Young Truths (Young Series) (50 page)

We’ve only actually talked once about that night with Frank and Mark in great detail. I can’t remember which of us brought up the subject, but we’ve both needed to get things off our chests.

“You were going to have dinner with him that night,” Matthew said quietly, holding me against his bare chest. “Weren’t you?”

I looked up at him, having almost forgotten about that altogether. “How did you...”

He smirked slightly, his hand running up and down my arm. “Frank mentioned something about it. I don’t even remember what he said, but it was something along the lines of keeping a closer eye on you and the people you associate with.” He rolled his eyes. “He was trying to bait me and it worked. Much as I disliked Mark Reilly, I never considered even for a second that he might have been involved in all of this. And unless I’d seen him with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. What kills me is that in hindsight, the signs are all there. How he always seemed to be there when you were in trouble or needed a shoulder to cry on. How he didn’t seem bothered by the fact that you were mine, even when you might have preferred otherwise. How he seemed to be so perfect. I should’ve punched him in the throat when I had the chance.”

I nodded slightly. “In hindsight, I probably would have let you,” I said wryly. “I don’t know why I agreed to have dinner with him. You were a wreck and I had no idea what to do about it—I’m not saying it’s your fault I made the decision I did, because it definitely wasn’t. Claire wasn’t speaking to us. I didn’t really have anyone else to talk to. And I still trusted Mark despite everything we’d figured out about him; I thought I could handle him. It’s not like I’ve never dealt with men whose feelings I don’t return.” I shot my husband a pointed look that caused him to chuckle. “But I got to the restaurant and I couldn’t go inside. I could see him through the window waiting for me and I just sat there in the car. I felt guilty that you were sitting at home depressed and your mom was watching our children, and here I was about to have dinner with another man that we both knew was in love with me—or at least, he was pretending to be...” I trailed off when Matthew shook his head.

“As horrible as it is, all things considered, I think in some twisted way, he really was in love with you. The idea I got was he went into this whole thing thinking it was going to be this long drawn out ordeal befriending you. Then he saw you and talked to you...” He shook his head. “Anyone who does that for more than a few minutes is a goner and if they don’t fall in love with you, there’s something wrong with them. Hell, it only took me one look and I had no chance of recovery.”

I scrunched my face in distaste. “You make me sound like a drug or something.”

He grinned seductively at me. “You are a drug. The most addicting, dangerous thing in the world and I can’t get enough of you,” he crooned.

Try as I might, I couldn’t hold back a laugh. Once I finally calmed down, I met his gaze again and he tried to feign offense, but before long, he was laughing along with me.

Still snickering, we curled up again and caught our breath. “So why’d you change your mind?” he asked quietly, his fingertips trailing across my naked back. I looked at him questioningly. “Instead of having dinner with Reilly, you came home. What changed your mind?”

“You sent me a text message,” I answered softly. “And I was so relieved that you were finally up and about that the thought of being anywhere you weren’t was abhorrent.”

“Abhorrent, huh?” he teased. I rolled my eyes at him, watching his expression sober. “I was up the night before. Not for long, an hour at the longest. I watched you sleep for a while, went to check on the kids... realized my mother was staying with us... For the first time in days, I felt like I could get back to normal again. I’d intended to wake up that morning and have breakfast waiting for all of you, but apparently, I was still tired despite all the time I spent sleeping.”

“You should’ve woken me,” I chided gently.

He smiled. “I thought about it, but you looked so peaceful and beautiful that I couldn’t interrupt that. When I did wake up, though, my mom and I had a long chat. I felt better about things and all I wanted was for you to come home so I could apologize for being so useless. Then Frank called. I panicked. Didn’t even think about checking the GPS program to see where you were.”

“I’m just glad I changed my mind about having dinner with Mark. If I hadn’t, who knows what would have happened to me. Or to you...”

He held me tighter against him. “It’s not worth thinking about,” he whispered into my ear. “We’re safe, we’re whole, and we’re going to get on with our lives. I know you’re still having trouble adjusting to what happened with Reilly, but Sam, if you hadn’t done what you had, I wouldn’t be here right now. Despite his bullshit about being your knight and shining armor, I can’t even guarantee he would have let you live. And that would have left our children without their parents.”

“I’d never put them through that,” I whispered. “And I’d never let anything happen to you if I could help it.”

“I know,” he murmured into my hair. “And you have no idea how much that means to me.”

Resting my chin on his chest, I smiled at him. “Probably about as much as it means to me that you’d have done exactly the same thing.”

“Damn right, I would’ve,” he said, rolling me onto my back and positioning himself above me. “I think we’re done talking for now...”

As weeks turn into months, life finally seems to be settling down for good. Olivia has started crawling all around the apartment, forcing the adults to chase her to keep her out of the things she shouldn’t be into. It doesn’t seem to matt
er how much baby-proofing we do; she has a knack for finding the one thing we keep missing. It’s exhausting, yet perfect at the same time. To our surprise, Tyler has hit a growth spurt for the first time in his life and has reached the height of an average five-year-old. We suspect that by the time he’s sixteen he might be tall enough to reach the top of the fridge...

A date was finally set for Natalie’s trial after several
weeks’ worth of red tape from the revelation that Frank Marone and Mark Reilly were involved as deeply, if not more, than she was. Her lawyer was trying to convince the DA that she was coerced by her accomplices into going through with their plan. It didn’t take Danny too much work to convince the DA and the judge she was full of shit, and the trial went on. Samantha and I both testified against her. Photos from Tyler’s school the day he was kidnapped were enough to seal her fate on that charge. She was also found responsible of causing the plane crash through a partial fingerprint discovered on the panel that had been tampered with. If that wasn’t enough, one of the Russians who was involved with kidnapping Samantha and Tyler also testified against her. He said he’d rather face the American justice system than go back to Russia and face whatever gang punishment might be awaiting him. Marcus testified as well about the night Tyler was taken to Pennsylvania and that Natalie was the one who shot and killed Leo. I’d almost forgotten about that. The only things that really stuck in my mind about that night was that when I got home, my family would be leaving me and that my best friend had given his life to save mine.

