Devin-2 (22 page)

“Mrs. Pride, you need to eat all of this today. The doctor said that if you didn’t start eating soon, he would put a tube down your throat again. Not only is that not comfortable, but it’s also going to keep you in here for a few more days.

Try to eat some of this please?”

“Will it be all right if I go and get her something and bring it back? She kind of likes weird foods and I’d love to bring it in for her.” Byron turned on the charm and had the nurse eating out of his hand. She took the offensive tray out of the room and giggled at him so much that he had to chuckle.

“I do not eat weird foods. What a thing to tell someone. She probably thinks I eat worms or something. And now I have no food.”

“Well, Mrs. Pride—so not going there, what can I go and get you? And that stuff smelled like shit. If you want, I can go get her and tell her to bring it back.” He grinned when she shuddered.

When Byron returned an hour later, Ronnie was on the phone. He pulled out the two subs he had gotten and opened her pop. She turned up her nose at him, but took it anyway. He knew that she drank tea, but he wasn’t sure what kind to get her. When she was finished with her call, she picked up her sandwich.

“That was Austin. I’m going to come home, but I don’t get out of here for another two days. I’m not sure if I want to see Devin right now. I’m not sure I want to see anyone right now. You...thank you, Byron. And you can take this back with you.” She pushed the box of candy back at him.

“What, you don’t like chocolate? I thought it was a food group for most women. Don’t tell me, you’d rather have a basket of fruit?”

“No, I love chocolate. Austin sent this because of you. Go ahead, open it. I’m supposed to tell you something when you do.”

He was almost afraid to. Byron tentatively pulled the box toward him and pulled off the lid. The white padded paper on the top was written on, but before he could read it, Ronnie snatched it away. His breath whooshed out. Slowly, he raised his eyes to Ronnie.

“Austin says, ‘Fuck this up and she is to use this on your sorry ass, love Austin.’ He said that I was to show you how much he trusted you with where I was.”

Instead of dark chocolate and nuggets like the box suggested there might be inside, there was a gun. And not just any gun either, but a Glock with two extra clips that looked to be full. He carefully put the lid back on the box and gently pushed it to her. He decided right there that he would never underestimate her again. Ronnie was a very scary woman.

