Page 47 of Absolute Valor

“Nothing, yet.” An ambivalent look in his eyes, “She’s had some unexpected bills; deposit on a home and paying an electric bill.” His words cut like a dull knife, knowing the disappointment his eyes held was for me.

“Send me the bill. If the removal will cost her anything…”

Holding up his hand, making his point. “She and I have come to an agreement, one where the love of my life benefits quite well.” He sends a wink in momma’s direction.

“I’m confused,” I admit, my attention ricocheting back and forth between my parents.

“He means, I get to spend some time with Grace, making some new memories for this house and for you, Chase.” Kissing my cheek as she joins daddy’s side.

What ever happened while I was down the road getting my act together must have been good if Grace was going to get to spend time here. “Oh, and Son,” Dad called and I spun on my heels. “She knows.” For the briefest of seconds I stood in confusion, the lowering of his chin and rise of his eyebrows conveyed all he couldn’t say. Audrey knew about the scores we had settled, including the one, which took the life of Lucas.

Molly Green spent a great deal of time tending to her flowers. Her care and dedication showed in her magazine worthy yard. Her driveway, a cobblestoned masterpiece, led the way to the small house she once used for her studio. Now, it held the most important people in the world. A garden flag greeted visitors, a new edition since the last time I’d visited. The inviting swing complete with pillows and a single stuffed lamb, a favorite of Grace’s according to Molly.

I watched as my raised hand knocked several times on the wood frame of the screen door, while the wind chimes behind me danced in the soft afternoon breeze. Audrey came around the corner, a dish towel drying her hands. A tender smile, which dropped slightly as she recognized who stood at her front door.

“Chase?” Her soft voice was like music of the highest degree to my ears. “What are you doing here?” My leg bounced with the overwhelming need to pull the door from its hinges, pick her up, and kissed the life out of her. I settled for, “Can I come in?” Although, I didn’t give up hope for the kiss to happen before I left.

“Of course, but we need to keep it down, Grace is asleep.”

I was counting on this to give us time to talk, and more importantly, me time to get my act together. The inside of the house was clean and eclectic, exactly as I imagined a place where Audrey lived would be. Her bag, which she had strapped over her shoulder, lay on the floor. I noticed that Jackson lacked to offer her any help. A baby blanket was in the center of the couch, toys and small books were tucked around the edges. A pale green chair stood in the corner of the room, a table and small lamp close by, a small stack of books tumbled against the leg, with another face down on the table.

“You will have to excuse the mess, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” She laughed nervously, as she tossed toys into a large wicker basket beside the fireplace.

“Audrey, this is your home.” I choked slightly as I admitted she lived here and not the house I had designed in my head. “It’s more than I really have at this point.” My realtor had had very little problem leasing the condo I’d shared with Ginny, the area was sought after by the young professionals in the area.

“You’re not staying in Mount Pleasant?” For a moment I was elated she knew where I used to live, until I remembered she paid the bills for the business and knew my address.

“No, I got rid of the condo, I’m living in the loft in my parent’s barn. Daddy had it remodeled when we hit high school. It gave us a place to rough house and not drive momma crazy.”

Audrey tossed the last toy into the bin, and then stood nervously with her now empty hands. “Can I get you something to drink?” Her eyes bright, moving in the direction of her kitchen.

“No, thank you.” I scratched the top of my head with my right hand, a nervous habit I developed over the years. “Audrey, can we sit and talk for a minute?” I needed to get this out, confess my feelings before my nerves swallowed up my thoughts.

“Sure, is everything alright?”

Worry filled eyes followed me as I took a seat on the sofa, forearms finding my thighs, giving me something to focus on instead of the beautiful woman across the room. “No, it isn’t.” I confessed, the green coffee table preventing me from jumping to my feet and crossing the room. “I need to set the record straight with you. I need to tell you how I feel and how big of an idiot I’ve been.” Laughter fell into my confession as my nerves showed their poker faces.

“When we went to Florida,” I began, testing out the waters to see her reaction, her simple nod gave me the green light to continue. “I made a promise to you, swearing up and down I could make you happy if you gave me the chance.” She flinches, and her expression dropped, it was slight, but stood out to me. “I broke that promise when the first bad thing happened. When a man, who disrespected you, and hurt little Grace, got past my tough guy act with one boldfaced lie. A lie I took ownership of, made personal, and then took it out on you.” Her brows knot in confusion, yet she remained silent and let me progress.

“Lucas tried to tell me, no matter what happened to him, he would always be her Daddy. Something that, considering who I am, and where I came from, should have rolled off my shoulders like water off a duck’s back.”

“But I let it fester. Instead of telling him where Grace would live and be loved, I took it internally and fucking agreed with him.” My anger at myself showed in my gritted teeth and poor choice of words. “Worst of all, I turned my back on you, comparing you to Ginny and pitted you against all the evil she has shown me.” Of all my crimes against Audrey, this is the one which haunted me the most.

“Audrey, I know you have a new agenda with Grace and getting on your feet.” I was almost afraid to admit what I needed to next, but it was the answer I dreaded hearing most. “I saw Jackson Siever paying special attention to you and Grace, and perhaps I’m too late, maybe Jackson has come forward at the right time, with a fresh slate and no bad decisions littering his past. But I’m trying to live by a quote my granddaddy said when I was younger, to see if I’m too late to do as I promised.”

