A Week for Love to Bloom (20 page)

Justin kept replaying what Brett said to him as he drove home. As adamant as Lauren was to never see his family again, he was starting to wonder if there was value to Brett’s accusations. He knew who to ask. “Ashley, it’s Justin. I need you to be honest with me about something.”

“OK,” Ashley said with hesitation in her voice.

“Besides my father’s firm representing the bank, did Lauren tell you any other reason she’s upset with them?”

“Justin,
she doesn’t want you to know because she doesn’t want you upset with them.”

“You better t
ell me now, Ashley,” Justin demanded.

“Fine, but please don’t go to Lauren about this.”

Ashley told Justin everything Lauren uncovered at his father’s office. Every harsh word was a stab into his already bleeding heart. Justin couldn’t comprehend how his family could inflict that kind of pain on the person who held his heart and every bit of his happiness. He felt the same betrayal Lauren was pulverized with. Their intense love for each other was the first thing in his life he wanted to fight for and would protect at all cost. He wasn’t about to let his family take that away from him.

“
Jonathan, I need to speak with you over at Mom and Dad’s.”

“
We’re over here, actually.”

Justin hung up. A
s he drove over to his parents’, he realized Jack would be there. He tried to calm his nerves, so he wouldn’t be compelled to scream in front of his nephew. He was glad to know his mom and Emily were there. He wondered if they knew what conniving, greedy men they were married to. Justin walked into the house calmly. They were standing in the family room. “Sit, all of you. I have something to say,” he said. Emily and Susan looked confused.

Justin directed all of his attention toward his dad and brother. “
I’ve been told by more than one person what Garrison Law will gain from Lauren losing her home and business. I don’t know the exact dollar amount, but I bet you two do, and I imagine it’s in the six figures.

“
The fact that you could tell Lauren that someone will build a subdivision on the property that’s her livelihood and that you’ll take all her equity away in legal fees shows what greedy, heartless men you’ve become. I can’t believe you’d leave her with nothing. Then to keep something like that from her when you invited her into your home is humiliating for the both of us.

“I fully understand
you were representing the bank before I met her, but once you knew about us you should’ve told her. You could’ve charged fewer fees, and you could’ve comforted her more that day at your office. She was injured because of you,” he said, pointing to both his father and brother.

“
What you’ve done has destroyed my life as much as it has Lauren’s. She’s so selfless that she’s going to walk away from me because she thinks it’ll help my relationship with all of you. I love her and can hardly breathe when she isn’t near me.” Justin’s voice softened as he tried to hold in his sorrow. “I was supposed to propose to her just a few days ago,” he said as tears filled his eyes. 

“
I’m not going to Vanderbilt. I’m enrolled at UT in Knoxville to get my degree in science, and if I don’t get Lauren back, then I won’t stay in Masonville.” He tried not to look at his mother as tears streaked her cheeks. With his eyes tinged red, he walked to the doorway, turning to say his last words.

“
I’m going to bail her out of this mess, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

Jonathan
sprung to his feet. “You’ll do no such thing, Justin. Are you crazy? You barely know her, and you’re going to give her twenty-five thousand dollars? You’ve lost your damn mind!”

“
Giving her that money is going to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from this family, Son, and what if it doesn’t work out? You’ll have thrown not just your money away, but ours,” Jeffrey said.

“I know you
don’t see it, but Lauren
is
a part of this family because I love her. I was raised to believe we help our family, not throw them to the wolves. You’ve made me ashamed to be a Garrison.” Justin let the door slam behind him.

As he drove to the bank, he was astonished at the love
he felt for her. He’d give up everyone else he cared for to have a life of loving her. Even if he never saw Lauren again, he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she kept her home and the business she cherished. It was a stronger love than he knew was possible.

              ***

After Justin left
his parents’ home, Susan and Emily asked their husbands for the details related to Lauren and her property. 

“
Jonathan, I’ve tried to overlook how you treat your brother, but I can’t take it anymore,” Emily said. She looked at Jeffrey, too. “You both expect too much from him.”

Jonathan paced while running his hand through his hair. “Emily, he can’t give away t
hat kind of money. It’s insane,

and he should get his damn law degree, so he can partner with me when dad retires. I don’t want to bring an outsider into the practice.”

Emily put her hands on her hips and glared. “Why should he have to do something just to make your life easier? If he wants to be a damn scientist then let him, and be proud of him. He’s a grown man who obviously figured out exactly what he wants.

“
I understand if the property had to be auctioned, but if the other things Justin said are true then I’m furious that you would treat Lauren that way, and do it behind our backs.”

“I agree with Emil
y,” Susan said. “Both of you need to figure out how to right this situation, and I mean soon. This family has plenty of money, and you’ll make more with some other deal. There will be another piece of property to build a subdivision on. No amount of money is worth losing Justin over. You’ll both be sleeping
outside
of the doghouse if he gets back on that damn oilrig.”

“Fine,
I’ll talk to her, but we might as well wait until she gets the papers from the court discharging her case. She’ll probably be more forgiving when she knows she gets to keep the place, but I’ll make it right,” Jonathan said with aggravation.

“Be the damn man I married, Jonathan, not the one I met,” Emily said.

