Found (Captive Heart #2) (14 page)

M
y husband’s strong arms
, roped with muscles that bulge each time he flexes, row us out to the middle of the lake.

“I forgot how peaceful it is out here.” I sigh as I lay on my back on one of the canoe benches.

Gone With The Wind
lies by my foot at the bottom of the boat, but I don’t bother to pick it up. I’m perfectly content to lie on my back and watch the serene blue sky and the puffy white clouds.

“Even with all of the children screaming?” Tucker jokes. He picks my bare feet up and begins to massage them.

A slow groan works through my throat. “I can barely even hear them we’re so far out now. It’s such a beautiful day. Do you even know how to set that thing up?”

I point to the fishing pole and tackle box he’s brought out with us. I doubt he’ll be able to even catch a thing, what with the children splashing in the lake further towards shore. And his complete inexperience when it comes to fishing. But he told Willy he’d try. And so, he’ll try.

“It can’t be that hard, really. I’ll set it up in a minute though. For right now, let me just sit here and admire my beautiful wife with the summer sun beating down on her.”

The smile that spreads across my face is childlike. Huge and unedited. “You can’t say things like that to me!”

He hits a particularly sore spot on my heel and it feels amazing. “And why is that?”

“Because then I’ll realize that your icy exterior is thawing.”

Tucker chuckles and leans down, blocking the sun on my face. “Baby, I think you knew you thawed it long ago.”

His lips find mine and stroke them tenderly. His mouth coaxes mine, slowly and lazily, like a summer afternoon. He sits up with a smile and turns to set up the line and bait.

“Well, at least tell me you’ll bring back sullen Tucker every once and a while. He’s sexy …”

Tucker throws me a devastating smile. “Are you trying to get me in trouble with my wife?”

God, my husband is so damn sexy. It’s kind of crazy that we’re out here on this lake like this. When we first stepped foot in Camp Marsh all those many years ago, Tucker was the boy next door. He was my first crush, and on these very grounds, he was my first kiss. Back home, he was the first boy I ever gave myself to, and the first one I ever fell in love with. He owns every single first of mine. And now he owns my lasts.

And I have this place to thank. There is something magical for us about being here. It’s where we fell in love again, where we found each other when we were so lost. It’s where we buried old wounds, but developed new fears.

This is the only place where I was one with our baby. For such a short, sweet period of time that I didn’t know about, our son existed with only us in this deserted place.

I rub the tattoo on the inside of my left wrist. It’s such a habit now that sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it.

“I feel him here too.” Tucker looks at me, and his eyes carry such meaning.

“I haven’t been back here since, but … I should have come back. I feel him, he’s here with us. For such a brief, sweet period of time it was just us three.”

I’m surprised to feel the tears gathering at the bottom of my lids. I hadn’t meant for this self-reflection to get heavy.

Tucker’s hand covers mine. “We will give him a brother. And a sister. So many of them. He can watch over them, protect them always.”

I nod, too emotional to speak for the moment. As I blink away the tears, I give him the gift I’ve been wanting to share with him for the couple of days we’ve been here.

“I know we will. But first, we have to build them a house.”

Tucker drops the bait he was trying to wrangle onto the fishing hook. “What?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the things you said in therapy, about feeling like you didn’t really have a home. And I love the condo, but we need somewhere that is fully us. A new place to start our lives together. I know we only have a little saved up, but I’m sure there are some fixer uppers out in the suburbs.”

Tucker looks like a kid on Christmas. “Are you serious? You’re going to let me build us a house?”

I tap my finger to my chin. “Only if I get my own bathroom. And I distinctly remember something about granite countertops …”

He tackles me, rocking the boat so violently I think he might tip us over. His lips attack my skin, any naked part of my flesh he can kiss is his for the taking.

“I can’t wait, baby. I’m going to build you the house of your dreams.”

* * *

A
hundred and
fifty pages with Scarlett and two measly fish caught later, Tucker rows us back in to shore. It’s now practically empty, all of the children have gone to wash up for dinner per Melody’s rules.

I bask in the quiet as Tucker ties up the canoe and puts away the fishing equipment.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” He asks as he slings his arm around my shoulder.

“Hmm, I think I need to hear it again.” I lean up and kiss him.

