Wanting Forever (A Nelson Island Novel) (19 page)

W
ELCOME TO DUCK CREEK, VIRGINIA. WHERE EVEN THE DUCKS WELCOME YOU HOME.
The worn wooden sign hung askew on its pole, rattling in the dry wind that brushed against the green landscape. Aston watched the tall yellow wildflowers ruffle in the breeze, stretching out for miles in each direction off the two-lane highway. She could see the mountains in the distance, rising starkly against a cornflower blue sky.

“It’s beautiful here, in a lonely kind of way,” she murmured to Reed as she drove along the highway.

“Whatever,” Reed answered wearily. “If you like middle-of-nowhere, shoot-me-in-the-fucking-head kind of beauty.”

“We had to come,” Aston answered. “At least I did. And I needed help driving.”

“No, I’m with you, A,” Reed replied. “I want to be here for Sam, too. He’s already like a brother to me.”

Aston smiled at him. “I know. He’s probably a better big brother than I am a big sister.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Reed answered, squeezing her hand across the console. “It was just nice having another guy around. Sam’s a good listener. He just is who he is—none of the pretentious bullshit you usually find in N.I.”

“Do you think he hates me?” Aston asked quietly. “He left thinking I didn’t forgive him. I didn’t give him any indication that I believed him.”

She’d thought about that the entire nine hours it had taken them to arrive in Virginia. It was tearing apart her insides to think that Sam had left thinking she might never speak to him again. He would be in agony, worrying about her and their ruined future. The thought of Sam in pain caused ripples of distress in her chest.

“I think he loves you,” Reed said simply. “And he’s going to be happy to see you.”

“I hope so,” Aston said.

As they entered the town limits, Aston looked to the right and saw fields dotted with small clapboard or brick houses and trailers. She looked to the left and saw sporadic businesses spread out between narrow streets and wide-open spaces. She tried to picture
her
Sam growing up here, running across these fields with Ever and his brother, and couldn’t. Sam was so much bigger, so much
more
than this place.

The GPS led her winding down the deserted streets of Duck Creek until she reached a squat brick building with a sign on the faded front lawn. The sheriff’s office where Sam was being held.

She and Reed walked into the front door, and the deputy sitting behind the desk looked no older than Aston. He rose when he saw them, wide eyes roving over them as they approached the counter.

“Can I help you?” he asked, his gaze only meeting Aston’s. He made no excuses for raking his eyes up and down her body slowly, appreciating the view.

“Yeah, Casanova,” Reed snapped. “Eyes over here. We’re here to see Sam Waters.”

The deputy’s eyes grew even wider, and he frowned. “Sam? What do you two want to see him for?”

“Look, you—” Reed was sleep deprived, and that wasn’t going to bode well for the deputy.

Aston stepped forward, cutting Reed off. She smiled at the deputy sweetly, and his eyes riveted to hers, glazing over a bit. “He’s a friend of ours. He’s been living with us in South Carolina for the past few months, and we’d really like to see him. Do you think you could arrange that?”

“No, he can’t.” A tall, sturdy man in a cowboy hat came down the hallway behind the desk. The deputy looked abashed, glancing from Aston to the man who was clearly the sheriff, and back again.

“Why not?” Aston asked.

“Because it ain’t visiting hours, that’s why,” he answered shortly.

“But we’ve come all the way from South Carolina,” she said sweetly. “Can’t you just—”

“No,” he cut her off with a swipe of his hand. “I don’t know who you are, young lady, but none of your sweet talking is gonna fly around here.” He gave the deputy a pointed look. “I don’t know why you’re here or how you know Sam, but I’ll tell you this much. He’s in a whole heap of trouble. You look like you don’t need to be mixed up in that. So just get going.”

Aston set her chin in the way she did when someone told her she wasn’t going to do something.

“You know what?” she said with venom in her voice. “I’m going to just give his lawyer a call. And then we’ll see how long he’s going to be sitting in your cell.”

“No need,” the sheriff said wearily. “His lawyer’s already back there with him.”

