afternoon sun.  Thanks to Alyssa, Woody was at peace with his place in the world for the first time ever.

*

  Alyssa opened one eye and groaned into the morning darkness.  She started to push back the covers when Woody’s arm snaked out and clutched her to him. 

“Where are you going so early?” he murmured into her hair.  She sighed and snuggled down into his embrace, his arousal becoming even more prominent as she did. 

“Nowhere I guess,” she laughed and turned toward him.  “Especially if it means I have to leave these warm covers.”

“Is that all you’re worried about leaving?”

“No, these fluffy pillows are awfully nice too.”  She smiled and then leaned down to kiss him.  His hands slid down her back, cupping her bare bottom. 

“But seriously, I need to go take a shower.  We’re supposed to go to that menu tasting for Clara and Shad today.” Alyssa reminded him as she climbed out of the bed and slipped into the bathroom. 

He rolled up on one arm.  “I could always help, you know.”

“Ha!” She leaned around the corner of the bathroom door as she laughed.  “If your form of helping means that, then I’ll be fifteen extra minutes later than usual.”

She winked at him and then started the shower, knowing that before too long he would be in there to join her.  It had been a week and a half since they had sat together in the graveyard and he had told her his fear of having a family, and Alyssa had to admit that those days had been some of the best she’d had in a long time. 

Starting the water, she stepped over to the mirror as the water began to get warm.  They had spent every night together, and it felt like she was part of a family again.  No more nights spent alone in the darkness.  At night they ate dinner together with Shad and Clara.  However the huge house was empty now except for them.  After the court date last week, Shad had decided that Clara needed a break, so he’d taken them out of town, not telling anyone where they’d gone.

Alyssa had gotten a handwritten note, explaining everything and asking if she and Woody would handle some of the pre-wedding things.  They’d all been fairly fun things like the menu tasting at the caterers and the wine sampling at one of the local vineyards.  Alyssa knew that they would recheck her findings when they came back, and she was good with that.  For now, it gave her something to do besides working on her writing, and she was grateful for that. 

The water was turned up as hot as she could stand it, and she stood under the full spray, sighing as the tension in her muscles unknotted.  Moving her head from side to side, she rubbed the nape of her neck.  Lately she’d been having a lot of headaches and sinus issues and she knew that the break from sitting at her desk all day would do her good.  Maybe it would help her to get some of her energy back as well, but she imagined that would return as soon as Woody let it.

Without meaning to, she let out a loud bark of laughter that echoed loudly against the tiled walls.   She lathered her hair and smiled under the cascade of soap and water when she heard the glass door to the shower slide back and Woody stepped in behind her. 

“What were you laughing at?” he asked.

“Hmmm?” she sighed as she leaned into him and felt his member pressing into her backside.  “Oh, nothing…just trying to think of where my energy might have run off to.”

“I can’t imagine,” he whispered as he reached around and lightly tweaked her nipple. 

She swatted at his hands, playfully. 

“Can’t you see I’m trying to get clean here?” she asked, laughing yet again, knowing that she would not be able to hold out against his persuasiveness much longer.

“There’s a lot of cleaning we can do in fifteen minutes.” He told her before he turned her around, leaning in to kiss her under the falling water as his hands slipped down and cupped her bare butt, pulling her even closer.  She decided that she couldn’t have agreed more.

*

Alyssa tucked her hair behind her ears as they got out at the caterer’s place.  Because of Woody’s
help
this morning in the shower she hadn’t any extra time to fix her hair properly.  Part of that issue was also that the nearest caterer was an hour or more away in Lawton, so it wasn’t like they could just jump in the car and go.  They pulled into the parking lot exactly at the appointment time, and Alyssa almost jumped out of the car and raced up the steps to the small building.  She hated the feeling of being late, it always made her a bit on edge.

Woody, however, didn’t even seem to notice as he casually slipped up beside her and put his hand on her back.  This mere motion settled her nerves and helped her to relax, and she decided that she would rather have flyaway hair and be a few minutes late than miss out on any time spent with him. 

When they entered, they were immediately greeted by a tall thin woman with dark hair that was slicked back away from her face in a pony tail.  Her chin and nose were very sharp and angular and her hair only worked to accentuate this stark thinness.  Alyssa had always thought of caterers as plump happy people who loved food, but this woman looked as if she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in years. 

“Hello.  I’m Claudia, and you must be the Brandt party,” she said as she held out her thin hand, giving each of them a firm quick shake. 

“Yes, that’s us.  We’re here for Shad and Clara since they couldn’t make it,” Alyssa clarified.  But before she could speak, the caterer was already motioning for them to follow her as she led them back to a small table in a secluded area. 

“Ms. Roberts called and told me of the situation yesterday,” Claudia said as she handed them two tasting menus.  Alyssa could hear the distaste in her voice, and knew that she did not appreciate having to work with substitutes for the client.  “These are the menu options that she had narrowed down.”

“How does this work?” Woody asked, speaking up for the first time since they walked into the building.  Claudia turned and lavished him with a very welcoming smile.  Alyssa felt her ears heat up, and it took her a moment to realize that the anger she was feeling was directly tied to jealousy.  It was a fairly foreign concept to her after all these years, but it flared back up just the same.

“I will bring out the appetizers and salad options first, followed by the main course and side dish options,” Claudia explained as part of her repetitive speech.  “Each portion will be a small size, just enough for a taste really.  You will have a scorecard sheet in which to label where you rank the dish in the lineup.” 

“That’s interesting,” Alyssa commented.

Claudia looked at her briefly and then turned back to Woody.  “I’ll be out with the first round, if you need anything, just let me know,” she told him, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

Woody looked over at Alyssa and smiled one of those soft, lazy smiles that lit up his eyes with amusement. 

“Thank you,” Alyssa managed through partially gritted teeth.  Part of her wanted to smack this woman for daring to hit on someone who was obviously there with a date, but the rest of her wanted to shake Woody for finding this so amusing. 

Claudia sighed and walked off when Woody didn’t respond.

“The nerve...” Alyssa muttered under her breath as she watched her leave.  A bark of laughter from Woody’s side of the table caused her to jump in her chair.  “I’m glad someone thinks it’s funny.” She scolded him, but he only continued to chuckle, his laughter softening her anger until she finally conceded and began laughing with him. 

After that she began to relax and the menu tasting actually went fairly smoothly for the first few samples.  However, when they brought out the tray for the main menu items, Alyssa felt her stomach beginning to churn.