"What the hell is going on?" Tyler asked again, this time not nearly as nice."Let's take it inside the office," Travis said, marching towards it. Liam followed and Tyler looked around. "Why are you coming too? Did you have a hand in this?""Stop jumpin' to conclusions and let us talk to you," Liam told his friend, pushing him through the office and shutting the door.Meredith had a seat and motioned for Tyler to do the same. Nothing would get accomplished if he stood there, arms folded across his chest, attitude in full effect. "Did you know that Stephanie was Addie's aunt?" she asked quietly, throwing a pointed look at Travis."What the fuck?" Tyler glared at his two brothers, walking up to Liam and getting in his face. "You knew that and you didn't tell someone? That woman was living at CRISIS, around Meredith every goddamn day. Addie was there with her sometimes. What the fuck were you thinking?""I'll accept a lot from you, my man," Liam told him. "But get outta my
"Liam!"He glanced up from where he sat at the head of the table in the clubhouse. He, along with Tyler, Jagger, and Layne, were working out the new protection runs for the month of December. They were about to get much busier than they'd been in a long time. The men had been in the middle of deep conversation when Denise came storming in."Hey, baby." The smile he gave her was uncertain. He was completely unsure as why she would be so pissed off."Don't baby me!""You pissed?" he asked, not because he was stupid, but because he was curious. He wasn't ready to argue with anyone tonight, especially his wife."What was your first clue? I found this," she reached into her jeans pocket and produced a ripped empty condom wrapper, "in the truck.""Oh damn." Tyler chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. He sat back to watch whatever this was unfold. He had a very good idea of whose it was, but he wasn't about to mention names."That ain't mine! We don't even use condoms, we'
"Are you ladies sure you're gonna be okay here tonight?" Tyler asked the group of women who had gathered at his house. The run Heaven Hill was about to go on would take most of the manpower they had, and since March was upon them and the newscasters were calling for snow, he hadn't wanted to leave Meredith and Addie alone. March could sometimes be the worst when it came to snow in south-central Kentucky. When he'd called for backup, he was surprised when Mandy and Charity had readily agreed to stay with Meredith for him."We're good," Mandy told him. "And if anything should happen, Drew and Dalton are a phone call away.""And," Meredith reminded him, "You know that Travis has eyes on this house all the time. He's sticking behind, and no matter how irritated I get at him, I trust him."Tyler did too, but he really wished Rooster, Layne, or Jagger were also sticking around. He knew he could trust Drew and Dalton to take care of things too, didn't mean he couldn't shake the feeli
Mandy got up from her seat and went to stand in front of Meredith. She wasn't carrying a child, and she realized that at certain times in her life, she had been meek, but one thing she did know how to do was take care of herself. She realized that between the three adults in the house, she probably had the most experience, even though Meredith was older and Charity was the daughter of a stripper.Looking back at the two of them, Charity wondered what she should do. Stephanie took advantage of the mistake, and pushed herself through the door, locking it before she took stock of the scene in front of her."Doesn't this look cozy?" she asked, pulling a gun out of her handbag. Meredith gasped as she saw the gun. A million thoughts ran through her head, and she wished with everything she had that Tyler would come home. Maybe he would realize that something was wrong, maybe he would feel it. It wouldn't be the first time he had known. She wondered if Travis was in his cave; she hoped
"You need to shut your mouth," Stephanie told Mandy, holding the gun tighter in her hand. "Or you're going to find out what else I'm good at."Mandy knew she was playing with fire and honestly didn't know how far she should try and play the game. From behind her, she heard Addie's room door open and took the chance to look. Standing there like an oasis in the middle of the desert were her dad, Tyler, Drew, and Dalton, and they were all pointing guns at Stephanie."Get out of the way, Mandy," Tyler commanded as he walked towards where they stood with his gun drawn.Meredith watched her husband, worried. She hadn't seen the look in his eyes in a long time. She hated that he had been pushed to this point, hated that either of them were in this situation. How many times in their lives would they have to defend themselves? How many times would they have to fight for one another?"Get in the bedroom," he ordered the women. "You don't need to be out here for this. Grab Addie and go."
Three hours later, and Tyler felt like he could finally breathe again. Once they had her on the operating table and had taken their son, her vitals had crashed, and there had been a bleed that they couldn't stop. It was decided quickly they would take every measure they needed in order to save her life. Tyler had agreed, signing the paperwork to give them permission, and had left as fast as his feet would carry him. The doctors needed to concentrate on her, and he needed to concentrate on their son.Born early, he still weighed in at seven pounds even, long, and very strong. His lungs were well-developed, and initial tests had shown he was perfectly healthy. Tyler was beyond thankful.It wasn't until the doctor had come into the room where he was doing skin to skin with his son and told him Meredith was fine that he'd let the tears fall. For a few short moments, he'd allowed himself to think about what his life would be like without her. How would he take care of not only Addie but
Drew sighed deeply as he felt Charity's arms come around his waist. They'd been driving along the back roads of Warren County for hours. In the distance, he could see the sun rising, and he knew he had to get her home soon. Her car was packed and her room was booked at Duke. The stripper's daughter was going to make something of herself, and he knew he couldn't stand in the way. He stopped the bike at the end of her driveway, in order to give them a little bit of privacy. They'd spent a few hours that night saying goodbye to one another, the rest of the hours had been spent saying goodbye to landmarks of the places that she called home. He still couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't expect her back. Drew shut the bike off and leaned back against her, letting her squeeze him tightly. "Well, I guess this is it." It was hard to push the words out against the tightness of his throat. He hadn't cried in a long time, but damned if he didn't feel like he was going to right now. "
VOLUME EIGHT: HOME FREECharity Thomas sat straight up in bed as the phone next to her rang sharply, piercing the silence of the night. As a lawyer, it wasn't unusual for her to get calls at all hours, but one this early—3AM if she'd read the clock right between squinted eyes—gave her a funny feeling."This is Charity," she answered her work cell, with what she hoped was a clear voice. Pushing her hair out of her face, she fought the sleep that wanted to claim her again."Charity, it's Meredith Blackfoot."That name conjured up a whole boatload of memories. Some of them the best of her life, some of them the worst. Immediately, she went back to her mom's driveway and Drew telling her to go make something of herself. Even today, ten years later, she could still feel the way she'd felt that day. Her stomach still clenched the same way it had back then."Is something wrong?" she asked, scared now that it was her mom, or even Drew. The two of them hadn't spoken since she'd left h