Byron leaned over the table and brushed his mouth over hers. He was going to love having her back; he was looking forward to having her as his sister-in-law too. Now, he just had to figure out what to tell his brother.

~~~

Devin was nearly asleep the next night when Byron walked in. He knew the moment that he saw him that something had happened. Almost afraid of the answer, he asked.

“I saw Ronnie yesterday. I’m not going to tell you where or how I found her.

Suffice it to say she is one scary broad when she wants to be. But she’ll be coming home in a few days.”

“Will she come and see me?” Devin watched as his brother paced the room.

“Honestly, I don’t know. You hurt her, and even though I explained what happened, she’s still hurt. Devin, if you hurt her like this again, there will be no stopping me from kicking your ass all the way to hell and back, not even Mom.

Ronnie looks...she looks wounded, and I don’t mean the wounds on her body—

though those are bad enough—but she looks like someone ripped her heart out and stomped it.”

He didn’t know what to say. Thank you seemed so inadequate, but he said it anyway.

“There’s something I’m going to do for her and you’ll just have to live with it, literally. I’m buying her a dog, a puppy. She told me she’s never had a pet and I’m going to get one for her. You have a problem with that?”

“No. Ummm, can I at least help you pick it out?” Devin wanted to laugh, but he thought his brother might just follow through on the ass kicking threat and he was in enough pain as it was.

“Nope. I’m going to get her a cocker spaniel—a pretty little blond one and I’m going to have a bow put in her hair for her. Oh, and she wants kids. Ronnie wants kids. Maybe I’ll let you get those for her.” With that, Byron left the room.

Devin lay back on his bed and smiled. She was coming home and she wanted children. Then he frowned. He hoped Byron was kidding about the dog; he didn’t care for dogs in general.

~CHAPTER 20~

She was exhausted. The ride from Virginia to Ohio had taken a lot out of her and she wasn’t even home yet. Ronnie wished now that she had taken Austin up on him wanting to pay for her ticket on a plane rather than taking a bus. The taxi was still an hour from home and she was fighting back the tears as hard as she could. It was a week after the New Year and she was home.

The driver pulled up in front of her home and she couldn’t move. There was no way she was going to be able to climb out of the vehicle and then up the stairs. She sat there in the back seat and sobbed while he ran to the house to get someone. Austin came running out in his shirt sleeves. It was the first time she had seen him since she had been hurt. Byron was right; he had aged.

“I’m so sorry. I can’t...if you let me sit here, I’ll take a pain pill and when it kicks in, I’ll come inside. I didn’t realize it would be so hard.”

“Nonsense. Byron, pick the girl up and bring her inside. Her room is all ready for her. Come on now, I’ve got the driver and your things. Ben has been cooking all day and he has all your favorites ready. That’s it; her room is just that way.”

She was in the house and in her bed before she could realize that Byron was there. She took the two pain pills and within ten minutes, was drifting off again.

Ronnie vaguely remembered something, but it was gone before the thought completed.

The room was semi-dark when she woke. Her body hurt, especially her leg, but she thought she could get up. She was sitting up to do so when she heard someone clearing their throat.

“Austin said to tell you if you step one foot out of that bed he’ll beat your ass so hard you’ll think twice about it again. I’m not really sure what that means, but I don’t think I’d mess with him today. He seems to be a tad stressed.” Devin. She reached over to turn on the bed side lamp and was ready to blast him one when she turned back to look at him. Her heart clenched in her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Devin. I never thought he’d hurt someone else. He hurt you bad, didn’t he?” His face was bruised, but not nearly as bad as she was sure it had looked. There were stitches over his eye and his lip, but it was him sitting in the wheel chair that hurt her the most. Both his legs were in casts, as well as his arm. She wondered how he was even here.

“He hurt us both, love, but he’s gone now. Thanks to you. I never thanked you for—shit—for saving my life. If you had not shot him—damn it—if you had not shot him...oh bugger it all. Here. Byron and I got this for you. She’s killing me; every time she moves she gets me right in the balls.” The furry little ball landed on the bed with a small bounce.

Before Ronnie could ask, the small fur ball was all over her. A puppy!

Suddenly, she was being licked and nipped at and the poor little thing was going to wiggle herself in half she was so excited. Ronnie burst into tears when she cuddled her close to her neck and the little thing settled down.

“You got me a puppy? She’s beautiful. What’s her name? I’ve never had a dog before. Oh, Devin, thank you so much.” She wanted to get up to go over to him, but just as she started to rise again, her door opened.

“You move one toe off that bed and I swear to you, I will never let you out of my sight again. Let me help you. Where are you headed?” Austin boomed as he came into the room with Ben close behind.

“Bathroom. Look, Austin, a puppy. Can I keep her? Ben, don’t you just love her? Oh look at her; she’s all worn out from her excitement.” Austin grunted and glared at Devin. Ben set the tray down, picked up the dog and snuggled him.

“What’s her name? She needs something regal, I think. Did she come with papers, Devin?” Ben smiled at them both and as soon as Austin picked up Ronnie, he started straightening the bed.

“Yes, she had a pedigree. Nothing but the best, Byron said. Her name on the papers is Danielle’s Dream. I think the owner was calling her Dani. I would guess that you could call her what you want,” Devin said while he petted the little pup that was now asleep on his lap.

