She shrugged. “But youdidcome.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Uh-oh. Now Iknowyou’re pissed. I set you up for the perfect sex joke, and you didn’t even—”
“Maddie.”
With a heavy sigh, she stretched out her legs, wiggling her toes before the fire. “Honestly? I don’t know. I was upset with how you left things after dinner, and missing my family, and feeling like the biggest failure ever, and I just… I guess I just felt the walls closing in on me. I wanted out. So, out I went. My mom says I have impulse control issues. Once I get an urge to do something, I go for it, consequences be damned.”
“I get it, Cupcake. I do. Hell,impulse control issuesis practically my middle name. But what you did tonight? That wasbeyondimpulsive. That was reckless and stupid and the exact kind of shit that earns people a one-way ticket to the E.R.—and that’s if they’relucky. You walk that line enough times, one day you’ll end up on the wrong side of it, no way back.”
“Or maybe your life starts out on the wrong side to begin with, and walking that line is your only way out.” Maddie glanced over at me again, her eyes glazed with tears. “You know what, Hawke? I spent way too many years feeling like all I could do was peek out through the window and watch life pass me by. I was trapped. Literally trapped. I was technically alive, sure, but I wasn’tliving. It felt like a death sentence.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and she dashed it away, a smile rising on her face. “But last Christmas, I got a second chance, and I made myself a promise: Not anotherminutestuck on the inside looking out. Only living—truly living, with all the risks that come with it. Even the reckless ones.Especiallythose.”
She held my gaze, and I waited for her to fill in the blanks. To explain that second chance. I suspected it had something to do with all the meds, but I still couldn’t bring myself to ask.
Instead, I moved down to the other end of the couch and took her feet into my lap, working them over one at a time, pressing my thumbs into her arches until I finally felt her relax.
The fire crackled and popped, and a comfortable silence drifted between us, Bella and Maddie both sighing contentedly.
Home.
The word jumped into my head without warning. But before I could eventhinkabout denying it, Bella finally trotted off upstairs in search of something more interesting, and the moment passed.
Maddie scooted closer, draping her legs over my lap, her ass right up against my thigh.
“As much as I appreciate your efforts to distract me,” she said with another smile, “I still have a lot of questions.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured.”
“First, we need to get the big one out of the way.” She took a deep breath, then said, “Why the heck did you make fun of me for naming my dog Turkey when you’re a wolf named Hawke?”
“That’s your big opener, huh?” I cracked up. “Fine. I got the name when I was born, long before I became a wolf. Turkey wasn’t so lucky, the poor bastard.”
Maddie returned my laughter, but it faded quickly, her face turning serious, and I knew what was coming next.
“How did it happen?” she whispered. “Did you get bitten, or…”
“I’ll tell you, Maddie. But it’s not a pleasant story.” I reached up and cupped her face, smoothing my thumb over her cheek.
“You can tell me anything, Hawke. Anything at all.” Her eyes were so earnest, so sincere. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
I nodded and leaned in close, brushing a soft kiss to her lips.
And then, before I knew it, the whole damn story was spilling out of me.
