Page 111 of Axton

“Mr. Axton isn’t interested even if she was, she’s everything I need.”

“So, what now?” She asked.

“I beg you to reconsider your decision. If not for yourself then for him. It’s not fair to either of you. What happens when your father tells you to have kids? Isn’t that your biggest nightmare?” I was giving it one last shot.

“Infertility would be very easy to fake.”

“Only, your husband will want to be bare inside you and it could happen even if you take birth control. You need to at least tell Steven that much, that you will never have his children. This is unbelievably unfair, Faye.”

“Enough about me. What do you need from me to convince little wifey to forgive you? Does she need to talk to me?” She asked.

“God no, that’s the last thing that needs to happen. This is not a good situation for a lot of reasons. I’m going to fight for her though. I won’t give up until she gives me a second chance and marries me for real, then I will continue to fight for us the rest of my life.”

“That’s a big statement for a woman you haven’t known all that long.” She said.

“I have every reason to believe we were designed to walk through this life together and nobody could convince me otherwise.”

“Mike, have you been drinking?”

“Oh absolutely, but I’m not as bad as the other guys, which is not great either. Creed's Lake has come under attack twice in less than a week. So yeah, we’re all fucked if something happens now. Our number one is on paternity leave, and our number two was shot in the leg, I’m number three and I’m toasted but I also got shot on Saturday, and the only ones not fucked up are Bolton and Jennings.” I chuckled.

“You got what?”

I chuckled. “Shot, but you know me, I keep going no matter what, but I’ll be fine, and I’m worried about you. You know we can’t be friends anymore, right?”

“It’s a decade long friendship. Are you sure she means that much to you?” She asked.

“I’d fucking die for her.”

We talked a little longer then we ended the call and our friendship. I’d miss her friendship, and I wished her the best, but Belle would always come first and there was no reason to stay in contact. I looked behind me and both of the guys were passed out. I sent Steph a text to let her know, then woke the guys up to put them in bed. Then I went to my own bed, and it felt so empty. I grabbed my phone and studied Belle’s face for the hundredth time that night. If she forgave me, I was going to marry her and knock her up. I laughed at myself. Maybe I was joking, but maybe I wasn’t. Belle wasn’t a believer in modern birth control, and I didn’t give a fuck. Maybe if I knocked her up a few times she would change her mind. Damn, I must have been drunk, judging by my thoughts.

I had a lot to deal with all day, but I marked one big thing off the list. I learned how Amelia and Merriam treated Creed and the others. I also understood she saw me point a gun at Jeremiah’shead and pull the trigger. She wouldn’t have understood that I did the man a solid by killing him. He shot Magnus, and if it weren’t me, it would have been Granger, or he would have suffered at the hands of one of the most evil gangs in the world.

After meeting with Creed, I came home, dressed in my old fatigues then paid the women a visit. After showing them the evidence I had on Jeremiah and they saw my birthmark, they fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness. I told them about all the men, women, and children we saved, and how we were doing God’s work on Creed’s Lake. Then I told them I was going to marry Belle and help the other followers. Yeah, I was pretty sure by the time I left they were both using the yarn and crochet needles Belle brought them to make me a scarf or two.

Then I had to deal with the West Virginia State Police, after I spoke with Gloria. It seemed it grew beyond a county investigation. I didn’t tell them anything to implicate Will, but if they found out, there wasn’t anything they could do to him that was worse than he was already experiencing. Next on my agenda was going to that mountainside to reign hellfire down on Natalie’s family. Of course, I would marry Belle first if I could convince her to marry me despite not telling her about Faye.

I woke in a panic when my alarm went off on my business phone. I was told to get to the medical center as soon as possible. I didn’t even tie my boots, comb my hair, or brush my teeth as I ran out of that house with Granger and Baros behind me. It was Magnus, he was developing an infection, and we had to get him transferred to Louisville. Through radiology, Zoey felt he had an Anastomotic leak from where the surgeon joined the ends of the intestines together and he would need another surgery. Zoey could have done it with the on-staff surgeon we recruited months ago, but he was out of town for the holidays. I regretted not speaking to Belle before I got on that medical flight withMagnus and Zoey. I begged Creed to tell Belle I would be at that dance and promised we would talk.

Belle

I was devastated to hear about Magnus. I also worried about Michael’s wound. Mine was doing well and I had the stitches out for a few days. The last scans of my head showed I was doing great and released from the Neurologist and could resume regular activities. I hoped he didn’t have to feel as much pain as I did when I was hurt.

Everyone around Creed’s Lake was grieving over the loss of their operatives. Reese was the only one of them I ever met, and I saw for myself that he was a kind man. He always had a smile on his face and was in the mess hall a few times when we ate there, so I was also saddened by his passing. He always stopped to say hello and ask how I was adjusting to life on the lake.

After waking in Addie’s bed with her arms around me, looking like an absolute angel by the way, I went to see my mother. I was shocked to see the difference in her and Merriam. They hadn’t been sleeping, that was evident by all the scarves and hats they crocheted. That’s how I learned it was Jeremy that shot Magnus. They described the look on Michael’s face when he killed Jeremy. Mama said she never saw such little emotion as he pulled that trigger. It seemed my husband spent some time with mama and Merriam, and I regretted not seeing him in his uniform. They both were excited to tell me all about my handsome husband and how yet another one of papas prophecies came true. They thought he was the fake prophet until he showed them some disturbing photos of Jeremy and then he showed them his birthmark. They did request to see mine again just to confirm.

I explained to mama how important a spiritual marriage was to Michael, and my mama said Michael still hoped I would marry him. That gave me some hope, but we still needed to talk. Mama saw a spiritual wedding as the same thing it was back home, but I had to explain the practices Michael grew up with and how I was to wear a white wedding dress and carry flowers. They didn’t really care for that much, and I told them he was Catholic. I wasn’t sure if that was the type of wedding we would have, but just the word Catholic almost threw both women into hysterics.

She also knew we hadn’t done anything together that would result in pregnancy, and that seemed to please mama. We talked about both of them starting over since Michael planned to dismantle the church. I guessed he showed them the written prophecy and they needed time to come to terms with all the changes that were coming. I also asked them to consider staying in Indiana. I would talk to Michael about allowing them to become guests through the DV program. They both had a lot to learn about the outside world and they had a lot to offer Creed’s Lake. They could do anything from cooking to housekeeping while they went through the program to learn how to survive the world without a husband to take care of them. The greatest challenge would be preparing them for Creed’s Lake. Not just the cultural and religious differences, but the behavior and foul language alone would be quite the shock. By the time I left, Merriam was open to the idea of seeing Koty.

I had lunch with the girls before we went to the salon. It was hard to concentrate and answer questions the hairdresser asked. I was worried about Magnus and Michael. I truly enjoyed being in the company of Magnus. Morgan explained how in a few weeks they would resume their Thursday night gatherings. Magnus talked Creed into putting them on pause so that Morganwouldn’t insist on cooking for everyone. She needed her rest after school every day while she was pregnant.

I was in the chair getting my makeup done when Melissa decided to go into story telling time.

“And that’s how Scott ended up with a mud pie in his face.” Melissa was filing her nails.

“Why exactly did we need to hear this story?” Morgan asked as she sat in a chair breastfeeding Colton.

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