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They leave after saying their goodbyes, and I close and lock the door. Doe stands off to the side, and I can tell by her relaxed body language that she’s about had it for the night.
“Did you have a good time?” I feel the need to ask.
Her lips don’t move, but I see a smile in her eyes. “I did. I’m glad you invited them over.”
“I’m proud of you,” I inform her and watch a blush creep up her cheek. She turns her head away for a moment then brings her gaze back to mine.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I didn’t do anything. You did it all on your own.”
She shakes her head. “No. For everything. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Again, there’s no need to thank me, Doe.”
She holds my stare for a moment then dips her head back down. Her long hair falls against her cheeks, hiding her face from view. An unreasonable need to reach out and push the hair back has my hand balling into a fist to keep from doing just that. She’s a beautiful woman despite her scars. I wish she knew that.
“Come on.” I gesture to the back door. “It’s late, and you look tired.”
I’m just about to whistle for Betsy when she comes around the corner of the couch, I’m sure sensing Doe’s departure. Doe stops long enough to ruffle the top of her head before pulling the door open and stepping outside. Although she only lives next door, I still don’t feel comfortable with her walking over by herself, even with the company of Betsy.
We’re both silent as we walk across the damp grass to the property next door. After stepping up on the small perch at the back of the house and opening the door to let Betsy inside, Doe turns around. She tips her head back and looks up at me.
“Can I come over in the morning and make you breakfast again?” she asks.
I rock back on my heels and stuff my hands in my pockets. “You don’t need to do that.”
She frowns. “But I want to.”
I nod slowly. “Okay.”
She nods in return, her lips almost forming a smile. I want to see her smile. “Okay.”
We stand there for several moments. The light from the porch reflects off the long strands of her hair, almost making her look like she’s glowing.
I hold my breath and stand perfectly still when she takes a step toward me. I have no idea what she’s doing, but I don’t want to frighten her by moving. My fingers dig into my thighs through my jeans pockets when she stops only inches away from me. I keep my eyes steady on hers as she looks up at me. When I feel her tiny hand land on my forearm, I have to force myself not to jerk in surprise. It’s warm and soft.
She makes a move to turn away when the light from the porch glints off something on her wrist. Before I realize what I’m doing, my hand darts out and grabs her upper arm, to stop her. My grip isn’t tight, but she still flinches. Pain stabs me in the gut because I never want her to fear me, but locking my eyes on the bracelet on her wrist has the pain changing from her fearing me to the pain I’ve felt for the past fifteen years. It grabs my heart and squeezes tight, nearly suffocating me.
Anger pushes its way in beside the pain. My veins start to throb and sweat breaks out on my forehead. I try to loosen my grip on her, but my hands won’t let go. Seeing that bracelet on someone else’s wrist, a bracelet I thought was lost, has my mind going crazy.
“Where did you get that?” I ask, unable to hold back the anger in my voice. I know I’m being an asshole, and there must be a reasonable explanation as to why she has it, but at the moment, my only thought is Doe’s wearing something that belongs to Aislin. It’s cheap plastic, but that bracelet is more precious than the finest of diamonds. No one deserves to wear it but Aislin.
Doe whimpers, and just that small sound snaps some of my control back into place. I yank my hand away and close my eyes. I drop my head and pull in several deep breaths. When I look back up at Doe, the fear I haven’t seen in her eyes when she looks at me is back, and I fucking hate it.
I keep my tone calm when I ask again, “Where did you get that?” I tip my chin toward the bracelet.
She looks down at her wrists, licks her lips, swallows, and then lifts her head back to me.
“It was in the room,” she whispers fearfully.
I clench my jaw and force back the anger that’s building again.
“I told you not to go in there,” I grit out.
“I know.”
“Why did you?”
