Chapter 26

26

Tyrion

T he last two weeks had been nothing short of a renewal in my life.

Things between Evenie and me were getting much better. The awkwardness that had been plaguing us since she got home was no longer. We were slowly working the intimacy back into our relationship. She allowed me to hug or kiss her or hold her hand. A few times, she and Summer Rose had spent the night during the week. While she had yet to sleep next to me, she was comfortable cuddling on the couch.

I would take that.

It felt like we were back in the beginning stages of our marriage. It wasn’t a bad thing. The beginning stages had been the best because we were still getting used to being husband and wife. We openly flirted with each other, and Summer found it cute. Every time we hugged or kissed, she had the biggest smile on her face. Sometimes she would stare at us with dreamy eyes, like she’d been waiting her whole life for this moment.

Today was Friday, and they were spending the whole weekend with me. While I was ready for them to come back home full time, I would take what I could get right now. The last thing I wanted was to pressure her when she wasn’t ready. I’d fucked up her confidence in me, and I had to be patient with her.

I pulled into the pickup line at Summer’s school and waited as it slowly moved. As I neared the front, I could see her waiting with Iona. Every day for the last two weeks, Iona had been on pickup duty. Most of the time, Summer wasn’t with the group that Iona waited with. When she was, she never said anything to me, just looked at me like I’d hurt her soul.

I pulled up to the loading area where she stood with Summer. The smile on her face dropped as she opened my passenger door to let my baby in. Our eyes met, and hers were cold and hard.

“Hi, Daddy!” Summer said, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

“Hey, princess. You had a good day?”

“Yes, sir.” She turned back to Iona. “Bye, Ms. Iona.”

“Bye, baby. Here, let me strap you in.”

She reached into the car and grabbed the seat belt to lock her in securely. When she was done, she kissed Summer’s forehead and gave her a small smile.

“I miss you so much,” she said, cupping her face. “Don’t forget about me, okay?”

“Iona,” I said firmly.

She ignored me. “I love you, Summer. Always remember that. Nobody can ever stop me from loving you.” She looked at me when she said that. “I’ll always watch over you.”

“Iona, close the door,” I said, firmer.

“Just give me a second!” she snapped. “You can’t just cut me out of her life all together, Tyrion. I was the only mother she knew for four—”

“Let me stop you right there. Summer has always had a mother. You were great with her. I appreciate that, and I will never forget it, but we are not doing this in front of my child. Close. The. Door.”

She glared at me for a moment before easing out of the car and slamming the door shut. I sighed heavily as I pulled off. I could feel Summer’s eyes on me as I drove.

“What is it, baby?” I asked.

“Ms. Iona is really sad that you two aren’t getting married anymore.”

“I know, baby.”

“Are you two going to be friends?”

I thought for a moment about how I could explain that in a way she would understand.

“I don’t think so, baby. Sometimes, when you hurt people, even if it’s not intentional, there is no coming back from it. That’s where I am with Ms. Iona. I hurt her, and she hurt me. There is no way we could be friends after that. It doesn’t mean I don’t wish her well. I want her to be happy, but I’m not the person that can make her happy. My obligation is to you and mommy. That’s where I need to be. You understand that?”

She nodded. “I hope she finds happiness. Is it okay that I still love her?”

“It’s okay, baby. You two had a great relationship. Now, I’m not saying you’ll be able to go over there and spend the night or she can come pick you up like she used to, but it’s okay that you still love her. I’ll always have love for her because she was there when we needed her most. I don’t take that for granted.”

And I didn’t.

I’d never downplay what she’d been in our lives at that time. She just wasn’t my future, and that was okay.

“Can we make tacos tonight?” Summer asked.

I chuckled. “You’re gonna turn into a taco. We just ate that last weekend.”

“I know, but I love it, and so does Mommy.”

“I guess I’m outnumbered then, huh?”

She giggled. “Well, if you two make me a little brother or sister, maybe you won’t be.”

I laughed out loud as I glanced over at her. “You really want a sibling?”

“Yes! It was nice being the only child when Mommy wasn’t here, but now she is. I’m okay with sharing one of you.”

“Baby girl, you’d have to share both of us.”

“Not if you have a boy.”

I shook my head. “That’s not how that works, love.”

“Well, I still want a little brother or sister. Are you gonna make me one?”

“We’ll see.”

