Montana gapes, her mouth wide open. “She gave all this money to me?”
“She did.” I nod, watching as she looks at the will I wrote for Mrs. Haley. “She knew what kind of a situation you were in. It was her last wish for to have this and to get away from him.”
Tears trail down her cheeks. “She knew. This whole time?”
“From what I understand she did.”
“He’s going to be pissed.” Her hands shake as she wipes at the tears. “Not only at me, but at you too.”
“I can handle him.” I shuffle around in my bag. “Here’s your first check from the estate. I know you get out of the hospital in a couple of days. If you would like me to deposit this for you into an account we set up for you, I can do that. Then you can start trying to find a new place to live.”
“How will I move there? I can’t lift anything.” She’s still in shock, looking at me with amazement in her eyes.
“You let me take care of that. There are plenty of people around here willing to help you.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she cries.
“Live a life you love, Montana. It’s all I want.”
“I can do it because of you.” She reaches out, grabbing my hand.
As I drive away from the hospital, I pick my phone up and call someone I don’t call nearly enough. It rings about eight times and I’m about to give up when they answer.
“Shelby! It’s been too long.”
“Hey, Mom.” I smile as I hear her voice. “I know, I’ve been busy trying to get everything set up here.”
“I wish you had let me and your dad come help you.”
It’s what she always says. “I had to do this myself.”
“No you didn’t, but I know you’re stubborn. How are things going?”
“I’ve met somebody.” I grin as I whisper the secret I’ve been keeping too myself.
“You like him too, I can tell by the way your voice lowered, and there’s a smile.”
“I do, I love him,” I admit for the first time to anyone, including myself.
“Then we can’t wait to meet him. How is your practice doing?”
“Good, the case I just had was crazy...”
“You’re quiet tonight,” Sully says as we sit on my couch, eating the sushi he picked up on his way home.
“I had an interesting day.”
He takes a bite, before sitting his plate down on the coffee table. “Does it have anything to do with the bruise on your arm?”
I put my plate down beside his. “I was hoping you didn’t see that.”
He turns to face me, hooking his thumb under my chin. “At this point, you should know I notice everything about you. I been waiting for you to come to me, but now I’m coming to you. Tell me what happened today.”
“Frank came to see me.”
His face turns red almost immediately. “That son of a bitch did this to you?”
“He was upset about losing the money to Montana.”
“So he thinks it’s okay to put his hands on you? I’m not okay with that. Why didn’t you call me?”
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. “Because I wanted to take care of this myself.”
“This shit I take care of for you, Counselor. You don’t deal with this yourself. You come to me.” He’s barely holding it together.
My heart swells as I hear the words coming out of his mouth. “Don’t hurt him, please. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of what he did to me.”
“Oh I will hurt him within the limits of the law. No one touches someone I care about. You can’t expect me to make exceptions for that. There are no exceptions when it comes to you.”
Instead of saying anything, I smile, throwing my arms around his waist, snuggling in close. “I know I’m safe with you, Sully.”
“Always,” he whispers. “You’re always safe with me.”
Sullivan
Two Days Later
“Thank you for doing this.” Shelby puts a cup of coffee in my hand. “I know you were on-shift late last night, and thank you for bringing your friends. I promise I’ll grab some breakfast on our way over there.”
“They’re your friends too, babe,” I remind her.
“But none of you have to do this.”
“She needs help, and we help the members of the community.”
“Don’t lie.” She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. “You kinda hope Frank shows up so you can arrest him.”
“Can you fucking blame me? I’m still pissed he showed up at your office the way he did. I’d like to kick his ass, and I don’t care how I do it. Whether it be him harassing you or his wife.”
“Where do you want this?” I ask Montana as I carry in a bag she’d put into a storage unit a few months ago.
She’s sitting on a couch in a safe apartment building, thanks to the money Mrs. Haley left her. And because of Shelby too. It’s nice to see her basically holding court while the three of us carry boxes into this place. It’s got a built-in security system, along with a doorman.
First building like this in Laurel Springs.
Not gonna lie, I’m thinking about trying to convince Shelby we need to live here. When I’m not with her, I worry constantly for her safety.
“If you can just put it over there.” Montana points to a clear spot on the ground. “I’ll go through it all when I feel like it.”
Dropping the box where she asked me to, I make another trip outside.
“This is the last one,” Cutter says as he walks by me.
“That’s it?”
“She didn’t have much.” Shelby keeps her voice low. “Most of what she’s going to have will be new.”
“Understandable. You wanna hang around and make sure she’s okay before we leave?”
Her arms clasp tightly around my waist. Encompassing her, I pull her to my chest, slipping her head under my chin.
“You’re the best man I’ve ever known, Sully, and I would love to stick around until she says it’s okay.”
Dipping down, I put drop a kiss to the top of her head. “You make me better.”
She releases me, smiling widely. “Let me go in and check on her.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Holding her hand we walk inside Montana’s new apartment. Cutter and Rowan are unpacking boxes while she tells them where everything needs to go.
“Do you want us to do these?” Shelby asks as she points to a group of boxes we’ve put in the corner.
“No, those are personal things.” She shakes her head. “Y’all have done enough.”
“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call us.” I hand her a card with my cell number on it. “This building has one of the best security systems I’ve ever seen. You’re going to be safe here, but if you need anything, we’re only a phone call away.”
“Thank you.” She grasps my hand. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”