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
Fuck, Drew cursed as he pulled his truck onto the square. He was running late, but Mandy had begged him to bring this office equipment to the new place she would be helping out. Word had it that this practice was doing some pro bono work for CRISIS, so he knew most of this was courtesy of Heaven Hill.By trade, Mandy was a paralegal. Her training helped out the club, and in some situations was beneficial to associates of the club. She kept her eyes and ears open for anything and everything that could help them out. For the most part, she managed to know what was happening in this town almost before anyone else did. Usually it was a win/win for everyone involved.He wondered who this attorney was. She tended to switch them up every couple of years, just to give herself a break from the monotony. In fact, it had been a year since she'd actually worked for one. She'd been helping Roni do books at the shop for a while.He looked down at his phone, making sure he was at the correct ad
Liam walked inside, shutting the door behind him as Drew had a seat on his bed. Taking a minute to look at his dad, Drew realized that the years had been good to him. He didn't have a lick of gray on his head, and the only wrinkles he spotted were crow's feet and smile lines. Drew hoped that was him when he was in his forties. Even though he didn't have one ounce of Liam's blood in his body, he hoped like hell he took after the man who had given him his last name."I heard from a little birdie that you saw Charity today." Liam had a seat in the chair across from the bed, putting his elbows on his knees.Damn his sister. "That little birdie's got a big fuckin' mouth."Liam couldn't help the grin that came to his face. "The two of you always fight dirty, even as grown-ass adults. I just want to make sure you're okay after seeing her today. The months after she left were hard on you, son. Hell, the years following ain't been a cakewalk."There was no denying that, so he didn't eve
Drew hated to be the last person to know something, so he intentionally waited until the very last minute to make his way into the meeting. Having a seat at the table, he sat between his best friend, Dalton, and his other friend Cash. Cash wasn't a member of Heaven Hill, but he was a trusted acquaintance, and they liked to keep him in the loop.Purposely, he sat back against his chair and acted uninterested, even when Liam called the meeting to order. Immature as it was, it was his own rebellion."As some of you know," his old man said, "Charity has been retained by the club to help with the situation at CRISIS.""What situation is that?" he asked as obnoxiously as he could. They'd left him out, and he wanted them to suffer for it. He wanted them to have to explain it in front of everyone. This pissed him the fuck off.Tyler cleared his throat from where he sat beside Liam and leveled Drew with a glare. "Don't be a little shit. There's a woman and her daughter who showed up two