His willingness to lay everything out in the open.
Any remaining jealousy that I once harboured now morphs into relief.
“When he and Olsen left town, I called it quits with the whole soulmate thing.”
There’s a weight beneath his words as he says it.
Thank fuck he changed his mind.
He rests his head against my shoulder as he continues.
“Aside from the occasional hookup, I stopped making time for love. Didn't seem worth the risk. Never thought I'd cross that line again. Ever. It was tempting to close the door for good. And to numb the hunger, I threw myself into working long endless hours. Seven days some weeks. Work became my everything.”
He laughs quietly.
“Until this wildly attractive tattoo artist showed up forty minutes late…”
“The audacity,” I scoff. “I hope you put him in his place.”
“Oh, I still do.” He steals a kiss. “As often as possible.”
???
Stepping toward the pit, he adds another log.
“It means more than you know,” I say. “That you told me.”
Our hands close the distance.
“You made me feel safe enough to tell you. I've never even told Beth some of these things. No other man I’ve let close has ever known about Jundah. Only that my childhood was tough, so a lady in Longreach became my legal guardian. I couldn’t risk being found. So I buried it all in the past. Even though suppressing it led to panic attacks.”
The tenderness of the moment raises another question in my mind.
“Do you still write to her?” I wonder. “Your mum, I mean. I’m sure she misses you.”
Marco scuffs his shoe across the gravel.
I know it’s a delicate topic.
“I try to send a letter each month. But still no return address. In case Dad ever…”
“Finds you?”
I dare him to try,I fume silently.
My fists tighten.
I swear to God, if that piece of shiteverlays a finger on his son again he’ll regret it.
I’ll only spare his life so I can make it absolute hell.
Plenty of tattooed biker friends who’d help me out, too.
Stop it, I tell myself.You’re not some vigilante.
Be the man he deserves. Calm the fuck down.
The last thing my baby needs is another man who resorts to violence.
