“He’s already out. Joseph is in custody. Sienna and Miss Jennings are waiting for you around the corner.” Melody and I quit talking. We’re both running. The two of them are huddled together, a blanket around each other, Sienna practically sitting in Berkley’s lap, fingers combing through the strands of her hair. They even have smiles playing on their faces. Fuck, that woman of mine never ceases to amaze me.
“Sugar.” My voice cracks.
“Sienna. Berkley, thank you so much for keeping my girl safe,” Melody interjects. Sienna jumps down off Berkley’s lap, flying into her mother’s arms. Now that I know Si is okay, it’s time to go after my woman.
“Ryder.” Her voice is sad, as if she’s defeated.
“You’re okay, baby.” She’s wrapped in my arms, safe, out of harm’s way.
“I’m sorry. I should have called or texted you. Hell, Melody too, but when he walked into the classroom, I froze. I redirected his attention away from Sienna as much as possible. That girl is too smart for her own good. She stayed quiet, and I’ll never be more thankful for that tent I have set up in my room like I was today. Joseph didn’t even know she was in there. Never even saw her until he was taken away.” Berkley’s voice is shaky as she tells the story. Thankfully, Sienna is out of earshot. It’s a story Melody will I’m sure tell her one day when she starts questioning why she doesn’t have a father in her life.
My arms wrap around her shoulders, walking her towards the principal to see if she needs to do anything further, when I notice Tanner. He has both girls huddled around his body, hugging them tightly. Sienna may not be completely introduced to him as Melody’s boyfriend, but she does know about him. I’m thinking he’s going to fit in nicely with our crazy bunch.
“Ready to go home?” I ask Berkley after she was questioned by the officers. I never left her side, even when she had to give a complete recount of what happened. I prayed the entire time that Joseph wouldn’t do something stupid. Thankfully, he didn’t. It’s probably the only thing going for him. Even still, no judge is going to grant him any type of visitation with Sienna, and hopefully, he’ll be sitting his ass in the county jail until he has a full hearing. The sheriff gave us that tidbit of information. Though he did say Berkley may have to give a full deposition, or if Joseph decides to play hardball, she might have to testify. If that even happens. I’m pretty sure the lawyer he had on retainer won’t want to touch his case with a ten-foot pole. Serves that dumb fuck right too.
When all was said and done, the principal told her to take a few days off, see how she feels, and reconvene to see how Berkley is doing. I gave her a look, one that said she’ll be taking a full week off, not just the weekend, which is what she would do if she had it her way. The girl lives and breathes her students and her job. It’s up to me to take care of her, though, and we’ll be doing it my way for the time being.
“God, yes. I don’t even care whose place. A shower, pajamas, a glass of wine, and food. In no particular order, either.” I kiss her forehead. We stop at where Melody is, making sure that Tanner is taking them home, but not until Sienna has come to give us both a big hug and a kiss on our cheek.
I’m still counting my blessings the entire ride to Berkley’s place. I have clothes and toiletries at her apartment, like she does at my condo. I figure she’ll want the comfort of home tonight, and to be honest, I don’t give a single fuck where we sleep as long as when I lay my head down to sleep, she’s beside me.FifteenBerkley“It can’t be this hard, can it?” I tell the girls, all of them this time, while we’re on a FaceTime call.
“Ugh, it’s really not. Only you could burn toast though,” Peyton jokes. I thought it would be a great idea to make dinner tonight while Ryder went to the restaurant to check on things. He said he’d bring something home for us, or he’d cook whatever I wanted when he came back. Hell, he barely left, not wanting to leave me alone for even two hours. Ryder has been glued to my side, literally. I’m barely able to pee. He was breathing down my neck that much. I know he means well. Shit, I know how scared I was, so I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.
“Why did I agree to cooking dinner, then? Even I know I can’t cook. It’s why Grubhub knows me so well.” I blow a hair out of my face, stirring the noodles boiling in the pot.