Page 85 of His Own Heaven

She looked like she’d been born with a hammer in her hand, and as he listened to the rhythmicclang, clang, clangof metal on metal followed by thehissof steam as hot iron was thrust into the water barrel, he took a moment to admire his woman. She’d changed into jeans and one of Abby’s old T-shirts and wore a heavy leather apron over her clothes, and the long blonde hair she’d left loose for his benefit, had been piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

The forge was too far away for Toby to hear any of Lucy’s conversation, but she appeared to be chatting freely with his sister. She was relaxed and having fun, and Toby was loving the ease with which she’d blended into his family.

Like she was meant to be there.

It’d felt right, bringing her home and introducing her as his girlfriend, and Ulysses had finally seen for himself what Toby had known all along: no one took advantage of Lucy unless she wanted them to.

And as much as she’d worried they wouldn’t like her or that she’d make a fool of herself, she’d taken their uniqueness in her stride as easily as they’d accepted hers. Even when he’d deliberately withheld information that would have made those strides far easier to take, such as not telling Lucy that Crispin was part Japanese, or that Wolf wasn’t just a novelist, but one of her all-time favourite novelists, Adam Wolfe.

Did not telling her these things make him a dick? Perhaps. But as much as he cared for Lucy and wanted to protect her from all the bad things in the world, his instinct to do the same for his family would always be there too, and seeing Lucy’s true and unrehearsed reactions had only cemented the knowledge that she was a perfect fit for him. And his family.

She hadn’t even blinked at Crispin, just shaken his hand and shyly thanked him for his design acumen in bedroom furniture.

“She’s particularly fond of our bed,” Toby had said, making her blush three shades of pink.

“I’m rather fond of that design myself.” His older brother had then winked at Lucy, and added, “If you ever get tired of dating the Sasquatch, give me a call.”

“Back off short-stack,” Toby had snarled, then tightened his grip on his woman. “She’s mine.”

His possessiveness had made his brother laugh. And made Lucy curl against his side like a pet wanting attention. Attention he was yet to give her. As liberal as his family was, even they drew the line at going down on your submissive at a family barbeque.

“It was mean of you not to tell Lucy about Wolf,” Charlie said, dragging Toby from his thoughts. “Don’t get me wrong, the look on her face when she realised who she was talking to was hilarious, but it was still mean.”

Toby’s grin was broad and unrepentant. “Probably. To be honest, I’m still impressed by her reaction to Cris.”

“What reaction?”

“Exactly.” Toby knew he’d pay for his deceptions when he and Lucy were alone. And he couldn’t wait. Sometimes her displeasure with him was just as enticing as her submission. He jerked his chin at the forge and the two women shooting furtive glances in his direction. “Anyway, if Abby’s teaching her to make what I think she is, I’m pretty sure she’s already plotting her revenge.”

Charlie sighed heavily. “Speaking of which….”

Toby knew what was coming. He’d been avoiding the topic all week but knew he couldn’t dodge the issue forever. Hell, the fact he’d almost snapped Lucy’s head off just for mentioning his mother’s name was all the evidence he needed to realise they had to get this sorted, and soon.

“We need to deal with Isobel,” he said, registering Charlie’s shock that he’d brought up the subject with little prompting. But screw it. It was time to do something about her. Toby was in love with an amazing woman and he wanted to move on to the next chapter of his life. He wanted to start a family, wanted to turn his house into a home. Wanted Lucy by his side for better or worse. And he wanted to do all of that without the threat of Isobel Bennett dangling overhead, waiting to drop like the fucking sword of Damocles. “As much as I’d like to tell her to go fuck herself, that’s not going to solve our problem, is it?”

“No, it isn’t.” Charlie took a sip of his drink. “I told Dad, just so you know.”

“And?”

“And he said if we wanted him to deal with her, he would.”

Toby’s lips jerked up in a half smile. They were grown men who owned and ran their own businesses, but their father never hesitated to step in and protect his children. He never had and Toby doubted he ever would.

His love for his family was too strong.

Toby’s gaze flicked to Lucy. From what she’d told him, the only people who’d cared that deeply for her were her brother, Michael, and her Nan. And they were both long gone.

She should have been able to rely on her parents, just as he, Charlie and Rafe should have been able to rely on their mum, but some people didn’t deserve the children they had. Some people lost that privilege a long time ago.

Toby grunted. “That just means he’ll pay her off again. No. We need to do this.” He stared at Charlie, lifted his chin. “We need to end this.”

His brother pulled him into a hug so tight Toby felt his bones pop, then Charlie butted their foreheads together and whispered, “Then let’s do it. Let’s put this shit to bed once and for all.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

After nearly an hour of brainstorming about the best way to rid themselves of the destructive force they reluctantly called their mother, Charlie went back inside.

Toby quickly took advantage of having the entire daybed to himself and lay down, giving himself a better view of the forge—and in turn Lucy—in the process. Propping his bare feet on one end, he crossed them at the ankles, then knitted his fingers together and rested them on his chest.

---