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He swiped the tears away from her wet cheeks. “Start at the beginning. Spell it out for me, baby. I’m just a dumb grease monkey.”
“Oh, Danny,” she said, sniffing. “She was so in love with him. She just… She lived for him.”
“And that… killed her?”
What was sense? There was none. All her life, she’d believed her mom to be a stalwart; a strong woman with no desire to lean on a man. But she had been leaning, or she’d tried to, and H wasn’t there to hold her up.
“I didn’t hear her,” Tess said, accepting her own role in her mother’s demise. Reading her words, the last words of her mother that she would ever read, really brought the truth home. “She’s gone… Danny…”
Meeting his eye, she sought his understanding, hoping he had answers.
But no one did. There was no truth. Laying her hands on his chest, Tess leaned closer, desperate for him to take the pain away.
“Babe—”
“I’ll never see her again. Never speak to her,” she said, facing the truth she’d avoided for weeks. “The only family I ever had. My only friend. The only link to who I am.” Fresh tears tumbled from her lashes. “What do I do now, Danny? I’m alone… I’ll always be alone.”
As she surrendered to the tears, grief wrung a sob from the depths of her blackened heart. Falling against him, the dam restraining her anguish cracked. The pressure of her agony was so overwhelming that she couldn’t seal it back up. She had to. Put everything back. She didn’t want to feel sorrow anymore.
Grabbing for his shirt, Tess clawed her way up his body, her nails scraping in his stubble as she tried to draw his jaw down, seeking his mouth.
Danny gave her oblivion. That was what she needed. Under him, she’d forget. She could forget. Tess didn’t want to face the truth of what lay ahead. Her life was nothing anymore. There was nothing she could do to put things back the way they’d been. She hadn’t appreciated her mom. Hadn’t appreciated what they had. It was gone. Forever.
Instead of giving her what she wanted, Danny resisted her kiss. “Shh, baby,” he said, raising his chin to keep their mouths apart. “Don’t hold it in.”
Fighting to contain her grief, fearing it, fearing that it would finish her, she wanted it to stop. Weakened, tired, alone, what did the future hold? Her mother had guided her for so long, making the tough choices, keeping her safe.
Without Anne’s guidance, what would she become? Her mother’s strength got them through. Tess didn’t have that strength. She couldn’t match her mother’s determination. If Anne couldn’t survive the peril, Tess didn’t stand a chance.
Giving up the fight, she sagged against Danny. Sobs burned from her chest to her throat. She’d been so desperate for freedom. Now that her grief saw the chance, it wanted to escape all at once.
“Little Red,” Danny whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head before scooping her up.
Lifting her head required too much effort. It didn’t matter how much despair she expelled from her heart, more stood ready to take its place.
With her face still buried against him, she saw nothing but darkness. Even the scent of his hard body or the cradle of their bed wasn’t enough to calm her. Danny laid them down together and held her close, stroking her, whispering words of comfort.
She heard him but couldn’t push beyond the truth that her mother was gone. She was alone. Completely alone.
HER HEAD ACHED WHEN she opened her eyes. The shades were down around the bed, concealing the hour of the day. Pushing her hair from her face, she sat up and took a second to orient herself. In bed. Danny’s bed. Alone.
The sound of whistling betrayed she wasn’t completely by herself in the trailer. Scooching down the bed, she was still sitting on the end when she leaned across to open the privacy curtain.
At the stove, Danny tipped his attention her way. “You were really out,” he said, doing something with a pan that she couldn’t see.
The sweet smell in the air gave her some idea what he was up to. “What time is it?”
He shrugged. “Lunchtime… I think.”
Clearing her throat, she thought about a shower, realizing she was still wearing last night’s clothes. “We didn’t have sex.”
“We fell asleep,” he said, scooping something out of the pan. “Don’t know when. You stopped crying. I kept holding you and… I don’t know. We fell asleep.”
“I’m sorry,” Tess said, rising to her feet, her legs heavy and shaky beneath her.
“For not giving it up?” he asked, picking up a plate to spin and put it on the dinette table. “Could’ve taken it if I wanted to… I figure you’ve worked up some credit.”
“We’ve never spent the night together without having sex.”
