Redeem Me (Say Something Book 4) (5 page)

Chapter Ten

Walking in to Joslynn and Marshall’s is like entering Chuck E. Cheese. Their house is full of toys and lil man isn’t even walking that good yet. I walk in to the living room and stop in the doorway. Lil man is on the floor playing with blocks sitting with pillows set up all around him. Joslynn is on the floor in front of him handing him the blocks and laughing at each thing he does.

Marshall and Trevor are on their way from the shop. As I stand there I think about what my baby would have looked like. Would he or she have looked more like Trevor or me? Would our kids have grown up to be best friends just like Joslynn and me?

I wipe my cheeks and walk into the living room.

“Hey.”

“Hey you okay?”

“Yeah.”

I hear the door slam and Marshall and Trevor both walk in laughing. I love that they are so close. I take a shaky breath and kiss Trevor when he sits down beside me.

“What’s going on?” Marshall asks after he makes his round of kisses and sits down.

I run through the whole conversation with John from work earlier and wait until they both stop yelling so I can talk.

“He gave me his number.” I hold up the piece of paper and hand it to Marshall.

He takes no time at all to pull his phone from his pocket and dial the number.

“John? This is Taylor’s brother in law I understand you worked for Kipper? Could we meet tomorrow and talk? Sunshine’s… thanks bye.”

He hangs up the phone and looks around the room.

“This will end and then we are all going to the mountains for two weeks.” He leans back on the loveseat and rubs his head.

All of this has been nothing short of a mess.

“We are taking Janet with us this time. If we both leave her she might hurt us both,” Joslynn says laughing.

***

When I make it to Sunshine’s the next day Trevor and Marshall walk in behind me. John is sitting at a booth by himself. He looks like he’s sitting on the edge of his seat as if he will bolt out the door at any second.

“John, this is my husband, Trevor and my brother in law Marshall.” I point to each of them as I say their name and they shake John’s hand.

John looks them both up and down and tries to smile. One good thing about having a beefy tattooed husband and brother in law is most people with half a brain are scared or at least a little intimidated. Trevor and Marshall sit down and I go behind the counter to make coffee.

When I take their coffee back to the table none of them look up.

“Taylor, you have a phone call.” Janet waves the phone above her head.

“Sunshine’s Café this is Taylor how can I help you?”

“You can start by paying us our money.”

I look towards Trevor and Marshall, both of them are leaning on the table deep in conversation. My heart starts to race and my knees go weak.

“Kipper lied to all of you. We didn’t agree on money. We agreed on meals.”

“I didn’t work my ass off for shitty food, bitch.” The phone line goes dead.

When I bought this place it was supposed to be a new beginning – a new start. After all it took to make Sunshine’s what it is, I just wanted to open it and then enjoy the life of being sober and married. When I found out I was having a baby I was scared and shocked because it was something I planned on for later in my life. I was afraid Trevor would walk away, and I was terrified I would be a bad mom. I had no choice but to prove myself wrong.

When I woke up after what Kipper had done to me and was told that option was taken away from me, I felt like my life had ended. Walking back in here and getting to work helped me get past all of that. I knew that Sunshine’s was my beginning and Trevor was just the bonus. Now someone is trying to take it all away from me again and I feel like I am drowning in a river of new beginnings to cover up the bad. When I look to Trevor I know that no matter where we are he is my new beginning. I take a deep breath and go about work.

“Baby, we are heading out.”

“I love you.” I lean over the counter and kiss him, breathing in his smell and the feel of his skin under my hand as I run my fingers along his cheek.

I watch him walk out and try to hold in the tears that want to fall. I don’t tell him about the phone call. Maybe I should just walk away from here and let them have it. As much as I love Sunshine’s it has been nothing but one thing after another. This place is not my new beginning it’s my end unless I put a stop to it.

“Taylor, daycare called. I have to go get Elijah. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I can clean up and lock the door. Kiss lil man for me.”

