“Because it didn’t matter? I had other things on my mind than the stupid election.”
Asher tosses his plate, food and all, in the sink and wipes his mouth off with his hand. “Well, it matters now because not only is he the governor, but he has launched an FBI investigation to find you. I don’t have a problem with that, but the first place they are going to look, is me. If they find you with me, I’m going to be thrown in prison again and with our track record, I don’t have much hope in you saying ‘that won’t happen’ so we think it is best if you go back to your family as soon as possible, Heather. It will be better for you and it will be better for me because I’m not wanting to take the fall again for something I didn’t do.” He finishes his orange juice and throws that in the sink too, only this time, it breaks when it slams against the side of the stainless steel.
“Heaven!” Quinn scolds him which wakes one of the babies.
“No, it’s fine. He’s right. The best thing I can do is leave, for everyone sake.”
“Not for Heaven’s reason,” Jaxon leans his hip against the edge of the kitchen island. “What we do, we haven’t gotten caught, but since we all have records, the cops wouldn’t be too keen on having you here. It wouldn’t look good. Now, we might be a band of misfits, but we were wrongfully accused of our crimes. For jobs now, we steal from other criminals. Does it make money? Yes. Is it legal? No. The last thing we need is for the FBI to sniff around. I’m sorry, Heather, but you do have to go back.”
Asher makes a quick departure and exits down the hall. A door slams in the distance and Jaxon sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “We will have Officer Howard take you to your parents.”
“I understand,” I agree, but on the inside I’m protesting. “When do I leave?”
“He will be here in the hour to pick you up. I’m sorry, Heather. Obviously, when things die down, you are more than welcome to come back if you want. There are too many people out there looking for you and with Heaven here—”
“No, really, you don’t need to explain. It’s a waste of breath. I understand.” I get up from the tabl
e, barely composing myself, but making the damn best out of the situation, and hold back tears. “I’m going to go shower. Can I borrow some more clothes? I swear, when I get back, I’ll mail them or send some new ones.”
Quinn hands one of the babies off to Jaxon while Owen is holding the other and gives her husband a death stare to. When she stares at me, she smiles and wraps her arm around my waist. “Girl, I have so many clothes that do not fit me right now because my hips freaking expanded when I was pregnant.”
“Don’t talk about those sexy hips like that,” Jaxon inserts. “You talk about them as if they are a bad thing.”
She rolls her eyes. “It is when I can’t fit into anything.”
“All that has to fit is—”
“—Don’t you dare Jaxon! Hush your mouth,” Quinn warns, and I chuckle from their banter. Jaxon pretends to zip his mouth closed and gives me a quick wink. Quinn turns around and huffs, “Now, what were we doing? Oh, right. Clothes. Come on. We can get you straightened out.”
“Thank you,” I say, leaving the room of people I’ve become fond of.
When we are away from everyone’s ears, Quinn and I pass Heaven’s room. I want to knock on it so bad and tell him I’m sorry again, but why bother? Am I glutton for punishment?
“Give him time to come around. Heaven doesn’t get in moods, but I’m learning when he does, they are intense. He will forgive you. It wouldn’t be like him if he didn’t.”
“I deserve his anger. What I did was wrong. I don’t expect his forgiveness. I was just hoping…I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders when I don’t find the right words.
“You were hoping he would anyway. There is nothing wrong with that, but soon, you can go back to your normal life. That has to be exciting right? Are you happy to see your parents? They must be worried sick.”
If there is one thing I know, it’s that my parents are beside themselves without me. After Grace died, they were overprotective and never let me out of their site and then the one time I fought them to let me do something on my own…
“I’m lucky to have parents like them. My parents weren’t like Asher’s. Mine are so caring and loving. They don’t fight or cheat. They are compassionate, and I can always go to them for anything. Asher’s father was always trying to convince my dad to run for office and dad always turned him down. I don’t know what changed. Dad never told me except that he wanted to do more for the State of California to keep everyone safe. He’s obsessed with safety.”
“Sounds like they really care about you. You are very lucky,” Quinn opens her bedroom door, and I’m stunned silent. I thought my room was nice, but it is nothing compared to her room. When I don’t follow her in, she looks to her right and left and when she doesn’t see me, she spins around. Her blonde hair fans around her, shiny and bright. “Oh, I know. Jaxon is so extra. I know you’d probably think it’s me, but it isn’t. He is so high-maintenance. He has to have the best of the best of everything. It’s a waist of money if you ask me, but not to him.”
“It’s beautiful.” The floors are a white marble and there is a gold chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling, sparkling from the sun entering through the windows. There is a huge walk-in closet to the left and the TV is built into a cabinet of sorts at the foot of their bed. At the push of a button, the TV can lower into the unit when they aren’t using it and rise when they want to.
It’s luxury.
I know I should be used to it considering my dad is wealthy and now the governor, but my parents were about keeping our lifestyle humble. They didn’t see the need for frivolous things. They wanted to be able to relate to the community, but now I’m not sure. What if they have changed since I went missing?
Awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, I twiddle my thumbs together as I wait for her to hand me some clothes. I’ll head back to my room and shower, get cleaned up, and then I’ll be on my way like everyone wants.
“Here you go,” Quinn says, handing me a pair of yoga pants and a baggy shirt for comfort. There is also a tank-top with a built-in bra and a fresh pair of underwear.
“Thank you. For everything,” I say, trying not to get choked up. “Without you guys, I don’t know what would have happened to me. Thank you.”
“If you ever need anything—” Quinn digs into her purse that is on the counter and grabs a black card with gold writing engraved on it. “Call us. We will always be here for you.”