Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He sighed. At first, I thought he wasn’t going to respond, but then he said, “I dreamed we were at Humboldt Beach. You weren’t little though. You were older, like you are now.”
“That sounds like a good dream.”
“It was a good dream.”
“Then why do you seem sad?”
“Because I woke up and realized that this isn’t our apartment, and we’re still on the prison grounds.”
My heart cracked down the middle for him. I touched his arm, not sure of what to say. The things that made him sad weren’t the kinds of things I could fix.
“That first time you came to visit me in prison,” he said, “I told you I couldn’t promise you anything, but that was a cop-out. I was afraid of disappointing you.”
“You were right, though. People can leave you at any time for all kinds of reasons. You can’t promise you won’t get hurt, or worse.”
“No, but I can take responsibility for things within my control.” He stroked the side of my face. Looking into his eyes, I felt the gravity of his intention. He wanted me to know that he took my concerns seriously. “You’ve had to deal with a lot of sudden changes. I get why trust is an issue for you. I’m going to do everything in my power to get out of here in one piece, and to live my life in a way that makes it extremely unlikely that I’ll ever have to come back.”
I pressed my cheek against Graham’s palm. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”
He kissed me softly on the lips. I closed my eyes and tried to imprint his scent and taste on my memory so I could recall it on those nights when we were apart. There would be many of them, but one day in the not-too-distant future, he would come home. This wasn’t our apartment, but for a little while longer, it was a place where we could be a family.
EPILOGUE
GRAHAM
Two years later...
I felt lighter with every step I took through the prison lobby. The plastic bag containing the few items I’d decided to take with me—photos of Hailee, some books, and a surprisingly nice set of earbuds from the commissary—bounced off my thigh as I walked. I didn’t even mind the cowboy at my side who’d insisted on escorting me all the way to the exit.
“Try not to come back, Mr. Whitehall,” the guard said.
“That’s the plan, pardner.” I tipped my invisible hat, chuckling at the confused look on his face as I headed out into the sunshine.
The air in front of the prison smelled fresher than the air out in the yard. I filled my lungs with it, closed my eyes, and turned my face toward the sun. After six years of being cooped up in this soul-grinding concrete jungle, I was finally free to roam.
To be fair, the last two years had been a hell of a lot easier to stomach than the first four, all thanks to Hailee—and yeah, okay, a little thanks to my brother, too, but I wasn’t about to jerk him off for it. Logan’s ego didn’t need extra stroking.
The purr of a car’s engine approaching kickstarted my heartbeat. A white Mercedes cruised down the long drive at a speed slightly above the posted maximum. The driver’s smile could be spotted from thirty yards away. My whole body vibrated as the vehicle growled to a stop alongside the curb.
Hailee burst out from the driver’s seat without bothering to shut the door. She looked like an angel flying toward me in a light-pink dress with her dark hair flaring out behind her.
“I hope that thing’s got a five-star safety rating—” I barely managed to get the words out before she flung herself into my arms.
I buried my face in the hair at her neck, downright giddy from the scent of her vanilla perfume. Fuck, she felt so right in my arms, with all those perfect curves pressed tight to my body.
“You two sure you want to get out of here?” Logan stood by the car, watching us with an amused grin. “I can go run a few errands and come back.”
“Hell no,” I said, letting go of Hailee, but not before placing a kiss on her cheek. “Get me out of this shithole.”
“Uncle Logan, can you drive?” she asked. “I want to sit in the back with Daddy.”
Daddy. The word was like a secret passcode for my cock. Congratulations, baby, you cracked it, now I’m hard as a rock.
Hailee slid into the back with me while Logan adjusted the driver’s seat to fit his legs. Resting her head on my shoulder, she held my hand for the whole ride out of Atwater, chatting about what she’d been up to since our last phone call. She’d just wrapped up her third year of college. I was always proud of her, but especially so now that she was taking more advanced courses.