Over the years that Janelle was with their mother and Riggs was playing professional hockey, he kept in very close contact. They talked every day, and she spent time in the summers with him. He went home as often as he could, not to see his mother but for Janelle. And thus, it was a no-brainer that Riggs took her away when Shep tried to touch her.
“I would have taken her as soon as I entered the league,” Riggs says in contemplation. “But there was no way my mom would’ve given her up without some type of provocation. When Shep did what he did, I finally had leverage.”
“What are you going to do about them?” I ask, suddenly remembering they’re still here.
“My mom I’m going to ignore. She’s been trying to get me to pay her more money, and that’s never going to happen. It’s why they came, I guess. I’m hoping they throw the book at Shep.”
“The detective who interviewed me this afternoon seems like a good guy. I’m sure after you and Janelle give statements tomorrow, they’re going to add attempted kidnapping. They might even charge your mom as an accessory.”
Riggs grimaces. “I should feel sorry for her, but I don’t have it in me. Janelle probably will, but she’s still got a good soul.”
“As opposed to you and me, the washed-up, jaded assholes that we are,” I quip.
Riggs busts out laughing, and I can’t help but join him.
He smiles at me across the counter. “You and I make quite a pair.”
What a sweet sentiment, and I happen to agree. “An argument could be made for that.”
“You stepped in Shep’s path to protect Janelle, just like I stepped into Bruce’s path to protect her,” he says.
I freeze at those words. I hadn’t realized that when he told me his story, but yes… we did the same thing for a girl we both love.
“Veronica,” he says softly, rising from his stool. He comes around the island, and I turn into him as he puts his hands on my hips. “You and I are more alike than I ever imagined possible. I suppose if there was one woman in the millions available I’d take a chance on, it would be you. I mean, how can it not be you?”
“What does that even mean?” I whisper, because I think I understand but I don’t want to assume.
“It means I was absolutely positive that in my entire life, I’d never fall for a woman, and that’s been proven wrong. I’m coming to grips with it. I’m scared as fuck because I have never been in a committed relationship. I don’t even know what to do or say, but I know I want way more from you than just sex. I suppose I’ll have to figure out what it all means, but I guess the real question is… do you want to take a chance on me too?”
Given my history, you would think I’d need time to process, to weigh the pros and cons and consider if I’m willing to give up my strict no-relationship rule to protect myself.
I take all of about one millisecond to do so before my arms go around Riggs’s neck, and I rise on tiptoes to kiss him. There’s nothing sexual about it, but it’s without a doubt the most intimate touching of our mouths we’ve ever had. Within that kiss is a declaration by both of us that we are now something different.
Something more.
And I can’t wait to see where this goes.
CHAPTER 22
Riggs
As I drive to the arena, I consider what an amazing day this is going to be.
It started off great—waking up in Veronica’s bed. Got greater—breakfast with Veronica and Janelle. And heading into a stellar evening—hockey game, and Veronica and Janelle will be there watching together.
After all that, we’ll head to the Sneaky Saguaro with the team to celebrate, so sure am I that we’ll win tonight.
Waking up this morning with a beautiful, naked, smart, brave, genuine, and selfless woman seems to have made a big difference in my outlook. Or maybe it’s the acceptance of such a woman into my life that’s the root of it all. Whatever it is, I feel more alive than I have in a very long time.
Of course, there are still fears and insecurities, but I expect as Veronica becomes more a part of my life, those will fade. Even if they don’t, it’s part of what makes me feel so alive. The promise of hope tinged with a little of the unknown tends to get the adrenaline pumping.
After we woke up, made love, and showered, we picked Janelle up from Jim and Ella’s house. Despite the four-year age difference, she and Lucy get along very well and had a great time last night. According to Ella, they didn’t get to sleep until after three in the morning, but she has the energy of youth on her side, so I’m not too worried.
The three of us went out to breakfast, and the entire car ride there, Janelle gave me and Veronica shit for hiding our relationship. She’s not stupid, and she understands our insecurities better than we understand them ourselves, so we didn’t mind letting her have some fun.
By the time we sat down to eat, Janelle was chattering about other stuff—school, art, a boy she likes, which I grilled her on for ten minutes, and the possibility of getting her hair highlighted this summer with Veronica. I tuned out and concentrated on my eggs and bacon.
After breakfast, I dropped Veronica at her place. From there, she was going to the bookstore where she’d meet up with Janelle after our trip to the police station to give our statements. While they’re at the bookstore to work, I suspect it’s more like playtime for them.
Before Veronica got out of the car, there was a slightly awkward moment where I didn’t know how we should say goodbye. This dating thing is weird, and we had an audience in the back seat making it weirder.
She solved the problem for me by leaning across the center console, bunching up the front of my T-shirt, and pulling me to her for a hard, fast kiss. Janelle snickered in the back, but I found myself pleased with her initiative even as I was embarrassed Janelle saw it. The only instances of PDA I’ve ever had in my adult life have been brotherly hugs with my sister, so I’m sure there’s a learning curve.
Janelle hopped in the front seat, and we took off to the police station. We were there for almost two hours while Janelle went over her story with the detectives a few times as they pinned her down on important details to use against Shep. I was so proud of her strength, resilience, and determination. I also brought in the custody paperwork and offered the data on my phone to show them the repetitive texts from my mom and Shep demanding more money or they’d fight for custody.
At the end, the detective said he had not only enough to charge Shep with attempted kidnapping in addition to the assault charges for hitting Veronica, but he could also levy additional charges against both Shep and my mom for extortion. He was considering accessory charges to the attempted kidnapping against my mom and wanted to know how Janelle and I felt about it.
We told him to do what he had to do, and we washed our hands of it. He said he’d notify us of the charges and what happens next.
In the car, Janelle looked at me and said, “I hereby vow we don’t think about her or Shep again.”
I smiled at her.
She held out a pinky and said, “Pinky promise.”
I did this a lot with her when she was younger, and while I knew it would be impossible to not think of our mother again—because she was our mother and there was still a level of love there for the times when she was a good mom—I looped my pinky with hers, anyway. “I promise.”