The road was familiar. There was his old bus stop. There was the busted-up, abandoned Trans Am he and Hayden used to play in when they were boys. They were planning to be racecar drivers back then. He made his way slowly down the long dirt road. As the house came into view his mother came out onto the porch. She was drying her hands on a dishrag and craning her neck to see who it was.
"Where are we?" Marie whispered from the backseat as Cate slept in her arms.
"My mom's house," Axel answered as he parked the car. He watched as Mare looked around at his childhood home. He wondered what she was thinking of when she saw it. Did she see the peeled and chipped green paint on the front of the house, the lovingly tended garden out front? He tried to imagine the place as she saw it. Was it as warm and inviting to her as it was to him? "We can stay here until this is all sorted out." The day was still bright above them, but old pine trees shaded the house as they made their way inside.
Axel lifted Cate and held her as Marie stood up and got out of the car. Mrs. Connelly raced towards them and held out her hands and quickly took Marie's. "Mom, this is Marie. Marie, this is my mother, Elizabeth."
Marie managed to let out a weak hi. She was still struggling to hold back tears. But that was all that was needed. Mrs. Connelly embraced Marie in a long hug and then took her by the shoulders and led her inside to the house locking the deadbolt behind them.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Elizabeth bustled about the room. She was supposed to be making tea, but mostly she was picking things up and putting them down nervously. Marie sat at the kitchen table with no idea what to say or do. Axel was doing his own version of his mother's action. He was closing and locking every window, drawing the shades closed and turning off any unessential lights.
Marie wished they would stop, or at least give her something to do. She was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for tea she didn't really want. She wished she were doing something, but every time she tried to move Elizabeth and Axel would both tell her to sit and relax. Behind her Axel moved to another part of the house. Marie quickly wiped a tear away hoping no one had noticed she was crying. She hated that she had brought this violence to this nice woman's house. Hayden was right. She was infecting things. She was ruining lives.
She should just go. Except, what about Cate? If it were just Marie, she would go back with Austin just to make it stop. But she couldn't bring Cate back to that. It wasn't safe. Her stomach roiled beneath her; she felt as if she were going to sick.
Finally, the teakettle began to sing and Elizabeth quickly poured the steaming water over loose leaves in a strainer. She let it soak for a moment and then added honey and brought the drink to Marie. "Chamomile mint," she said with a smile. "It's my own blend. I grow the leaves in my garden. It's very calming." She gave Marie a reassuring smile.
The minty smell of the tea wafted up towards Marie and she closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the smell. She took a sip and the warm water flowed through her. She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation and the smell and the taste and she found it was calming. Her heart slowed, her hands stopped shaking, and she was finally able to breathe without the threat of sobs overtaking her.
"I'm so sorry for the fuss," Marie said as there came a slamming sound from somewhere as Axel closed a door. "I didn't mean..."
"Oh, dear, I don't want to hear another word of apology come out of your mouth, do you understand? What, do you think we would toss you out into the cold? That wouldn't be very Christian of us, would it?" She crossed herself and looked to the sky for a moment. "You consider this house your house."
"Thank you," Marie said.
"You're welcome. And I'll admit I'm eager to meet this new girl who has my son breaking all his rules."
Marie's stomach dropped and she looked away. Hayden had been telling the truth. Axel was breaking the rules for her. Was his training falling behind because of her?
"Um..." Marie said with no idea what she was expected to say. Twenty minutes ago she was planning on never seeing Axel again and now she was in his mother's house.
"Not that I mind, of course. I never agreed with all of Hayden's rules."
Marie looked up hopefully. "Has Axel not been doing well recently?" Marie asked.
"Oh no, to hear him tell it this is the best he's ever been. He's ready for the match. That makes one of us, of course. I can barely stand to watch the fights. It's hard for a mother to watch her son get hit."
"I thought maybe he had been slacking off in practice..."
"Not to my knowledge. He's been training every day and coming here and doing hard labor on the weekends, until recently that is. Now he spends all his weekends with you, not that I mind."
"Sorry," Marie said blushing.
"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy, is what I'm saying. Axel deserves a good and honest girl, someone to keep him grounded. Someone to love him for him and not for his title or his money."
Marie nodded. "Sometimes I forget he has the title."
"Me, too," Elizabeth said. "I'm forever surprised when people know more about him than I do. The other day the boy at the checkout counter was asking me how much Axel ate in a day and he started telling me how much time my own son spent in the gym. He had Axel's full itinerary down. It was a little unnerving, honestly. But to a certain set of people, he is very famous."
"I didn't know that when I met him," Marie said.
"I know. He's told me quite a bit about you, Marie. You're the only girl who's ever managed to get him to willingly go to a dinner at the historical society." Marie smiled and Mrs. Connelly continued, "It's always been just me and Axel for the longest time. I've always wanted us to have a bigger family and now we can." She reached over and put her hand on Marie's cheek.
Marie leaned into Elizabeth's frail hand and smiled at her. "I have a small family, too," Marie said. "It's just me and Cate. My parents are gone and Cate's dad is … not a good dad," Marie said. "I always wanted a big family, too."
The two women smiled over the table as Axel finally joined them.
"What now?" Marie asked Axel.
"We wait. He'll try and get it touch with you and then we can get rid of him for good. You and I will sit down with him and explain to him that it's over and you're never going back."
He sounded so confident. She knew he could do it, but could she? It was hard for her to imagine saying no to Austin. He was scary when he was mad, sometimes he was terrifying. There were fights where Marie had feared for her life. She never wanted to feel that way again.
"I'm gonna go check the garage. Stay here," Axel said. They watched him go. His energy seemed boundless while Marie only wanted to take a nap.
"I know this is hard," Elizabeth said. "I can only imagine how hard. But you have to have faith and be strong now. My son cares for you very deeply and I know he won't give up on you. But you can't give up on him or yourself. You can stand up to this man. You have to."
"But what about Cate, and Axel?" Marie said. She had a sudden image of leaving Cate here. She could allow her daughter to be raised by this nice woman. Marie would go back to Arizona with Austin. Cate would be safe. It was a twisted fantasy and one she quickly dismissed. She would never leave her daughter.
"We'll be strong for each other and we'll look out for each other," the other woman said.
Marie looked into Elizabeth's dark blue eyes and nodded. She was right. This was the only way. Marie had to trust in Axel. She had to make a stand.
"I knew my son made a good choice with you." Elizabeth said. "He was different the day he met you. All of the sudden he had this starry-eyed, far away look on him. Like he was always thinking of someone else. He fought it, but I knew he would eventually open himself up to you. And I'm glad he did. He's been a better son since he's been with you. The only person who's gone sour is Hayden."
"Hayden!" Marie repeated. He had something to do with this. He had to. He had warned Marie her husband was coming. He had lied to her about Axel's training. Was he the one who contacted Austin? Marie stood quickly and said. "I need to talk to Axel, now!"
"Wait just one moment, dear. He's checking the garage and he asked us to stay here. We should wait for him to come back. We don't know what might be waiting out there."
Then there was the sound of tires crunching on gravel. Marie hurried to a window with Elizabeth right behind her. She hunched down and peered over the ledge at a black truck that was pulling into the driveway. She couldn't see the driver, but she recognized the truck. The man who she that had been taking her picture had got into a truck that looked just like this one. Her heart stopped as the door was opened and Hayden jumped down to the ground.