Page 58 of Holden’s Resurrection

This was the hard part—the way Charleigh looked at him after that statement told Holden to run. But, if he did that, if he stopped talking right now, he’d not only lose his Leigh-Leigh, he’d be betraying one of his best, most loyal friends. “After I heard you’d come to the hospital to visit me, or more to the point, after I heard you’d brought Faith with you, I had what amounts to a hissy fit. I lost it and Evie was there to listen as I broke down. As I said, she’s loyal. Without meaning to, the things I said turned her against you without her getting to know you.”

He leaned toward her. “That’s gonna change, baby. First, I’m gonna talk to her, but more importantly, she’s gonna see me happy and she’ll change her mind. But just to say, Evie going all-out making sure you and Faith were set up with a safe place to live was her attempt at reaching out. She was there when I was shot. The first few times she went back to that house, she freaked the hell out, totally inconsolable. She didn’t want that for you or Faith. But I see how staying at what amounts to her family home is an issue. So this afternoon before we pick up Faith, we’ll move into a hotel. There’s one in town with an indoor pool. We’ll tell Faith we moved there so she can swim.” Holden paused and thought of something. “She can swim, right?”

“She can,” Charleigh croaked.

“Good. Then that’s what we’ll tell her.”

Charleigh shook her head and quietly said, “We don’t have to leave.”

“We do, baby. I’m not having you stay somewhere you’re not comfortable.”

“It’s not that. I guess I’m still upset that when you were shot, I was in the waiting room worried out of my mind you were going to die, and she was sitting by your bed and I wasn’t allowed. Even when you were moved out of ICU, Genevieve made it clear you were to have no visitors.”

Holden cringed. He’d done that, too.

“That was me. I asked her not to let anyone in. I’m sorry, Leigh-Leigh. I’m being as honest as I can be. I tried everything I could to stop myself from loving you. I tried to hate you because it hurt so fucking bad to get through each day knowing I’d never be where I am right now. Baby, you’re hard to get over. Every day was a struggle. Like I said, I’ll talk to her. We’ll go to the hotel.”

“Seriously, Holden, it’s fine.” She let out a deep breath before she gave him a wan smile. “You know me, always reacting before I think things through. Regardless of what she thinks of me, it’s really cool she’s letting us stay there. I should be thanking her, not shoving her kindness in her face. And us leaving would make me petty and mean. I’m neither of those things. But thank you.”

Christ.

Had they’d done it?

Had they navigated their way through that minefield and come out with all their limbs intact?

Thank Christ, they had.

And she wasn’t angling to get him out of the house.

“I’d do anything for you, Leigh-Leigh. Anything. If you change your mind just say the word and we’ll go.”

Holden drank in the sight of her sitting next to him. He hadn’t lied when he said he never thought he’d ever be close to her again—not physically and certainly not emotionally—yet there he was, staring at her and planning a future he never thought he’d have. One with her and Faith.

It had only been a few days since an unexplainable switch flipped. Perhaps it was seeing her bloody and unconscious. Maybe it was Faith being in danger. Or maybe he finally grew a pair of balls and manned up. Whatever the cause of his epiphany, he wasn’t letting her go this time.

On that thought, he tagged her around the back of the neck and pulled her face to his. This time when he brushed his lips against hers, he let them linger. Not a real kiss, but a promise.

Holden slowly let her go, enjoying the low-grade burn. He’d keep fanning the spark until she caught fire. It would happen and soon, all he had to do was be patient and coax her into remembering how good they were together.

Hell, yes, I’m gonna win.

21

I was either the stupidest person alive or the smartest. There would be no in-between. Bliss or bane. Those were the only two outcomes.

In under twenty-four hours, I’d allowed Holden under my skin. Not that I’d ever fully worked him out, but sometime in the middle of the night as I lay in bed next to Faith, I questioned my motives. Why was I really pushing Holden away after pining after him for so long? My daughter was a consideration, a big one, the most important one. But the truth was I was using her as a crutch to forestall possible heartbreak. I’d survived Holden’s rejection once, but I didn’t think I’d survive a second go-round.

I’d been on the fence when I’d woken up. Then seeing Holden interact with Faith pushed me close to the ledge. When we were in his car talking about Genevieve and why I was uncomfortable staying at her uncle’s house, he’d quickly come up with a solution. It wasn’t the solution that made me stop waffling. It was his honesty. He’d been uncomfortable admitting he’d spoken badly about me to Genevieve, yet he came clean and took responsibility. Maybe I should’ve been mad he’d made me out to be the bad guy, but I wasn’t. I was happy he had close friends who were loyal to him. They’d stuck by him, unlike all of mine who’d deserted me as fast as they could. I was grateful to Genevieve for saving his life, then sitting vigil by his bed as he recovered. I’d wanted to be the one he’d opened his eyes to, but I understood why it had been her.

I glanced over at Holden as he walked us into the breezeway from the parking lot to the front of the office. And make no mistake, he was walking us. As soon as we exited his truck, his hand wrapped around mine and he led the way. There was something comforting about him being in control. It was silly, but now that I’d decided to take a flying leap off that fence I’d been teetering on, I was going to allow myself to relish in all things Holden. The nuances that made him the man he was. Like holding my hand and taking control of something as small as walking us through a parking lot while he scanned the area for hidden dangers. Something he’d always done. I was safe and well-loved when I was with Holden.

This was it, no more wavering. No more vacillating or making excuses. If Holden was going to fight to fix what had broken between us, I wasn’t going to stand in his way. But I wouldn’t be telling him that. There was a lot he needed to prove to me. A lot of it had to do with Faith and some of it had to do with him telling me he didn’t want kids. That was a problem. I wanted more. It wasn’t a deal breaker and I needed to tread carefully considering he was the one who couldn’t have them. But the truth was he would need compelling reasons for me to give up wanting siblings for Faith. And being scared wasn’t a good enough excuse. Neither was wanting to protect me which is what got us into this heartbreaking situation in the first place. He had to trust we were strong enough to get through anything, even the possible devastation of being given a baby only to have him or her taken away. He had to believe down to his soul we could get through anything, as long as we had each other.

“What’s wrong?” Holden asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you looking at me like I have a booger on my face?”