Page 99 of Tied
“You don’t understand. It’s all I see when I look at her.”
Blood boiling, I lean forward. “Then look a-fucking-gain. Holly isn’t what he did to her. Holly is a loving, innocent woman. She put her life back together. She put all that behind her. She’s taking writing classes, she has a beautiful home, she’s getting married—”
She scoffs. “Toyou.”
“Damn fucking right to me. The one who saved her life and killed that asshole who took her. The one who loves her unconditionally, treats her like a queen, and gives her anything and everything to make her feel safe and happy. Including trying to talk some sense into her cunt of a mother.”
Her head snaps back, her lip curling in revulsion. “I want no part of my daughter marrying a vulgar animal like you.”
“And I want no part of having a judgmental bitch for a mother-in-law, but here we are.”
“I think it’s time for you to go.”
I bark out a laugh. “I’ll decide when this meeting is over. You might want to clear your calendar for the day.”
“What’s it going to take to get you to leave?”
“I want you to reply to my mother’s email and tell her you’ll be delighted to come to our housewarming party. Tell her you’ll bring something yummy, like cream puffs. Then I want you and that spineless dick you call your husband to come to your daughter’s beautiful home and act like you’re happy for her.” I let my gaze settle on her. “You look like a woman who’s used to faking it, so that shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
A muscle in her cheek spasms. “Anything else?”
I rise from the chair. “Yeah, you can plan on coming to our wedding because for some crazy reason, your daughter wants you celebrating with her. If I have to shove you two assholes bound and gagged into the back of my truck to get you there, I will. I’ll stop at nothing to give Holly what she needs to be happy.”
Her expression softens slightly. “I’m beginning to see that.”
“She deserves it.” I spit my gum into her trashcan. “Thanks for the chitchat. I’ll see you Saturday. Don’t worry about Grandma, I’ll be picking her up the day before so she can spend the night. She and Holly love spending time together.”
I head for the door and pause with my hand on the knob. “Ya know what’s really twisted, Cynthia? Holly is more hurt by how you and your husband treat her than she is about what that scumbag did to her. Maybe you should think about that.”
She’s sitting on the swing on the front porch when I pull into the driveway. Boomer and Poppy are lying together on the top step, tails wagging. My heart aches seeing my little world, wondering how the hell I got so lucky.
Even though our horrible pasts brought us together, I thank the universe every day for putting Holly in my life.
She meets me on the walkway, eyes sparkling, blond hairblowing, a wool shawl wrapped around her shoulders. The beauty to my beast.
“How’s my sunshine?” I ask, leaning down to kiss her.
“Great.” She smiles up at me and grabs my hand. “Where did you go?”
“I had to take care of a little problem.”
She glances up at me as we climb the porch stairs. “A lost dog?”
“Yeah. I don’t think it’s lost anymore.”
“Good. Are you hungry? I made us vegetable soup.”
Kicking the kitchen door shut behind us, I pull her into my arms.
“Starving…” I dip down to kiss her neck, my mouth traveling over her warm skin to her collarbone. “But soup can wait.”
“It definitely can,” she whispers, caressing my cheek.
Smiling, I effortlessly pick her up and carry her to our bedroom.
Holly
From the living room window I see their car slowly coming down our long gravel driveway.
