Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

AINSLEY

I quickly decide that arguing with him is only going to rile him even further. So I try a different tactic, anything to get away from him. “Look, Drake, I get the fact that things didn’t go so well for us in the end. But has it really come to this?”

He steps back a little, running his hand through his hair. “It made me so mad seeing you with him,” he says. “It made me realize what I’d lost.”

It takes everything in me not to gag, but I don’t want to piss him off any further. I just want to find a way out of this. “So, you’ve changed your ways?” I say, trying my best to calm my voice and try to act as normal as I can. My heart is beating so damned fast, with no idea what he’s going to do now that he’s got me in his clutches.

“Yes. I love you, Ainsley. I wish you could see it.” He almost sounds resigned to the fact, so much so, I stupidly think he’s going to let me go. I mean, he can’t keep me here forever. I don’t like the way he’s pinning me to the wall. My legs threaten to buckle, but I tell myself I’ll get out of this.

“I do see it,” I whisper, and it almost kills me to say it. The words are like poison in my mouth, but I’m just trying to placate him so I can try to break free and run .

He looks at me warily. “You do?”

“Mmhmm.” My phone chimes again and he shifts on his feet. This seems to piss him off, his jaw clenching and his eyes narrowing.

“Don’t answer that. We need to talk.”

“We’re talking,” I say. “Why don’t we walk down to the cafe and talk there?”

He laughs without humor. “So you can yell to someone there and they can call the cops on my ass?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” I lie. “I want to talk, too.”

“I don’t believe you!” He grits his teeth again, his eyes bulging from his sockets.

He yanks my arm again and pulls me along the length of the wall toward the side entry door. The same door Cole and I came out of just last night.

“Drake, what are you doing?” But my voice falls on deaf ears as he yanks the door open and shoves me inside. I don’t even know how he knew it would be open. I yelp as I stumble, trying not to trip over my own feet. It’s while he’s closing the door that I shove him in the back and take off, sprinting away from him down the hallway and into the main hall where I stood with Cole and all my friends last night. Where we ate his mom’s cookies and tried to escape Mayor Lockwood’s small talk. Right where the whole town celebrated the beginning of the holiday festivities, and the Christmas tree and Frosty reveal. Not that Cole or I saw much of that.

Now I’m being chased by my crazy-ex who’s lost his mind.

I hear him behind me. I know he’s close. But the beauty about being small is I’m also fast.

I turn my head to see where he is, my heart hammering as he lunges for me, trying to grab my arm. I swing my bag and clonk him in the head as he stumbles back and I keep running.

I head for the stairs that lead up to the mezzanine, where Cole was recently renovating with Travis.

Cole . God. He’s going to be worried soon if he doesn’t hear from me. It hasn’t been that long since I left him, so he’d have no reason to call until he has news on the kitten.

I don’t want to think about what Drake has in mind if he catches me.

“Ainsley!” he calls after me. “Stop running from me, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk!”

“Well then, stop chasing me!” I yell back, reaching the stairs. But I feel his hand on me again as he grabs me by the wrist. I’m shaking with equal parts adrenaline, and fear, as I spin to face him. No one knows I’m here, and Drake is acting like a complete lunatic.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you!” he yells. Which gives me no comfort whatsoever.

“You’re hurting me now!” I hurl back, trying to pull free. Miraculously he lets me go, but I fall forwards and catch myself on the first step before I trip face first. “Look at what you’re doing!”

He runs his hands through his hair and down his face. “I’ve fucked up, Ains. I lost the most beautiful girl I ever had, and I lost my job last week. Your asshole boyfriend broke my nose. My life is in the toilet!”

Yeah, you lost me because you cheated on me because you needed to sow your wild oats. I shudder at the way he shortens my name. It’s just nothing like how Cole says it.

My phone rings again before I even get to reply to his verbiage. Not that there’s anything to even say to his sob story. He’s made his own decisions in life and I’m sick of taking the brunt of it. I’m sick of being made to feel as though I was the problem.

“I need to answer it, Drake. Cole is waiting for me, he’s going to know soon. He’ll find me.”

“Don’t even mention his name!” he shouts, getting agitated all over again. “He can’t take what’s mine, Ainsley. Now, give me your phone!”

