“We talked on the way down. Ollie knew you’d insist on coming if he told you our birth mother died. Trust me, he did right by not letting you get involved in this. I wish I weren’t.”
“He should have told me.”
“Can you honestly say you wouldn’t have insisted on coming if you knew?”
“I would have wanted to be there for him.”
“That’s why he didn’t tell you. Rather than risk your coming, he thought it better to ask your forgiveness after it’s all said and done. Please don’t be angry with him.”
I don’t know what I am right now. A part of me is hurt but then there’s another part of me who likes that he went to such extreme measures to protect me.
“Well, I know now so tell him to call me. I want to talk to him.”
“Yeah… that’s gonna be a problem. Oliver is in jail.”
In jail? “What happened?”
“Long story and it’s one for him to tell, not me. Lucas is down at the station seeing what he can do to get him out. Hopefully he won’t have to stay overnight.”
My gut tells me Jimmy was involved. God, I hope Oliver didn’t finish what he started twelve years ago. “I’m coming.”
“That’s exactly what he doesn’t want.”
“I don’t care. I love him and I’m coming.” There’s no way I’m sitting here while he’s going through hell.
“I strongly advise against that, Adelyn. Oliver loves you so much. He doesn’t want these toxic people in your life.”
Those toxic people are a part of his life. That means they’re a part of my life. “I’ll call when I make it to Savannah. You can tell me then if I should go to your parents’ house or the jail.”
“He’s going to go nuts when you show up here.”
“I’ve gotta pack a bag but I’ll be quick. I should be there around midnight.”
“All right. We’ll be looking for you.”
“Please don’t tell him I’m coming.”
“No worries about that. I don’t want to be the messenger who gets shot.”
“Please text if he’s released before I get there so I can stop worrying.”
“Will do. I’ll text my parents’ address to you after we hang up. That’s where we’ll be staying tonight.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
Quentin and Libby meet me at the front door when I arrive at their home.
“Adelyn. Come here, sweet girl.” Libby takes me in her arms, squeezing tightly. “It is such a pleasure to finally have you in our home.”
“I’m not sure Oliver is going to feel the same when he figures out I’m here.”
I was feeling so brave when I was in Birmingham, but I’m not nearly as confident now that I’m in Savannah. Especially after an exhausting drive.
At least Libby seems happy I’m here. She’s all smiles. “We’ll put him out in the shed if he complains.”
“Or send him back to the slammer,” Quentin says, laughing.
It eases my mind to hear Oliver’s father make a joke about his arrest. I hope that means the charges aren’t too serious if they’re laughing about it.
Lawrence and Lucas are in the living room when we enter.
“God, I’m glad you made it. I’ve been worried about you driving alone on that stretch of construction. It’s a little dangerous during the day so I can only imagine what it must be like at night.”
“It wasn’t that bad but it did slow me down.”
“Oliver is in the shower. That’s the first thing he wanted to do when he walked through the door,” Lawrence says.
“He just got here then?”
“Yeah. About five minutes before you.”
Libby gestures for me to follow her. “Come on, sweetie. You should be in his room when he gets out of the shower. Yours will be a welcome face for him after the last two days.”
Lawrence moves to get off the sofa. “It’s after one so we’re going to bed. We’ll see y’all at breakfast.”
I follow Libby down the hall to Oliver’s room. “I’m very happy you came. Despite what Oliver thinks, he needs you.”
I dread his wrath. “He’s going to be angry with me for coming.”
“Probably but it’ll be short-lived. Give him a little and he’ll get over it quick enough.”
Give him a little? I wonder if Libby Thornton’s definition of a little is the same as mine.
“My son has been cooped up in jail with strange men for hours. I’m certain he’ll gladly welcome any female affection you offer him.”
Liberal Libby is encouraging me to have relations with her son. Under her roof. Any concerns I was entertaining about that being disrespectful are no longer in question.
No worries, Libby. I love him, and tonight I will make sure he knows he is all I’ll ever want.
23
Oliver Thorn
I meet Mom in the hall on my way out of the bathroom. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
Enjoy the rest of my night? I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean or why she’s so cheerful as she says it.
“Goodnight. Love you, Mom.”
She stops and hugs me, kissing the side of my face. “Love you, my sweet boy. And I’m proud of you.”
Proud seems like an odd word choice after the shit I just put her through. “You’re proud I spent the evening in jail?”
“Yes. I’m damn proud.”
“Well, that only makes one of us because sitting in that cell made me feel like I should still be Oliver McCollum.”
“You are NOT a McCollum. You are one of us. A Thorn. You have been for twenty-four years.”
“I know. I’m not sure why I said that.”
“It’s been a stressful evening for all of us. We’ll blame it on that.”
“Suits me.”
“See you at breakfast.” Mom’s smile broadens. “Unless you sleep in.”
I don’t know why she’d say that. “You know I don’t sleep in.”
“Well, maybe tomorrow you will.”
I’m thinking about the odd conversation with my mom when I enter my bedroom, and it all suddenly makes sense when I see Adelyn sitting on my bed.
