Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Haven?”
Nate’s voice pulled my gaze away from my father. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll go wait in the truck.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll be two seconds.”
I took the keys from him and quickly made my way to his truck. Climbing into the driver’s side, I started it and turned up the heat before crawling into the passenger side and sitting down. I stared through the window and watched the three police cars slowly pull out of the apartment parking lot.
Chapter Twenty
NATHAN
Haven walked out of the police station with her shoulders back, and her head held high, but I could see it in her eyes. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. During her interview with the police, she told them of the history of abuse from her father. I also told them about the time I had walked in and stopped him before he raped her.
It turned out that her father had multiple arrest warrants, one of them being sexual assault where his DNA was matched through a database. After filing for a restraining order and agreeing to speak to the district attorney after the holidays, they assured Haven that her father wouldn’t get out of jail anytime soon.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I held the truck door open for her to climb in.
She nodded. “I am. It’s just been an exhausting few hours.”
I held her hand as she climbed in. When I got in and started the truck, Haven dropped her head back against the headrest and covered her mouth.
“Hey, it’s okay, Haven. He’s not going to get near you ever again.”
She wiped her tears away and looked at me. “It’s not that. I’m not worried about him hurting me. What I’m upset about is if I had just gone to the police like you wanted to, maybe that other girl wouldn’t have gotten raped.”
Reaching for her hand, I brought it up to my lips and kissed it. “Haven, please don’t blame yourself for your father’s actions. You were young and scared and wanted to put it all behind you. You couldn’t have known he would do what he did.”
She sniffled and nodded.
“Hey, look at me, okay.”
Doing as I asked, I tried to give her a reassuring smile. “None of what your father did was your fault. I didn’t go to the police either. Your good-for-nothing father is going to rot in jail and never hurt another person again. I promise I will do whatever I need to do to ensure it.”
She gave me a half smile. “Thank you for that.”
“Haven, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. For your happiness, your safety, your love. You are my entire life, and now that you’re mine, I swear I will never let you hurt like that again.”
Wiping her cheeks once more, she nodded. “I know, and I love you so much.”
Drawing a breath, I asked, “What do you want to do? Head back to the house or your apartment?”
She exhaled. “I’d like to go to my apartment and get what I want to bring to your house. It’s not going to be much. I’m ready to start fresh and leave it all behind.”
“We can get as much or as little as you want. We’ll figure out what to do with everything after Christmas.”
“That sounds good.”
Pulling out of the police station parking lot, we returned to Haven’s apartment. She packed up a few things from her kitchen, the rest of her clothes, and everything for the dogs. The rest she was going to donate.
Once we returned to my house, we carried the boxes into the house and left the dog boxes in the truck for later.
“How about you go take a hot shower, and I’ll make us up something to eat?”
She let out a small gasp. “We were supposed to have dinner at your parents’ tonight.”
“Don’t worry about that. I texted them and told them we’d be late.”
Her eyes went wide with shock. “I didn’t mention what happened.”
When her body visibly relaxed, she almost looked like she was about to collapse.
“I think you should take a bath instead of a shower.”
“That sounds lovely. You don’t need help with making something to eat?”
With a shake of my head, I took her hand and led her to our bathroom.
Our bathroom. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing this was no longer my house but ours.
As I helped her undress, I placed soft kisses on her bare skin. I started the bath water, put a towel on the counter, and helped her into the tub. She sank in the bubbles and let out a long exhale.
“You okay for a bit?”
She nodded. “This feels like heaven, thank you.”
Reaching over, I turned on the radio I had in the bathroom and tuned it to a station that played calming music. Haven closed her eyes and let out a long exhale. Shutting the door, I headed to the kitchen to make dinner. The doorbell rang as I was walking by. When I opened it, I saw my mother bundled up in a winter jacket, hat, and gloves. “It’s starting to come down! Looks like we’ll have a white Christmas! I was worried.”