Page 99 of Lavender and Lightning

She nods and I reach up to cup her face.

“I love you, too, Lydi-bug.”

Her nose crinkles and I can’t help but laugh. Rhett joins me a moment later and Lydia’s giggles follow shortly after. My heart is full, and after we clean up and settle down into bed, Lydia tucked between my body and Rhett’s, I sleep deeper, knowing that our family is whole again.

forty-one

Lydia

Themorningofourflight dawns wet and dreary. It’s too early for any sane human to be awake, but I’m here anyway, making myself a cup of coffee. I haven’t been up this early since before the fire, so my body is slow to respond to any of my commands to do stuff.

It’s been a week since the pack and I made amends, and I can admit to myself that it’s good to be back home. My bed, my nest, felt like heaven the first night I returned to it, especially when I had all three of my boys piled in it with me. Mateo returned home not long after Rhett, Lucas, and I… made up, and he’s been attached to me like a growth ever since. He’s slept with me every night, even the night I tried to sleep in Rhett’s room. It took me physically locking my door and making threats to get him to go back to work. They were empty threats, but it still got the job done.

Caleb’s been hanging out at the pack house, which has helped everyone’s overall anxiety level. I’d probably be fine on my own, but I can admit to feeling better and safer when he’s around. Our days are mostly spent watching trash reality television—we’ve both become way too invested in a certain British baking competition show—but I’ve found time to rediscover some hobbies like doodling and reading.

He’s also been working with me and the pack to finalize the plan for the wedding. We’d gone over every detail of the venue, walked through a hundred possible scenarios, all until I could repeat the steps in my sleep. But I guess it’s better to be over-prepared than unprepared.

The coffee maker finishes dispensing into my mug, and I stir in the heaping serving of sugar, the clink of the spoon against the ceramic the only sound. Until I catch a footstep and a creaky foyer floorboard. I turn and relax as Lex saunters through the door, dressed only in a short silk bathrobe. She gives me a radiant smile before closing the distance between us. She brushes a sweet kiss against my cheek as she leans around me to restart the coffee machine. Her open displays of affection never fail to make me blush, despite them becoming more frequent. She stays close, fingers brushing my arm almost subconsciously.

“I’m glad we’ve got time for one last coffee date before you leave,” she says warmly.

I chuckle under my breath. “Rhett’s dragging Lucas out of bed. We might have time for two.”

She returns my laugh, picking up her steaming black coffee and taking a sip. “Let’s go upstairs,” she says with a nod toward the foyer.

My brows twitch down in confusion, but she just smiles and starts walking, leaving me no choice but to follow. She glides up the stairs, hips swaying enticingly, the hem of her robe coming up enough to reveal the bottom curve of her perfect ass. But I don’t let myself get too distracted, because I’d hate to spill hot coffee on the cream carpet running up the center of the stairs. I nearly stumble as Lex leads us toward a set of double doors I’ve never been brave enough to approach, the doors to her room. She doesn’t even look back as she opens one and slips inside, leaving it cracked for me to follow.

Swallowing my nerves, I carefully enter and nudge it closed behind me with a hip. My chest immediately grows warm as I look up. Her furniture is expensive looking, especially the massive four-poster bed in the center, but there’s an air of age to every piece. The carpet is thick and soft, and it tickles the spaces between my toes as I take a few steps forward. My eyes linger on the walls, decorated with dozens of framed photos of the pack, laminated newspaper articles, and awards. But as I scan to my right, my mouth falls open at the beautiful baby grand piano set in front of a bay window.

“You play?” I ask breathlessly, looking around for Lex.

“From time to time. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and practice,” she calls, voice carrying through an open arch on the wall to the right of the piano.

I follow the sound, finding myself in a comfortably appointed boudoir. Her clothes hang neatly along the back wall, wrapping around slightly into built-in shelving units. Lex has settled onto a plush couch, looking out of massive windows that provide a panoramic view of the yard, the Everton skyline just visible over the tops of the trees. I move to the adjacent armchair, and I can only sigh as I sink into its incredibly comfortable cushions.

We’re quiet for a while, just watching the clouds drifting across the slowly lightening sky. The rain patters gently against the glass, and the whole scene is so comfortable that I have to fight off sleep. Lex sets her cup down on the low coffee table and lets out a long sigh.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” she starts, barely above a whisper.

I frown into my coffee, but don’t respond. Mateo said something similar last night, but I have to do this. If our plan works, Jason will be safe, my trust will be secured, and I’ll never have to see my mother or Darren ever again.

“I know you won’t, but I just felt obligated to say it,” Lex adds with an ironic chuckle.

I exhale a laugh through my nose and finish off the last of my coffee before setting the cup down on the table as well. I lean back, but a twinge of pain in my left shoulder makes me wince and shift. Lex’s eyes snap to me, making me flush.

“Do you need more numbing cream? I made sure Rhett packed the moisturizer, but if—”

“No, I’m okay. Just getting used to it,” I say, brushing off her doting.

She looks at me critically before dropping it. It’s been a few days, and it’s still weird to think that I did it. Lex brought me to see her friend Tate at their studio downtown, and I sat for my first ever tattoo. And what a tattoo it is. I’d fallen in love with Tate’s design from the first moment they showed it to me. The tattoo is just big enough to cover the scar on my left shoulder blade, the petals of a rain lily positioned perfectly to disguise the missing flesh from Darren’s bite. The Latin words of the pack motto, ‘Bonds stronger than blood,’ surround the flower, the whole design elegant and understated but somehow incredibly detailed. It’d taken a few hours, but Lex was there the whole time, holding my hand and soothing me through the worst of the pain.

And the whole time, I’d told her my story. Every gory, messy detail of my abuse at Darren’s hands. It felt right, to finally let myself relive the trauma while also reclaiming the part of my body he ruined. I’d come back for another tattoo to cover the bite mark on my stomach, but the scar on my shoulder has been remade into something beautiful, andmine.

“Let’s go through it, one last time,” Lex says, cutting through my thoughts.

I roll my eyes but settle in. Ever since we’d finalized the details, she’s been quizzing me on the plan at random times. I indulge her, because I know it’s going to be hard for her with three of us gone and her not able to do anything to personally keep us safe.

“Jason booked a special spa day for the women of the bridal party, making sure my mother won’t be around today. My father and brothers will be working right up until it’s time for the rehearsal in New Orleans, and Jason has planned a meeting with their bank representative, so he has a reason to be at the credit union,” I start, still a little in awe of how much Lex and Jason were able to get accomplished without alerting my family.

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