She nods her head and runs out the door. I lock it behind her and go about cleaning up. The waitresses do a good job in keeping it clean throughout the day so there isn’t much to do. I check my phone and slide it back in my pocket. Trevor is probably still at the shop so I pour a glass of tea and sit down at one of the tables and look around.

I want to make sure that walking away from here is really something I can do. I don’t want to hurt Joslynn but I don’t want any more pain. I feel like I am cowering down but when is enough enough? When is it okay to walk away and not be looked at as giving up?

The feeling of being watched follows me as I walk around Sunshine’s making sure one more time that all is clean and okay to leave for the night. I stop and look out the wall of windows. The street is bare of people and the street lights are the only thing I can see.

I shake my head and walk in to the kitchen. The sound of breaking glass soon follows. I look around the kitchen for anything I can find to make me feel safer. I should have known with all that was going on staying late and by myself was a bad idea.

I grab a knife and slide between the sink and the wall pressing as hard as I can against it. I hear footsteps all around the floor passing the kitchen door and I pray that is where they stay. I slide my phone out of my pocket and text Trevor.

Hubby:
Break in at Sunshine’s! Hiding in the kitchen.

I slide my phone back in my pocket and try to push myself farther back against the wall wishing it would swallow me up. My whole body is shaking. My heart is racing and my hands are sweaty. Outside the kitchen I can hear more breaking glass and laughing. There is nothing I can do but sit here and hope they don’t make their way in here.

I raise my knees to my chest and cover my head rocking back and forth. This is the last straw. This is the point where I know if I make it through this night then I am done. The yelling gets louder and so do the sirens. The kitchen door slams open and I cover my mouth to hold in the scream I don’t want them to hear.

“Sunshine? TAYLOR, baby, it’s Trevor. Where are you?”

“No,” is all I can seem to say.

I feel his hands on my arms and I lift my head and look in to the eyes of my saving grace.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

I shake my head and wrap my body around him. He picks me up and carries me out of the kitchen and I bury my head in his chest. 

“Mrs. Andrews?”

Trevor stands me up and I open my eyes coming face to face with a police officer. He is about the same height as me. He’s bald with his sunglasses resting on his forehead. If I wasn’t scared to death I might find it funny that instead of pushing them to the top of his head he stopped mid-way.

“I am Officer Pepper do you know any of these men?” He motions to the room.

I don’t want to look at them. I just want to go home and hide in my bed. My limits have been pushed and I am ready to throw my hands up and wave the little white flag. I so much wanted to be strong and stand my ground but there’s a line and Kipper was the start of it. His crew not only crossed the line they danced on it.

There are three men laying on the ground with their hands in handcuffs behind their backs and their faces turned towards me. Each one of them have a smug look on their face like this isn’t over. I recognize each man from Kipper’s crew. I may not have talked to them but I saw them in passing.

I look back to the officer and nod my head.

“They worked with Kipper here.”

Trevor wraps his arms around me and I lay my head on his shoulder.

“I would like for you to come to the station and answer a few questions. Are you okay with that?”

“Can’t I just take her home?” Trevor growls and tightens his arm around me.

“Sir, I know you have all been through enough but this case has been on my desk for weeks. I would like to close it and all of us go on about life.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

I turn my head and lock eyes with Trevor willing him to believe me. I want this over. I want to go on with my life. He sighs and nods his head.

“We will meet you there.”

I look around Sunshine’s and the tears start to fall again. It looks almost as bad as it did the day I walked in. They have broken anything that could be broken and spray painted the yellow walls. Trevor turns me away and starts leading me towards the door.

As soon as we make it to the car, I climb in, he slams the door and I cringe. The ride to the police station is quiet and I spend the next hour answering questions and some of them I answer over and over.

Chapter Eleven

“Tay, wake up baby you’re having a bad dream.”

Trevor runs a cold rag over my head and I sit up in the bed. I am soaked in sweat and there are tears on my cheeks.