“He is?” Reed asked. “We’ll just wait, then. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” the sheriff said gruffly. “I’m going out on a call, Brandon. Keep everything on the straight and narrow around here.”

Brandon nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Aston and Reed settled down on one of the hard plastic chairs to wait for Marshall. When he finally emerged, his face was tired. He must have driven all night, too.

“Aston, Reed.” He greeted them with a small smile.

“Is Sam getting out now?” she asked him, not beating around the bush.

“Eventually,” he said. “The sheriff wants to play hardball. He knows damn well Sam is innocent. He wants to speak to Sam’s ex-girlfriend again and see if their stories match. She’ll be here in a little while.”

Aston closed her eyes briefly. “I need to see him, Marshall.”

Marshall turned to Brandon. “Any consequences for this, your sheriff can take them up with me. My client has been treated unfairly. He’s going to have a visitor. And his lawyer will be present.”

 Something about Marshall’s tone told Brandon not to argue, gun and badge be damned. He sighed.

“Come with me.” He reached out to click a button that unlocked a door leading to the back of the facility.

“I’m Brandon,” he informed Aston as they walked down a long hallway with gray cinder block walls. “I actually graduated from high school with Sam. And Ever. You know his girlfriend, Ever?”

He cut a sideways glance at Aston, obviously trying to figure out her relationship with Sam.

“She’s not his girlfriend anymore,” Aston said. “I’m sure you know that, though.”

He stared at her as they walked. “How’d Sam land a girl like you comin’ all the way up here from Carolina to look for him? Don’t you know he killed someone?”

Their pace was slowing, and Aston sighed in relief. “Are we almost there?”

Brandon gestured forward, and Aston took another step to see a cell, complete with iron bars, located to her right. Sam sat on the low wooden bench inside, his head caught in his hands.

“Sam.” She breathed.

“I’ll just wait back up front,” said Marshall.

Sam’s head jerked up, and his soft brown eyes connected with hers. He bolted to his feet, and the sheer size of him overwhelmed Aston. Her eyes filled with tears.

“Princess,” he said, rushing to the bars. “Brandon, let her in.”

Brandon folded his arms. “I’m not supposed to, Sam. The sheriff wouldn’t like it.”

“The sheriff’s your fucking uncle,” Sam growled. “Let her in. Now.”

Brandon scowled but held his ground, placing his hand on the holster at his hip and staring at Sam.

“Okay, Brandon,” said Sam. “Let her in, or I’ll tell Shannon Burke about the fact I saw you making out with Rita Henry in the parking lot when they brought me in.”

Brandon’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head. He reached for a keypad on the wall next to the bars. He typed in a code, and the door unlocked with a
click.

Sam wrenched the door open and pulled Aston into his arms. His lips were pressed with relentless force against hers before she could take a breath, and she sank into the kiss with every fiber of her being. One of Sam’s hands gripped her nape while his other pulled her hips firmly forward, and her hands roved his broad, hard back, feeling the tautness of his muscles beneath his soft T-shirt.

Brandon cleared his throat behind them. “Looks like you’re doin’ just fine without Ever, huh, Sam?”

Sam released Aston’s mouth but kept a hold of her waist as he stared down into her eyes. “Get the hell out, Brandon. I’m not going anywhere.”

Aston heard Brandon’s hefty sigh behind her, and his footsteps echoed back down the hallway she had entered with him. But she couldn’t peel her eyes away from Sam’s to watch his exit.

“You came? You’re here?” Sam’s hands brushed at her eyes, catching a tear as it blazed a trail down her cheek. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She leaned her forehead against his. “Of course I’m here, Sam. I love you. Where else would I be?”

He pulled back, the emotion, already laid out like a map in his eyes, intensifying. “You love me?”

She nodded furiously.

“Oh, my God,” he whispered. “I swear I can get through anything, as long as you tell me that again.”

“I love you, Sam.”

“I didn’t kill him.”

“I know,” she assured him. “I always knew that, Sam. I was just caught by surprise. I shouldn’t have let you leave thinking…”

He pulled her to the bench and sat down, guiding her onto his lap. “I thought you hated me. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to get you to speak to me again after I got out of here.”