“Well, isn’t that sweet? You two have lasted longer than I ever thought possible.”

It’s like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over me. That voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and it sends my stomach plummeting to my feet.

Standing in the quad in front of us in her pastel best is my mother. There is an evil gleam to her eyes, almost as if she’s conducting some sort of scheme in her head.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Tucker growls at her, and I feel his arm tighten around my shoulder as he draws me into his body.

She walks toward us and I could swear there might be devil horns growing out of her forehead. I look around for Willy, Melody, anybody who might be able to remove her, kick her off the grounds.

“Funny you should ask that, felon. I’ve watched you rip apart my daughter’s life, make a mockery of everything I built her up to be. You are the reason my husband left me, why I’m now the gossip on everybody’s tongue. You are a piece of shit, and I’d like nothing more than to see you rot in prison. And now … you will.”

The smirk on her face is disgusting, it makes me want to hurl. “What are you talking about?”

She walks closer to me, almost as if she might tuck my hair behind my ear or wet down my flyaways like she used to do when I was a child.

“Oh, your dear husband hasn’t shared the stipulations of his parole, has he? Well, let me give you a refresher course. As part of his parole, this criminal isn’t allowed to leave the jurisdiction he’s registered in for the first year of his release. And last time I checked, the Poconos are not in Lancaster.”

My mother’s face is contorted now, her demented, sick jealousy of Tucker and I has finally won. My stomach feels sour and violent, and I want nothing more than the ground where she stands to open up and swallow her whole.

I hold tight to Tucker, not even questioning him about the parole. I silently pray that she’s wrong, that she hasn’t just caught him.

“How did you even know we were here?!” My rage snaps as I realize that she tracked him here.

“I warned you, Charlotte Ann, that if you chose him over your family and your future … I warned you that this would happen. He’s ruined our lives. And he deserves everything that is about to come to him. I’ve been tracking you two for months, just waiting for him to screw up. To go back to his criminal past and crush you. Again. And now … I finally have, you piece of shit.”

I’ve never wanted to rip someone limb for limb until right now. Any shred, any morsel of familial bond that had been left on the thin bones of my relationship with my mother was now gone. Disintegrated in her evil wake.

“You’re a monster! You’re blind to anything but yourself and your agenda. Tucker never ruined a thing. He put me back together again. He taught me how to love. Because what you gave me surely wasn’t love. Congratulations mother, it’s official. I no longer feel anything for you. Not hate, certainly not love, and definitely not pity. You’ve done it all to yourself, and the crazy thing is, you’ll never see it. I hope you rot in your miserable, cold life.”

She presses a few keys on her phone. “Not before I report your husband to the police, though …”

Tucker finally steps forward, grabbing her phone, throwing it down and crushing it with his heel. “Not until I make a call of my own, you bitch.”

T
he funny thing
about prison is that it does actually teach you things you would never learn in the real world.

You get smarter, sharper. You have a different kind of control over your senses, you learn to read people more accurately.

One of the best skills prison gave me was the sense to always be looking over my shoulder. Which is exactly how I began to spot the “average Joe” who kept showing up in too many coincidental places. That’s the thing with detectives or private investigators. They’re always trying to think like a criminal, but they aren’t actually one. That’s where we have a leg up. And that’s how I figured out exactly what Mrs. Morsey was up to.

About a month ago, I realized that the same guy I’d seen everywhere recently, with his jet black hair and crooked nose, was walking near my job sight. This sight was way out on the edges of town, there was no reason for that guy to be out there. It felt suspicious, and I could have sworn I’d seen him on Mother’s Day and also in the restaurant when I’d taken Charlotte out for dinner for her birthday. It was just too coincidental.

So I mentioned it to Jane. She was happy I reported it to her, because when she had a friend look into it, tail the guy who was tailing me, we uncovered the whole scheme. Charlotte’s mother was trying to get me locked up again.

And now the bitch stands here in front of us, that smug smirk gracing her wicked face. She thinks she’s won. Oh, I’m going to take such pleasure in proving her wrong.

I pull my own phone out and punch in Jane’s number. “Hi Jane, it’s me. Yep … yep. How quick can you get here? Oh, perfect. All right, see you then!”