“No!” I shout back, my foot resting on the edge of the next step, trying to back away from him. I’m gearing to push off the steps and run upstairs so I can lock myself in one of the storage rooms. He tries to grab my bag right off my shoulder, but I manage to shrug him off. If he gets hold of that phone, I’m screwed. I’ve no way of contacting anyone or getting any help, other than trying to get upstairs and yelling out of the window. That might not be such a bad idea. “Stop grabbing me!” I bubble out, tears are threatening to spill. I’m so terrified, my mind searching like crazy to find a way out of this nightmare.

“Stop trying to run away,” he grits angrily. I honestly don’t know where his anger toward me is coming from. Jealousy can make people do crazy things, I suppose, but even this isn’t a side to him I’ve never seen. “I just want to talk.”

“I told you we could talk at the cafe, but you didn’t want to. The time for talking isn’t here, Drake. Not after chasing me and dragging me in here!”

He runs his hands over his face. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You’re scaring me by doing this. Please let me go and we can talk about this when you’ve calmed down.” Of course, I don’t mean a world of it.

He runs his hands over his face again and lets out a deep sigh. I take that opportunity to turn and push off my foot, resting on the next step and launch myself up the stairs. It doesn’t matter what he says, he’s too up and down at the moment to know what the hell he’s doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been drinking again. This is so out of character for him. Yes, he was angry at the dance, but it was nothing like this.

“Ainsley!” He bolts up the stairs after me, but I’m taking each step like my life depends on it, not even looking back to see where he is. I swear to God I’m going to have heart failure if this goes on for much longer. My adrenaline is the only thing keeping me from crumbling into a heap.

I’m just at the top when I feel his hands on my bag again and I swing around to push him off.

He loses his footing as he tries to hold on to me before he trips, essentially falling backward down the stairs. I cry out as he starts waving his arms in rapid reverse circles, trying to find his footing. “Ains–oh shit–” I reach out in an attempt to stop him from falling, attempting to grab at his arm, but I can’t reach. He makes a terrified wailing sound as he loses balance and falls down with a loud clatter. He lands awkwardly three or four steps away from where I’m still standing at the top, staring down in horror.

Then, if that isn’t terrifying enough, he keeps on rolling. His body resembles a rag doll falling down the entire staircase. It’s like watching a tumbleweed rolling in the wind and I stand there with tears falling, my face buried in my hands. When I peek out, Drake is laying still at the bottom of the stairs…unmoving.

Cole

I’m getting anxious. I haven’t heard from Ainsley yet and an hour has nearly passed. Maybe Chip’s was busier than she anticipated and everyone has rushed out early to get supplies for the weekend. She often has her phone on silent for work, maybe she didn’t switch it over? When Emma calls me to see if Ains is with me, I feel that sense of panic again, like when I couldn’t find Fudge. She hasn’t returned Emma’s calls since Em got to the hospital, or my text ten minutes ago. Em assures me that Valerie is fine. She was just checking when we’d be coming to the hospital.

I’ve tried Ainsley’s cell a few times, to no avail. It just rings out. So I decide to head up to Chip’s myself. I take Fudge with me; he got the all clear. He was just cold and tired, but he’s gonna be fine. The little dude is stable, and Presley is still running some tests and keeping him warm. He’s not out of the woods yet. The nurse said they’ll call me as soon as he can be released. That’s a relief.

I head out on foot, still carrying Fudge in his travel case. Crossing the road just across from the Town Hall, I see poor Frosty is getting covered in more snow than he knows what to do with. I look down at the ground and bend to pick up a large scrunchie. It’s made of the same squishy fabric that looks a lot like the ones Ainsley wears. On closer examination, it is her scrunchie because it has gingerbread men all around it and she had it in her hair this morning.

At the same time that realization is dawning, my phone chimes in my back pocket and I swiftly reach around and pull it out. Ainsley’s name flashes on the screen and I breathe a silent prayer of relief.

“Ains! Thank God, where are?—”

“Cole!” she cries. Immediately, I’m thrown back into panic again at her tone. “Cole!” she’s sobbing.

“Baby, where are you? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Dr–Drake,” she stutters. “He grabbed me on the street. He’s gone crazy .”

My heart is beating so fast I can barely hear her over the blood pounding in my ears. “Fuck. Where are you?”