“Are you getting out?” she asked with lifted brows.

Sam nodded. “Eventually. This is all a misunderstanding that can be cleared up.”

“Tell me.”

Sam inhaled a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he leaned his head back against the wall. His hands continued to draw slow circles on her back, her arms, her hips.

Then he began to explain.

He told her about Ever’s father, and how he’d watched all the horrible things her father had done to her over the years. He told her how he and Hunter got a gun, and he made Ever stash it under her bed.

When he told her about the night Ever’s father was finally going to kill her, both of Aston’s hands flew to her mouth, and she kept them there, staring at him in horror. But she stayed quiet, listening.

Nausea rolled through her stomach and her chest constricted painfully.

“She pulled the trigger, and just like that, he was gone.” Sam’s voice was weary, but his gaze was now burning into hers, as if begging her to understand.

Aston took a deep, rattling breath. “Okay, so she killed him. But she had to. Why didn’t you guys just tell the police?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight. None of us were. I just wanted to protect her from having to go through any more shit because of that asshole. So I told her to tell the cops I shot him. It was easy to believe. Everyone knew what the son of a bitch was like; they’d believe I’d killed him because I couldn’t take him beating up on Ever anymore. Hunter didn’t like it, but he went along with it and got my bike to a getaway spot through the woods so I could take off.”

They sat quietly, Aston leaning her head against Sam’s shoulder. She could picture that horrible night, the jumbled mess his mind must have been. Ever must have been in shock, and Hunter was just trying to make it better for both of them. They were scared. She understood. But Sam wasn’t a killer, and he shouldn’t be sitting in this cell.

“Will Ever and Hunter back you up? Now that…that things have changed between the three of you?”

“They’ll be here later today. Marshall called them last night from N.I., explained to them that I was being shipped back home and we all had to come clean or I’d go to prison. They’ll back me up.”

Aston breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

“Aston,” Sam said softly, tilting her chin up with one finger so he could look into her face.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I put you through this. I should have told you a long time ago. This thing with Ever and Hunter made me crazy, and I couldn’t think straight. I think deep down, I always knew I could trust you, but I didn’t trust my heart to make good decisions anymore.”

She leaned in, brushing her lips against the corner of his mouth. “I know, Sam. But it’s over now, and when you get out of here I’m bringing you home with me. And not letting you go again.”

“What about Hopewell Enterprises?”

“What about it?” She wrinkled her nose in curiosity.

“Well, I know how you feel about your dad wanting me to be a part of it. Are you going to be okay with everything?”

“That was before I got to know you. Now I know how perfect you could be for the company. And if we’re running the company together one day, what the hell do I have to complain about? Right?”

“Promise you’re okay with everything?” he asked, dropping a kiss on the soft skin beneath her ear.

“I promise,” she answered, shivering.

“God, I love you, Princess.”

“You’d better, Waters. I just drove nine hours stuck in a truck with Reed to get to your ass.”

His hundred-watt smile was back, and nothing had ever looked so good.

S
am placed his hands on either side of Reed’s truck. He leaned forward, pressing his mouth to hers.

She pulled back, placing a finger against his lips, and shot him a coy smile.

“So you think you’re just gonna come back here, take me to Sunny’s, and all will be forgiven?”

Sam had spent one day and one night sitting in the cell in Duck Creek before Marshall was able to straighten the whole mess out. Without a high-powered lawyer like Marshall, it would have taken a lot longer for the red tape to clear. But the bottom line was that Sam had done nothing wrong, and he was released.

Sam had no desire to see either Ever or Hunter, but Marshall had let him know that Ever would likely have to face a judge for her part in her father’s death. But it would be a clear-cut case of self-defense.

He pulled back only an inch, far enough away to gaze into her eyes.

“Yep. That’s exactly my plan. Is it a problem, Princess?”

“Nope,” she answered as her mouth crashed into his.

He kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in months, like she was the last glass of water for a man trapped in the desert, like the world would be ending in an hour and she was all he had left.

