Page 75 of Cross My Heart
“Not at all,” I tell her, wrapping her in a hug, “luckily, Trevor came out just in time to escort her out of the building, she won’t be coming around anymore. I’m sure of it. She wouldn’t dare let her reputation suffer more than it already has.”
We hear Tate making his way down the stairs, so we change topics quickly. “Lanie, let’s go! The neighborhood pool party is starting soon, I don’t want to be late.” Tate squeals.
“Hey, what about me?” I ask him.
“Awe, man, you still have to get the girls ready. I wanted to get to the clubhouse so we can pick the seats next to the splashing mushrooms,” he tells me.
I can’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. Our neighborhood has a pool with a clubhouse, most communities in the south do, but ours is pretty spectacular, even I have to admit. They have gone all out for the Labor Day end of season party, and Tate has been talking about it non-stop for weeks.
“Alright, big guy. Why don’t you and Lanie drive over? Trevor, Preston, and I will pack up the girls and walk them over in the wagon,” I tell his smiling face.
Turning to Lanie, I add, “That way, we’ll have a car there if we have to get the girls home early.”
“Sounds good to me. Ready for some fun in the sun, little man?” Lanie says as she starts chasing Tate.
“Yes,” he screeches, running for the door.
Laughing, Lanie shouts over her shoulder, “See you over there.”
* * *
A full forty-five minutes later,we finally have the girls packed up, sunscreen, and hats on, loaded into the little red wagon Preston insists on pulling.
“Thank fu-udge Lanie brought the cooler in the car,” Trevor says, putting his beer in a koozie, “that would have been a nightmare to carry.”
“No shit,” Preston laughs.
“Dude, language,” I tell him, “the girls are starting to form words, Lanie will have my head if their first real words are a curse.
“Things seem to be going pretty good between you and Lanie, huh?” Trevor asks, gazing past me.
Looking out at all the houses we are passing, with perfectly landscaped yards and smiling happy families, I tell him the truth. “I think it is, I’m not going to lie though, I keep waiting for her to run. I’m terrified actually that she is going to run.”
“You’ve still got plenty of time with her,” Preston points out.
“I know, I’m all in with her, though. She could break me more than Anna ever did.”
Rounding the corner, the clubhouse comes into view. It’s not as packed as I was expecting, but even taking as long as we did, we are still early. The party doesn’t officially start until four.
Trevor slaps me on the back. “Whatever happens, we are here for you. For what it’s worth, Julia says she hasn’t ever seen Lanie this happy.”
Pride fills my chest, but then something catches my eye. I’m not sure what I’m seeing at first, then I hear Tate crying out for me to hurry.
“Dad, dad, help…Lanie,” is all he gets out, his tear-stained face pressed up against the fence surrounding the pool.
Dropping all the shit I was carrying, I take off at a dead sprint with Trevor on my heels. That’s when I see her. A man is holding her upper arms so tightly that even while running and from this distance, I know he will leave bruises. I can’t hear what he is saying, but I can see the spittle flying from his mouth.
Trevor veers to the left, running around the length of the fence to the gate. I don’t have the luxury of that time wasted. Running as fast as I can, I propel myself at the wall, scaling it easier than I thought I would be able to. Adrenalin at its finest. Hauling my legs up and over, I jump to the ground on the other side.
We are behind the clubhouse, near the entrances to the bathrooms, and I feel like, for the first time in my life, I might be capable of murder. I begin to yell at the man, telling him to let Lanie go as I am running towards her when I see him yank her left arm with such force I swear I hear the pop.
Lanie crumples to the ground.
Lanie
Chapter 30
Lifting my head from the pavement, I know I didn’t lose consciousness, but a pain that intense is bound to knock even the toughest men off their ass. I’m no exception. Without even attempting to move it, I know theSenatordislocated my shoulder, possibly my elbow too.
