Worth the Wait (Picking up the Pieces #4) (23 page)

And I made sure I showed him the same.
I love you
was something that was said in his house multiple times every single day. I was living a life I was so unaccustomed to, that I sometimes had to pinch myself just to make sure it was real. Each night, I went to sleep wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, and each morning I woke up clinging to him like a second skin, so afraid I’d wake up to discover he was just a dream. I was desperate to keep him, to keep this perfect life we seemed to be building together. But in the back of my mind, I always had that niggling doubt that it would all be taken away from me in the blink of an eye, disappearing like a puff of smoke if I didn’t protect it with everything I had.

Pulling me from my musings, Brett walked over to the stove and planted a mind-numbing kiss on my lips.

“Hey, beauty. You have a good day?”

I smiled against his lips and twined my arms around his neck, basking in the feel of him pressed against me.

“I did. Had a little pampering time and the girls stopped by for a visit. It was a pretty great day. How was yours?”

“Good. A little weird, but good.”

“What made it weird?”

“Well, I stopped by Virgie May’s for lunch. Savannah was there with Emmy. They were just acting strange.”

Biting my lip to keep from laughing, I had to ask, “Yeah? How so?”

“Well, they turned bright red when I walked through the door and kept giggling like idiots. And I swear to God, I kept catching Emmy staring at my crotch. What’s up with that?” I had to fight to suppress my own giggle as I looked at his confused face. “I think Savannah even called me a super freak at one point. I swear, Jeremy and Luke have their hands full with those two.”

My laughter couldn’t be contained any longer. My head fell back on a deep belly laugh that had Brett looking even more bewildered.

“I’m guessing you know something about Crazy and Crazier’s issues today?”

I gave him a wink and a smirk, saying, “Maybe, but I’m not gonna tell you. You know, girl code and all.”

“Uh, huh,” he mumbled, one side of his lips tipping up in a grin.

“But just know this, you should be very, very proud.”

With a laugh of his own, he leaned in to give me another kiss. “Yeah, you fit in just perfectly with those crazies.”

Being held in his arms and having spent a great day relaxing and hanging with friends, I took that as a compliment. I couldn’t think of any other group of people I’d want to fit in with more.

Past

“What the fuck is this?” Lance shouted, holding up a piece of paper in his hands. Unsure of what it was, I remained silent, knowing whatever I said would only make matters worse.

“Sixty dollars at Party fucking City? What the hell did you buy, Mackenzie?”

“Th-the kids’ Halloween costumes,” I stuttered, my eyes glued to the ground, too terrified to meet his hate-filled gaze. “I asked you if I could go buy them,” I whispered, knowing that the reminder wasn’t going to help any. “You said I could.”

Charging me, he gripped my chin in a brutal hold that I knew would leave bruises come the next day. He roared in my face, “I didn’t say you could spend sixty dollars, you stupid cow!” His yell was followed by a strong backhand across my cheek that sent me flying into the kitchen island, the corner of the counter jabbing hard into my side.

“Take those stupid fucking costumes back,” Lance hissed at me. His bright blue eyes sparked with so much hatred I thought his look alone would cut through my skin.

“Lance,” I pleaded, even though I knew it was pointless. But the thought of disappointing my children hurt more than anything he could ever do to me. “They’ve already seen them. They’re so excited. Please, don’t make me take them back.”

He grabbed a chunk of my hair and jerked my head back, pulling some of the strands from my scalp and making me cry out in pain. “Take. Them. Back. Or so help me, I’ll make you wish you were dead. Do you understand me, you stupid bitch?”

“Yes,” I whimpered as tears streamed down my face.

Without so much as another word, Lance hauled my head back by my hair and slammed my face into my island counter. Through my scream of pain I heard the startling sound of bone crunching, knowing good and well he’d just broken my nose.

“I’m so sorry, babies.” I tried my hardest not to cry as I dressed my kids in costumes I’d managed to make using clothes I found in my closet. The thick concealer I wore to hide the fading bruises on my face would run, but more than that, I didn’t want my babies to see me cry, not when they were putting on their own brave faces.