Her lips were tender and the only thing he ever wanted in a kiss ever again.

She was his; he was finally staking claim on the girl he knew was meant for him, and he couldn’t be more satisfied with his decision.

When he pulled back this time, he stepped away from her and lowered his arms, taking her hands in his instead, so as not to break contact completely.

He let go of one hand and began ticking off a list on his fingers.

“She…is a business whiz. She manhandles her drunk
ex
-boyfriend. She changes her own tires…in heels. She yanks wild horses around for fun. She’s my personal shopper.”

He let go of her other hand and began ticking those fingers as well, continuing.

“You’re the girl I want on the back of my Harley…You’re the girl who shows me the best spot on N.I. You’re the girl who holds my soul in your hands. You’re
the girl…
my forever girl.”

He grasped both of her hands again, tugging until her body was flush against his and he was staring down into her unfathomable eyes.

“I could get used to that,” she said breathlessly.

“Good. Do that,” he said, his voice husky.

He pulled her to the doors and flung them open, ready to walk in and see their friends again, this time with Aston tucked under his arm, where she belonged.

The first person they saw was Princeton. He was standing at the bar ordering his drink from Kelly, and when they entered his eyes locked on Aston’s.

He slowly appraised her body, head to foot, and grinned. Then his gaze slid to Sam, and his lips became a snarl.

“So,” he said, sauntering over to where they stood.

Sam’s hand left Aston’s only to wrap protectively around her waist.

Princeton noticed, and the snarl on his face changed again, into an angry sneer.

“You’re with the convict now?” he asked Aston, raising his voice.

“Prince!” Her voice held a note of icy warning. “Don’t start.”

“Oh, I’m fucking starting,” he shot back. “I’m definitely starting, A. This isn’t you. I don’t know what he did to you, but this isn’t you. You’re not a slut.”

Her face snapped to the side as if she’d been slapped.

Sam reacted, stepping in front of her and getting into Princeton’s personal space.

“Say something like that to her again,” he growled. “And you’re gonna have to be carried out of here.”

Princeton had to look up to Sam at that distance, and he backed up a step.

“Whatever,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m just saying, A. If you wanted a convict, you could have found one native to N.I. You didn’t have to bring this one back from VA.”

Aston’s eyes narrowed, and she stepped out from behind Sam.

Reed appeared then, walking up from the deck outside. He stood silently off to the side, watching, in case he needed to step in. Blaze, Finn, and Tate soon joined him. They all looked on warily, their eyes moving from Sam to Princeton to Aston.

“How do you know about Virginia, Princeton? We haven’t even had time to fill everyone in on what happened. We just got back yesterday.”

Princeton shrugged again, but a look of concern crossed his features. “Rumor mill. Small town.”

“You’re lying,” Reed said. “You’ve always been a bad liar, Prince.”

Princeton turned around angrily to face Reed. “Shut the fuck up, Hopewell.”

“Easy, Prince,” Blaze warned. “You’re on the wrong side of right here, man.”

“Oh, really?” Princeton spat. “So you’re all on
his
side, now? He’s a newbie. A summer flea that’s gonna be gone next month. You really want to throw away years of friendship for him?”

“Did you turn him in, Princeton?” Aston asked quietly. Her voice was laced with rage. “Did you?”

Princeton faced her, his face scarlet with his fury.

“You know what?” he said. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. Because I found out what he really was, a
murderer,
and I couldn’t stand by while he stole you out from under me, Aston. He’s fucking trailer trash under your feet. You don’t end up with him.”

Aston’s eyes flashed their old, cool blue. She hadn’t been this angry since she’d met Sam, but now she was on the warpath. And she was superb on the warpath.

“Princeton Alexander, you listen to me,” she hissed. “Sam is mine, and I’m his. There’s not a damn thing you can do to change that, you
asshole
. Even if Sam wasn’t in the picture, I’d never go back to you.”

Sam tightened his arm around her waist, almost as if to hold her back. But his heart thumped with the pride of being able to call her his. And his hard-on throbbed with the promise of what was to come, when her fiery temper cooled.

