Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
My restaurant was set to open soon. I had friends that were more like family. My son was healthy. Most of all, I’d gotten the answers I’d so desperately needed from Truett.
And with one single sheet of paper, it was all being ripped away.
Jeff was going to try to take my child from me.
And Truett was going to walk away again to keep that from happening.
He dropped into a squat in front of where I sat frozen in the booth and squeezed my thigh. “Gwen, baby. Look at me.”
I brought my gaze to his, not really seeing, as I prepared for the worst. I was going to lose everything all over again.
“What’s going through your mind right now?” he asked.
“You’re going to abandon me again, aren’t you?” My voice was flat, the anxiety in my chest nearly suffocating me.
His head snapped back as though I’d slapped him. “Is that what you think?”
I finally focused on his face, seeing him clearly. His eyes swam with worry, uncertainty causing the lines on his forehead to deepen. “You said you weren’t going to be the reason I lose Nate.”
“I’m not,” he said firmly, “because that asshole is not taking him from you and I sure as hell am not leaving you.” His fingers flexed into my thighs, the squeeze grounding me. “I’m the reason for this mess. I’ll be the one to fix it.” He spoke with such conviction, I saw the man I’d fallen in love with again. The man who was confident and strong. The man who believed in himself.
“How?” I asked, fear washing over me. “The emergency hearing is tomorrow.”
He pulled his phone out, typing out a quick text before shoving it back into his pocket. “I don’t know yet. But I will.” Sheer determination coated every word he said. “This is bullshit, and it’s going to be hard. But we’ve faced way harder.”
“And I lost you in the process,” I croaked out.
He shook his head adamantly. “I lost myself, Gwen. I won’t make that mistake again. There is nothing—and I mean nothing—I won’t do to hold onto you. I want this with you. I need this with you. I will never let anything or anyone—including myself—take you away from me again.”
A part of me believed him.
A part of me was scared to trust him again.
And then a part of me realized that Truett wasn’t the only one who needed help. I still carried my demons from the past. I wasn’t trapped in a house, but the trauma of losing my entire life still lived inside me. I was just slightly better at hiding it.
“Gwen,” he prompted when I hadn’t said anything. “I’m gonna take care of this. I’m gonna take care of you. Do you hear me?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“Good.”
For several minutes, he stayed positioned in front of me, rubbing my thighs and murmuring reassurances while I tried not to let my mind spiral out of control.
When Lucille knocked on the front door, Truett pushed to his feet and dropped a chaste kiss on the top of my head.
“You good to stay with her? I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”
Panic sliced through me. “You’re not going to Jeff, are you?”
He shook his head and frowned. “I’d love nothing more than to get my hands on him again. But that would only make things worse. Besides, I think I need to start a little closer to home.”
“Are you coming back?” I called after him.
He walked backward to the door. “Always. But I don’t think it’s a good idea if I stay with you tonight.”
My heart sank, but better judgment told me he was right. No use giving Jeff anything more to try and use against us.
He placed his hand over his heart. “But I’ll be there in the morning. I swear.”
He let Lucille in, and before she had the chance to even say hello, he ordered, “Get on the phone and call Dylan and Angela. Stay with her until they get here, and then make sure one of you goes home with her tonight. I do not want her to be alone. Do you understand me?”
She flicked her confused gaze between us. “I hear you. Is everything okay?”
“It will be,” he assured her.
I watched as he walked out the door and waited on the outside for Lucille to lock it behind him. I held his gaze. I had no clue where he was going or how he was going to fix this. Nerves rolled in my stomach, and suddenly, I felt like I was right back at that mall, a glass door dividing us as he prepared to wage war. Only this time, as he walked away, it wasn’t an apology he gave me.
“I love you,” he mouthed.
And never had I believed something more.
Truett
Leaning back in my chair, I let my hand hover over the mouse of the computer.