I’ll be the first one to admit I love babies and always have. I want a large family of my own. For most of my life, I always dreamed of having those babies with Rex. I could picture him holding our little ones and treating them fairly but making sure they followed the rules we set in place. Images of us talking about how we plan to raise our kids so we were always on the same page filled my head when I was younger. I still want the babies now, but I’m not sure who the dad will be. Part of meknows I’ll always want it to be Rex. After yesterday, the images are so much more believable than ever before.
Seeing Rex holding Logan in his arms did something deep inside of me. He’s so much larger than the baby and was so gentle with him. I could see the hesitation and fear in his body as he stood next to me so I didn’t move very far from him. There was also pure amazement in his eyes as he looked down at Logan. He was in such awe of the little boy who was less than an hour old as I watched Tim snap pictures of us. I want a couple of them for my new home because it’s another memory created with people I’ve cared about most of my life. Yes, I still care about Rex and always will. Regardless of what the future holds for us, I will always care for the first guy I ever loved. It doesn’t matter if he broke my heart for his own reasons or if things between us might be able to change. His happiness, safety, and health are all that matters to me. If I got a call tomorrow that he was in the hospital, I’d be at his side immediately.
“I have to head out soon,” I tell Elara as Tim makes his way back in the room with our shakes and some cheeseburgers for us to have.
“What’s going on that you have to leave already? It feels as if you just got here again,” she asks me, her eyes holding nothing but curiosity as she looks up at me.
“A few of the guys from the club are gonna be bringing my things over to the new house from the compound. Your brother didn’t want to get a storage unit so he took everything from the old house there,” I answer her and know I just opened a can of worms because Elara has yet to chew me a new ass about buying a new house without telling her.
“Yeah. I didn’t know you were even looking at new houses. Next thing I know, you bought one with a cash offer.What the hell is up with that?” she questions me, her voice going a little hard and cold as she glares in my direction.
“I know. I was going to call you to go with me, but I knew you were close to going into labor and didn’t want you walking around all the properties I went to see with Janice. The second I saw this house, I knew it was meant to be mine. There’s a pool out back and a large enough yard I can add a hot tub for the winter when my body is sore. The front yard is pretty big too. There’s four bedrooms in the house and I plan on turning one into my office. I’m going to paint the walls in a few of the rooms. The kitchen was just remodeled and I love it. All of the appliances are brand-new as well. They came with the house and are things I’d pick out for myself. As soon as I have everything done, you’ll have to come over and see it. The kids can be in the pool because you can swim and I’ll enjoy the sun. I might get in the shallow end for a bit if I’m feeling brave enough,” I tell her and hope it’s enough to make her happy that she wasn’t included in my decision to buy a new house.
This is something we’d usually talk about for hours and hours. We’d go over all the pros and cons of the decision and then make a choice about what to do. For the first time in my life, I didn’t talk about it to death and then have someone else help me make a final choice in the situation. It was something I did all on my own and I’m proud of that.
“I’ll forgive you this time, Tally. I’m proud of you. You made a decision to do something and then did it. Is this something you’ve been working on with your therapist?” she asks me, loving that I’m still seeing Debbie despite not being on the ranch.
“It is. I’m trying to do more things on my own so I can realize I don’t always need someone at my side. You have a family and a life that doesn’t always include me. I’m single forthe first time in years and I’m not ready for another relationship. I don’t know when I’ll be ready for that shit. TJ messed me up pretty good with all of his bullshit. For now, I just want to focus on myself and learn to do things on my own without a long, drawn out process needing to happen before each decision I make,” I answer her and feel myself smiling as I think of all the things I plan on doing.
“That’s great, Tally. You’re finally becoming the woman I always knew you could be. Are you even close to being ready to talk to my brother yet?” she questions me, her voice going soft once more.
“I don’t know. Some days I think I’m ready to hash out everything between us and the rest of the time I feel like I’ll never be ready for that conversation,” I tell her honestly as I stand up with Logan in my arms and pass him over to my best friend. “He’s adorable, Lar. I’ll come see you tomorrow. Let me know if you get discharged and I’ll meet you at the house instead of coming here. Your parents still have the kids?”
“Yeah. I’m ready to go home right now. I think we’re leaving tomorrow morning though. It all depends on the doctors and what they say. One of us will call and let you know what’s going on,” she promises as I give her a hug and leave the room.