“And you know what else?” she went on. Princeton was staring at her, his jaw clenched.

“It didn’t even matter,” she said smugly. “Sam was innocent. So now he’s here, and he’s working at Hopewell Enterprises, and he’s
staying.
He’s enrolling at U of C this month. So you can chalk your tattling up to a wasted effort.”

Blaze put his hands together and started to clap. Reed, grinning, joined him. It didn’t take long for Finn and Tate to join in the applause, and soon the entire bar area was clapping for Aston’s tirade. She grinned in satisfaction, breathing heavily and leaning into Sam’s side. Princeton looked around him with disgust. “You’ve all lost your fucking minds. I’m out.”

He walked past them all and exited the bar, slamming the wooden door behind him so hard the glass behind the bar rattled.

Aston turned and took a bow, and the applause grew thunderous.

She grinned at Sam. “Shall we?”

“We definitely shall,” he answered.

He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, carrying her squealing to their table outside.

Their group sat around the table, and Sam explained what had happened in Virginia, and why he was taken away in handcuffs in the first place.

“Holy shit,” Tamara said, her eyes wide. “So you actually were a wanted man.”

The awe in her eyes sent a smile to Sam’s face, and he answered her quietly.

“Yeah, I was.”

Blaze let out a whistle. “That’s heavy, dude. I’m glad everything is cleared up now. So you’re starting a new life here in N.I. That’s awesome. We’re really glad to have you, man.”

Sam nodded. “I’m glad to be here. And it’s N.I.
and
Charleston. I go to the University of Charleston now, remember?”

Reed clapped Sam on the back. “I always knew you had it in you, Sam. Damn motherfucking right.”

Sam shot Reed a grin. “So. I see that stage up there is empty tonight. No live band?”

“Nah,” he answered, shrugging. “Kelly said that Friday Night Rhapsody had to cancel. Food poisoning or something. So she’s just playing some tracks over the speakers tonight.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Sam said, looking pointedly at Reed. “Considering we have a perfectly good guitarist and songwriter right here in our midst.”

Tate, who was closest to Reed out of the bunch, began to smile slowly. He’d caught on to what Sam was doing, and he liked it.

“Yeah,” he answered, elbowing Reed. “Just do it, man. Enough is enough.”

Reed stared at them. “Y’all have lost your fucking minds. I’m not going up there.”

Aston cocked her head to the side. “What—?”

Sam squeezed her thigh. “Just wait, Princess.”

She clamped her mouth shut, darting suspicious glances between her brother and Sam.

Sam leaned close to Reed. “Come on, Reed. It’s now or never. Show us what you got.”

Reed looked doubtful, but that was his breaking point. Tate saw it and ran up to whisper across the bar to Kelly. She grinned and nodded. Tate looked back and gave them a thumbs-up.

Ten minutes later, Reed was climbing onto the stage with his black guitar, which he kept in his truck.

“We have something special for you tonight, folks,” Kelly said into the mic as Reed pulled up a stool. “The sweet, smooth stylings of Reed Hopewell, our one and only.”

She stepped away from the mic and rubbed Reed on the shoulder before leaving the stage.

Reed leaned forward on his stool and cleared his throat into the microphone. “Uh. Hey. It’s strange for me, being up here, but yeah. I’m gonna play you something that you know real well first, and we’ll go from there.”

He began to strum, and the strains of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” drifted through the crowd. Everyone watched, transfixed, as Reed began to sing, leaving his heart on the stage with him.

Aston leaned into Sam, never taking her eyes from the stage where her brother sat pouring out his soul.

Reed had the entire bar in the palm of his hand, and when he finished the song the floor shook with the standing ovation he received. Everyone knew him, and they hooted and hollered their approval of his secret talent.

Reed smiled, his grin sparkling under the spotlight. And he leaned into the microphone again.

“Yeah? You liked that? Thanks. Now I’d like to play you something of my own.”

And he did, and everyone went wild again. Reed Hopewell was a hit, and he continued to light up the place for the rest of the night.