Tiny went utterly still.Not the relaxed stillness from before, but something dangerous, contained.His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping beneath his beard.His massive hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles whitening before he deliberately, consciously relaxed them finger by finger.
“With Zelda,” he said, the words flat, a statement rather than a question.“He was going to give her away.To settle a debt.”His voice was controlled, too controlled, like something wild trapped behind steel bars.His eyes, when they met mine, burned with a quiet fury that should have frightened me, but somehow didn’t.
I nodded, unable to speak past the knot in my throat.“How did you know it was her and not Kira?”
He didn’t hesitate.“Because Zelda probably fought him.Maybe not physically, but I doubt she took his direction easily.If I was an asshole who thought he could do whatever he wanted, I wouldn’t get rid of the girl who didn’t cause me problems.”
The silence that followed was electric, charged with an understanding that needed no words.I saw in his face, in the careful way he contained his rage, a reflection of my own desperate need to protect my daughters.Different circumstances, different demons, but the same essential truth.Some things were worth any sacrifice to prevent.
“He’ll never touch her,” Tiny said finally, each word precise and heavy with promise.“Either of them.You have my word on that.”
It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how desperately I’d needed to hear those words.Not just empty reassurances that things would be OK, but a concrete promise from someone who clearly had the will and means to keep it.
“Tiny!”Zelda’s voice broke the moment.“We need your help.It’s getting too tall for us to reach.”
He glanced at me, something unspoken passing between us before he nodded once.Then, with the same careful deliberation I’d seen earlier, he lowered himself back to the floor, joining my daughters at their card tower.
“What do you need me to do?”he asked Zelda, his focus entirely on her now.
“Hold these steady while I add the next layer,” she instructed, already trusting him with this delicate task.
I watched as his enormous hands hovered, steady now, no tremor betraying him as he supported the fragile structure my daughters had built.For the first time in years, something loosened in my chest.The feeling didn’t completely let me go, but enough to draw a full breath without the constant pressure of fear.
From the kitchen doorway, I caught Violet watching us, a knowing smile touching her lips.She raised an eyebrow in silent question, and I gave a small nod in return.Was everything OK?Not by a long shot.But in this moment, watching this gentle giant helping my daughters build something beautiful and fragile, I could almost believe that someday it might be.
Chapter Four
Tiny
I wrestled the massive Fraser fir through the door of Haven, pine needles showering down my vest like green rain.Behind me, Xavier struggled with the base, his teenage arms straining against the weight.“Where do you want this monster?”I asked Violet, who was hurrying toward us with a look of barely contained excitement.
She pointed to the far corner.“Over there, by the big windows.”
Perfect.The spot gave clear views of both the main entrance and the hallway leading to the residential wing.I nodded and maneuvered the tree across the room, careful not to knock over furniture with the tree or my wide frame.Xavier followed, carrying the stand and grumbling under his breath about pine sap on his favorite boots.
“It’s not like they won’t clean,” Tillie, Xavier’s woman, teased him before looping her arm through his and leading him off.
I’d missed my friend when we’d been separated after he’d been released.Finding out he was back on the inside just as I was getting out had been hard.Thankfully, he was back with me now, and with a woman he clearly adored.
“Mom said you’d need help with the decorations.”Caleb grinned as he trotted over from the other side of the room.“The boxes are still in your truck.”
“We’ll get them after we set this up,” I replied, positioning the tree exactly where Violet had indicated.The excited murmur of voices grew as residents began to notice our arrival.A few women gathered at a cautious distance, their children less hesitant as they darted forward, eyes wide at the enormous tree.I knelt to secure the trunk in the stand, my movements deliberate and slow, always mindful of how my size could intimidate.
“Is that a real tree?”A small boy, maybe six, inched closer, his curious eyes fixed on the pine.
“Sure is,” I said, keeping my voice soft, my body hunched slightly to appear smaller.“Want to help me straighten it?”
He looked back at his mother, who gave a tight nod from several feet away.Her knuckles were white where she gripped her coffee mug, but she took a deep breath and smiled, nodding again at the child.
As I adjusted the tree, the door opened again, and several club members filed in carrying boxes of ornaments, lights, and garlands.Several of them pretended to juggle their loads like they were about to drop them when they stumbled, which delighted the kids to no end.Knight had organized this whole thing, insisting that Haven deserved a proper Christmas.The residents deserved it.The kids especially.We all agreed with him.
“Hey, big man,” Knight called, setting down a particularly large box.“Got the whole North Pole in my truck.Need some elves to help unload.”
I straightened up, rolling my shoulders to release some tension, and that’s when I noticed her.Penny stood in the doorway to the kitchen, one hand resting lightly on the frame as if ready to pull back at any moment.Her eyes weren’t on the tree or the decorations.They were on me.
I gave her a slight nod of acknowledgment.She returned it, a barely perceptible dip of her chin and a ghost of a smile before she slipped back into the kitchen.
Caleb returned with Zelda and Kira in tow, each carrying a small box of decorations.The twins had changed in the weeks since they’d arrived.Though still cautious, both girls looked less haunted around the edges.Zelda still positioned herself slightly in front of her sister, and Kira still clutched that threadbare rabbit when she felt uncertain, but they’d begun to unbend a little, like plants slowly turning toward the sun.