I stifled a laugh. If only she knew it wasn’t that easy. I had to get my wife to sleep next to me before I could even think about having sex with her. I mean, I did think about sex with her. Watching her walk around in those sexy work outfits got my blood rushing every time. The nights she spent at the house, she’d put on these little ass pajama shorts that had those thick ass thighs on full display.

I still hadn’t gotten over how different her body was now. I loved the thickness on her. She was soft, and her skin was silky smooth. She always smelled so damn good when she rubbed up against me. And when we kissed… shit! It took everything in me not to drop to my knees in front of her and beg her to let me taste her. Our good night kisses always resulted in me going into my bedroom and rubbing one out because every little thing about that woman turned me on.

I chuckled to myself as I pulled into the grocery store parking lot.

Maybe one of these days we’d get there.

“Hello, hello!” Evenie sang, walking into the house.

I looked up from my pot on the stove and smiled as she hung up her keys and kicked off her heels. Since she started back working, I’d noticed a change in her confidence. I think it was just the boost she needed. She was doing a little more and getting back to herself.

Therapy was helping too. She was becoming more comfortable with going out alone. Then again, she did retake that gun safety class to reinstate her concealed weapons permit. I knew the last thing she’d want to do was actually use her gun, but if it came to it, I knew she would.

She set her portfolio on the coffee table and strolled into the kitchen to me.

“Hey, baby,” she said, sliding her arms around my waist.

“Hey, love.” I leaned in and kissed her lips. “Don’t you look happy.”

“I had a great day. I booked my first official client.”

“Congratulations. That’s great. I’m proud of you. Not just for booking the client, but for the way you’ve been getting back to you. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you, baby.” She peeked into the pot on the stove. “What are you cooking?”

“Stewed chicken, rice, macaroni, and cornbread.”

She smiled. “Between you and my parents, I’m gonna be fatter than I already—

“Let me stop you right there. Ain’t shit on you fat but this ass.”

I gave her ass a hard slap, causing her to squeal. “Tyrion!”

“Stop playing with me, Evenie. You did it for me when you were a size ten and you still do it for me at a size fourteen. You are beautiful in every way, every shape, and every capacity.”

“I never said I wasn’t beautiful, sir.”

“I know, but you need to be reminded of that sometimes. I got you.”

She blushed. Cupping her chin, I tilted her head up for a kiss. The innocence of it was quickly gone when she slipped her tongue into my mouth. I picked her up and placed her on the counter. Standing between her legs, I devoured those luscious lips. My desire for her was feral at this point. The moment she allowed herself to take it there with me, my baby might just get that brother or sister she asked for.

“Hey, Mom—” we heard behind us.

I looked back to see Summer Rose with her hands over her eyes and grinning.

“I didn’t see nothing!”

I laughed as I backed away and helped Evenie down from the counter. “There is nothing to see, princess.”

Evenie giggled as she walked over and pulled her hands away from her face. Evenie lifted her into her arms and hugged her tightly.

“Hi, my pretty girl. I missed you today.”

“I missed you too.”

“You finished your homework?”

“Most of it. I just have my math to do. Did you have a good day at work?”

“I had an amazing day. I got my first client. You wanna see what I’m working on?”

Summer Rose nodded. Evenie carried her into the living room. While they went through her portfolio, I finished up dinner and plated everything before calling them to the table. After a quick prayer, we dug in as we enjoyed each other’s conversation.

Once dinner was done, Summer retreated to her room to finish her homework. Evenie stepped outside while I started cleaning the kitchen. When she came back in, she had a duffel bag in her hands.

“You’re staying the night?” I asked.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not. It’s just… I usually have to ask you to stay. It’s reassuring to know you want to be here on your own.”

She gave me a faint smile as she started for the hall. “I’m gonna go shower. I need to wash my hair.”

“I’ll detangle it for you.”

She stopped mid-stride and looked at me. “You sure about that?”

“Who do you think detangles Summer Rose’s hair most of the time? I mean, our moms or Nina did her hair from time to time, but most of the time, that was all me. I ain’t new to this; I’m true to this, baby. Go on. I got you.”

She simply nodded as she headed down the hall. After I finished cleaning the kitchen and taking out the trash, I checked in on Summer. She’d finished her homework and was currently getting ready to take a shower. I left her be and headed to my room to take a shower myself. As I was walking past the guest bathroom, I realized that it was empty. Then I heard the soft music coming from my bedroom.

