I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.
To my very curious reviewer... The Greys know about the murderer/rapist (he does both, he will kidnap a girl, hold her for ransom if the family pays he will rape her before leaving her at a hospital, if they don't he rapes her, kills her then rapes her again... very weird, but this guy actually existed, I just changed his name to something else.)
Chapter 7: Goodbye Haven... Don't Ever Change
Nicolette looked at Max with tears in her eyes, but a smile playing at her lips.
"Oh Max."
"Can I take that as a yes? Because I may or may not give you a choice." Max joked, Nicolette could only nod as Max grin widened.
"C'mere," Max said, Nicolette sat up to where she and Max were sitting knee to knee.
"Give me your left hand." Nicolette complied raising her left hand where Max easily took hold of it lightly and slid the ring onto her middle finger, the ring was somehow simple but, garnished at the same time. The band was simple white gold that broke off into two parts on both sides, as it reached the front of her finger, one band on each side overlapped the other, the band that was on the bottom was decorated with smaller diamonds and the bands that over lapped the bottom band held a larger- but still small- diamond in the middle of the ring.
"I promise, each and everyday to love you as though you are my wife. I promise, each and everyday to learn something new about you. I promise, each and everyday, to hold you close. I promise, each and everyday to stay true to you. I promise, each and everyday to confide in you with my fears and to know and trust your judgment. I promise, each and everyday to protect you like I know you will protect me. I promise, each and everyday to love you more than the day before. In sickness and health, richer or poorer, until the day I die. And with this ring I seal my promises." Max whispered.
Nicolette took the plain white gold band from him and did the same.
I promise, each and everyday to love you as though you are my husband. I promise, each and everyday to learn something new about you. I promise, each and everyday, to hold you close. I promise, each and everyday to stay true to you. I promise, each and everyday to confide in you with my fears and to know and trust your judgment. I promise, each and everyday to protect you like I know you will protect me. I promise, each and everyday to love you more than the day before. In sickness and health, richer or poorer, until the day I die. And with this ring I seal my promises." Nicolette grinned.
Max leaned in to place a chaste kiss on Nicolette's lips, but Nicolette wanted none of that. She grabbed the back of his head and continued to kiss him, Max fell onto his back and they became tangled up in the blankets... In more ways than one.
Forty minutes later Nicolette is looking at the ring.
"It's beautiful." She whispered.
"It was my grandmother's, she sent it a couple of weeks ago. I said something about promise rings months ago and she sent these with a letter that said, she couldn't have picked a better girl herself, and wished that she were back in Haven instead of Orlando." Max whispered back.
"I knew I loved your grandmother." Nicolette laughed- and so did Max.
-...-...- With Jason Taylor-...-...-...
Taylor looked at his phone nervously, Ryan should be checking in soon. He was currently parked away from the two teenagers' view, watching to make sure that nothing 'frisky' went on between the two.
For the last two hours he reported that he was in front of the Hartsville residence, Christian said that they would be breaking up a party of two if one more report came through like that. His IPhone buzzed- they had switched from Blackberries to IPhones when the IPhone first came out.
Behind a line of trees on the outskirts of town on the east side of town. They are alone- haven't seen anything other than a major make out session.
Taylor groaned, and shook his head, didn't Ryan know that the boss just read the report off of his phone?
"You get the report yet?" Christian asked.
"Yes sir." Taylor handed Christian his phone.
"Damn... I wish he could keep his hands to himself."
"Sir, if I may say. It's not his hands you need to be worried about." Taylor joked, Christian shot him a glare.
"Thanks a lot for that. I needed it. If you aren't careful, I'll send you out there to break them up." Christian shook his head and joined Ana back on the couch.
"Well, we better be going. I'm not so sure how useful we are to you two." Christian said with a short smile. Mike shook Christian's hand.
"Nicolette's things are packed already, when you want them to be taken. She spent hours sorting everything, has the boxes labeled too. Clothes, shoes, room stuff, sentimental things." Mike nodded.
"Taylor, do you think you could take Nicolette's things to the car- just the sentimental things? Clothes and shoes she won't need, I'm pretty sure Mia will have figured out her size of clothes and shoes by now." Christian asked. Taylor nodded and made his way up to the room.
Two minutes later he appeared with a card bored box labeled 'sentimental'.
