AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He postures the way a father is supposed to when he loves his child. Protecting her from the potential threat that’s come knocking, and as much as I envy his devotion to her, I’m relieved she has a home and family to comfort her when she needs it.
I shift toward Penelope. “There’s, uh, something I need to say to her first, though, and it can’t wait.”
Her easy smile falters when she turns to me, and the urge to fall to my knees for her is unbearable. The sunlight casting through her brown eyes lightens them to a seductive, milk chocolate hue, but an understandable amount of uncertainty projects from them.
“Pen, I—”
“Realize how wonderful I am and want to beg for forgiveness?” Her arms cross and a lone brow arches haughtily.
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“That didn’t take long,” Patrick mumbles, taking the brush from her hand with a not-so-subtle grin and a light-hearted laugh that has my shoulders slumping.
The tip of her chin rises, and I want to kiss those full, smirking lips with every desperate cell in my body when she says, “I do love a good grovel.”
She leaves him and the horse in the middle of the paddock to meet me at the fence. Three wooden beams separate our bodies, hitting just above our waists, and everything I’d prepared to say to her freezes in my throat.
“Well, go on,” she goads in that way of hers.
“You were right,” I manage tightly. “About everything.”
“Mm-hmm. A solid start, but I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that.”
God, this woman. I search her beautiful face, counting a slew of soft brown freckles while I gather my thoughts.
“I want you to know that I gave Dorthea and Ricardo the funds to keep the group home in their name.”
Any residual humor leaches from her face. “Ricardo would never agree to that.”
“He would when he’s backed into a corner, and his wife’s waving a chancla at him.”
My heart skips a beat at the adorable way she ducks her chin while gathering her unruly hair and twisting it over her shoulder. “I-I can’t thank you enough for doing that.”
“Dorthea said she wanted to tell you. She just couldn’t bring herself to ruin your night when we were with Ida.”
She nods in solemn understanding, though it clearly upset her to be left out.
I hesitate, waiting for her to look at me so she hears the sincerity in my words. “I should have mentioned he had eyes on Seaside, but I didn’t know the extent of his plan.”
She wraps her arms around her middle and cups her elbows. “I believe you.”
The betrayal is still so fresh, it’s hard to speak past the knot in my throat, but I force myself to acknowledge it. No more denying what he’s done.
“There’s an album in one of Dad’s offices where he keeps pictures of me, him, and Mom, and… It doesn’t make sense. How the person responsible for raising and caring for me could both love me immensely and hurt me the most.”
One hand slides to her neck as if to brace herself for something she won’t want to hear, and my heart leaps for fucking joy to see she’s still wearing the ring I gave her on this very ranch all those years ago.
“He forged a declination letter from Stanford to keep me away from you, Pen. At first, I didn’t understand why he would do something so insane, something so blatantly cruel, but then, I only ever had the will to fight him when I had you.”
“Logan, I’m so sorry.” Her voice breaks, tears glistening in her eyes as if she’s hurting for the loss I’m experiencing like it’s hers.
“I’m not,” I say, resting my forearm on the wood, wordlessly asking for her touch.
She places her hand in mine without hesitation, and that one small connection glides up my arm, settling my nerves before finding space deep inside my beating heart.
I bring her fingers to my lips, taking my time kissing each knuckle as I rein in a suffocating wave of despair. “That fire and fight came roaring back the moment you walked into Summit, and I think he was threatened by it. He tried his damndest to rid me of it, but that’s an impossible feat, Penelope. Even for him. Because there’s no force on this Earth strong enough to keep me from you.”
I flip her hand over, pressing my lips to each of her fingertips, and then flatten that same hand to my cheek. “I don’t care if I lose Summit because my aspirations begin and end with you. We’re going to find a way to save that community and build it into something amazing. You know why?”
