Chapter Eight

James

All hell breaks loose when we leave our suite.

It’s already noon when we emerge, and the inn looks so much more welcoming in daylight. Abby says as much as we take the elevator down. She points out a few things that are outdated and that the place needs fresh paint, but I can tell she’s surprised by how beautiful it looks during the day.

“I can’t wait to check out the other floors and the rooms...” Her words trail off when we reach the lobby to find a large group of people gathered. It looks like my entire extended family has shown up at the inn with how many familiar faces are in the lobby. They haven’t spotted us yet, with most of them standing around and chatting in small groups. Abby’s brows furrow as she peers at the crowd. “Is there a celebrity checking in or something?” she whispers, sliding her hand around my arm when we step into the room.

I don’t think these people are here to see a celebrity, but I don’t have the time to tell her that before someone calls out my name and all heads turn in our direction. The room falls silent before it erupts with noise as everyone rushes forward at once.

This has Lizzy written all over it.

My little brat of a cousin just couldn’t keep my arrival to herself. I had a plan—one that involved casually visiting everyone and checking in so my arrival wouldn’t turn into a big ordeal.

“James!” calls a familiar voice again, and I look over to see my mother approaching. She slaps my shoulder before wrapping her arms around me in a hug. “I can’t believe you didn’t immediately come see me, you brat. I had to hear it from Lizzy.”

“I arrived pretty late; I was coming to see you this afternoon,” I tell her, pulling back from the embrace to meet her tearful eyes. Lately when I see her, they are always tearful, and I imagine it must have been difficult for her to see me hooked up to all those machines in the hospital, not sure whether I was going to make it or not. “I’m fine, Ma,” I assure her.

She smiles, wiping her eyes with a white handkerchief before turning her attention to the girl at my side, who looks like she wants to disappear into the ground. My mother’s expression widens with recognition, and suddenly Abby becomes her sole focus.

“My God, you look just like her,” my mother gasps, slapping her hand over her mouth as her eyes fill up once more. “You must be Hailey’s girl, aren’t you?”

The room falls quiet once more as everyone shifts their attention to Abby, who is staring at my mother in shock. “You knew my mother?”

Knew.

I see my mother’s expression crumble, and her tears finally fall before she wipes them away. “Sweet Jesus, I’m a mess. Yes, dear. I knew your mother, and you look so much like her. I’m so sorry to hear of her passing.” She smiles before turning to me and patting my shoulder. “It’s good to see you, son. We prepared a welcoming party to celebrate your return, and you are not getting out of it.”

Before I can put up a fight, I am surrounded by people wanting to inquire about my health and time in the military and thank me for my service. The celebration is moved to the Shadow Lounge, which is typically an exclusive, members-only club for the elites of Valor Springs, but the owner, Vladmir Andreyev, is my cousin’s boss and seems to have made an exception for me as a favor to Jax. Heck, he even provides free drinks for everyone in attendance.

It surreal and equally overwhelming. I notice Abby try to move away from my side and leave me in the spotlight, but I take her hand in mine and keep her close, making it obvious to everyone who she is to me.

In the past, during my visits to Valor Springs, I often had residents try to set me up with their daughters, sisters, or nieces, but I refuse to endure that this time.

I have found someone.

Abby Miller is the girl I want by my side for the rest of my life, and I make sure everyone sees it. Valor Springs is a small town, and the news will be all over it before the end of the day.

After I’ve greeted my family, more people file in as others leave, and my afternoon is occupied by conversations with people. Throughout, I don’t let Abby out of my sight. She has questions. I sense it throughout the afternoon in the way she keeps looking over at my mom, but she stays quiet.

“Do you want to leave? I can sneak us out and back to our suite,” I whisper into her ear, and she turns to me with a horrified look in her eyes.

“What? No!” she says, shaking her head rapidly. “Everyone will notice if you leave. We can’t do that.”

“Baby, you don’t look like you are having a great time.”

“I am,” she hurries to say. “Okay, I am not used to crowds, but I find it amazing how many people love you in this town. The girls haven’t stopped looking at you…or the way your T-shirt hugs your muscles.”

“Jealous?” I tease.

“Yes,” she confesses, turning those golden eyes to me. “I found you first. Well, you found me sitting on the side of the road in a panic, but…you’re mine now.”

My cock thickens at the possessiveness I hear in her voice, and I am ready to bend her over the nearest surface and rut her like a dog when someone interrupts us. The voice comes from behind us, and it’s like a bucket of cold water splashed over my fantasies.

“Is that how you met?” asks the brat that instigated this whole celebration. Lizzy is standing behind us with a wide grin on her face, and I look over my shoulder to glare at her.

“I will get you back for this, Elizabeth Davidson.”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” she snarks before turning to Abby. “My aunt wants to talk to you.”

My brows draw in confusion. “What does my mother want to talk to her about?” I love my mom to death, but she better not be trying to scare Abby away. She is vulnerable right now, with her emotions in turmoil, and I don’t want anyone upsetting her, not even my mother.

Lizzy shrugs. “I don’t know, she asked me to get Abby.”

With a sigh, I climb to my feet, ignoring my cousin when she protests and argues that my mother asked to see Abby alone. No, I am not letting her out of my sight. Left with little choice, Lizzy escorts us toward a table where my mother is seated with a group of other women. She excuses herself from them and walks over to meet us and doesn’t even blink at the hand I have around Abby’s waist.

“What is this about, Ma?”

