Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
I wanted to rail at them. Scream at her dad. Demand that they apologize to her, and scoop her up and take her away where they can’t touch her.
But it wouldn’t have done any good, and it only would have hurt her more. And it’s now my mission in life to make sure that very little ever hurts this woman again.
“Yeah, we do. Number one, you won’t ever step in front of me again. You won’t shield me from danger. Not today or any other day.”
“They might have—”
“And I would have dealt with it, but you won’t be caught in the crossfire, Millie. You won’t ever do that again. Do you understand me?” I cup her jaw and face in my hands, holding her gaze to mine, and it’s killing me that her lower lip continues to tremble.
“I just wanted to protect you from them.” The admission is a whisper, and it softens everything inside of me.
“I know, but it’s unnecessary. We stand together.” I can’t keep my hands off her, so I brush the hair off of her cheeks.
“Can I get out of this truck and get some fresh air?”
I step back and help her down, and she walks about ten feet away, wraps her arms around herself, and stares at the mountains.
“This is the one spot that he never ruined for me,” I inform her and shove my hands into my pockets, gazing at my girl as she stares at my mountains. “It’s where I come when I need to think and be alone.”
“I have the same kind of spot over at our ranch, with the same exact view. You couldn’t have chosen a more perfect place to bring me right now.”
Thank God I didn’t fuck this up.
“The second thing I need to say,” I begin, and then I have to lick my lips and clear my throat, because she deserves to hear this, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be met with white-hot anger.
“What?” She hasn’t turned back to look at me again, so I join her and stand facing her.
“I need to apologize and beg for your forgiveness, all at the same time.”
She scowls. “No, you don’t. You were amazing back there, Holden. So calm and confident, and you totally made me feel better.”
“Not for today,” I counter, shaking my head. “For eight years ago.”
She clams up and takes a step back, recoiling as if I just struck her, and the walls come slamming down over her eyes. Fuck.
“You defended me today,” I continue, hoping to God that she’s really listening to me. “No one in my entire life has stood up for me the way you just did. It was the most amazing, most arousing thing I’ve ever witnessed, and it humbled me. And I know that that’s exactly what you needed from me eight years ago, and I couldn’t give it to you.”
“Holden.” She closes her eyes, but I shake my head and cup her face in my hands again. She grips on to my wrists but won’t open those beautiful eyes.
“Look at me, baby girl.”
“Rule num—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the rules right now. For this minute, let me just do this before I lose my fucking nerve.”
She closes her lips and gives a tiny nod as she opens her eyes. “Okay.”
“I know that if this is going to work out between us, I have to come clean about everything that happened before so we can truly put it in the past.”
“I know what happened. You were a complete asshole. You got in my pants, and then you dumped me. It’s really my fault. I was young and should have known better.”
“Stop. Fucking. Talking. You have no idea what happened after that night. After that amazing, perfect night.” I close my eyes and walk away, letting the terrifying memory fill my mind, and suddenly, Millie’s hand is on my arm.
“What happened, Holden?”
“My dad was waiting for me when I got home that morning.” I swallow hard against the nausea. “I don’t know how he found out about us, but he did. He ordered me to stop seeing you, along with a bunch of foul language that I won’t repeat. Because of your last name. And if I didn’t…”
I suck in a breath, and Millie rubs her hand up and down my arm soothingly.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.”
“If I didn’t, he’d kill both you and Charlie.” The words come out fast because otherwise, there’s no way I’d be able to get them out. “Jesus, I’ve never said that out loud before.”
She’s very still, and I turn to look down at her.
“He wasn’t serious.”
“Oh, he was absolutely fucking serious. My dad didn’t make idle threats. He didn’t give a shit about the girls, but he knew that Charlie and I were particularly close. And there isn’t anything in the world that I wouldn’t do to keep you safe. So, I had no choice.”