Easton is true to his word and the visit to the doctor’s office goes smoothly with next to no questions asked. There was one tense moment when Chloe blurted out that her daddy made her go whoosh against the wall but he was really sorry. My throat closed and choked off my breath when Dr. Morgan merely patted her leg and sent me a small, pitying smile. The only thing that kept me from bolting from the room with Chloe in my arms was the hand Easton rested on my shoulder keeping me in place.
They let me go with her for the x-ray and my fingers ached from twisting them by the time the doctor came back in with the results.
“I have very good news! It wasn’t a severe break. It’s a stable fracture, what we call a buckle fracture and it’s healing great. I would recommend coming back in a week to ten days for another x-ray and if it all looks good, we can take that cast off.”
Chloe bounces excitedly in my lap. “Yay! Then I can go swimming? We have a pool!”
The doctor chuckles and nods. “Swimming is a great way to get that arm back to normal.” He meets my eyes and I can see that his are filled with compassion. “She’s going to be just fine. You did the right thing.”
He leaves it at that so I don’t know if he means bringing her in or if Easton told him about our situation and he means me running away. Either way, I’m grateful for his discretion.
We drive Chloe to school and I take her in and hand her off to the monitor to take her to her class, having missed the first part of the day due to her appointment. Chloe barely says goodbye as she chatters away to the monitor about the doctor taking pictures of her bones. By the time I make it back to the car, the tension has drained away and I melt into the butter-soft leather seat with a tired sigh. She’s going to be okay, we both are.
Easton hands me an envelope and I realize that it’s been another week and today is my day off. I tuck it away in the lining of my purse along with the rest that he’s paid me so far and it causes him to sigh and lift an eyebrow at me.
“We really need to get you a bank account. It’s not good to carry around that much cash, Avery.”
My fingers tighten around my purse. I know that but I can’t bring myself to leave the money at the house. If he finds us…if we have to run, I need this money with me. As for the bank account, I let them forge a birth certificate for Chloe so she could go to school but I can’t let them or myself break any more laws. I’m already a criminal for taking Chloe, I can’t do anything else to add to that. Easton sighs again like he’s disappointed in me causing my shoulders to tense up as he puts the car in drive and pulls away from the school. When he turns back toward the city instead of the house, I shoot him a nervous look.
“I thought it would be nice if someone else did the cooking for you for a change. I’m taking you to lunch.”
My mouth opens to immediately tell him he doesn’t need to do that but I pop it closed at the smirk that forms on his mouth. Protesting will get me nowhere so I guess we’re going to lunch.
The restaurant is beautiful with large vases of fresh flowers everywhere and warm wood accents. It intimidates the heck out of me. I chew on my bottom lip as I scan the menu and swallow hard at the prices listed. When the waiter comes and recites the specials, Easton picks one so I quickly agree that I’d like the same. I’ve never had sea bass before so I hope I like it but even if I don’t, I know I’ll force down every bite. Once our drinks are served, Easton leans closer across the table.
“It’s been three weeks now that you have been at the house. Are you happy with how things are going? Anything you want to talk about, change?” He asks me.
I can’t stop the smile that forms. “No! Everything is perfect. Chloe and I are so happy with everything. I’ll never be able to repay…”
“Stop!” He cuts me off with a shake of his head. “There’s nothing to repay. You work hard and have made all of us very happy, Avery. You and Chloe coming into our lives has been a true pleasure.”
My cheeks heat up in a blush at his words but no matter what he says, I’ll always feel the need to repay them in any way I can. They rescued us and gave us a home, a safe place to start healing. I’ll always be grateful for that.
“So how do you see things going forward?” He asks me after taking a drink from his water glass.
“Um, forward? What, what do you mean?”
He sets his glass down and reaches across to take one of my hands which makes my stomach do a fast loop.
“Avery, you will always have a place in our home. I want to make that clear. We don’t want you to leave but you need to think about yours and Chloe’s future.”
I try and pull my hand away as tension floods me but he just squeezes it tighter.
“Sweetheart, stop, you’re safe. I know it scares you to think about that but it’s important. You lived in a prison of pain and fear for years and you were brave and strong enough to escape it but, Avery, living in hiding is just another kind of prison. Don’t let him dictate the rest of your life. You deserve so much more. You and your daughter deserve freedom.”
I blink back the hot tears that sting my eyes and keep my gaze on the strong fingers gripping mine. I know he’s right. I know that I can’t hide forever, always afraid that he’ll be around every corner. Afraid to do something as simple as opening a bank account but I don’t know how to change that. I’m terrified that he’ll find us and take Chloe away from me. I can’t ever risk that. Easton pulls my hand up and across to him so he can brush a soft kiss across my knuckles making butterflies swarm in my stomach and then lets it go.
“I’m a very, very wealthy man, Avery. We all are. We have the resources to make this go away for you. We have the skills to protect you. Inside and outside of the law. Will you trust us to help you? Will you let us give you back your freedom so you can have choices again?”
My breath catches in my throat at the idea of that. To be completely free, to do anything I want is a dream that has been too big for me to dream. I try and picture what that would look like but all I see is Easton, Ryker, and Zack’s faces smiling at me in my mind. I see them playing with Chloe… guiding and teaching her as she grows up. I see them and me… I try and shake those thoughts from my mind. These men are the kindest people I have ever met but they will want their own families and their own children one day. Where would that leave Chloe and me?
Easton’s right. I do need to look to my future and I can’t do that as long as I’m in hiding. So, I square my shoulders and meet his gaze.
“What…how, would I do that?”
Easton’s shoulders relax and he hits me with a smile that has those thoughts of a future with him, with them, flooding back in.
“Good girl, Avery. I’ll have my lawyers draw up divorce papers as well as the paperwork for him to sign over all his parental rights. It will be made clear to him what will happen if he ever comes near you or Chloe ever again. Trust me, trust us to make sure you two are safe.”
