“You’ve done amazing with her from what I can see.” I lift my head up, letting him see the truth in my words.
“Thank you. What about you with Brad?” We’ve touched on this subject briefly but not much.
“I was dumb. You’d think years away from home at college, I’d learn something. I didn’t. Then, even after working at a job I loved for years, it still didn’t sink in that some people aren’t meant to love. That about sums up Brad. I was more of a fixture for him, and he wasn’t abusive at first.” Cole arches his eyebrow at me. “Okay, he was verbally abusive, but I didn’t think anything of it in our first year of marriage. I figured we were working out the kinks. I was working a lot, so was he. Then one day, I wasn’t home in time for some kind of black tie even his parents needed us to attend, and that’s when he smacked me. I hid it from everyone, including my parents, until the last time. That’s when I got out of town, leaving them and somehow managing to keep my father reined in. Though, I think that had something to do with my heart condition and him not putting any more added stress on me until I was stronger. A lot of counseling helps with that, which is what I’ve been doing since moving down here. That was a whole other task. Denise, my counselor, was a Godsend. Twice-a-week meetings helped me realize I couldn’t change a man and I shouldn’t, no matter what I did. Nothing I did would make what Brad did okay to me. That’s my sad story, or most of it.” I end with putting my head back on Cole’s chest, needing to hear his beating heart.
“Sucks, babe, no doubt about it, but you’re coming out on top in the end. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Cole kisses my head. A contented sigh leaves me.
“I think we both are, aren’t we? In different aspects, much the same.”
“You’re right about that, Fallon. You ever think about having kids someday?” My head pops up. Such a random question, and a hard one at that.
“Maybe. If it happens, I wouldn’t be upset. If it doesn’t, then it wasn’t meant to be. Honestly, it’s not been a thought since things turned bad with Brad. I did everything I could to protect myself, and now with this new medicine, if I did get pregnant, I don’t know the repercussions that could have on a baby or if my heart is healthy enough, you know?”
“I get it.” Cole turns us so that he’s wedged between my thighs, arms caging me in by my head.
“What about you? Would you be opposed to having another child?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t be upset, not in the least. We haven’t talked about our age difference or the fact that I’m pushing fifty here in the next couple of years. I got all the stamina in the world. That being said, something could happen, leaving you a single mom.”
“Shut up. We’re not discussing that not now and not ever. You’re not leaving this earth any time soon, so that’s a moot point.” I cover his mouth with my hand, quieting him.
“It’s the truth, Fallon,” he replies.
“That doesn’t mean we have to beat the subject to death, okay?”
“Alright, gotta say I like the idea of you pregnant with my baby.” That’s all Cole says before his lips are on mine. Our talk is all but forgotten as he slides inside me for the second time today, and I’m not complaining. This is the lightest I’ve felt in years. Today, I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.
Fourteen
Doc
“You get shit taken care of?” I ask Russell when I answer the phone.
“Oh yeah. If it weren’t for the other plan we have going on, splitting shit wide open, I’d have buried him in a shallow grave.” It appears Russell and his band of brothers went and paid a visit to Brad today. It was a tactic I knew all about, something to get him scared and shivering in his shoes.
“Good, the dumb fuck deserves it and more. The minute he’s behind bars, he’ll be taken care of. That way, neither of us has blood on our hands and we can look our women in the eyes without lying to them,” I respond.
“Speaking of, how’s she handling things that way?” Russell inquires.
“Good. She’s going stir crazy, being here for two weeks, and now being on lockdown only heightened it,” I tell him honestly.
“How’s Charleigh?” I ask, already knowing Fallon will call or text her parents from a burner phone, much like the one I’m on now.
“I sent her up north to her sister, Martha’s. She’s pissed as hell at me, wanted to stay here, said she has no problem shooting him dead if he got too close to her or Fallon. You can’t mess with a Mama Bear.” I can hear the pride in his voice.