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She didn’t speak for a long while, but eventually she sat up next to him again so she could see him and swiped at her eyes. “I know. You make me feel safe.” Her smile wobbled, and he brought his hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb caressing it. She covered his hand with hers as she gazed at him. “You sure you want to hear this?”
“I want to know everything about you.” He could have lied, but something about this woman spoke to him. She invaded his soul in a way he wasn’t sure he even wanted her to but couldn’t resist.
She blinked tears away. “You know my mom died recently.”
“Yes, you told me that. I’m so sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is.” He kissed her softly. “Had she been sick?
“No.” She blinked rapidly. “Mom was a nurse at one of the big hospitals in Flagstaff.”
Wyatt nodded. That explained where Beth was from—Arizona.
“She’d pulled a double shift and was driving home really early one morning. The police think she fell asleep at the wheel and that’s why her car crashed. She hit a tree and died instantly. There was no evidence anyone else was involved, so they ruled it accidental.”
“What about your dad?”
“Didn’t want to be one. Didn’t stick around when he found out Mom was pregnant.”
He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how painful that must have been for Beth, to lose the only parent she’d ever known. The one person who’d been a constant in her life and probably her biggest supporter.
“That must have been hard for her.”
“It was. But her death opened my eyes and made me realize staying with Miles was not good for me. So I made a plan.”
So the fucker’s name was Miles. Wyatt vowed to hunt this asshole down and hurt him in ways he couldn’t even imagine in his worst nightmares. “What sort of plan?”
“I decided to sell her belongings and stash the money away. Even though my pay went into the joint account, I got one of the few friends I could trust to secretly create an email address he knew nothing about. I then opened another account in my name only with a different bank. Miles didn’t know anything about it. Mom didn’t own her home, but she had some possessions worth some money, so I sold them and lied about what I got for them.”
She licked her lips, and Wyatt slipped out of bed to get them both some water. She sipped it before settling back into his arms. “I told him I’d given everything to a consignment store, but in reality, I sold most of it privately and banked the money.”
“He never suspected anything?”
“No. He didn’t suspect anything because he kept ranting about how cheap all her possessions were anyway. As though it was Mom’s fault she couldn’t afford to buy luxury items.” Beth sniffled in his arms, and he kissed the top of her head. “I kept a few pieces of jewelry that had belonged to my mother and grandmother, and a couple of other things for sentimental reasons, but she didn’t have much, not really.”
His heart ached. He had no doubt it must have been hard for Beth’s mother to raise her daughter alone, but somehow, he knew Beth hadn’t lacked for anything that mattered in life, such as love. “What was your mom’s name?”
“Annika.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
“She was a pretty lady.”
“I have no doubt. You’re stunning.”
When she looked up at him, she was smiling. Warmth blossomed in his chest. Her smile lit up every dark part of his soul.
He kissed her then, pouring every ounce of affection he felt for her into it. Once they parted, she touched his mouth. “Mom would have loved you.”
He kissed her fingers. “Did she like Miles?”
“She hated him.”
“Good. Then I think she and I would have gotten along well, because I hate him too.”
Beth kissed the corner of his mouth. “He’s part of my past now, which is where he’ll be staying.”
He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Are you worried he’s after you?”
Her eyes widened. “A little. I mean, I don’t know how he could find me. I dumped my phone before I left Arizona and bought a prepaid. I’ve been paying cash everywhere since I left so my cards aren’t trackable.”
