Page 59 of If The Fates Allow
“I’m sorry, but this is the first time I’ve ever been whisked off to a new life, Noah Anderson,” she teased, beyond happy to be in his arms again. “Forgive me for not knowing I should rush.”
With a growl, his tongue coaxed past her lips, sweeping in to claim what was already his to take. “I’m half tempted to stop by the cottage before we depart and teach you the importance of being prompt.”
“Well, maybe you should.”
He nipped at her bottom lip. “Tempting, but I don’t want you sore for the ride.”
The moon overhead chose that moment to peek out from behind the clouds and shine directly on them. Noah’s excitement faded swiftly when he saw the bruise on her cheek, his expression slowly—painfully—morphing into absolute rage.
Holding her chin, he examined the mark. “Who did this?”
“So, much has happened.”
She told him everything, and with each sentence, his anger deepened. “He struck you,andyou had an attack, and they still did not call for me?”
“It wasn’t a bad one.” Conditioned to defend them, Willa tried to shrug off his concern. “The tea worked, and I made sure to rest today and not do anything too strenuous, so I was prepared for tonight.”
“If I ever see him again, I’ll kill him, Willa.” Noah’s thumb stroked the underside of the bruise. “I’m half tempted to go into that God-forsaken house and do the deed now. The world would be a better place for it.”
“No, you will not. We’re leaving and will never think of him again.” Taking his wrist with two hands, she halted the caress against her cheek. “Let your family’s mill merge with ours. Let them have their win because it doesn’t matter. I’m free. I’m yours.”
His lips claimed hers, the desperation and rage merging with desire. “Youaremine, and I will spend the rest of my life proving it.”
“Promise?”
The single word was all she could muster, and the two of them separated to grin wildly in the dark.
“Promise,” he replied with one final kiss on the tip of her nose. “It’s time to go.”
Taking the satchel from her, he held her hand and led them down the lane to where Hope waited at its end. From all around, Haven’s nighttime chorus of birds and vermin chittered about as they walked. The evening breeze shaking the trees and moss overhead in a noisy farewell.
“It’s a shame,” Noah observed. “This place is lovely, albeit remote.”
Willa smiled. “When I left, I was thinking that maybe Haven would one day know peace.”
“I’m sure she wil—”
A crack echoed through the night. Sharp and final, it silenced the world and had Noah shoving her behind him.
“What was that?” Willa whispered, sandwiched between the base of a pine tree and Noah’s massive back. “It sounded like a gun—”
A series of shouts carried over on the wind, and Noah pressed her further against the tree. “It’s coming from the mill.”
The extensive side and rear yards could be seen from their position on the lane. It was a wide, open space with a handful of trees spread around the main central oak standing guard over the estate. And at the end of it all, where the thick pelt of green grass ended at the bayou, a line of pine served as the barrier between Haven and the mill’s land.
Noah squinted at a figure emerging from the house. “Where the devil is she going?”
Looking over his shoulder, Willa could make out a lone figure walking across the lawn. “Is that Bonnie?”
Bundled in her dressing gown and robe, complete with her usual nighttime hair wrappings, Bonnie strode across the lawn at an even pace.
Not but a second later, Willa’s mother appeared, exiting from Haven’s rear kitchen door just as Bonnie had. The pair headed toward the forest trails where the narrow paths led out to the inlet point and the mill, passing their family graveyard on the way.
They waited a moment, and when nothing else happened, Willa tugged on Noah’s shirt. “Let’s go.”
Another shot rang out.
“Hell.” Noah spun around and gave her a quick kiss before preparing to dart across the lawn. “Stay here.”