“Hi.”
Standing in the doorway looking at her, I try to decide if I want to run to her and pull her into my arms or throw her over my knee and spank her ass hard.
She stands, her hands fidgeting in a knot as she chews her bottom lip. She looks so nervous. “Please don’t be mad.”
I step inside my bedroom and close the door. “Come here.”
I open my arms and she propels herself into them. “I love you and I want to be with you during times like this. I long for you to need me by your side. I don’t want to be left behind without a single word about what’s happening, good or bad.”
I’ve been locked up like an animal most of the day, forced to look at white painted cement blocks and lowlifes with no concern for humanity. And now I have my girl in my arms. Exactly what I need.
“This week qualifies as really bad.”
We move to sit on the foot of my bed and she takes my hands in hers. “What happened? Why were you in jail?”
I didn’t plan for Adelyn to know anything about the last couple of days but I have no choice. “You know that my birth mother died?”
“Yes. What happened to her?”
“We’ve heard a few different stories. Lawry and I believe it was drug-related.” And if it weren’t, it was caused by some other kind of wrongdoing.
What a waste of life.
“The McCollums didn’t give two shits if we came to the funeral or not. They asked us to come because they didn’t have the money to bury the woman.”
“They asked you to pay for her service?”
“Me? Hell no. They asked Lawry because they know she has a soft heart and a fat wallet. And she played right into their little plan just as they hoped she would, but I’m not going to let her pay for the whole thing.”
“It’s sad that they would take advantage of Lawr
y and you like that.”
That’s the kind of people they are. Taking advantage of people is the only way of life they know.
“When we got to the funeral home, the McCollums were true to form. Drunk, high, belligerent. Especially Jimmy. That son of a bitch started taunting me the minute I got there. It went on all day yesterday. It about killed me but I put up with his shit for Lawry. But today—”
Adelyn drags her thumb over my busted knuckles. “You had enough.”
“The funeral was over and we were leaving. I was so close to getting out of there without an altercation, but Jimmy wasn’t going to let me leave peacefully. He couldn’t resist poking me for a fight one last time.”
“In the funeral home?”
“Yes. The bastard grabbed my mom by the arm, called her an uppity bitch, and asked her how it felt to know she couldn’t have her own kids so she stole his and raised us to be assholes just like her and my dad.”
“What a horrible thing to say.”
My mom was there to pay respect to her children’s birth mother. She even made Dad bring her home early from their trip so she could be there for us. Because that’s the kind of woman she is. Neither Christie nor Jimmy are worthy of an ounce of her respect.
“He put his hands on my mom and insulted her. That was the last straw for me and I went after him.”
“How bad are the legal repercussions?”
“Turns out they frown pretty hard on people fighting in funeral homes. I’ll probably have to pay a hefty fine and maybe be on probation for a while. I’m not sure yet.”
“I’m dating a convict? That’s kind of hot.”
“Are we dating? Because the last time I saw you I basically broke into your house and physically restrained you so you’d listen to what I had to say.”
Adelyn leans over and kisses my shoulder. “I’m sorry for that.”
“If we’re going to make our relationship work, you can’t push me away like that.”
“I was wrong to do that but please try to see things from my perspective. For two years all I’ve felt toward Vance was anger and hatred. I never considered that maybe he wasn’t the monster he’d been painted to be. You were right to stand by him, Toni, and the girls. And seeing that side of you makes me love you even more.”
“Have you made a decision about our future?”
She nods slowly. “I choose love. I choose us. I choose you.”
She leans over, grabbing the back of my head, and kisses me until we’re both gasping for breath.
“I’m yours, Oliver Thorn, and you are mine. Nothing is going to change that.”
She reaches for the corner of the towel wrapped around my waist and tugs, grinning like a wicked vixen. Her eyes, hooded and lustful, watch the towel fall away from my body.
“Your mom told me you’d forgive me if I’d give you a little. I’d like to test that theory.”
My cock instantly hardens and suddenly the impact of the last forty-eight hours melts away.
Adelyn pulls her shirt over her head and I yank open her shorts, lowering the zipper.
“I can’t believe Libby told me to fornicate with you. My mother would die before suggesting I do something like that.”
I think Rachel has led Adelyn to believe she was something other than what she really was. “Actually, your dad popped your mom’s cherry before her eighteenth birthday.”
“What?”
I push her shorts and panties down her legs. “Brother Maxwell ain’t no saint, baby.”
“How do you know that?”
I tap Adelyn on the ankle, cueing her to pick up her foot. “He told me he banged your mom before they were married.”
“Why would my Baptist preacher father tell you that?”
“He was making a point that he’d been in my shoes, and he understood how badly I wanted to fuck you.”
“I highly doubt that’s how he put it.”
I chuckle as I recall how uncomfortable I was during that conversation.
“Not exactly but he was right. I wanted to fuck you and he knew it. He made a plea for your heart by asking me to not break it. But he also pleaded for your virtue. He asked me to not ruin you for the man who’d want to take you as his wife.”
