Chapter 20

20

LIBBY

“ I got you!”

“How could you?” I gasp before I dramatically fall backward onto the fluffy snow.

“Libby!” Fate shouts my name. I hear her tiny feet running toward me, accompanied by the crunch of the snow beneath her boots. “Are you okay?”

“Got you!” I grab her, pulling her down onto me. She lets out a squeal of laughter as I start to tickle her.

“I give, I give,” she says through laughter. Those giggles never cease to make me smile, and I often need that around here. It’s been a week since the raid on Heaven’s Temple. A few days later, they allowed Winter and me to enter. We have been helping where we can. The first days after the raid, it was us who answered questions about who some people are and what they have done.

Even though I knew this place was terrible, it's jarring to see everything so clearly laid out in front of you. I think you shuffle some things to the back of your mind. It’s how you learn to deal with each day. Everyone has a great amount of healing to do. Some more than others.

“Hot chocolate time!” I hear Nora call out.

“Marshmallows!” Fate jumps up excitedly. “You coming?”

"Yes," I reply, brushing the snow off both of us as we follow the other kids. They are handling things the best, already getting a taste of the outside world. Literally. Hot chocolate was never something we had.

There is still a mix of people that are pushing back. A lot of women. My mother is one of them. A few want out, but paperwork takes time. A lot of us don‘t have birth certificates or Social Security cards.

A few men are still missing. My father is one of them. A couple have already been tracked down. I spot my sister on the other side of the room cradling a baby. I have a feeling that this will soon become her reality.

I get a hot chocolate for myself and Fate, then grab some coloring books. Someone puts on some Christmas music. This was a holiday we never celebrated, but that isn’t stopping us now. The rec area already has a tree up, and we spent yesterday decorating. There has been an outpouring from the town, and a lot of resources have been pulled in to help as well. Ace and Garrett have also been in the thick of things right along with us.

“Story time,” someone calls.

“I got this,” I tell Fate before giving her a kiss on the head and picking up the crayons.

“Will you be back tomorrow?”

“I will.” Fate gives me a tight hug that makes my eyes water.

I hate leaving her. She has been staying with her second mom, Gina. Her birth mother died a year ago, but I could tell Gina was overwhelmed with her own kids and that Fate was often left out. Her father is now in jail, and Ace said he’d be staying there.

“You okay?” Winter comes to stand next to me, still cradling the baby in her arms.

“Yeah.” It’s a mix of emotions. You want to be happy because you should be, but there is still a lot of sadness that is lingering here. “You try to see Mother?”

“Not today.” Winter doesn’t ask if I did.

Not after the first and only time I tried to visit her. She had some very vile things to say to me. Not to Winter, but me. That I’d ruined her life and stolen the only thing she ever had. My father. Which I sure as hell didn’t understand. That man was cruel to me. He treated me the worst out of all of them combined. I mean, he literally scarred me for life.

“I’m done with her.”

“As you should be,” Winter says without hesitation. “I’m glad. They’re not our family anymore.” I nod in agreement. They never really were.

I smile when two arms wrap around me from behind. “You ready, babe?”

"Yeah.” I turn in Ace’s arms and give him a quick kiss, feeling something in his coat.

“Let me go say hi to Fate. I promised her I would.”

“What’s in your coat pocket?” I ask before I let him go. A sheepish expression crosses his face. “Go on.” I laugh, knowing that he's carrying a stuffed animal for Fate. I watch him go over to her. He drops down to be level with her. Fate throws herself at him. He wraps her in a hug. A wave of emotion fills me, seeing their reaction to each other. It’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever laid eyes upon.

“I think I found us a place,” Ace says on the drive back to our place.

“What?”

“I wanted to find us somewhere to live for the next year. Until we can build a house of our own.”

“Wait.” I laugh. “I need to catch up here.”

"We can't continue living over the bar."

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“It does me. I found a place close to my brother. It will work until we can build.”

“Build?”

“Yeah, build. My brother owns a substantial amount of land. He and I already found the perfect spot. I’ll take you tomorrow to see it. We have even mapped out the road that will connect the houses.”

“That’s what you were up to today?” I reach over, putting my hand on his thigh. This man is always ten steps ahead. I’m not surprised in the least. He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Was that before you went and bought a teddy bear to smuggle in?" I tease.

“She likes them.” Ace smirks. “She really likes it when she thinks we’re doing something sneaky. We’ll have to keep an eye on her.”

“Yeah, a close one,” I agree.

“Libby—”

“Hmm?”

“What did I say about you not asking or telling me things because you're unsure?” I chew on my bottom lip.

“Fate?”

“Yeah, Fate. Fate is kind of our thing.”

“It is.” I couldn’t agree more.

"That's why we can't live together over a bar. She’ll need her own room.” Tears burn in my eyes at his words.

"We're about to have a child, but we've never performed the act of creating one," I point out. Oh, we have done a lot of things. His mouth is always on me, and he’s taught me how to use mine on him. But we’ve yet to take it all the way.

“Been waiting.” He pulls into the back of the bar.

“For what?” Ace reaches over and unclicks my seat belt. He easily lifts me out of my seat and into his lap.

“I wanted to make this right for you. To make sure you’re ready.”

“I think I’m more than ready, Ace.” I wrap my arms around his neck.

“Then when are you going to tell me that you love me?”

“I do.” I don’t know why I suddenly feel so shy.

“You know that I love you.”

“I do,” I repeat again. Ace shows me that he loves me in everything that he does.

“Are you getting shy on me?” He smirks playfully. “Say it, Libby.” Ace gives my ass a small smack with the order, knowing what that will do to my body. His bossing me around always gets me worked up. I know it’s crazy, but when he takes over, I feel so free. I don’t have to worry about anything. I know Ace has it. I just gotta let go. He handles the rest.