Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 37

Briar 

I don’t know what possessed me to unload on my grandmother, it was cryptic and void of details, but something told me she,  of all people, would understand. I felt she did; deep down in my being, I knew her to be a kindred soul. Walking down the trail with the older woman beside me felt serene, peaceful. I was under no delusion my time would come to eventually  face all of this. First, I needed to find answers, but tonight was not that night. We entered an open space, the fire lit, and burning brightly. Both men were catching their breath as they looked from the wide open sky above to acknowledge us.

My grandmother cupped Henry’s cheeks and kissed him sweetly, and I couldn’t help but grin at the sight. They each then plopped down into a pair of Adirondack chairs, a sight you expected to see at the beach, as they gazed up at the glittering stars. Carter found my hand and tugged me to a bench, the only other place to sit at and I obliged.

“Those are life goals,” he said, as he cast his arm over the back of the bench and pulled me close as his gazed eyed my grandparents, a soft happy grin on his face. I nodded in agreement, that kind of love seemed like something out of a fairytale to me. I relaxed into Carter’s strength, taking it for my own. All of my internal wars seemed to melt away as I looked up at the millions of stars glittering above us. I was a long way off of ever submitting to love again. Maybe, just maybe, one day I’d get there. I inhaled Carter’s scent and he relaxed as my head hit his shoulder. I was so incredibly tired already. How would I ever make it out on the other side? Surviving was exhausting.

A few hours later we made it back to my grandparents house and she passed us some leftovers to take home.

“Thank you, Martha, dinner was lovely and so was the view.”

“Call me, Nanny, you’re the only grandchild I’ve got, it would mean a lot to me.” Martha corrected.

“Alright, Nanny, as you wish.”

“I expect you both back next week!” she hollered at us.

“Yes, ma’am,” Carter assured, as he helped me in his truck. I rolled down the window as Carter walked around to the driver’s side.

“Hey, Carter?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“You take care of her now,” she ordered.

“That I will. Always, I promise,” he said.

I waved at Martha, or rather, Nanny, puzzled at the interaction of words between her and Carter. Was there something I was missing?

When Carter pulled back onto the road. He asked, “What did you think of your grandparents?”

“They seem like nice people, I like them, but they don’t have any family pictures in their house. Walking through the cabin, it’s as if Jake and my daddy never existed. I’m probably just being crazy.”

Carter was quiet for a long moment, “You're not crazy Briar, but sometimes people hold onto things because it’s too hard to let go and other times facing the memories, day after day, is too much, so you carefully box them up and put them away til you can, or you need, to see them again.”

“You sound like you know this from experience. I suppose I get it. When Mama died, I almost quit school to try to keep her house. Had I known she had left me a sizable nest egg, I would have contacted the lawyer long ago. I didn’t want to face another disappointment. I didn’t want to grieve anymore. so I took the handful of memories I could fit in my car, and I left. I lived in that car for six months before I got promoted from intern to his assistant. I was finally able to afford an apartment. It took me a week to force myself to sleep in the strange place. Mama had scrimped and saved to get me that car when I went off to college. At the time, it was all I had left and it was hard to leave it behind. To be honest though, when I fled, I barely thought about it. She would have wanted her baby safe. She used to tell me how meaningless and frivolous material things were. I wish I would have remembered that when Creedon came calling. I tried to say no a few times, before he wore me down. Sure, he was a bit self centered and egotistical, but I never saw this coming.” Carter offered me his free hand and I took it. He interlaced our fingers together, as he returned his eyes to the road. He seemed to be questioning himself.

“Briar, we all make misjudgements in life. That didn’t give him the right to do what he did to you. I may still not know all the details, but I assure you, you had no fault in it. He preyed on you, and when you saw him for who he was, he panicked and tried to control you. You outsmarted him when most people wouldn’t have had the wits or strength to force, not just their minds, but their bodies, to comply after what you went through.” He squeezed my hand and looked over at me as he paused at a stop sign.

“I honestly don’t know how I did it,” I let him know, confusion clouding my mind. What drove me to sprint across the city, in the state I was in? Why had fate given me the woman and her daughter, and then Beck, as my guardian angels?” I looked down at our joined hands and back up at Carter. “It’s a miracle I got here,” I said, full of realization. It felt like shock setting in, like I had just begun to process everything.

Carter released my hand and popped my seatbelt before tugging me into the middle seat and buckling me in. A honk sounded from a vehicle behind us, but the only mind Carter gave, was flicking the driver behind him off, as he tucked me into his side and drove home. I felt safe there tucked into him, his arm around my back. I let my head rest against his shoulder.

“You're strong, Briar,” he said, breaking me out of all the scenarios I should have chosen. “You’re home now, and that guy has another thing coming, if he thinks he’s going to mess with you in my town,” he tried to assure.

“It’s not your problem, Carter, it’s mine. Hopefully, he realizes I’m more trouble than I’m worth,” I countered.

“The thing is, Briar, you're one of mine now, and that gives me a right to do what needs to be done; if need be, I will do it. You’re not alone here. You will never be alone as long as I’m around.”

“You can’t watch over me every moment of the day, Carter. And I can’t hide up in Jake’s, or your place, every hour of every day. These are my mistakes and I’m not letting you or anyone else get caught up in the cross hairs.” I said, shaking my head.

Carter made a sound of disagreement in his throat but cleared it before he spoke again. “If that’s how you feel, then we best make sure you know how to protect yourself. Tomorrow, handgun lessons, and I’ll take you to town and show you around after breakfast. I never miss a sunrise Sunday breakfast in Jake’s honor.

There was no doubt in my mind he changed the subject because it wasn’t going in his favor and he didn’t want to argue about it. But shooting lessons and a tour of the city? It was probably a good idea to get to know my surroundings.

“Okay,” I agreed. Even though we weren’t seeing eye to eye at the moment, I hadn’t pulled away as we talked on the drive home.