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My heart sunk. Fuck, I wished she never healed it if it was going to hurt so much to have it crushed again.
“You’re not wrong, Holt. I do have feelings, strong ones, for you.”
A five-year weight lifted from my shoulders. “Oh, thank fuck,” I mumbled as I kissed her before throwing my head back with a shout of ‘yes!”
Large, mostly green eyes that shone with tenderness gazed up at me. “But I can’t help but worry. What if people find out about my past and judge you for it, for choosing me?”
Did this woman ever just let someone care about her without worrying? It was a challenge I couldn’t wait to prove to her. “Screw them if they can’t see the wonderful woman you are. Besides, how would they know? I know you, and that’s all that matters.”
“You know I’m not experienced at this, right?” she asked shyly.
“Oh, sweetheart, when it comes to you and me, I’m not either. We’ll experience it together, hmm?” I grinned and lowered my face toward hers.
Long minutes later, I slowed our kiss before I wasn’t able to.
“I guess this means I won’t be house hunting tomorrow,” she giggled.
“Fuck, no,” I grumbled. “I wouldn’t have let you leave, even if you tried. There’re still too many unanswered questions out there.”
Her face fell, and I was immediately sorry I’d brought that up. She wriggled in my arms, and reluctantly I let her go. “Holt, I…I’m scared this is going to end up being too much for you. It’s bad enough I have a prison record. But it feels like something from that time of my life has followed me, and if I’m in danger, then you are too as long as we’re together. That’s too much to ask of you. Maybe we should put off any kind of relationship until we figure this out. That way, if you want out, you’re already free.”
“No!” I shouted, causing her to flinch. I tempered my tone. “No, Maddy. Like it or not, my feelings are already involved. Nothing from your past is going to make me change my mind. Anyone who runs away from a relationship just because there are some challenges doesn’t deserve that person in the first place.”
“But what if it gets too hard? What if you decide you just don’t want to do it anymore?” she pressed.
“Maddy, where is this coming from?”
“It’s just sometimes situations become too much for people, you know?”
“You’re talking about Charly?” Damn that woman. I couldn’t imagine how she could abandon her sister when Maddy needed her the most, especially after Maddy saved her from being raped. So help me, if Charly ever showed her face around me, I?
?d use every resource I had to make her pay.
“Only partly,” she mumbled.
“Maddy, what aren’t you telling me?”
She blinked at me several times as if debating what to say. As much as I wanted to beg her to tell me, it was more important she decided to do so on her own.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Remember you asked me once what my story is?”
I nodded.
“How do you feel about a late night tale that would make the Grimm brothers proud?” she answered, her face drawn with sadness.
I already knew it wasn’t a fairytale full of glitter and unicorns, but I had a feeling it was going to be worse than I first thought. “I want to hear it, sweetheart.”
“I’m not sure you do, but I’ll tell you anyway.”
I pulled her to sit on the couch. When she would have curled up in the corner by herself, I drew her onto my lap instead. She tucked her head under my chin and began.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Madelyn…”
29
Maddy, age 10
I scampered around the kitchen, filling a pot with water and carefully carrying it with two hands to the stove. I turned on the gas and lit the flame. I had to pull a chair up to the counter to reach the overhead cabinet since I wasn’t tall enough to reach the box of spaghetti. While I waited for the water to boil, I set the table with the blue plates that were too heavy for me to carry more than two at a time. I set three places, even though I wasn't sure if Charly would be home tonight or not. She was six years older than me and thought she was completely grown up and could go anywhere and do whatever she wanted.
