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I cover his hand with mine. "Okay."
He heaves a slow sigh and then proceeds to tell me what happened. How I must have imputed one of the digits of my number wrong, how he found out we had grown up in the same small town, how he begged his brother, the local sheriff, to give him my address.
I listen in stunned silence as he tells me he went looking for me the very day he got the info, but I was already gone. It's the last part of his speech that really makes my jaw drop, though.
"I knocked and this lady opened the door. I asked about you and she told me you had left town indefinitely. So I asked for a number I could reach you at and she started to ask lots of questions about how I knew you and if there was a relationship between us. She referred to you as 'my daughter' so I played along. In the end, she told me that she didn't feel comfortable giving me your number since you had asked to be left alone and wanted time to yourself. I nagged and cajoled enough that I could convince her to take down my number. She promised she would pass it on. I wasn't contacted for days and then I finally got a text from you… or rather from who I thought was you. I wanted to talk with you over the phone, maybe even meet up if I could persuade you to tell me where you were at, but in the texts, I was asked to keep our convos to messaging and not to push because you were grieving and needed your space and, of course, I did what you wanted me to do, baby even if it was hard to stay away from you. I figured you really needed time, and then you ended things, I mean… whoever was sending those texts did."
I gulp down air and my heart squeezes when I see something dark pass over his eyes. "What did the texts say?"
He shrugs and looks away.
I entwine my fingers with his. "Phillip?"
He sighs, his head dropping back against the seat. "They said that while you felt an attraction toward me, it wasn't worth pursuing. That you felt that the emotions and the fear of that night had somewhat colored what you thought you felt for me, but in the end, you had come to understand it wasn't love, but just gratitude. And if that was the only issue, then maybe you would have given us a try, but you just couldn't get past how much even just texting with me would make you go back to that night. I reminded you too much of the fire and you couldn't deal with the fact that I had saved you, but not Flora."
I shake my head, both of my hands cupping his much larger one on my lap now. "That's not true. Oh, God, Phillip! I could never blame you for that. I never did. You and your company worked a miracle that night, you brought dozens of people to safety! I'll never get completely over my best friend's life being snuffed like that, but it's no one's fault that she's gone. Unless we're talking about the bastard who should have had the property condemned and didn't so he could make a quick buck with rentals."
"That fucking witch! Why would she do such a thing to us? You're her man's daughter and I was just some guy she had never met. It's pretty safe to say she was the one messaging me with all this fake BS, but why?"
"I don't think that's something we can speculate about. I really have no clue, Phillip. I don't know her all that well. I can't begin to guess her motives."
Phillip scowls at the windshield. "Well, whatever reason she had, I'm going to get it out of her, and then I swear to fuck, I'll make her regret ever meddling in our lives! I'm so fucking furious, I can't see straight! I'm not stopping until we get answers and she's out of the picture."
God, he really looks all the way pissed off right now. His dark eyes are thunderous and his voice has grown even more gravelly.
His hands are slightly shaking and his jaw is set tightly.
I realize I should feel just as pissed, but I just can't get past the shock and the upset at this whole situation right now. It's just incomprehensible. The things she cost us. The pain she caused. She broke my heart and his with a few, well-placed lies.
Phillip is still seething and grumbling when I unbuckle my seatbelt and scoot closer to him.
I need his arms around me.
He understands without me having to say a word and pulls me to his chest, his sinewy arms enfolding me, his masculine scent surrounding me.
A shuddering breath leaves my lungs as I settle against him, shivering slightly as the air grows colder the faster the snow falls onto his truck.
"I need you to do me a favor, Phillip" I mumble.
I feel his lips against the cool skin of my neck. "What do you need, princess? I'll do anything you want," he whispers, his voice fierce and unwavering.
He really means it.
My eyes blur with a veil of tears at the knowledge.
I take a deep breath. "I need you to let go of this for tonight."
His arms tighten even more around me and I hug him back just as hard. "Baby, she took seven years from us."
"I know. That's why I don't want to squander any more of this evening on her. She took so much from us. I don't want her to rob us of a single more minute, Phillip, please…"
He trails kisses up my neck, to my jaw, and then his lips stop at my temple. "You're right, little doll. Tonight is for us. We'll put this evil bitch and her doings on the back burner and focus on us. What do you want to do with the rest of our night?" he asks.
Wow, talk about a loaded question!
I huff out a breath, feeling a deep blush creep up the sides of my neck and then spread over my cheeks.
"Everything you want to do," I whisper softly.