“Sorry.”

He lays the rag on the bed beside him and scoots closer.

“What were you dreaming about?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.” I take a shaky breath and look up to Trevor.

“When is enough enough, Trevor?”

“What do you mean?”

“I am done. I am at my limit.”

“Taylor, we will make it through this. You have enough in the bank to fix Sunshine’s. They are in jail. They won’t be bothering you for a long time.”

“You’re not listening to me, Trevor. I am done with this. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. All this town has brought us is one bad thing after another. When is it okay to say I have had enough?”

“The Taylor I know wouldn’t be saying this. The Taylor I know would be pissed and doing all she can to show them they can’t bring her down.”

Trevor looks at me with a look in his eyes I have never seen before. He knows I am done. He knows this is the point I would normally walk in a bar and ask for the biggest drink I could afford.

“The Taylor you know has lost a baby, lost a restaurant. I am sick of showing people they haven’t brought me down, Trevor. I want to wake up a wife who knows when I walk outside no one knows that I have been through hell. I have lost a child. I have sent four men to jail.”

“Taylor, look at me,” he puts a finger under my chin and lifts my eyes to his, “you sent no one to jail they sent themselves there.”

“Trevor, I am done.” I slide out of bed and walk in to the bathroom and step in the shower.

The water does nothing to comfort me as I slide to the bottom of the tub and let the water run over my body. I hear the door shut and watch as Trevor slides open the curtain letting water fall all over the floor.

“Taylor, we can pack up today and go somewhere new if that is what you want but what about Marshall and Joslynn? They have their family here and I know you would never walk away from them.”

“Don’t you think we have all had enough?”

He leans against the sink and looks at me saying nothing. I know that some have had it harder than I have and they’ve made it out on top. I thought I could be one of those people who gets pissed and kicks ass and comes out on top. I wanted to be one of those people.

“Come on, Tay. Let’s get you dried off. Joslynn and Marshall are on their way.”

He turns the water off and holds up a towel wrapping it around me when I step out of the bath. I can see the concerned look in his eyes like I am a wounded animal that will run at any time.

He wraps his arms around me and leads me to the bedroom where he has laid clothes out on the bed for me. I slide them on and walk past him to the living room where Marshall and Joslynn are waiting. I sit on the couch and say nothing.

“Are you okay, Taylor?”

“I’m fine.”

“Taylor, look at me.” Joslynn sits down beside me and wraps an arm around the back of the couch.

I look to her and she wipes the tears from my cheeks and smiles. She knows me well enough that I don’t have to say anything and she can tell all that I am thinking.

“I love you, Tay, and support you in anything that you decide to do. But I can’t leave here. My life is here. Their shop is here,” she motions to Marshall and Trevor, “you don’t give up. We don’t give up.”

“Joslynn, when is enough enough? Haven’t we been through enough bullshit? Don’t we deserve to be happy?”

“Look around you, Taylor. We are happy. We have amazing husbands who have finally opened their tattoo shop and it’s doing good.”

I look around the room and think about her words. Joslynn is the one person who can say something to me in my darkest time and make me see things in a whole new light.

“I know you might not want to open Sunshine’s again and that I can understand. I think it’s time for me to stay home and be a mommy to my little boy. I am missing out on all the small things I don’t want to miss. But I do not want to walk away from my home.”

I know Trevor is standing behind me waiting for me to say something. I turn my head and look behind me and he smiles.

“I don’t want to leave home either but Sunshine’s has been nothing but a headache since the day it opened. I don’t want that any more. I want to be the wife my husband comes home to and has food done and hot ready to eat.”

Trevor leans over the back of the couch with a smile of pride on his face and kisses my head. I lean back on the couch and look around the room. I don’t need Sunshine’s to be happy. I have all I need in the living room with me. I have a husband who loves me more than life. A best friend who has been there for me since I can remember and the meanest brother in law a girl could ask for.