But as I lay in bed, my blankets wrapped around me like a cocoon, all I could think about was Huntley’s big, warm hand. When he reached out across the console earlier, the decision to rest my palm in his seemed easy.
It was like another lifeline as the lyrics of the song I felt down to my bones, pierced my soul. And Bre’s magical voice only added to it all.
My daughter was talented and rarely let anyone see that piece of her, but in the comfort of the car with our family, plus the man she now deemed a friend, she didn’t think—she had just let the music guide her.
The words had pulled me under and lifted me up at the same time. And while I’d heard them before, they held all new meaning and made me think differently.
Was it a crazy coincidence that Huntley called me Warrior and that was the name of the song that felt like it fit me like a glove?
It talked about a story that had not been told so I could take back my light that was stolen inside of me. While I’d told Lake some of it, I’d never truly laid myself bare, revealing the whole truth to anyone. Nobody knew everything that had happened to me or all the details. Would it take me doing that to feel free?
Or would I ever be free?
I could feel the slide of Huntley’s thumb as it traced back and forth over the top of my hand and I found myself wishing I could tell him everything.
He believed I was a warrior and I wanted to prove he hadn’t wasted the nickname on me.
Maybe instead of starting with me, I could let him in by finally asking him to share. I’d been too scared before now, afraid of what I might hear.
As the idea came, my phone rang. Huntley had promised he’d call when he got home. Everyone was so tired, he’d said his goodbyes at the door to Lennon, Bre and me, then left for his house.
Waiting for him to call was probably another reason I’d found myself unable to fall asleep.
“Did you make it home?” I asked automatically as I picked up.
“Yeah, just got inside and am gonna go take a hot shower before I hit the hay.”
My body heated as a mental image of Huntley naked in the shower with hot water cascading down what I believed to be a phenomenal body popped into my head.
“Sweetheart, are you there?”
He had me all sorts of messed up.
Placing the back of my hand on my forehead, I checked to see if I was burning up. The man on the other end of the line seemed to have quite the effect on me.
I didn’t giggle, talk on the phone, hold hands and think ofmen with no clothes on. But when Huntley burst into my life like a blazing wildfire, things quickly started to change.
“Yeah, I’m here.” I bit my lip, unsure if I should ask the question I wanted to, but then I went for it. “Will you call me back after you take your shower?”
“Sure, is everything okay? I mean, you know I want to talk to you whenever I can, but you sound like something is wrong.”
There wasa lotwrong. From my past, the confusing feelings I was having, and the nerves that were kicking up at what I was about to ask.
Something else I didn’t do. Get personal. Yet the words left my mouth anyway.
“Will you tell me about your mom?”
I heard his swift intake of air before he responded. “Are you sure?”
Nodding, even though he couldn’t see me, I answered, “Yeah, I want to know you. Like really know you.”
There was a smile in his voice and I could picture him grinning when he said, “Then of course I will tell you about her. But I’d rather do that in person.”
Could I do that? It would probably be harder than on the phone, but it sounded important to him that we do it that way.
“Okay.”
A small sigh of relief came through the line. “Good, I will call you back in a few and we will just fall asleep as usual. Then, how about next weekend, since I have to stay at the station the next few nights and you have the kids who have school, you let me take you to dinner Saturday. We can talk after?”
