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“B-b-but I don’t mind. He should sleep here and let me take care of him.”
Silence followed my stammered plea. The line crackled a bit. “Just let him stay the night, Scott. It’s been a rough one for him. You should know why.”
My throat tightened. So Griff hadn’t believed me after all. He really thought I’d cheated on him.
What’s he supposed to think when you don’t tell him the truth?
“Okay,” I strangled out. “But bring him back tomorrow morning, or-or-or I’ll come get him myself.”
Jarrod chuckled. “I really hope you two work things out, Scott. You’re good together.”
The second Jarrod ended the call, I grabbed a cushion, pressed my face into it, and screamed through my tears. What was I to do? Was I doing the wrong thing in not telling Griff the truth? But if I confessed and he confronted David, violating his parole, how would I ever forgive myself?
No, no matter how much it all hurt, I couldn’t come clean. Later, but not now. The court date was set for three weeks away. All I had to do was show Griff he meant the world to me and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. I had to make him believe in me.
“No, no, no.” I shook my head, shoving at David’s arms around me, trapping me in his unwanted embrace. The more I beat against him, the more his arms tightened around me. “Please.” I gasped. “David, please, don’t. Please d-d-don’t hit me a-a-again. I won’t f-f-fight b-b-back. Please.”
“Scottie.” I was shaken like a rag doll. “Scottie, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
My eyes flew open, homing in on the man towering over me. I raised my arms to protect my face. “Please d-d-don’t.”
“Scottie, it’s me, Griff.”
“Gr-Griff?” I lowered my arms, my heart pounding.
“Yes, it’s me, baby.”
Griff touched my face. The gentleness of the pads of his fingers was like a feather brushing against my skin. Griff. This was my Griff, not the man from my nightmare.
With a sob, I threw my arms around his neck and clung to him. Warm, familiar arms enveloped me, his voice whispering soft, soothing words to me. He’d come home.
“Don’t cry.” He brushed his fingers through my hair. “I shouldn’t have tried sleeping away from you. It doesn’t matter if we fight. My place is right next to you in our bed.”
A hiccup escaped me. “You’re no longer mad at me?”
“I’m still hurt and angry. I don’t know why you’re keeping things from me. It’s obvious something has upset you, but you won’t tell me what. How can I fix it?”
His response only solidified my resolve that he couldn’t know. Griff was a fixer. He would think his duty was to put David in his place.
“I didn’t cheat, Griff.” I grabbed his shirt, begging him to believe me.
“I know.”
“You really believe me?”
“Yes, I do. I just wish you believed in me enough to tell me the truth as much as I do you.”
Reaching for his hand, I lowered my eyes. “I love you so much. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“And I’d do anything to protect you.”
Griff frowned. “What does that mean? Scottie, what do you think you’re protecting me from?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. None of it does as long as you trust me. You can be mad at me for a while, Griff. I can take it, but I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Griff sighed and pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. The strength radiating through his tight muscles was comforting, chasing away the vivid nightmare I’d just had. He breathed in deeply, the rise and fall of his chest a familiar movement that kept me focused.
