AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not changing my mind, so stop saying that.”
I pulled the blanket around my shoulders tightly. It wasn’t for warmth, but because it almost felt like a hug, and I needed one right now. “I’ll be fine. This is a super-safe town.”
“I’m sure it is, but it’s still not happening.”
“Whatever. Don’t blame me if you wake up with a sore neck or something.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I stared ahead of me and started to get antsy with him so close. His gentle touches from the hours of searching calmed me more than I realized. Without him anchoring me, my legs were bouncing vigorously. He scooted his chair closer and put his hand on my knee. Immediately, the tremors disappeared. “This doesn’t change anything you know?” I said snottily, needing to push him away so he couldn’t get closer than he already had. “I’m not going to fuck you because you insisted on helping me.”
His chin went to his chest, and I saw anger wash over him for the first time, but he didn’t say a word. I wanted him to. I was used to fighting. I was good at it. This would have been easier if he’d piss me off so I could yell at him. Make him go. Make him hate me and never want to talk to me again.
It didn’t work. Not all the way, at least. He was mad at me, but he stayed, leaning back in his chair and gazing out into the distance.
In any other circumstance, I’d say this was even a bit romantic. The moonlight, crickets chirping, wind rustling against the wheat field. But the circumstances that made all of that so, the fact that I couldn’t help but be a bitch to him, it was torture. “Do you think he’ll come back?” I finally caved to ask a question I hoped would give me reassurance, even if he lied.
“I do. He probably got out into the field and is having the time of his life right now. He’ll realize soon that he misses his cush pad and gourmet meals and come running back.”
I wiped my nose with the balled-up tissue I’d grabbed from inside. We sat in silence, but every once in a while, I’d call Henry’s name. When my eyes started drooping, and I knew sleep would pull me under, I apologized again. “I appreciate you helping me. It’s not an excuse, but there’s a lot going on in my life right now, and I’m worried about my baby, and I took it out on you.”
“It’s all right, sugar.”
The exhaustion took a reprieve when he accepted my second apology of the night. “It’s not, but I’m sorry all the same. If you stick around, you’ll see it won’t be the last time, either, so I understand you not wanting to be friends anymore with a bitch like me.”
I heard him swallow, then long seconds later, he asked, “How long have you had all these cats?”
“The day I moved in, about two years ago.” A smile ghosted my lips at the memory. “After I emptied the moving truck, I went to exchange it for my car and saw them all in the middle of the road. They were crying, circling their dead mother, and it just broke my heart. I… well, I felt for them because, in a weird way, I could relate to being left alone with no one to turn to, so I decided I’d bring them back to the apartment with me until I found a rescue or something.”
“And they never left,” he surmised with humor.
“They never left. I couldn’t let them go. They’d been through so much, and I didn’t want to separate them. I nearly went broke getting them healthy and vaccinated along with getting them fixed, but it was worth it.” I wiped a tear away. “We became each other’s family. I love them with all my heart, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if Henry doesn’t come home.”
My breath hitched as I began crying in earnest, and Scotty shushed me, his fingers softly moving back and forth over the blanket. “He’ll come home.”
“Promise?”
“I’ll never lie to you, so I can’t promise that, but I have a very, very strong feeling he will.”
“I hope so.”
He gave a reassuring squeeze to my thigh. “Me, too.”
I loved that he said he wouldn’t lie, and I wanted to keep talking just to know he was listening. I wanted to tell him everything. I’d never told a living soul about what happened when I was younger because I never trusted anyone enough.
But Scotty… I wanted him to know everything because I wanted him to know the real me. When he heard the rumors that I was a whore, a bitch, an adulteress, and whatever else they were calling me lately, I needed him to at least know why people believed the rumors so easily.
If he did, maybe he wouldn’t discard me like everyone else before him. But history has a way of repeating itself, so I knew how it would end.
CHAPTER 6
Scotty
A scratchy noise woke me up and I squinted an eye open to find where it came from. I held a breath of air in my throat to tamp down my laughter at the sight before me. “Paris.” My hand was still on her leg, so I shook it. “Sugar, wake up.”
Her lids fluttered, and she made a moaning sound that I’d appreciate in any other situation. “Wha…”
“Slowly. Wake up slowly. No harsh movements.”