“I’s okay, Mommy,” Callie told me, but my poor little girl couldn’t even muster up a smile. They’d been so excited when I brought home their costumes. Callie was going to be a princess, Cameron a ninja. But now I had to find a way to make something out of nothing. I’d wrapped Callie in one of my white button down shirt, tying a belt around her waist to make it look like a dress. I still had my apron from when I waitressed. Pairing that over the shirt and tying her hair up in a high ponytail, her costume was complete.

I’d managed to scrounge up a few bucks and made a trips to the dollar store where I found a clip-on bowtie and toddler suit jacket only a size or two too big for Cameron. I put him in a pair of his black dress pants that were for special occasions and his black tennis shoes, slicked his hair to the side in a neat part and told him he was a fancy man in a tuxedo.

I hated it. I hated that my babies grew up in a home where, as only toddlers, they had already learned to put on a brave face and not to throw fits over what they couldn’t have. That was when I made my decision. I was done with it. I couldn’t live like that anymore. And I couldn’t put my children through it any longer. I was going to give my kids a better life. It was time to start planning.

He’d taken my kids’ Halloween. I wouldn’t let him take anything else from them. Starting right then, I’d put the wheels into motion.

Present

“Nuh uh, no fuckin’ way in hell, beauty. I love y’all, but I have to draw the line at this.”

The pouty expression on her face was almost enough to do me in. But when I glanced back at the costume that lay across the bed, my balls shriveled up and I practically felt myself growing a vagina.

“That’s all right,” Kenzie spoke softly as she picked up the costume from the bed and shoved it into the back of the closet. She called it a Prince Charming costume. I called it a straight man’s nightmare with tights, sparkles, and puffy fucking sleeves. “If you don’t want to go trick-or-treating with us, it’s no big deal. I’ll take the twins and you can hand out candy here.”

Son of a bitch. I got the distinct impression that I was being manipulated. But damn if I wasn’t letting myself fall for it, hook, line, and sinker.

“Now hold on just a damn minute. I didn’t say I didn’t want to go trick-or-treating. I’d love to go. I just don’t want to have to dress up like a fruit loop to do it!”

“Prince Charming isn’t a fruit loop! He’s the ultimate ladies’ man,” Kenzie argued. “He’s the one who basically started the whole swoony male thing. I mean, without Prince Charming, all those fairytale chicks would have grown into old spinsters. Honestly, if you really think about it, the guy basically laid the foundation for men everywhere. Prince Charming
created
the woman’s ultimate fantasy guy.”

Damn the woman and her valid argument. Still didn’t mean I was cool with dressing up like an old-school douche. I’d never live it down. “I don’t know,” I whined. Yes, me, a grown-ass man was whining about wearing a friggin’ Halloween costume.

“Baby,” Kenzie said, walking over and placing a hand on my cheek. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you aren’t comfortable dressing up like Prince Charming to go with Callie’s princess costume, that’s okay. I love you anyway.”

She looked so damn sincere as she said it that I couldn’t help but cave. “All right, beauty. If it’ll make you and ladybug happy, I’ll wear the costume.”

Kenzie let out a squeal as she jumped at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me like a monkey. “I knew you’d do it, honey,” she said as she planted kisses all over my face. “You’re such a good guy.”

A deep laugh rumbled up from my chest as soon as I realized what had just happened. “You totally played me, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.” She was just too fucking cute when she giggled that I couldn’t help but to forgive her.

“Christ, I’m such a sucker for my ladies.”

“Dude!” Luke shouted. “What the fuck are you wearing?”

“Watch your mouth!” I yelled back, hitting him upside the head with my plastic sword.

“Luke said a bad word. Luke said a bad word,” Callie and Cameron sing-songed as I hit him one more time.

“Why’d you have to invite everyone over?” I turned back to Kenzie, pouting like a giant pussy.

“The girls wanted to see the twins in their costumes,” she smiled innocently.

Emmy shot me a cheeky grin and said, “And we may or may not have found out what you were dressing up as and wanted to get photographic evidence to blackmail you with.”

Callie and Cameron had run from the living room to get their candy buckets so I was safe for a few choice words. “This is bullshit!” I whisper-yelled. Turning, I pointed my finger right at Kenzie. “Why do you get to be the pink Power Ranger and I’m stuck looking like an asshole?”