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A weight lifted from my shoulders, and even though we were in the basement, in the dim lighting of the storage area, I felt as though Natalie’s light was shining down on me, showering me with warmth.
I exhaled deeply and turned to Becky. “Mission accomplished. Now, let’s go out to eat.”
Becky’s smile was soft, beautiful, something I could get used to every day, going forward.
“You don’t want to make breakfast?”
“No, let’s go out. We have the whole day together since the girls are with Brad till tomorrow.”
She extended her hand and nodded. “Let’s go, then.”
I pulled her in and dropped my head to the crook of her neck, breathing in her natural scent of citrus, most likely from her shampoo.
My new favorite scent.
Becky
We were seated at an outside patio that overlooked the lake. The scent of the crisp fall air, the breeze against our faces, the sun beating down against my skin had me giddy. I ordered blueberry crepes. Figuring that I could have made pancakes, bacon, and eggs at home, I wanted something different.
“So, what do you want to do today?” Charles asked above his chicken and waffles.
He wore a Cubs baseball cap today and a regular white T-shirt, dressed down, unlike his usual professional attire.
“I’ll do whatever you have planned.”
He laughed, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m not much of a planner. Every vacation or dinner reservation is made by Mason. I’m thankful for him because he makes an itinerary for the girls when we have to go out.” The way he talked about his brothers made my heart full. “But, yeah, I’m pretty proud of my planning abilities yesterday even though I had to googlebest first dates.” His mouth twitched with amusement.
I laughed. “It was perfect.” I finished the last of my crepe, slipping the fork in my mouth. “How about we take a bike ride and then go grocery shopping for what we want to cook for dinner? Then, we can rent a movie and watch it back home.”
The corner of his mouth tipped upward. “Home.” The smile played on his lips, and then his gaze dropped to the table before meeting my eyes again. “I like the sound of that.” He reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. “And biking, grocery shopping, making dinner, and renting a movie sounds like every other night, no?” He pulled me in, angling closer. “Not like I have a problem with that.”
“But this time, there will be no kids around.” I suggestively wiggled my eyebrows as I closed the gap between us and kissed him.
After breakfast, we walked farther up the lake, hand in hand, to rent bikes. I wanted to ride one of those tandem bikes, where I rode up front and Charles rode on the back. I almost skipped down the sidewalk while I spotted the multitude of bikes ahead of us, but something—or more so,someone—caught my eye.
I stopped mid-step, and my stomach dropped to the ground and kept on going.
It was impossible.
Impossible!
Bile crept up my throat as my whole body trembled.
“Becky? What’s wrong?” Charles asked beside me. His grip tensed around my fingers, sensing my stress.
I shook my head, seeing him in the distance, up the hill—his profile, the sharp lines of his jaw, the bridge of his nose.
Panic threatened to choke me.
Paul.
Fear clouded my vision. Not for me. But for Charles. For Sarah. For sweet Mary.
But I didn’t want to run and hide today. I didn’t know what took over me today, but I wanted to fucking take him down.
I ran at a full sprint up the hill, arms pumping, legs moving. He turned and walked in the other direction, ignorant to me fast approaching him, and I ran even faster, hearing Charles call after me.
He wasn’t going to hurt the people around me, be a threat to their lives like he’d done with mine. I wasn’t leaving because of him. I had found my place on this earth, where I was needed, where I was wanted. He wasn’t going to take that away from me. He’d already taken too much.
