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Cadence knocked him away with her shoulder. “I thought you were saying thatWestwas your twin… I didn’t get until now that you–you pulled a twin switch on me!”
“Oh.” His voice immediately smothered her with his remorse and regret, and worse… sympathy.
She stepped back to escape from it, because he couldn’t mean it, especially when he found out what she truly was. “You don’t know me,” she said.
“I might not know every detail of your life, Angel, but Iknowyou.” He immediately closed the distance between them, so that she could see the sincerity of his expression. “Tell me everything.”
“I can’t…”
“You can take your time,” he said softly. “I can be patient.”
She couldn’t bear the concern and affection that she saw there. That would fade. Cadence stared at him, seeing the goodness that radiated from him, too.
Ugh!
Why had he been so stupid? It almost made it worse that he wasn’t a villain like Lacy. She didn’t deserve Porter. She’d allowed Lacy’s foul touches—his filthy intentions had cheapened her, made her dirty, repulsive! Her stomach twisted with pain, as these unwanted insecurities crept to the surface of her thoughts. Everything she’d secretly suspected every time she’d been cast out from her foster homes came back to haunt her.
Was she truly as unlovable as she’d been made to feel? And had she helped make that a reality with every horrible choice that she’d made until she was left with this–this shell of what her potential should’ve been?
How could she get Porter to like the real her? Did she even like herself?
“Angel?”
There was that horrible nickname again. Lacy had given her that name. She gulped. “I don’t know, Porter.”
“Come here.” He offered his hand to her this time, and he watched her closely, waiting for her to come to him this time. “Take it. I just want to show you something.”
She shouldn’t. She did anyway, immediately feeling like she was coming home at the feel of that familiar palm, those expressive fingers as they wrapped over hers. He led her past a greenhouse that he was in the middle of building. She gaped at the workmanship. Though it was only the frame of what it would become, it was more rustic and dear than she’d imagined, with plenty of room for the flowers that she’d planned to put inside.
But he wasn’t trying to show her that. He swiftly hustled her past to an alcove set up against the stone wall that contained Lily’s rose garden. Pushing against the stones, he opened the wall outward like a door. After heedlessly traveling through that magical portal, they headed wordlessly for the family’s slate gray horse barn.
She didn’t know why she allowed Porter to take heranywherewhen she was too angry to trust anything that she did, but shock had rendered her senseless. He led her under the overhanging roof into an area inside with hay and stalls.
At the end of the corridor, she noticed bright yellow baby chicks.
Cadence let out a gasp. The sound of cheeps made her steps quicken. Porter didn’t let go of her hand. He brought her to the babies. She knelt down in the hay, her exhausted senses putting her on autopilot, so that she followed the sight of cuteness with her eyes. Porter scooped up a tiny white puppy next to them.
“What?” she breathed out. Finally, Porter let her go so that she could take the soft fur into her arms. “We got tired of foxes getting into the coop, so we got one of these puppies that imprint on the chicks and keep them safe from all intruders when they grow up.”
She brought the wriggling puppy next to her nose and breathed in the scent of sweet baby fur. She immediately sneezed, then swallowed a hysterical laugh. Porter certainly hadn’t won by surrounding her with everything that was swoon-worthy—including himself.
She struggled to maintain polite conversation through her dizzying thoughts. “What’s his name?”
“She doesn’t have one… yet.” He picked up one of the chicks. Its feathers were so thick that the fat baby looked like a big slab of melted butter. Every maternal part of her softened at the sight of Porter nuzzling the chick with his nose. He was very good with these baby animals, and it almost hurt to watch. His gaze veered to hers. “You can name the puppy, if you like?”
Her focus went back to the small white ball of fur. She had no idea. She didn’t even know what names to give her own son or daughter. “It imprints on the chicks?”
“Yeah, so we were thinking maybe ‘Jacob.’”
She laughed, despite herself. Trust him to make aTwilightreference. “Well.” Porter had already told her that the little puppy was a girl. “Maybe not.”
He bit his lip. “Charlie thought she should be called ‘Ballerina.’”
“Ballerina?” She kissed the tip of the puppy’s nose, getting a good whiff of puppy breath. Strangely, it only pulled her in. “Yes, I think youshouldhave a dog named ‘Ballerina.’ I’d love to hear you shouting that out at the top of your lungs when she gets away from you.”
Normally, this would get a laugh out of Porter, but he turned to her with a very sober expression. “I’ll make this all up to you,” he said. “Cole told me that I messed up taking you out to Funches’s that first time. He said I should’ve brought you here. And the thing is… I should’ve done a lot of things differently. I know that. Will you give me another chance?” He scooted closer to her, so that his knees touched hers. “Let me take you out again.”
She’d only grow more attached to him. That would make losing him even worse, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him no, yet—not until she heard him out. Would she throw away all the blessings that God had given her… Was this even a blessing? Was she worthy of love after everything that she’d done? She didn’t know.