“In the Town Hall, he pushed me inside, Cole… then chased me. I ran up the stairs and he ran after me. Then… he fell down….” She bursts into tears. “He’s not moving. I think he’s dead!”

Thank fuck I’m close by. I run toward the side entry of the Town Hall to see if it’s open. “I’m just outside. I’m seconds away. Just stay where you are.”

“Cole, I’m scared.”

“Can you call 911, baby? I’ll be there in a second.”

“Okay,” she murmurs. She sounds so scared, but I’m literally less than a minute from her.

We hang up and I sprint as fast as I can. When I reach the door, my hands grab the handle and yank it open. I fling the door wide and run through, still holding poor Fudge. The little guy Is protesting his meows, but I don’t have time to stop. “It’s alright,” I tell him. “Everything is gonna be alright.” When I run into the hall, I scan the wide space to the back of the stairs where I lift my gaze to see Ainsley is still standing at the top… and Drake’s body lays at the bottom in a crumpled, awkward mess.

“Ainsley!”

“Cole!” she cries, running down the steps as I run toward her. It looks like she’s just hung up from calling the cops as she pulls the phone from her ear. I place Fudge safely down as I quickly step over Drake and she flies into my arms, sobbing into my shoulder.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here, shhhh, everything is okay now.”

“He’s gone crazy,” she sobs. “He grabbed me and pulled me in here wanting to talk, but he kept shouting and wouldn’t let me go.”

“I fo und your scrunchie outside,” I breathe, my heart rate trying to settle itself. I’m just so glad she’s okay, and it wasn’t her falling down the stairs. “After Emma said she couldn’t get a hold of you, and I didn’t get a message back from you, I started to worry.”

We both look down at Drake on the floor, that’s when we hear a groan.

Ainsley untangles herself from me for a moment so I can bend down and check his vitals.

The crazy fucker is still breathing. Lucky for him. His eyes are closed and his breathing shallow, but he’s alive for the moment.

“Did you call the police?”

“Yes.” She nods. “They’re sending an ambulance.”

Just as she says it, sirens blare in the distance. “We best wait for them out front, there’s no point trying to move him. And he’s not going anywhere. Why don’t you take Fudge? I can stay here.” Not that the fucker deserves me staying with him. I want to ring his fucking neck for what he’s done.

“No!” she cries. “I don’t want to be without you, Cole.”

I stand and wrap my arm around her. “You’re never going to be without me, you hear?”

I wrap my arms around her, she’s shaking like a leaf and sobbing into my chest.

“Let’s both go out front and we’ll let the police know where to find him.”

“Okay.” She sniffs. We both look down at him on the floor. Nope, he’s definitely not going anywhere anytime soon.

**

A few hours later….

I tuck a blanket around Ainsley as we wait for Presley to come back out at Piney Paws.

Ainsley is exhausted, but hanging in there after we went to the police station so she could give her statement over the incident. She insisted she was okay and that we should still go and get the supplies for the weekend. I went into Chip’s Market while she stayed in the car with Fudge. We made our way back to Presley’s, supplies safely in my truck.

Ainsley didn’t want her mom to be worried so we agreed to wait it out on telling her until we get the kitten back, and Ainsley’s had time to process what happened without falling into a heap.

I’m so relieved that she’s okay, and when Drake is out of hospital, he’ll be taken into custody.

The fucker looks like he’s going to survive, though he had a broken leg and several broken ribs from the fall. I don’t even feel one bit of sympathy for him. In fact, I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.

“My God, Ainsley!” Pres says when she comes out to the waiting room and we give her a quick run down what’s happened since we saw her a few hours ago. She wraps her arms around her friend and gives her a big hug. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Ainsley sniffs, but she nods slowly. “I’m okay, just in shock, I think. I didn’t know what Drake was going to do. He’s lucky to be alive after the fall. I really hope he gets the help he needs.”

I look at my girl in absolute awe. Even now, she should be cussing and cursing his name and wishing he had broken his neck. But she isn’t. She still doesn’t wish any ill will upon him, despite what he did. Her strength and charac ter never cease to amaze me.

