Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Just had some stuff boxed up. Probably send to Goodwill or something.”
He didn’t have to tell me. I knew what was inside them. It was all the stuff I’d unboxed months ago that should’ve never been unboxed. We continued up the steps, and when Lawson opened the door, I was surprised to hear laughter and talking drifting down from the hallway. I immediately turned to Lawson and asked, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you and Luna go check it out?”
I could tell by his expression that he was up to something, so I gave him a look. “What’s happening?”
“Go see for yourself.”
With a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, I started down the hallway, and as I entered the room Luna and I shared, I was hit with the surprise of my life. Star and several of the girls were busy working on Luna’s room, and they’d turned it into a wonderland. The room was full color, every corner adorned in shades of pink and purple, and a mountain of stuffed animals piled on a new princess bed.
It was amazing, but it was the sight of Star and the other girls being so excited that brought tears to my eyes. When Star spotted us, she threw up her arms and shouted, "Surprise!"
“Oh, my goodness!”
“Do you like it?”
“Are you kidding? It’s amazing.” I lowered Luna to the floor as I told her, “It looks like you have a new room.”
“This is mine?”
“Yeah, kiddo,” Lawson answered. “It’s all yours.”
With that, Luna darted inside the room, and she was practically beaming as she checked out all her new toys. The girls were so sweet and showed her all her new things. They opened the closet, showing her all the new clothes inside—clothes I could’ve never afforded on my own. It brought tears to my eyes. “She’s never had a room of her own before.”
“Well, she does now.”
“It’s just...” I wiped the tears from my cheeks as I said, “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I wanted her to have a place of her own. I want you both to have it.”
“Don’t you just love it?” Star asked as she and Nikki rushed over. “I think the stuffed rabbits are just the cutest!”
“Yeah, it’s amazing.”
I was at a loss for words. Lawson had already done so much for us. He’d not only brought us into his home and kept us off the streets, but he got me a job and helped me find my pride again. He saved my daughter from a monster and gave her the most beautiful room I’d ever seen.
It was all too much.
I was struggling to contain my emotions.
I was overflowing with love and appreciation when Luna rushed over to Lawson and wrapped her arms around his legs, hugging him as she shouted, “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.”
“Damn.” Skid stepped up beside us. “You went all out.”
“Yeah, well, they couldn’t just keep sharing that old room if they’re gonna be living here for the long haul.”
“Whoa. Long haul?” I turned to Lawson with a gasp. “You’re asking us to live with you for real? Like a permanent thing?”
“I wasn’t exactly asking.” He cocked his brow. “I was more telling.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” He slipped his arms around my waist. “You got a problem with that?”
“Nope. No problem at all.”
I slipped my arms around his neck and eased up on my tiptoes as I pressed my lips to his. His arms tightened around my waist, quickly pulling me closer as he took over the kiss. There was no denying it. I was in love with him, and with each moment I’d spent with him, I’d found myself loving him even more. People would probably think I was crazy for falling for a man like Lawson, especially when I had a young daughter.
But she was one of the many reasons why I loved him the way I did.
He put everything at stake to save her.
I may never know why he’d chosen to do the things he’d done, but the fact remained that he knew. He knew that lives were at stake—Luna’s, mine, his brothers’, and his own, but that didn’t stop him. He did what it took to get her back.
And the truth be known, his life would always be filled with danger, and I would have to learn to accept that. I would have to learn to live with the worry. It was worth it to have him in our lives. I eased back from our embrace just long enough to whisper, “I love you.”
He stared at me for a moment, and emotion filled his eyes as my words started to sink in. I could see the wheels turning in his head, but I had no idea what he was thinking. I started thinking I shouldn’t have said it, that maybe it was too soon, so I started babbling, “I know it’s a lot, and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I just...”