I cheerily hang up with my parole officer and turn back to Charlotte’s mother, whose expression is faltering. Char is still tucked under my arm, but I can feel her straighten. She knows something big is about to happen. We can feel it crackle through our bodies.

“Who was that?” Mrs. Morsey practically spits.

I smile at her. “Oh, that? That was my parole officer, Jane Joval. Yeah, she was in the area so she thought she’d stop over and just clear all of this up. Oh! There she is now.”

Jane waves as she comes towards us, the cocky grin on her face almost making me laugh. God, do we have this witch or what?

“Oh, hello there! Hi, buddy.” She shakes my hand, and then leans in to kiss Char’s cheek. “Hi, lovely.”

Then she turns to Mrs. Morsey. “And I know who you are, you cow.”

I swear Char almost chokes on her tongue, and her mother’s face turns such a shade of red I think she might not be breathing.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I butt in. “Now, Mrs. Morsey, it’s not proper to curse. Although I’ve definitely taught your daughter how to do it. Anyhow, this is my parole officer. She just thought she’d be in the area in case I needed her. But not before she signed the correct paperwork allowing me to take this trip. Because while I have to remain in my jurisdiction, I am allowed up to a two week trip with my parole officer’s permission. She’s here to explain just in case you’re still feeling like calling the police.”

I smile at her, victory singing in my heart. She looks like she might slice my face off.

“Wha … how …”

Jane touches her arm. “Oh, yes … we know all about your conniving ways. And hear me on this; if you ever try to interfere with either one of their lives again, I will report you to the police for harassment and stalking. The commissioner back in Lancaster is a dear old friend.”

Charlotte’s mother is about to spit nails. It’s so amusing and satisfying.

“You’re a bunch of ingrates! Scoundrels! Piece of shit criminals!”

“Buh-bye, mother.” Charlotte finally speaks up, waggling her fingers sarcastically.

Mrs. Morsey turns on her totally-unsuitable heels and scrambles for her car. At one point, she turns back to say something, but the words must get stuck. Or she glimpses the look on Jane’s face and thinks better of it.

Only when she’s finally driving away and out of our lives forever do I fist bump Jane and pull her into a congratulatory hug.

“We did it!” She hoots.

“Okay, will someone please explain what the hell is going on!?” Char’s jaw is almost on the ground.

“Yeah, we’d like to know what the heck just happened, too.” Willy and Melody come out of the mess hall, where they must have been eavesdropping.

I start to crack up at the insanity of what just happened. And my soul feels so light it’s crazy. Here I am, surrounded by the people who mean the most to me in this whole world.

“Let’s sit down and get some food, and I’ll tell you the story.”

* * *

“
S
o you knew
what she was up to all along?” Char gapes at me over the huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the middle of the table.

Jane scoops her third helping onto a plastic mess hall plate. “Well, he noticed the shady dude tracking him, so we put a tail on his tail. And he turned out to be right. You’re an intuitive bastard, you know that, Tucker?”

“Thanks, boss.” I rip into a hunk of garlic bread, my appetite voracious after the battle with Mrs. Morsey.

“So this running away, it was all a front?” Char looks hopeful.

I turn to her, sorry to have to burst her bubble. “No, babe. I’m sorry. I really did feel overwhelmed, when I left I felt like doing so was the best thing for you. But Jane and I had a pre-approved trip pass all written out, just in case anything ever came up where we knew your mother could take advantage of it. I called Jane when I was on my way here to let her know, and she thought it might be best if she was in the area. Turns out she was right.”

“But everything is alright between you two now, right?” Melody takes a sip of water as she smiles at us with a gleeful expression.

I lace my fingers through Char’s. “We’re more than alright. In fact, this lady has agreed to settle down with me. We’re moving to the ‘burbs!”

Willy laughs and pats me on the back. “Let me know if you need any help. I hear your handyman skills are shit.”

Char still has questions though. “So … my mother is gone. Won’t bother us again?”

Jane laughs. “Not if she knows what’s good for her. No, what she doesn’t know is that I already put in that call to my old pal the Chief of Police. He’s got some eyes on her, just light surveillance. If she gets within a hundred feet of either of you, she’ll be in trouble. You’re free.

Char looks at me, her brown eyes twinkling. “We’re free.”