Her eyes flash to her hands in her lap, her deep breath showing in the rise and fall of her shoulders. “I’m sorry about Jackson,” she said softly, shaking her head and squinting her eyes. “Dylan came by and asked for a favor, giving me the clothes to wear to the party.” She pointed to the beach bag against the frame of the door. “I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to dress practically naked, until Jackson said something to me in the pool.” Her head lowered again and I could tell whatever the bastard said had hurt her. Leaving the execution of Jackson Siever till later, I crossed the room and knelt before her, taking the liberty to pull her hands in mine.

“It was all a lie, Chase.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “He was there to make you jealous. If I had known before hand, I would have stayed home where I belong.”

I gripped her hands tight, in an attempt to have her eyes focused on me again. “You’re a young single guy,” she said slowly, swaying her head as she continued. “And I’m a bad country song, complete with a history of terrible choices in men and an illegitimate child to prove it. What in the world would you want with me?”

Audrey didn’t know it, but she had just given me the opportunity of a lifetime. “Have you ever heard the story of how I came to be with Priscilla and Dean Morgan? I mean you know we were adopted from a group home, but have you ever heard how I wound up there?” She shook her head, a hint of curiosity in her eye. “The woman who gave birth to me, actually the little girl, who gave birth to me, was fourteen when she found out she was pregnant.” Audrey gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth, but saying nothing. “She didn’t tell her family as they were so poor they couldn’t even pay attention. For nine months she hid her growing belly. The man who helped conceive me, was a family friend who disappeared the second the lines turned blue on the pregnancy test. She and her friend learned what they could from books they found, so when it came time to have me, they snuck off to an abandoned grocery store over on James Island, as momma tells it.” Momma helped me to try and track her down when I was eleven, the story I gained helped to make me a better man.

“She stayed in the building for two days until I developed a fever. She and her friend caught the city bus to the emergency room at University Medical. One of the nurses took me to be weighed, and when she returned, my birth mother was gone. Since she had given a false name, I was turned over to the county until my next of kin could be found. About a week later, the body of a young girl was discovered in the abandoned building. She had died as a result of blood loss, with a portion of the placenta remaining inside her. They compared our blood and confirmed she was the one who left me. Her parents came to the hospital, but chose to give me up since there was no way in the world they could afford to keep me. I stayed with my first foster family for five weeks; long enough to develop colic and have the lady return me when she couldn’t take my crying anymore. I bounced from house to house for a while until I finally landed at the children’s home, and you know the rest.” I shrugged. I’d long ago accepted all the failed homes I’d had to visit, waiting for momma to be ready to take me.

“So you see, in a way, Grace and I are kindred spirits. Both coming from a parent who didn’t want us to a family who did.” Pulling out my cell phone, I turned it so I could show her the photo I looked at every night. “I saw this on your desk one night after you left to pick her up from daycare and I had to have it.” Her confused eyes searched the photo, “What I said that day about the shop becoming a daycare was not meant to come out like it did. What I wanted was for Dylan to move over so I could play with Grace. Flesh and blood doesn’t define a family, it’s the love they share for one another”

Gripping her hand tighter, I looked into her eyes. “Audrey, I know I’m going to screw up. Granddaddy believed every man who cared for a woman, should have a florist and jeweler on speed dial, and a couch just in case they were closed. You know how hard I fight to protect the ones I love, and to what extremes I’m willing to go.” Telling her what I knew, without telling her what I knew. “As far as what happened in the pool this afternoon, you should know momma has brought more couples together than Noah.” A tickle of a smile begins to grow on her face.

“Momma wants us together.” I sucked in a breath, ready to deliver my final plea, “I want us together.”

Her nod was slight, followed by a sniffle and then her arms winding around my neck. “I want us, too.” Her confession broken by her tears, and I couldn’t help but pull her from the chair, wrapping two arms around her and taking her in.

We stood, swaying back and forth as her sobs quieted and my anxiety disappeared. Pulling her back, I saw those hazel eyes I missed so much, looking into mine. “Audrey, I’m going to kiss you.” Our lips were so close they were practically touching already. Her breath hitched, I took that as permission to continue, and closed the remaining centimeters between us.

I’d fantasized about her lips on my body, granted it was much lower than my face, but we had to start somewhere. Pillow soft lips, hesitant at first, tested the waters checking for sharks. Not that I could blame her, the sides of me I have shown her have been hot and cold, with no real sample of the perfect in between. I feel her relax, letting me take the lead and set the pace. With a hand in her hair and the other around her middle, I increased the pressure, allowing the passion to increase and my desire to become known. Audrey wasn’t a virgin, Grace was living proof of that, but I would still have to tread lightly with her, showing her the love and affection she was clearly lacking in her previous relationship. No matter how bad I wanted to toss her to the couch and love her until we tasted the same—a soft cry coming from the back of the house reminding me I had to share her. My time alone was up and, honestly, I was okay with that.

“Audrey,” my voice ragged with want for her, “That was one hell of a first kiss, now we can move on to the millions of other firsts for us.” I sealed my promise with a soft kiss as Grace’s cries grew louder, demanding to have her mother back.

Come hell or high water, I wasn’t letting her go ever again.

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