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Quinten glanced at her and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “I promise.”
Day 19
2:15am
* * *
Quinten lay spooned behind Saige with an arm draped over her waist, and the other she used as a pillow. He watched her sleep, her fe
atures finally relaxed from the stress of the day.
He’d wanted to say more to her father for what Richard had done to his daughter, but he could see how broken Saige was with the day’s discovery.
What he hated to admit was that he understood where her father came from. His daughter had been abducted, abused, and the man her father thought responsible was the man his daughter was in love with. She was pregnant with his child...Quinten understood, but couldn’t accept the way that her father had gone about dealing with it, or the drugs that he’d given her. Saige should have been given a choice. Deep in his heart though, he knew that Saige would have never believed that he was guilty, and she’d have kept and cherished their child.
When he was with Saige, he used to dream of having a little girl who looked just like her mama, with hair so blonde and soft, and eyes so blue. He would have cherished her just as much as he did her mother. As the first tears started to run from his eyes, he wondered if their baby had been a boy. His son would have been a miniature of him, and would have loved baseball, fishing and so much more.
Quinten buried his face into the back of Saige’s neck and, while she couldn’t witness his despair, Quinten gave way to the tears he’d held back all day. He had held himself together because he saw that Saige had needed that, but it had been difficult when his heart had been breaking all over again for the life they’d created with love, and then had taken away from them.
He froze when Saige started to turn, and when she met his gaze, she tugged him down to her chest and held him while he broke down. Great racking sobs shook his body as he held onto her as tightly. Saige ran her fingers through his hair while she silently cried with him, the unevenness of her breathing giving her away.
The one constant in his life was Saige, but the rest of his life was in turmoil. He hadn’t had a chance to catch his breath since he’d been freed from jail, and he felt like he was drowning with no direction.
Saige had mentioned his carpentry, and really, that was all he knew, but after being away from it for so long, he wasn’t sure that he even wanted to go back to it. He wanted a new life away from everything he had ever known…a new life with Saige by his side.
His girl had been through so much that he was surprised she hadn’t walked away from him when the doctor had delivered the news...to his relief, she hadn’t. He felt guilty for even thinking that she would, but everyone he’d ever known had walked away from him...except Saige and his brother.
Everything always came back to the girl in his arms, who cried herself back to sleep.
He was glad, and as he slipped from the bed, he cast one more glance over his shoulder before he closed the bedroom door.
* * *
1:00pm
* * *
Saige smiled as she watched Quinten turn another page in the book he read. They’d had a quiet day of not much talking, but there’d been a lot of touching—a soft caress to her arm or a hand to his back. She needed his touch as much as he obviously needed hers.
After the news from yesterday, Saige had been at a loss of what to do or how to move forward, but for Quinten being by her side, she wouldn’t have gotten through the night—they helped each other...and now she needed to be closer.
Rolling from the sofa she laid on, Saige walked on her knees toward Quinten, smiling when his eyes landed on her. He closed his book and let it drop to the floor before he reached for her.
Saige climbed on top of him and, when her head rested against his chest, she sighed in pleasure. “This is where I’m supposed to be.”
“I agree with that,” Quinten mumbled, moving around to a more comfortable position. “I never thought I’d get the chance to hold you again.” He kissed the top of her head, his arms holding her close.
“It’s my fault that you spent eight years behind bars.”
“Hell no!” Quinten tugged her up so he could look into her eyes. His hands gently cupped her face, his thumbs caressed along her cheekbones. “You had nothing to do with me being sent away. Nothing, Saige.” He brought her forehead to rest against his. “I have never blamed you, and I never will. I blame the justice system.” He wrapped her tightly up in his arms again. “You’re as much a victim as I am.”
Saige let her tears soak into his shirt, and reminded him, “I killed our baby,” she sobbed.
Quinten paused and then jumped up from where he sat before sitting back down and rearranging her in his lap. “They had you drugged, and they kept you that way. What they did to you was illegal and once we get the report the doctor said he sent to you, we’ll pass it over to Coulter and let him deal with it.”
“Okay.” Saige tried to dry her face up with the sleeves of her sweatshirt, but didn’t quite succeed. “I need a tissue.” Climbing from his lap, Saige went into the bathroom and used toilet paper before she washed her face with cold water in the basin.
“You okay now?” Quinten asked, coming up behind her and trapping her between the vanity and his warm body. He kissed her neck, and rested his chin on her shoulder so that they both stared into the mirror.
