“Ex-wife,” Torren growled.
“Ex-wife,” Sawyer amended. “Anyway, when she wouldn’t tell him where Tana and his girls were, he beat her up pretty badly. She’ll be fine; the hospital is just keeping her another day or so.” “Fuck,” Torren spat. “I’ve got to tell Tana, and she’s not going to take it well. Hell, she’ll probably go off half-cocked trying to get back to her mother.”
“We can’t let that happen, Tor. Her ex is probably hoping to separate you from her and the girls. He has threatened to kill them all, according to the statements that Tana and her mother gave to the police. He also tried to make good on the threat a while back, but your girl cleaned his clock with the lid of a toilet bowl tank. By the way—that made me chuckle.” Torren couldn’t help his laugh. Sawyer was right—the thought of little Tana knocking out a man with a slab of porcelain was hilarious.
“I’ll convince her to stay put even if I have to sit on her,” Torren promised. He knew that Matt Cahoon had to be smart—how else would he have gotten away with so much for this long? The only reason he served any time was that Tana was feisty enough to put a stop to him trying to hurt her or her girls. Torren knew that Tana was strong, but the thought of her being able to take care of herself and her girls turned him on. Hell, everything about Tana turned him on. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and concentrate on the problem at hand.
“I’ll be over in about fifteen minutes,” Sawyer said and ended the call. Torren turned to find Tana standing by the back door.
“How much did you hear, honey?” Torren crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. Judging from her tears, she heard a good deal of his conversation with Sawyer.
“Almost all of it,” she sobbed. “My mother will be all right?” Tana wrapped her arms around Torren’s middle and squeezed him as if holding onto a lifeline. That was exactly what he wanted to be for her—the person that she knew that she could turn to no matter what.
“I will contact the hospital, and we will make sure you get to talk to your mom, honey. For now, you and the girls are staying here. I won’t risk putting you in harm’s way or letting that asshole trap you. When this is all over, we can go visit your mom together.”
Tana nodded, “I’d like that very much. I think that she’ll like you.” Torren groaned at the thought of meeting her mother.
“I’ve never met anyone’s mom before, well, at least not in a boyfriend/girlfriend capacity.” Torren wrinkled his nose and made a face, causing Tana to laugh. He loved it when she laughed; the sound was magical. He also loved being the one to make her happy. Torren wanted to be that for her—the one person she could turn to when she felt down. They just needed to get past her ex-husband trying to hurt her or her girls. Then, hewould spend the rest of his life trying to coax a laugh out of his beautiful Tana.
“Well, I think you’ll be a big hit. My momma has a thing for big, strong, handsome men.” Tana winked at him, and he pulled her up for a quick kiss.
“Are the girls settled?” Torren asked.
“Yes. They love their room. Thank you for arranging all of this. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy.” Torren smiled, trying to picture Tag putting together a set of bunk beds while his very pregnant wife sat in the corner while barking directions at him and telling him what he was doing wrong. That was his payback for all the shit he was going to get from his friends.
“I made dinner. I hope baked chicken is all right,” Tana said. Torren’s mouth nearly started to water. The thought of a home-cooked meal made his stomach growl. He already knew that Tana was a great cook; he just hoped that he could figure out what he did right to earn him a home-cooked meal.
“I love chicken any way you want to make it, honey,” Torren growled, making her giggle again.
“You sure do love your food, don’t you?” Tana asked, looking him up and down.
“I didn’t get to be this size by accident, baby,” he teased. “We'd better go in and have dinner before everyone gets here. Knowing Sawyer, he’ll drag along Lorna and the baby to keep the girls' company while we all talk about your ex,” Torren said.
Tana nodded, “I’ll be grateful for the girls to be distracted. They don’t need to know what is going on—they’ve been through enough. I plan to keep them out of this mess and straighten my life out once and for all.” Torren watched as Tana made her way into his kitchen, looking like she was supposed to be there in his place, making dinner for them like they were a real family. He just hoped like hell that once Tana straightened out her life, she would still have a space for him in it.