Opening the door, I went inside to find that Evenie was in my shower. I was surprised because she’d yet to step foot in here since she’d been home. Her duffel bag was on the bed, and she’d put a couple of her personal products on the dresser like they belonged there. I grinned to myself as I gathered my things for when she was done. The shower turned off, and not long after, Ev stepped out with a towel wrapped around her body and one around her head.

“You got new bedroom furniture,” she commented, looking around.

“I did. I got new mattresses too. I um… in hopes of you coming home, I wanted us to have a fresh start. I put our old bedroom furniture in storage before Iona and I ever… you know. It didn’t feel right bringing another woman into a bed I shared with you. Unfortunately, the storage unit flooded a few years ago, and everything had water damage. I replaced the second new set because I couldn’t have you in a bed I shared with someone else either.”

She nodded. I wasn’t sure how that made her feel, but she seemed okay. There was no way in hell I would subject her to lying in the same bed I’d been with Iona in on countless occasions, the most recent being weeks ago.

“The shower’s all yours,” she said.

Grabbing my things, I headed into the bathroom to shower. Twenty minutes later, I was brushing my teeth and slipping into my pajamas. When I stepped into the bedroom, Evenie was seated on the chaise in front of the bed, flipping through the TV. Her hair products sat at her side. She looked back at me and beckoned me over.

“Come on. You said you would detangle my hair, so get to it, sir.”

I chuckled as I climbed on the bed and positioned myself behind her. She handed me a comb and brush, and I got to work parting her mass of hair into four equal sections. I worked on the first section by parting it in half and working my way from the ends to her roots. As I worked, I noticed that Evenie had a slight tremble. She kept trying to shake it off, but it wasn’t working.

“You okay?” I asked.

She looked up at me with a faint smile. “I’m fine… just a little cold. Keep going.”

I wanted to address it, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. The more I combed, the more she seemed to tremble. I looked around to find her eyes tightly shut and her lips moving with no sound. When a tear slipped from her eye, I stopped brushing.

“Baby, talk to me,” I said softly.

She remained quiet with her eyes closed and her lips pursed.

“Ev, you can talk to me, love. I know it’s something. You’re sitting here trembling and crying. Maybe I can’t fix it, but I can be in it with you if you let me.”

She was quiet for a few seconds longer before taking a deep breath.

“There were times he used to make me roleplay as his wife. Like… put me in her clothes. He used to force me to sit so he could brush my hair and style it like hers. He’d put makeup on me… spray me down with her perfume. Then he would make me lay down and cuddle with him while he smelled me and told me how much he loved me. If I didn’t say it back, he would get mad and hit me.”

I could feel my anger rising. I swear that man was lucky he was dead. Reeling in my anger, I wrapped my arms around my wife and kissed her temple.

“I’m sorry you had to endure that. I wish every day that I could have protected you, but you’re safe now. You’re home, and nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”

The tears were free falling from her eyes at this point.

“I was doing so good…” she said, sniffling. “I thought I’d be okay with this because it was you, but it’s triggering me.”

“What do you need from me right now?”

“Just hold me.”

I put the brush down and wrapped my arms tighter around her. She held onto me, her body still trembling. I heard the pitter patter of Summer Rose’s feet as she came to the door. She paused when she saw her mother crying.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Mommy is just having a moment. You want to help me make her feel better?”

She nodded as she made her way over. “You want me to sing you a song, Mommy?”

Evenie sniffled. “I would love that.”

Summer cleared her throat as she took her mother’s hands. “You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

I smiled as she continued singing. At this point, she’d dropped her hands and was now cupping her face as she sang to her. Summer was truly a special little girl. When she finished singing, she climbed in Evenie’s lap and cuddled up with her while I finished detangling her hair. By the time I was done brushing and twisting it, Summer had fallen asleep.

Evenie got up and carried her to bed while I put her things away. When she returned, I was under the covers, flipping through the channels. She was quiet as she grabbed her bonnet and put it on. When she turned to me, she looked a little nervous. Slowly, she rounded the bed to the vacant side, trailing her finger along the edge. She stood there for a minute, contemplating if she wanted to get in.

Reaching over, I grabbed the covers and tossed them back.

“Come on,” I said, patting the mattress.

She climbed in and immediately cuddled up next to me with her head on my chest and her arms around me. A deep breath expelled from her lips as she finally relaxed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, stroking her arm.

“Like I’m where I belong.”

I kissed her forehead and settled into the bed. My sentiments, exactly.