With it all finally out there, I waited for the immediate refusal, the stubbornness and pride that I was starting to think of as theThompson Family Special,but Raquel just stared at me for a long beat. “You can?”
My heart leaped and I laced our fingers together, nodding as I held her gaze. “It wouldn’t even be hard to get them here. We have specialists who can help track down your money and you wouldn’t have to worry in the meantime.”
I saw the moment hope sparked to life in her eyes, her expression softening before the mask fully cracked. Her eyes filled with tears and her lips parted. Her brow rumpled as she bowed her head until it was resting against my chest again.
“Theo,” she whispered. “I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.”
“It’s okay.” I wrapped my arms around her again, pulling her into my lap and burying my nose in her hair. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
“Thank you,” she repeated, trembling as she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. “Thank you.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief and held her closer, knowing that I would give so much more than this to protect her and the life she’d built. This girl could have everything I had and I still wouldn’t feel like it was enough.
“I’m here for you, Raquel,” I murmured against her hair. “No matter what, I’m always going to be right here.”
Always. No matter what.
That was the promise I was making tonight, and right then, I fully intended to keep it.
CHAPTER 28
RAQUEL
Last night, Theo had written me a check for fifty thousand dollars like it was nothing. Then he’d spent the rest of the night listening to me cry, rant, and rave, voicing every worst-case scenario that had been running through my mind all day.
We’d barely slept, but he’d been with me all night, just holding me and never once losing his patience. Every time I’d started catastrophizing about my dad’s condition, the shop, or our future, he’d simply listened, then calmly talked me back from the ledge.
Early this morning, I’d thought he would go to work and leave me to deal with the bank by myself, but instead, he was right there with me, driving me to their headquarters in Yuma County. Honestly, he was a pillar of strength and stability the likes of which I hadn’t known existed in a partner until now.
Even so, I felt massively guilty about all this. I swallowed hard past the lump of burning guilt in my throat and looked at him. “I’m going to pay you back.”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel before he glanced at me. “No.”
“I will.”
“No.”
“It’s a lot of money, Theo.”
He snorted. “Sure.”
“Don’t make those rich-person snorting sounds at me. Iwillpay you back.”
He let out a soft laugh. “I don’t know what a rich-person snort is, but still. No. You don’t owe me anything.”
His hand found mine on the center console and I squeezed his fingers, but I was going to pay him back. Even if he didn’t want to hear it and I would have to find a way to be sneaky about it.
Either way, my stomach was in knots by the time we reached the bank, faced by a cold, glass-walled building that was much more imposing than I’d thought. I glanced at Theo as we parked beside the curb, but he didn’t seem intimidated at all and it made me wonder if he was used to this kind of place.
He’d actually taken everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours completely in stride, offering not only money but connections who were apparently specialists in this very odd field. When he took my hand as we climbed out of the truck though, I stopped wondering what exactly his life was like back home and focused completely on what we were here to do.
Unfortunately, Avery was already there when we walked in, standing in front of the counter like he was waiting for someone. I caught the relief in his eyes when he saw me, but the moment he noticed Theo, his gaze darkened, his fingers rolling into fists at his sides.
It was the same look he used to wear before he’d get into a fight back in high school, and while I knew Theo wouldn’t know exactly what that look meant, he must’ve known Avery wasn’t happy, but he still didn’t back down.
Avery met us halfway across the lobby, stepping right into Theo’s path. “No. You’re not welcome here for this.”
“What?”