Tana held little Henry in her arms, marveling at just how tiny Sawyer and Lorna’s newborn felt. She couldn’t remember the twins being so little, but they were born a little early, so they were probably smaller than Henry. Still, just the smell of him and the little squeaks that he made while he wiggled and squirmed in her arms made her ache for another. Which was completely crazy because she and Torren were nowhere near that point in their relationship. Sure, he told her that he was falling in love with her, and she admitted to having some feelings for him, but they certainly didn’t profess their undying love for each other. And, why should they? Heck, they only knew each other for a few weeks now, and their relationship, for the most part, consisted of her watching his puppy.
But these last few days with Torren were wonderful, making her crave more than just the physical relationship that she asked of him. She knew that asking Torren for just a roll in the hay was her way of protecting her heart. Tana was afraid to ask him for more, not sure that he would willingly want to give it to her. The last thing she wanted to do was force Torren Harrison into her bed or her life, yet here he was—as big as a mountain, present in both.
“I’ll go back and hang out with the girls while you all talk,” Lorna said. She bent down to take Henry from Tana, and she instantly missed his little weight in her arms. She didn’t miss the way Torren watched her with him or the way that he looked at Henry. Tana wondered if Torren ever thought of having kids of his own. The thought wasn’t foreign to him; otherwise, her girls wouldn’t have been able to wrap themselves around his big finger so easily.
“Thank you, Lorna,” she called down the hall as Lorna disappeared into the twins’ temporary room. “So, tell me what exactly happened this morning.” Tana could feel her face heat at the thought of all the things that had happened between Torren and her that morning. Tor must have noticed because he chuckled and pulled her fidgeting hands into his.
“I’m pretty sure we can leave those details out, baby.” Sawyer turned the same shade of red as she must have been and nervously laughed.
“Yep, I don’t need all of the gory details, Tana.” Sawyer shot Torren a dirty look and shook his head. Torren squeezed Tana’s hand into his, and she was thankful for the reprieve. He took over the conversation, filling in the information about what happened that morning before she woke up. Listening to him retell his story had her heart racing—knowing how close Matt was to her and her daughters was terrifying. Once he finished telling Sawyer about the delivery of dead roses and the note, he described the car that Matt was driving and handed Sawyer the picture of her ex. Sawyer turned his attention to her, and she almost wanted to run and hide with the girls and Lorna. But that wouldn’t make her problems or Matt go away. She knew that letting him near her twins wasn’t an option, and she would fight him before she let him hurt her again. Still, the whole process of reporting Matt again was daunting. The last time she went through the whole ordeal had been disappointing. The thought of going through all this again and not having anyone believe her or want to help her made her wonder if it was all worth it.
“Tell me about what happened in your old town, why no one helped you after you filed a restraining order.” Sawyer waited for her out, and she sighed. She realized that what she was about to say might seem a little biased against the sheriff’s department, but she owed him the truth.
“I’m not sure why, but it was as if they didn’t believe me. Even when Matt held me in the bathroom for hours, saying that he was going to kill all of us, they only detained him for a few months. Maybe it was because I kept going back to him, or maybe the department down south thought that I was crying wolf. Either way, I had no choice but to take my girls and leave. And now he’s here, and he hurt my mom,” she sobbed. Torren stood and pulled her into his arms, and sat back down with her on his lap. She buried her face into his chest and cried. She was spent, exhausted, and ready to put this whole ordeal behind her.
“We won’t let him hurt you, baby. Your ex will never get to you again, I swear.” Torren rubbed her back, soothing away her sobs.
“He’s right, you know. I give you my word that Matt Cahoon will not touch you or your twins ever again. I’ve put most of my department on the case, and I will send this picture over so we can put a face to the search,” Sawyer promised. Torren nodded his thanks, and Tana wiped her nose on his shirt and sniffed.
“Thank you, Sawyer. I don’t know what I can do to repay you for believing me and helping with all this mess.” Tana sniffled again, wishing that she could stop crying. She felt like she had cried enough for two lifetimes.
“With your mother’s testimony, we should be able to put him away for a while this time.” Sawyer nodded and stood. “I need you to stay in town, preferably with Torren. He’s got a great security system, and you’ll be safest here. I’ll have an officer posted just out front, and I will set up regular patrols. How do you feel about me putting someone in your house, you know—to let your ex think that you and the girls are home? I think that might entice him to come after you, but instead, he’ll run into one of my guys.” Tana looked at Torren, hoping that he’d have a few answers. He nodded, and she agreed to let Sawyer post an officer in her home to pretend that she was still there.
