Page 143 of Carson

“I don’t think I’ll need to.”

My hands cup her face. “It’s okay if you do. I’ll go wherever you need to go.”

She visibly relaxes, and then she starts waving again.

Little Ray grabs my leg, giving it a hug before running past me and trying to open the door by himself.

“Let me help,” Tank says, sliding past us and opening the door. Again, the scent of pizza tugs at my senses. Kelsie just gives me one of her sweet smiles as she passes. “Isn’t this so much fun?”

Luna agrees, and they hug.

Another positive. Kelsie now has another friend. A sister. A fellow survivor.

The more I look for good things, the more I see.

Luna looks up at me. “I made a special pizza for you.”

“You did?”

She nods, taking my hand and pulling me inside. Everyone is already making their way out back, their plates already full.

“We’ll be there in a few,” Luna yells to them.

My brother waves back, letting her know he heard her.

She walks over to the oven and pulls out a pan.

“Aw, it’s a heart. And it’s my favorite. Pepperoni. Thank you.”

I rub my hand over her back, noticing how tense she is.

“Tim gave me a heart-shaped pizza.” She stares at it, not really seeing. “He had a flat tire one day, but he couldn’t afford to get it fixed. He’d misplaced his check that week, and he was waiting for the company to reissue it.”

Her eyes meet mine.

“I paid for it and in return, he made me the pizza. I thought it was a sweet gesture, because I had helped him with his camper. He …” Her brows pull together as if she’s just remembering something. “He used to have a limp.”

“Hey.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

She looks up at me. “I had to rewrite the story, Carson, so this is my way of saying thank you. Thank you for doing what you did. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

I place my hand on her chest. “Luna, I would kill a hundred men for you. I rejoice in the fact that he suffered at my hand. No one hurts you without facing me.” I stare down at the pizza she made for me. She’s turned his tool of deceit into something that belongs to us instead.

I release her, grab the kitchen knife, and slice it up for the two of us.

I’m proud of her for telling me about Tim, and I’m proud that she’s rewriting the story about him.

If only we could find a way to rewrite the one involving her father.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Carson - A Random Tuesday

It’s been months since Luna moved in with me. Well, Cole and me … and Carver.

He moved in a few weeks ago.

We all get along so it made sense. It gives us plenty of opportunities to talk about our business. Which is doing amazingly well, by the way.