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“Sort of?”
She lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “It’s complicated.”
“How complicated?”
“I…” God, she didn’t have the words.
“Did he hurt you?”
She frowned. How did she answer that? “I…like I said, it’s complicated. Why are you asking me all these questions, Jameson?”
He took in a deep breath and sighed it out. His eyes moved down the alley and then back to her. “When you first came here, I could see you were healing—from what, I didn’t know. But from something. And over the months you’ve been here, you have. You’ve healed. You were happy. At least, I thought you were.”
“I was,” she hurried to assure him, and then corrected, “I am.”
He shook his head. “The light has gone out of your eyes again. Just like before.”
She looked down. Every word he said was true.
He reached out and took her wrist in his hand, his thumb brushing over the stack of beaded bracelets she was never without. Her eyes followed the movement.
“You know, tattoos can cover up some pretty nasty scars. They actually do a damn fine job of it.”
She looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights and barely breathed the word, “What?”
He nodded at her bracelets. “Do you wear those to hide something, Crystal?”
She swallowed, not meeting his eyes.
“Talk to me.”
“It’s not what you think. I’m not crazy.”
“I don’t think that, sweetheart.”
“If you’re worried you hired a crazy person, don’t. I’m better now.” She couldn’t have been more shocked that he knew, that apparently he’d known all along. “How…how did you know?”
His head tilted to the side, his eyes staring into hers, his words and his touch tender. “I had a girl come into the shop once. It was a couple years back. She wanted her scars covered. She told me she was tired of always trying to cover them with bracelets.” He shrugged. “I’ve wondered…if that was why you always, always covered your wrists.”
She tried to pull away, ashamed, but his grip tightened.
“Was it because of him?”
“No. Not really. It was because of me. Because I was weak.” She bit her lip. “You know, it’s funny, because up until then I’d always thought of myself as a strong person.” She shook her head. “But I’m not. Not when it counts.”
Before she realized what he was about, she was pressed to his chest, his arms wrapped around her.
“Babe.”
Surrounded by his warmth, his strength, she realized he didn’t need to say anything more than that single word. She melted against him and let the feelings of sadness and grief that she’d tried not to feel since she’d driven away from the motel, leaving Wolf standing there staring after her car. Now she felt it all. And her eyes filled with tears as her body shook with her sobs.
Jameson’s hands rubbed up and down her back as he let her cry it out. He simply held her. And right then, that was all she needed.
After she finally settled back down, she let Jameson talk her into coming back inside the shop.
“So what’s going on with Crystal?” She heard Liam ask Jameson when he walked in the door. As she walked in behind him, she saw Liam’s eyes slide past Jameson to land on her. He’d obviously thought she’d left.
“Crystal, you okay?” Max asked.