“Let’s find a quiet spot to talk,” she says, and the three of us follow her as we look for some place private to sit, but with the way the place is crowded, we are left with little choice but to walk out to Lizzie’s car. Lizzie climbs into the driver’s seat, and my mom sits in the front passenger seat, leaving Abby and me to take the backseat.

“Is this about my mother?” Abby asks once we’re all settled.

“Yes,” my mother says, her voice taking on a sad tone. She’s twisted around in her seat to face Abby. “I knew your mother when we were young. I was several years older than the twins, though.”

Abby’s eyes widen with shock. “T-they were twins? My mother had a twin!”

“Yes, and both were very mischievous. Your grandfather bought that inn when they were small, and the twins loved it. Every time anyone walked in, they would find the two running around, their strawberry blonde hair standing out above anything else.”

“I didn’t know.” Abby’s voice sounds heartbroken, but before I can reach out to comfort her, my mother beats me to it, taking Abby’s hand with hers.

“Hailey and Melissa were very close. The only way you could tell them apart was the color of their eyes. Melissa had these beautiful, striking amber eyes, and Hailey’s green eyes were gorgeous.”

“But I—”

“Yes, you take after your aunt. I mean, Melissa and Hailey were twins, but in a funny twist of fate, you favor your aunt more.” She chuckles ruefully. “Hailey couldn’t escape her twin sister after all.”

Abby perks up at that. “What do you mean ‘escape.’ Why would she need to escape?”

For the first time, I notice an uncomfortable look settle over my mother’s expression. “This is not going to be easy to hear—”

“I want to know the truth,” Abby pleads. “It’s why I came to Valor Springs. Please .”

My mother studies Abby for a few long seconds before she nods. “It’s a cliché story. The twins loved the same things, so it came to no one’s surprise when they both fell for the same man. His name was John.”

“My father…” she whispers, and my mother nods firmly.

“He had business in town and stayed at the inn for a few days, and both girls took a liking to the man. They were obvious with their attraction for him, and he… Well, the kindest thing I can say is that he enjoyed the attention. He was a scoundrel. He ended up extending his stay to spend more time in Valor Springs.”

Although not part of the story, Lizzy and I are at the edge of our seats, waiting to know what happened next. I vaguely remember Abby’s aunt as the owner of the inn, and I know that she died from an aggressive form of cancer, but I had no idea about any of this.

“He took a liking to your mother first. He pursued Hailey, and the two dated secretly for months before it was discovered that he’d also been seeing Melissa that whole time. He’d convinced both of them to keep the relationship a secret.”

“That jerk!” Lizzy gasps, and I lightly tap the back of her head for her to stay quiet. She flashes me a glare but complies.

“When Melissa and Hailey discovered his deceit, they fought horribly. Rather than placing the responsibility where it belonged—on John—they blamed each other. It was a messy affair all around and it tore them apart. It got even worse when Melissa demanded that John choose between the two of them, and he picked her. Hailey was devastated.”

The car falls silent. “What happened next?” Abby asks.

“Despite your grandfather’s best efforts to reconcile the girls, they refused. Then Melissa announced that she was pregnant, and Hailey left town that same day. No one knew where the hell she went. She just got into her car and left town, and we never saw her after that.”

“So I have a cousin? A-and what about my father?”

“A couple months into her pregnancy, Melissa discovered that John was an even worse cheat than we’d thought. She discovered that he was actually married and had a wife in another town. Melissa was so distraught when she found out that she miscarried her pregnancy. She was embarrassed that she’d fallen for his lies and devastated that she’d lost her baby. John was run out of town, and no one heard from him again. Not long after, your grandfather had a heart attack and passed away. No one knew how to get in touch with Hailey to tell her, and Melissa took over running the inn. She never married or had children. A couple years ago, your aunt was diagnosed with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer. She decided it was time to track down her twin and hired a private investigator. She wanted to make amends before she died.”

There are tears in my girl’s eyes, and I want to comfort her, but I can tell she needs a minute to gather her thoughts. “Thank you for telling me.” She sniffs, reaching to open the car door but stops, turning back to my mother. “Did she find my mother before she died? Did she know about me?”

My mom shakes her head sadly. “No. The investigator tracked down John and learned that he’d died in a car accident a few years after leaving Valor Springs. He never had any other children. There were rumors that Hailey had left because she was pregnant, but the investigator wasn’t able to track down the two of you until after Melissa had already passed.”

Abby nods, but my mother tightens her hand on hers before she can leave. “I’m sorry about your mother, Abby. You deserved to know the truth about your past, but I hope you don’t hold it against her or your aunt. They were both betrayed by a man they loved. I can only imagine how painful it was for her to learn of Melissa’s pregnancy while keeping her own a secret.”

Abby nods but doesn’t say another word, pushing open the car door and slipping out, leaving the three of us in the car. I turn to go after her when my mother grabs my arm to stop me.

“Let her go.”

I blink at her in shock. “Surely you don’t expect me to leave her alone after all you just told her, do you?”

“She needs a moment to herself. Give her that at least.”

I shake my head, unwilling to let my hurting lover wander around with a bleeding heart. So many people in her life have let her down, and I refuse to be a part of that list. I meant every word when I called Abby mine.

Mine to protect and to love…to treasure.

“I know what she needs,” I say. “Me. She needs me.”

My mother lets go of my arm, and I slip out of the car to go after my heart. Whatever it is Abby is feeling and dealing with, she doesn’t have to do it alone.

Not as long as I live and breathe.