“Dani it is. I’ll be right back. If you need to leave, I’ll understand.” She actually was torn between wanting him to leave and wanting him to stay. Ronnie closed the door with a soft snap and did her business.

When she opened the door, both Austin and Ben were gone. She moved further into the room and noticed that Devin was in her bed. She didn’t know what to do.

“Come on, love. I’m in no shape to make love to you, as much as I need you right now. But I do want to hold you. And talk to you. I’ve got so much to explain, so much I want to tell you. Please?”

She hobbled to the bed using one crutch and settled down on the very edge.

She had to work at getting her leg up and into the bed, but with Devin’s help, she was lying stiffly next to him. He rolled her to her side and pulled her over him as best he could with his arm in a cast and his wrist bound on the other arm. She had never felt anything so wonderful in her life. She just breathed him in.

“I’m sorry about what I said to you at the house. I was out of my mind in pain. That woman, she...she did things to me. Things that I still can’t...I have nightmares still. I couldn’t see, the blindfold and the swelling...but I knew it wasn’t you. I know your touch, your scent. I love you, Veronica. I’ve never...please don’t toss me out. Let me stay here with you tonight. I need to hold you, know for real that you’re safe and with me.”

“All right, Devin, you can stay. I know we have to talk, but you’re right. Let’s just hold each other for now.”

“I want to get the grim part over with first, if that’s all right. Byron said that he told you about the bodies at the house. There are over thirty now. They’re tracking down the families of some of the victims. DNA has helped, but not in all cases. The missing mailman, Dale Curtis, could be one of victims. There were three clerks that came up missing a few years ago and the police are wondering if maybe they all met the same fate as Margo described to you. They’ve kept all that out of the paper for now. I’ve talked to the authorities and they have asked to speak to you. I’m representing you for the present and they are going ask you what you knew about your step father’s activities. I explained that there might not be too much you could help them with because you had been fairly young when you left home. They are also looking into the ‘break-in’ that happened to you when you were hurt.”

“I remember Mr. Curtis. He was a nice young man and he always brought me a piece of candy and gave it to me when no one was looking. Poor man.” Ronnie shifted over onto her back, but Devin pulled her back again. “My father...Mr. Frey beat me that morning. He came back for some reason and I’m not sure what happened, but he beat me. I couldn’t go back there, not again.

When the doctors started talking about my progress and that I’d be going home in a few weeks, I knew that I had to make arrangements to get away. It was my only chance.” She ran her fingers over his chest and watched his even breathing.

“I think in light of things that we’ve discovered, you were right for leaving when you did. He probably would have killed you if you had gone back home.

How did you escape?”

“You’re right, he was planning it. He told me once when he visited me in the hospital that he was tired of me costing him money on hospital bills, that if I didn’t want to be his daughter fully then it was time I was ‘made gone.’ So I left.

I hid in one of the lunch warmers that sat in the hall when they brought us our meals. I didn’t think it would be so hot in it, and nearly got out, but then it began to move. As soon as it stopped, I slipped out and left. I spent the first month sleeping wherever I could. It was warm and a lot of people had loungers in their yards with towels. It was all right unless it rained. I started stealing where I could, hording it and making myself a stash. I knew that the towels and chairs weren’t going to last forever so I’d take stuff. I hated it, but I was determined I was not going back even if it killed me.”

“How long were you on the streets before Austin found you? He said he thought it wasn’t very long.”

“A little over a year. I don’t have any idea how I survived that first winter.

My father would make me sleep on the porch year round when I lived at home, only coming in when it got below zero out. So that helped me some, I guess. And there were people that helped, strangers mostly. I had to do things I’m not proud of. I ate from dumpsters, I shoplifted. But I made it. A lot of the kids I was on the street with didn’t. When Austin found me, I had been tossed out of an abandoned house because they were tearing it down.” Ronnie wiped away the tears that were falling. She hated to cry and hated more that she seemed to be doing it more and more lately. When his arm tightened around her, she buried her face in his neck.

“I love you. I don’t care what you had to do to survive, baby. I only care about the woman that you’ve become. You are a vibrant, intelligent woman who is a force to be reckoned with. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, have children with you, raise that ridiculous dog with you. I want to wake up next to you every morning and sleep with you every night.”

“Oh, Devin. I love you too. These past weeks have been so hard not knowing where you were, if you were okay, if you hated me.”

“I could never hate you. I could be mad at you, pissed off, but I could never hate you. Marry me, let’s get rid of that horrible man once and for all and change your name to Grant. We’ll be Grant and Grant—you can even be the top billing.” He grinned when he looked down at her and she kissed him.

Moaning, he deepened the kiss and started to roll over onto her and had to stop. His casts were heavy and cumbersome and he couldn’t touch her. Ronnie started laughing and was soon laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face. He looked so fierce that it was funny.