“Well, you’ll both be pleased to know Little Ginger is doing just fine. We’ve got him stable and he doesn’t have any injuries. He’s just very exhausted and hungry and needs to put on some weight. I also ran a scan to see if he’s microchipped, but he isn’t. At this point, I don’t know if he’s a stray, or if someone is looking for him and hasn’t had the time yet to register him. But I think with some food, warmth and a little love, he’s going to be okay.”

“Oh, Pres,” Ainsley sobs again, reaching out to her friend as they embrace once more. “Thank you so much.”

“Yes, thank you.” I say as Pres squeezes an affectionate hand on my arm.

“Any time.” She smiles.

“We’re happy to look after the little guy until we find his owners, if he has any,” I add. “I don’t think Fudge will mind.”

Ainsley lifts her head from hugging Presley to look at me. Despite her harrowing ordeal, she smiles at me with so much love in her eyes, I can’t help but smile like a fool back at her. “We’d love that,” she whispers to Presley.

“I’ll go get him,” she says. “I think it would be better for him being with you guys, rather than in a cage here over the weekend with the snowstorm.”

“Sounds good.” Ainsley steps back to my side, and I place a gentle arm around her shoulders.

“And congrats, you two. I knew you would make a great couple.” She winks.

We both smile. “Hey, we could only try to hide it for so long,” I say.

“That reminds me,” Ainsley says. “Parker said you had a little something to share the other night, but Cole and I left before we had time to talk to you again. ”

A little smile plays on Presley’s lips as her hands slide down to her stomach. “I’m pregnant again,” she whispers.

“Fuck.” I let out a breath. “Congrats. Trav kept that under wraps.”

“I swore him to secrecy until after the first trimester.”

I reach out to give her a big one armed bear hug. Ainsley wraps her arm around her from my other side as we all share a group hug.

“Congratulations,” Ainsley whispers. “That’s the best news.”

“Thank you,” Pres gushes. “We’re very excited. Now, let me go get the little guy.”

“Do you think we could call him Little Ginger for now?” I ask as Pres heads off to grab him. “Since Pres called him that when she first came out.”

“Seems fitting to me,” Ains says, looking up at me with tears in her eyes.

I touch her face softly with two knuckles. “And maybe we can keep him and share custody as neighbors if no one claims him?”

Her face breaks into a smile, and it’s so fucking sweet to see that after today’s events.

“Cole, I’d love that.”

I incline my head downward and press my lips to hers. “Not as much as I love you.”

“Or as much as I love you.”

We hear Presley’s throat clear as we break from our kiss and look up, both a little sheepish. But Presley’s grin is bigger than mine.

“You guys go and rest. Hunker down for the weekend and we’ll all get together when the storm is over,” she says, passing Little Ginger over to us, along with my sweater from before. He’s now wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with his head stick ing out the top.

“Thanks, Pres,” we both say in unison and Presley laughs at us, both already saying the same thing at the same time. Soon we’ll be finishing each other’s sentences.

After she waves us off, we head out to the truck and I get my little tribe all settled in. Ainsley has both Fudge and Little Ginger nestled into her lap. I jog around the other side and jump in, turning to face her. “You did so good today, baby.”

She smiles softly, though I know she’s still shaken up and will be for some time to come. “Thank you for being there, and for getting to me so fast.”

“Always,” I say. “I’ll never leave you, Ainsley. He can’t hurt you again.”

“I know I’ve told you today already, but I love you.”

I close my eyes momentarily, hearing that. “You can tell me anytime. I love you too, Shorty .”

“Can we go see my mom and then head home before the snow comes in again?”

Emma said they are keeping Valerie a little longer for observation until Monday, then we can collect her after the snowstorm passes.

“Let’s do it. Then I’ll make us some snacks and we can have a movie marathon with the kids.” I look down to Fudge, who’s made himself quite at home in Ainsley’s lap. And Little Ginger already has his eyes closed. “I know you want to get your team Charlie fix this weekend.”

She looks across at me as surprise flits across her face. “You’d do that for me?”

The corner of my mouth pulls up in a smile. “I’d do anything for you.”

I lean over and kiss her again. Stroking Fudge at the same time and giving Little Ginger a gen tle rub on the top of his head with my finger.

And suddenly my life feels complete with my own little tribe. There’s nowhere else I wanna be right now. Storm or no storm. Here with them is everything I need.