I’ve been waiting on the guys from the club for over an hour now. It’s given me time to hook up the new washer and dryer I got so I can wash all of my clothes and bedding that’s been in boxes and bags since before the house was sold. Count said they would be leaving within a half hour when I called him not that long ago. This time I don’t get to listen for the bikes to approach my house because they’ll be arriving in trucks. I hear a noise at my front door and make my way closer as it flies openand almost hits me in the face. Count or any of the other guys from the club aren’t the ones standing there. It’s TJ.
“Surprised to see me, Tally?” he questions me with a large smile on his face as he steps in my home like he owns the place.
“Not really. I had a feeling you’d do something stupid to get released before the trial. How did you find me?” I question him already calculating when I can get the best of him. TJ beat the hell out of me once and it’s not going to happen again.
“I have my ways. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re going to give me access to your money again and I’ll be moving in here. This house is nicer than the last place for sure. You’ll go to work and take care of me like you did before. This isn’t negotiable and itwillbe happening,” TJ says as if it’s already been decided.
“Here’s the problem with that, TJ. There’s a restraining order against you and you’re in violation of it as we speak. That’s grounds for you to be taken back into custody until the trial. More charges will also be added to what’s currently pending. That means an even longer amount of time spent in prison. Personally, I’m good with you spending the rest of your life locked up so you can never hurt anyone again. I suggest you leavemyhome before you get in trouble. This is your one and only warning,” I state as TJ steps up in my face and I can tell he’s about to explode. This is my opening because he won’t be expecting me to do anything to him.
When TJ goes to grab a handful of my hair, I duck and slam my fist into his stomach. The wind gets knocked out of him immediately from the force of my hit. When he bends over, I slam his face into my knee and hear the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking as he screams out in pain. TJ ends up in a curled up heap on the floor at my feet where I continue to beat the hell out of him. He didn’t let up on me and I’m not about to take iteasy on him. I want him to feel every ounce of pain I did when he chose to beat the shit out of me and leave me alone in my store. TJ didn’t give a fuck if help would rescue me or if I would live or die. I want him to feel everything I did at that time.
I don’t stop until I can hardly move my arms and legs. Despite all of the therapy, there’s still a weakness I get when I’ve done a lot for the day. I’m panting and shaking by the time I stop. TJ is knocked out as I look around the room and find some wire I didn’t need for the TV I bought. Grabbing it, I tie him up and stand back to ensure he won’t be able to get out of my make-shift cuffs. Looking around again, I search for my phone but I don’t see it. Before I can make another move, I hear clapping from the front door and startle. My head snaps in that direction and I see Count and Rex standing there watching me.
“You about done, Doll?” Rex asks, a smile on his face. “I see you remember the trainin’ you had when we were younger. You did good.”
“Yeah, I’m done,” I tell him, almost sinking to the floor as Rex rushes to my side and holds me up so I don’t fall. “Thank you. I’ll take a seat on the couch for a minute. That was a lot and I’ve already been doing way more than I should have.”
“What could you have possibly done between the time we left here yesterday until today?” Count asks, looking around the room. “Well, I see things in here have been moved around differently and you installed the TV. What else have you done?”
“Um, the dresser might be out in the hallway and I painted the walls in my bedroom last night when I got home. I wanted my bedroom done and so I did it. I’ve had the paint since I first saw the house for that room,” I answer, looking around as more guys continue walking in my house with boxes and bags in their arms.
“What are we doin’ with this piece of shit?” Viper asks when he walks in the house after he gets done laughing. “Which one of you got your hands on him?”
Viper looks between Count and Rex as if they’re the ones who beat the hell out of TJ.
“That would be me,” I respond as he turns his head toward me in shock.
“Fuckin’ hell. Remind me never to piss you the hell off. Looks like you’ve had some kind of trainin’ in the past. Ever think about gettin’ more to really fine tune your skills?” Manic questions me as he walks in my house and kicks TJ on his way past him.
“I’ve been thinking about it. Right now, I just work at home and do what I remember of the routine my brother and someone else gave me when I was younger,” I say avoiding looking at Rex where he stands next to me.
“We had her on a pretty good routine. I’m not surprised you remember it and have been doing it on your own,” Rex says, letting everyone know he’s the one I was talking about.