Adelyn climbs onto my lap. My cock pokes straight up between her legs and touches her stomach. “That’s just like Daddy to think I’m a virgin.”
“He asked me to not defile you when five minutes prior you had sucked my dick and swallowed my cum. I can’t lie. I felt kinda bad about it.”
Adelyn rises and positions the tip of my dick at her entrance, sinking down on it hard and deep. “I like it very much when you defile me.”
Fuck, that feels good. I haven’t been inside her in almost a week. Way. Too. Long.
She rides me up and down, slowly at first and then faster, but always rolling her hips in one direction or the other. She grasps my shoulders and leans backward, thrusting her hips harder. Deeper.
Home. Adelyn Maxwell is my home.
“Your submission isn’t enough. I want more from you.” So much more. I’m not sure she’s ready for the degree of submission I’m talking about.
She locks her arms around my shoulders and rides me until she’s filled with my cum and completely satiated by her own orgasm.
We fall breathless onto the bed side by side, facing one another. She strokes her thumb down my cheek. “I’ll give you anything you want.”
“What if I want to give you something?”
“Then I’ll take whatever you want to give me.”
I smile because I don’t think she sees this coming. “I want to give you my name.”
There’s a moment when she doesn’t realize what I’m asking. And then there’s a moment when she does. And in between the two, there’s a split second where I get to watch her comprehension come full circle. And it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Be my wife, Adelyn. Marry me.”
Shit, she’s just staring at me. No response. Have I fucked up by proposing too soon?
“I know this is quick. We’ve only known each other three months and we said we’d wait until the time is right and—”
“Shh.” She covers my mouth with her fingers. “Yes.”
“Yes, you’ll marry me?”
“Yes, I will marry you.”
Fuck.
She’s going to be my wife.
“Adelyn Thorn. It sounds good.”
“It sounds great.”
Twists and turns of fate. Although sometimes small, those are the little wonders forming our lives.
A house went on the market, bringing Adelyn and I together as neighbors. Two strangers. Except we weren’t strangers at all. Our paths were not crossing for the first time. And that once seemingly insignificant intersection of our lives suddenly became a pivotal moment in our futures. It had the potential to become one of two things: a wrecking ball to tear us apart or the cohesion to bond us together forever.
We choose together forever.
Epilogue
Adelyn Maxwell
One year later
I’m the owner of Bash Agency. I’ve organized some of the biggest weddings and extravagant receptions in the state. My wedding had been planned for years, long before I met Oliver. I had it all mapped out. Every little detail. A historic manor. Elaborate theme. Two dozen attendants. All the intricate elements required to impress the elite. The only thing missing was the groom.
Such bullshit. All of it.
Our venue is a former barn filled with fifty of our closest friends and family and my daddy is going to officiate. I’m ready to say “I do” to my handsome groom. So ready.
“Remember what we practiced, Willow? You’re going to walk down the middle of the barn holding Keeley’s hand.”
“I get to drop the petals this time?” Her small voice is so sweet.
“Yes. And when you get to the end, you’ll both stand next to Lawrence.”
My God, they are so ado
rable in their white tutu dresses. I don’t think I could stand it if they were any cuter.
I know putting a five- and three-year-old in my wedding is a risk. It could all go to shit in under a second but I don’t care. I’ve come to love Willow and Keeley dearly. I couldn’t imagine them not being part of our big day.
The girls start down the aisle and Patty, the wedding planner, turns to look at me. Yes, even I need a wedding planner. I couldn’t do everything and enjoy being the bride. “So far, so good. Keep your fingers crossed.”
The girls make it halfway to the bridal canopy before Keeley spots her daddy and takes off running for him. “Well, there goes one.”
All I can do is laugh. They’re kids. We knew it was a fifty-fifty shot of them doing it as rehearsed.
I promised them ponies at their next birthday parties if they did well in the wedding but who am I kidding? They’re getting ponies or anything else they want, regardless of their performance today. I go completely overboard for those precious girls.
Patty touches my arm. “It’s your turn.”
I walk the aisle formed by the two sections of guests, passing my bouquet to Lawrence when I reach the bridal canopy. Oliver takes my hands and I’ve never been surer of anything in my life when I look into his baby blues. I am his and this makes it official for all to know.
My daddy gives us a moment to take in the sight of each other before he begins, “Dearly beloved—”
Our wedding ceremony is short. And of course the scripture we requested is about wives submitting to their husbands. Had to.
Oliver may have been a bit teary-eyed when he first saw me but not now. I know the look I see there: lust. Except now it’s for his wife, his wife who will submit to him forever.
Alpha. Dominant. Oliver has mastered his craft well. He knows just how hard to push me. How hard to squeeze my throat. How far to take our bedroom games.
I’m getting turned on thinking about it. And it’s going to be hours before Oliver can make me come.
“You may kiss your bride.”
Oliver keeps our kiss tame. I warned him my mama and daddy would flip out if he didn’t keep it classy. I’m glad he heeded my warning about the kiss but his whispered words in my ear are not as subdued. “Mrs. Thorn, I’m going to fuck you into next week when I get you alone.”