By the end, the chances of Natalie seeing the outside of a prison cell be
fore her seventieth birthday are slim. It was a relief to see her led away in handcuffs, knowing we’d never see her again. Still, I felt a pang of sadness when I remembered how much trust I’d put into her over the years. If things had been different, if even one slight circumstance was tweaked, my life wouldn’t be what it is today. I could be married to Natalie. Samantha could be married to Tom Saunders. Olivia wouldn’t even exist... It’s not even worth thinking about. I certainly don’t regret, even for a second, ending things with Natalie. I don’t think I’d have made it through the last few months without Sam, and it’s finally clicked in my mind how much of a fool I’ve been to believe she could ever
not
love me or that she could leave me. She’s saved me more times than even I can count, more than she gives herself credit for, and it’s time I stop dwelling on the things I can’t change and start showing her the love and appreciation she so deserves.

Outside of our home life, the other loose ends surrounding us are bei
ng neatly tied up. My company has officially finished working with the government and military, focusing instead on more innocent ventures. Toy companies. Computers. GPS tracking programs aimed at keeping children safe. Samantha rolled her eyes when I told her about the line of toy watches for older children and pacifiers for the younger ones we’ve decided to mass produce. There has already been a huge interest shown in those types of products and I’ve often wondered why I didn’t go this route from the beginning.

Early fall brought along with it Holly’s trial for the murder of Lucy. My mother refused flat out to attend even one day, insisting that someone needed to keep an eye on the kids. I spent several hours for a little over a week sitting on a courtroom bench between Samantha an
d Claire, listening to Holly claiming it was a crime of passion, that Frank had coerced her into doing what she had. The jury didn’t buy it and my sister was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. It’s taken my family months to bounce back from the losses of both Holly and my father, but somehow it’s brought us all closer at the same time. Holly’s husband Joe moved their children out of state to get away from the stigma of having a murderer as a wife. I thought perhaps once everything settled down, Elizabeth would go back to being the family snob; instead, she’s been spending more time with us, even getting to know Samantha. The first couple times were a little strange, but I can’t deny it’s nice to see everyone finally getting along.

The day after Christmas marked my second first anniversary of marriage to Samantha. Unlike last year, the day wasn’t overshadowed with a dozen things looking to destroy us. Since we didn’t get the chance to have one, Samantha and I have decided to merge our honeymoon cruise—a wedding gift from my parents—and a family vacation. We’ll spend three weeks, just the two of us, cruising the ocean with no other concern than indulging in one another as often as possible. Not that we don’t do that anyway, but the cruise will ensure we won’t be interrupted by children just when things get interesting. After those three weeks, the plan is to come home, pack our kids up, and take them to Disney World and every other amusement park in the Orlando, Florida area.

Probably the best news we’ve gotten in a long time is the knowledge that by the time we return from our vacations, the construction on our home will be complete and we’ll finally be able to move out of the apartment. Samantha seems a bit torn on the subject; I know she’s thrilled at the prospect of being in a bigger space where our children can run around to their hearts’ content without getting under foot all the time, but she’s nervous about returning to the place where so much bad happened to us. Hopefully, once we’re there and settled those concerns will fall by the wayside. But if they don’t, I have no problem moving wherever she feels most comfortable.

For now, thou
gh, I’m content knowing that my family is together and whole, just as we should have been from the beginning. There is no force on this earth that could ever break us apart again and anyone that tries gets to deal with me.

Nine years ago, I never thought I’d be in the position I am today. I was perfectly content playing the rich, self-made bachelor who answered to nobody and the thought of settling down and starting a family never even crossed my mind. At least not until I pulled into the dirt parking lot of a tiny diner in Iowa. From then on, my life changed indefinitely, faster than I ever would have thought possible.
It never ceases to amaze me that a young farm girl has had such an impact on me and looking at her every day, clueless of the effect she really has on me, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.

“Samantha, are you coming outside or not?”

I roll my eyes, smiling as I pile silverware and napkins on top of a stack of plates. “While I know you’d prefer eating with your ba
re hands like the caveman you are,” I call back teasingly, “I think your family would appreciate a more civilized dinner.”

Matthew mutters something about showing me what a caveman he could be and the backdoor snaps shut again. I take my time finishing up in the kitchen before making my way through our home, smiling
again as I’ve done hundreds of times over the last two years. The house couldn’t be more perfect for us. It means the world to me, and to Matthew, that we were able to sit down and design something for us and our family. We kept the basic layout of the old house, but made it more child-friendly. He still has his study upstairs. The basement still serves as family room/kid’s playroom/workout room. We’ve actually started using what had once been the formal dining room where we only ate a couple times over the years. The backyard, once hilly and unusable for the most part, has been flattened and turned into a playground for the kids. The back deck still looks out over the large lake and beside it stands the in-law house the size of an average three-bedroom house for Matthew’s mother Diane. It gives us all the privacy we desire when we need it and gives Diane access to her grandchildren whenever she wants it.

Finally I join my family out on the deck where Matthew and Danny are standing at the grill drinking beers. Claire and Diane are sitting around the large table talking together while the kids are running around
, screaming happily while they play. I grin happily when I see Olivia fighting to keep up with her big brother and cousins. She might be one of the smallest in the family, but she manages to keep up with, and sometimes outrun, all of them. And the fact that she’s got her father wrapped tightly around her finger doesn’t hurt.