***

Lauren was in the kitchen holdi
ng ice on Brett’s nose. “Brett, I’m sorry, but I have to let you go. I think it’s best if this is your last day. You only had a few more days to work before you were quitting anyway. I’ll give you a good reference if you ever need one, OK?”

“I understand.
I’m sorry, Lauren. I didn’t want to see you hurting worse than you already were, but I guess I caused more harm than good. This hasn’t been a little crush for me like you think. I’ve really grown to like you a lot. I swear, I wasn’t just trying to get with you that way.”

“Thank you, Brett.
That’s very sweet of you to say, but whether I’m with Justin or not, I’m in love with him. I know you probably see him as a monster, but he doesn’t know what his father did, and he’s only been aggressive with you because he’s jealous. He’s actually a wonderful man.”

“Then why aren’t you with him?”

“I think it’s more important he’s close to his family, and I can’t be a part of it after this.”

“Don’t get mad at me, but I mentioned to him what
his dad and brother did. It spread all over town, so I thought he knew, and I must add that your reasoning is crap.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true. If you love him, you should be with him. The other stuff will work itself out.”

“
You’re really wise to have just turned eighteen.”

“Thanks, and
it’s why I don’t want to be with girls my age. Look, it’s pretty straightforward with men. One
appendage
on our body directs us a lot of the time and from what I’ve been told, that doesn’t change until we fall in love, so he wouldn’t be beating your door down if he didn’t love you. That appendage would’ve steered him away by now because of your rejection.

“I still think
he’s an asshole, but he’s crazy and relentless when it comes to you. It’s obvious he loves you. I could see it in his fist before it hit my face,” Brett said, laughing.

“Give me a hug before you leave
,” Lauren said. Brett hugged her tight before she could pull away.

“Goo
d luck at college, but please go easy on the girls. You could really break some hearts.” Her phone rang as Brett was leaving.

“Lauren,
it’s Dad. Your mom reached me yesterday and told me everything. I’m very sorry. I never meant for it to get this ugly, and I know I should’ve told you.”

“Dad, I have to go, and I don’t know if
I’ll ever forgive you for this.”

“Lauren, please wait.
I’ll try to get the money. I’ll—”

Lauren hung up on him.

Justin knocked on Beth’s office door. She looked up and smiled. “Justin, come in.”

“I need to take out another large sum of money.”

Beth stared at him with a shocked expression.

“Beth, is there a problem?”

“No, sorry. I know it’s none of my business, but I think I know what this money is for, and I’m touched. Things get around quickly in this town. Your family is going to be furious, you know.”

“I don’t care what they think about it.
It’s the right thing to do, and that’s all that matters.”

“I’ll get it out for you.
I hope Ms. Evans sees what a remarkable man you are.”

Justin took the money over to Baker’s First Ban
k. He gave strict instructions to keep the payoff anonymous. He never imagined it could feel that good to give away such a large amount of money. Since he heard the news about the auction days before, he felt ill every time he looked at his truck. He paid more for it than what Lauren needed to have a home to live in.

The manager promised Justin
they’d process the payment immediately and stop all legal action toward the Evans property. The words were like the sweetest music he’d ever heard.

***

Andrew let Justin move in with him. He’d lain low there for almost two weeks, seldom going into town, so he wouldn’t run into his family. He was trying to give Lauren space, but prayed every day she would call.

Every fiber of his being was laced with Lauren.
He lay in bed at night thinking about her alluring smile and her silky skin. Justin longed to feel her pressed up against his flesh, his core filling with her warmth. He dreamed about pleasuring every inch of her ... loving her.

Ashley took a half day vacation, so she could take Lauren to her obstetrician appointment. Lauren told Claire she was going to the doctor to follow up on her concussion.

She
stared at the ultrasound picture all the way home. Because of her fall, the doctor felt it best to do one. She was overcome with emotion every time she looked at the heavenly dot living in her belly, a heart beating inside her. Ashley and Lauren heard the heartbeat as the doctor told her she was nine weeks into her pregnancy.

Her bond with Ju
stin only felt stronger once she could see with her own eyes what their love created. She thought her chest was caving in from the suffocating despair of missing him and his warm arms that enveloped her in his love. It was when Ashley put the car in park that Lauren started bawling.

“I don’t know how
I’m going to tell him. He’ll plead with me even more to take him back.”

“Then do it, Lauren. Take him back.
I’ve tried to give you space, but you need to hear this. After watching the ultrasound and seeing the life growing inside of you, I started thinking about what the baby needs. You and Justin together is what’s best for this baby, and you know it.

“
Do you honestly want your child growing up in a split home just to make Justin’s family happy and the both of you miserable? You don’t even know if that’s what his family would want! You told me one day that he used to run from his problems. Well, he’s here fighting for you. Stop running, and stop being an idiot!”

“He’s gone, Ashley. I
t’s over!”

“
It’s not over—he’s living at Andrew’s!”

Lauren stopped crying instantly as her eyes darted to Ashley.
It was a priceless moment between two best friends sitting in a car, screaming and crying over love and truth.

“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of the stress it would add to you and the baby, but now I see the stress is there because you thought he
had
left. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, and I wasn’t trying to betray you like everyone else. I thought I was helping.”

“Why isn’t he
in Nashville?”