Page 94 of See It Through

I was pissed off she'd had to see it in the first place. I would not allow her day to be interrupted by this ugliness. She’d done nothing wrong and in no way deserved this. My girl was strong, but she didn’t need to be when she had me. I’d stand between her and anything or anyone who wanted to take her down. It would not happen on my watch.

Her agreement came easily, surprising me. “If you’re sure. I’d fight you, but I have a loaded schedule and—”

“Don’t want you to fight me.” I took her chin between my fingers. “Hear me? I have the time and inclination to deal with this and shield you all I can, and that’s what I’m going to do. Go eat your muffin and gossip with your sister, sweetheart. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can.”

She sighed into me, her eyes closing for a moment. “I hate that we had such an amazing weekend and now this.”

“Doesn’t take away from any of the amazingness. You still love me?”

“Of course I do.”

“I still love you. Falling deeper with every beat of my heart.”

“Remington…” I would have called it an admonishment, but she smiled, “I’m falling deeper too.”

“Yeah.” I let her go, moving back a step. “Get on. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.”

I watched her until she disappeared into the bakery, then I got moving. I had business to take care of and my woman to protect.

Chapter Thirty-six

Remington

Tonight, I’d settled intomy bed, my woman sprawled over me, whispering her love to me before she drifted off to sleep. More content than I could ever remember being, I should’ve drifted off with her.

After finding that note on my truck and not much help from the cops aside from filing another report, we’d moved on and ended up having a great week. Falling and falling and falling more each day.

Now that she trusted I’d be here in the future if she leaned on me, Hannah had cracked open her world to me. My woman hated doing paperwork, and I didn’t mind it, so I took up that job. Taking part in Town Hoofcare, small as it was, only seemed right being the last Town standing.

It also meant Hannah had more free time, and I got to claim all those extra minutes.

And when she was out seeing clients, I sat in her office and started on my own work. I’d documented my travels extensively over the years, with the idea in the back of my mind to one day organize my thoughts and experiences into a book. It’d struck me that now was the time to do it. When I wasn’t so far removed from that life, I could still draw from those feelings and memories.

I didn’t know if anyone would be interested in what I had to say, but I’d cross that bridge later. For now, committing my words to the screen felt good and right.

Things were going so damn well, I should have been sleeping, wrapped around my woman, but I was staring at the shadows dancing on the ceiling above us.

Thinking.

“You terrify me.”

Since Hannah had uttered those words last week, I hadn’t been able to let them go. Not when I held her. Not when she told me she loved me. Not when I awoke to her nose in my armpit. Those words were always there, lurking in the back of my mind.

“I’ve watched you detach yourself. You shut off feelings you don’t want. For god’s sake, Rem, your father died after an incredibly long and painful illness, and you’ve barely said a word about him.”

There was nothing to say about Graham, was there? He was my dad, but he’d failed me a long time ago, making it easy to cut him out of my life for good. I regretted Hannah having to take care of him alone in the end, but did I wish I’d had a chance to talk to him one more time?

ShouldI have been wishing for it?

I prodded at my feelings. The ones I’d had for Graham had been sealed behind a dam years ago and there was no longer anything there.

Was I even supposed to mourn a man who’d all but abandoned me? He’d been struggling when my mother died, but damn, so had I, and I was just a kid. How could I grieve a man who’d done that?

“You terrify me.”

I turned my head toward my bedside table. Months ago, I’d stashed the letter Dell had given me. My father’s final words to me. I hadn’t considered reading it. Told myself what he’d had to say didn’t matter. And yet, I’d kept it.