How do I protect her? How can I convince her that she’s the only one who could’ve rescued me from such a dark place in my life? I don’t think she’ll ever fully understand what she has done for me.
“Hey, shhhh, come on, don’t cry,” I crooned as I rubbed her knee. I lowered my head and leaned across the center console, trying to catch her stare, hoping she’d let me kiss her. She rocked forward, slipping her hands around the back of my head. I felt her fingers tangle in my hair. Her nose dragged across my cheek as her lips, damp with her salty tears, teased mine. She ebbed and flowed with her mouth as she tried to nestle against me.
I don’t know if it was my inability to multi-task or the fact that I could only focus on being with her, but there was nothing that was going to stop me from giving Wilson whatever it was that would make her feel safe and show her how important she is to me.
She pulled away, catching her breath before she whispered, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I whispered back. I could see her damp eyes glistening from the glow of the moon off the snow. “Let’s go home,” I said.
She nodded slightly before she leaned back in her seat. I put the car in gear and dropped my hand into her lap, waiting for her to take and hold it; and of course, she did.
Chapter Seven
~ Wilson ~
Being with Max again was like finding home. He made every shitty thing I did, every immature and insecure moment of my life disappear. I wish I could say the same thing about Nancy. I am so scared to see her. I didn’t think I could handle the look on her face when I walked through the door. I was afraid she’d be disappointed in me, no matter what Max said. I wasn’t ready to lose everything Nancy had given me.
It wasn’t the card she gave me or the food she picked out for my birthday that truly mattered. It was her gentle touch when she welcomed me and her warm compassion that filled her eyes when she looked at me. It was the love she planted in the gaping holes Candi left in my soul. I didn’t know if I was ready to see it all disappear.
Max held my hand the whole way down the twisting and curvy driveway to the cabin. My heart felt like it was going to crash through my chest and break every rib. My throat was like a desert, and no matter how much I tried to swallow, I just couldn’t keep it from going dry. By the time we reached the garage I had worked myself up again.
I can’t handle Nancy hating me. I find it hard to believe she will be able to forgive me easily. She just buried her husband, and now she going to have to face the girl who ran away because things got too heavy. Urrghh, what would J do? What words of wisdom would tumble from her lips to settle the frickin’ storm that’s raging in my body. She’d probably tell me to suck it up, face the consequences, and move on. And she’d be right. If I’m going to make this work with Max, I need to face Nancy and hope that she will be as forgiving as Max says she is.
“You okay?” Max asked. I didn’t even notice that he’d turned off the car and the garage door had shut us in.
“Yeah…I think so,” I murmured.
He tossed his door open and sprang up out of the driver’s side. As the door slammed shut a sheet of thick, cold air raked across my skin. I watched him as he strode around the front of his car; his eyes never left mine. It was his way of silently telling me that everything was going to be alright. When he pulled open my door I shivered.
“Are you cold?” Max asked as I clutched his waiting hand.
“Yeah, that’s it…I’m just cold,” I replied, trying to convince myself.
I stepped out of the car and wasn’t prepared for the reaction my body had to being in the morgue-chilled garage. The bone-freezing cold evoked memories of the moments we had together. The flashes of pain on his face as he told me about Dead Mallory. The feelings that shattered every cell in my body as I told him to be strong for his family. The look he gave me when he asked if he could be my family. My stomach twisted and ached, my heart thundered in my chest, and I struggled to catch my breath.
Max pulled me into his torso, his firm strong arms wrapping tight around my back as he rested his chin gently across the top of my head. I worked to take a deep breath. His aroma filled my body as he held me and swayed slightly, my body snug against his. Could I just stay here for the rest of the night? This time it was Max giving me strength to go in and face his family.
“Are you ready? Not that I’m in a hurry or anything. I can hold you like this forever.” I felt Max’s chin rub across the top of my head as he spoke. With my ear pressed tight against his chest his voice reverberated through his body. When he tried to pull away I just held him tighter.