"Goodnight, Mike Johnson. We will see you bright and early tomorrow." Christian nodded one last time before leaving.
...-...-...- The Next Day...-...-...-...
Nicolette woke up to a bird tweeting non-stop in the tree next to the truck.
"Babe, we gotta get up before my dad puts four holes in you." Nicolette groaned, shaking Max.
"Does this count as the next time I see you? Can I drag you to the court house?" Max muttered.
"No babe, I'm pretty sure both my dads would have a problem with that. Now, come on! I don't want my future husband to have bullet holes in him!" Max laughed as they climbed out of the bed and into the cab of the truck.
Nicolette checked the time 06:23 a.m. Thank god that the town was small.
Only twenty minutes later, Max was pulling into her drive way.
"I'm leaving today." Nicolette muttered, "Is it too late to let you drag me off to the court house?" Nicolette asked, Max snorted.
"Don't give me the option."
The SUVs were parked out front along with her father's truck. The teenagers exited the truck and walked up to the front door, they didn't even make it into the house before the Greys were walking outside.
"We are leaving in seventeen minutes, Nicolette." Christian advised, Nicolette looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. She climbed the steps and entered the house. Disappearing from sight.
"Max I have a couple questions for you." Christian said, Max turned and looked at his future father-in-law, not that Christian knew that... he hoped.
"Yes, sir?" Max asked.
"I heard you have been taking care of your brothers for the last year or so. Is that true?" Christian asked.
"Yeah, well, Nicolette has been... well I guess you could say woman of the house. All three of us are farm boys who know nothing about cooking or cleaning, when I nearly set the house on fire one night, she just started all of it- not wanting anymore accidents that happened anyway." Max answered honestly.
"Do you love your brothers?" Christian asked.
"What is that? A trick question? Of course I love my brothers." Max glared at Christian evenly.
"Do you love my daughter?" Christian asked.
"With all my heart. I've been in love with Nicolette, since the day she came to the Hartsville farm when she was four and crashed one of the four wheelers." Max answered.
"Did you have sex with my daughter last night?" Christian asked forwardly.
"What? No, Nicolette and I did not have sex." Max answered. Well, I believe that we made love... so does that count as a lie? Max questioned.
"Good." Christian answered. Ten minutes passed by and Nicolette came out of the house in tears.
"Nikks, are you ok?" Max asked.
"I'm fine, I just wanna go already. Get this over with." Nicolette said wiping her tears away. Max pulled her into a hug.
"Don't forget me OK?" Max whispered.
"Are you kidding me? I will never forget you Maxwell Hartsville." Nicolette whispered back.
"Maybe we should add that to our list of promises." Max grinned slightly. Nicolette chuckled, and stood on her tip toes for a kiss. A kiss that seemed to last hours. Though it was probably only a few minutes.
"We need to be leaving now, sir." Taylor whispered. Nicolette broke away from the kiss.
"Good-" Max cut her off.
"No. Don't ever say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting." Max ordered lightly.
"Peter Pan." Nicolette grinned, through her tears.
"Love you."
"Forever?"
"Forever and three days, my love." Max laughed. Soon the two were separated, though neither were sure how. And neither were sure who pushed Nicolette into the SUV, or when they pulled away.
-...-...-
Two Weeks Later (Just for this, it will be the day after Nicolette left and with Nicolette next chapter.)
Max pulled a bottle of Tequila out of his father's hidden liquor stash that he found a few years ago. Even though his father left him and his brothers, he also left his liquor.
Poor man. Max thought glumly as he stared at the dark night through the window.
Max looked at his glass and shoved it to the side, instead he pulled the lid of the bottle and took a swig.
"I'm gonna miss her." Max turned to see Billy standing at the door of his bedroom.
"Miss who?" Max asked.
"Nicolette. I know you are too. That's why your drinkin." Billy said. Joseph appeared from behind his younger brother. Joseph was the middle child, though he was nearly as tall as Maxwell, and Billy just a head shorter than him. All three of the brothers have dark brown hair, though the two younger boys have a light shade of blue for their eyes and Max has dark brown orbs.
"Whatta 'bout my drinking. The woman I love moved across the country, now what I am I supposed to do?" Max grumbled.
"You could follow her to Seattle." Joseph said, pulling a few papers from his back pocket and tossing it at his slightly drunk brother.