I can barely contain myself as I take Charlie’s and Cole takes Buddy’s. Hand in hand, we head back toward the entrance, where all the shelter staff stand waiting to celebrate two of their residents heading for their new home.
With tear-damp cheeks, I sit in the passenger seat of Cole’s car, the sound of heavy panting coming from behind me and the widest smile on my face.
“Ready to go home?” he asks the second he joins me.
“You’re amazing, do you know that?”
“Nope. I need a reminder.”
Leaning over the console, I wrap my arms around his neck and hold him tight. “Thank you. For everything.”
65
COLE
We lost our second road game, our final road game of the regular season, and it was my fault.
I was distracted. All I wanted to do was get on the plane and head home to my girl—and my boys.
We’d been gone for five days, and I was desperate.
We talked multiple times a day, and we exchanged messages almost constantly. She sent me photo after photo of Buddy and Charlie causing chaos in our apartment, and all I wanted to do was be there experiencing it all with her.
The boys have had the exact impact I was hoping they would. They kept Freya company in my absence, but they were also the perfect distraction from what was happening out in the world, and they put an end to her locking herself up like Rapunzel in my castle. I know she’s scared. I fully understand that. But hiding will only make it worse.
I had to call in the help of Casey and Freya’s parents, but it worked. Every day she’s been out with our boys, and not just in the secure courtyard of our building.
But as happy as I am that she’s able to embrace life again, I hate that I’m so far away.
Our first game was good. We won four to one. But last night. Fuck. I really screwed up. I couldn’t get my head in it, and I made some fucking stupid decisions.
I’ve been beating myself up ever since. Of course, the guys have been great. They all hate losing just as much as I do, but they’d never hold it against me, reiterating what Freya said. They are my family. They stand by me and support me no matter what. I do the same for them, too, every single fucking day.
My knee bounces impatiently as our plane makes its final descent.
“I’m not sure how I feel about you being in love,” Killer tells me, watching my leg’s movement between us.
When I don’t respond, he elbows me, forcing me to look over.
“What?”
“You do, don’t you?”
“What?”
He rolls his eyes. “Love her.”
“I…um…”
“It’s okay to say you do. We can all see it.”
My mouth opens and closes, but I can’t find any words.
“I’ve never really experienced what love looks like,” I confess. “No one’s ever…no one’s ever loved me before.”
If Killer is shocked by my confession, then he doesn’t show it.
“That’s such bullshit, and you know it,” he tells me, making my brows lift.
