Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1) - Tina Wainscott Page 0,95

so understanding?”

“Because I love you.” She said it as simply as he’d said it once.

He wrapped her even tighter in his embrace. “I love you, too.”

“And you do deserve love, Raleigh. You deserve devotion and loyalty and success and love. You proved that tonight. Not that I needed proof.”

He made a soft, contented sound next to her ear. She smiled. He finally believed her.

—

The sun streamed in through the window, and Raleigh came to consciousness a step at a time. He first became aware of Mia entangled in his arms.

Then reality crashed in. Rose, Hank’s murderer. Everything that had to be done that day. Everything she would have to face. That they would face together.

We. Mia’s word the night before counterbalanced the angst, how she’d come to his defense when he offered to take the rap. How she would help raise Cody…with him.

We.

He liked the sound of that. They would have some challenges, and Mia would be an instant mother. But Cody adored her, and she obviously cared about him.

Rose wouldn’t serve a lot of time, not with Grace as her champion. Wherever they ended up, they would all be family again.

“Mama’s gone!”

Cody’s scream shot him to a sitting position, dragging Mia with him.

“Hold on, bud!” Raleigh dragged on his pants and ran to the door.

Mia was already throwing on a long T-shirt, steps behind him, as they met Cody in the hallway.

“She left! The truck’s gone!”

They looked out the front window, and yes, the old truck was gone.

“She couldn’t face going to prison,” Mia said. He could read the rest in her expression: What does that mean for you?

He ran out to the deck, even though he knew that if the truck was gone, so was Rose. Two letters sat under a shell on the table. One had his and Mia’s names on it; the other bore Cody’s name. Raleigh handed the kid his, then sank down on the chaise lounge to read the first one. Mia leaned over his shoulder.

I’m so sorry, but I can’t think about going to prison. I can’t put my boy through visits, through him having to tell people that his mama’s in prison. It feels better that his mother be on the run. Then he can imagine me free, eating well, feeling the earth beneath my feet. He told me that’s what scared him the most, picturing me in prison. He said he’d rather me be free, even if I was a fugitive. I thought about it all night, while he slept in my arms. I knew he’d have you and Mia.

Don’t worry, I’m not hanging you out to dry, Raleigh. I am hereby writing out my confession. I, Rose West, admit I killed Hank West.

She went into all the details she’d told them last night, and added more. How rage had taken over, and she’d kept thrusting the knife at Hank. He’d put up his hands at first, trying to ward her off. But she hit his aorta in one of the first stabs, and he quickly lost consciousness. Details that would coordinate with the evidence.

She’d passed a friend’s car on the way out to Raleigh’s property, and he waved, assuming the driver was Hank. She tried to outline as much as possible, so that it could be corroborated. She even drew a diagram of Hank’s body and marked where she stabbed him.

In a separate letter, she gave the courts permission for Mia and Raleigh to adopt Cody. And in one last sheet, folded up tight, she told them she would send Cody letters from time to time using a fictitious name: Charlotte Webb, after Cody’s favorite childhood book.

Mia wasn’t sure that the letters would be enough, but her recording would be. Especially given that there were three eyewitnesses to the fact that Rose had confessed.

Raleigh met Cody’s sheepish face. “You knew she was doing this? That whole screaming thing was just an act?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t know she’d do it, but I did tell her I wanted her to be free. Will I get in trouble for suggesting it? What do they call it? Aiding and betting?”

“No, that wouldn’t be considered aiding and abetting,” Raleigh said. “Remember, you’re never responsible for anyone else’s decisions.”

Mia put her arm around Cody and pulled him close, resting her chin on his head. Her gaze found Raleigh’s as he watched her. “We’re going to be okay, kid. We’re sticking together. Because we’re family.”

The word thrummed inside him, like an engine purring to life