Lena's Happily Ever After (The Town of Pearl 3)

“Maybe you men should leave this to me for now,” Abigail suggested, and Bryant stared at Lena, filled with anger, frustration and anxiety.

“I want to know where she’s been.”

“Let Mom help her first and then we’ll get down to what happened,” Blake stated as he placed his hand on Bryant’s shoulder.

Bryant glared at his brother then turned to walk onto the porch. All the men followed and stood beneath the canopy covering.

“I don’t get it. She looks so scared and out of it,” Quinn stated aloud, and Bryant looked back toward the doorway as his mom helped Lena out of her wet clothes. She disappeared into her bedroom and closed the door.

“Something happened. You’re right about her looking scared, Blake. You all need to remain calm. The scare is over, and Kenny found her,” Frank told them.

“She was so out of it when I found her. She hadn’t heard me pull up or even seen the headlights on the truck. It was as if she were in a fog,” Kenny told them as he walked back toward the door. The minutes passed and they all grew restless.

“Anything happen today to set her off or frighten her?” Doc asked.

Blake and Quinn looked at one another.

“I may have gotten a bit jealous up at the horse stables when I saw Kyle too close to her,” Blake admitted.

“We made up for that, and she forgave us, Blake. She basically laughed at Blake’s response.”

“We’ve been spending a lot of time with her, Dad. We told her that we want her to be ours. All of us,” Quinn stated then looked at Bryant. Frank, Will, and Doc nodded their heads.

“You be sure about this? A relationship like the one your fathers and I have with your mother is sacred. It involves a total commitment by all parties involved,” Frank stated sternly. Kenny chuckled.

“We know, Dad. We’ve been over this a bunch of times. We’re all in love with her,” Kenny stated.

“Then you need to take care of her and find out why she’s hurting right now. When you do, you need to remain calm and handle it the right way and with her best interest in mind. It may not be easy, but it’s the best thing to do,” Will added.

They were getting antsy and wondering what was taking so long.

“Perhaps your mom is getting to the bottom of things,” Doc suggested. They heard someone approach.

Abigail walked out onto the front porch.

“We should head home. This is a conversation for Lena and her men.” They watched as Abigail headed down the steps toward the truck. Their fathers followed.

* * * *

Lena finished taking a hot shower. She dried herself off and then blow-dried her hair. She was stalling. She knew that, and she knew that Kenny, Bryant, Blake, and Quinn were angry with her. They would want answers. Was she ready to share what she knew and about how Triumph attacked her and could possibly be Ariel’s killer? Could she tell them that she was heading back to Detroit to find Sage?

Lena pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top. She felt a chill but had forgotten to bring in a sweatshirt. She had shared some of what happened with Abigail, and Abigail told her that she needed to trust her sons to take care of her and respect her wishes. She also cried with Lena as she shared her sadness.

Lena felt lucky to have been found by such great people like Doc and Abigail. She wanted to stay. She didn’t want to go back to her old life, but she knew she would have to face her demons and go save Sage. Ariel was murdered, and Sage could be next.

Lena opened the door. To her surprise the men weren’t waiting in the bedroom. They were standing in the kitchen.

She began to rummage through her drawers for her favorite sweatshirt. She couldn’t stop the tears falling from her eyes as she sniffled then pulled the sweatshirt on, hood and all.

“Lena?” she heard Bryant’s voice, and she couldn’t look at him. Her emotions were getting the best of her. She was a mess.

“We need to talk, Lena,” he told her, and she nodded her head.

“I can’t stop crying,” she whispered, and a moment later he was sitting on her bed, pulling her into his arms.

The feel of his body, his strong arms holding her and the scent of his cologne, made her feel safe. Ariel never got to experience true love from a real man, and Sage may never either. She began to sob, her own thoughts clouding her ability to begin to explain why she was so upset.

“Oh, baby, please talk to us. You’re breaking my heart. I don’t know what to do or how to help you unless you talk to me.”