From the first moment I saw him, I was attracted to him. This big mountain of a man who literally looks part bear. His size instantly made me feel safe, and then I got to know him and everything else about him did too. He’s a protector by nature… yet, he’s the one who hurt me.
“Hey,” he says, letting out a sigh.
“Hi.”
I move aside, letting him in. I don’t know if he’s ever been here before, so I gesture toward the living room that’s on the right.
“Is Dorothea sleeping?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“How’s she been?”
I so badly want him to ask about me, show me that he still cares, but him asking about our daughter first… it says so much about him.
“She’s good. Sleeping more through the night.”
“That’s good. That’s really good.” He nods, then just stares at me.
I clear my throat and gesture to the couch. He sits and I sit on the other end. I’m afraid if I sit too close, I’ll be tempted to lean against him like I always would before.
“You look good,” he says, as if it’s been months. It’s only been a couple of weeks.
“Thank you.”
I ring my hands together nervously in my lap, not sure how to start this conversation. I know what I need to say, and it’s on the tip of my tongue. This should be a happy moment. This is good news. Yet, it feels like I’m delivering terrible news. I hate that.
“So, uh… what did you need to talk about?” he asks.
I watch him, taking in every feature of his face. His dark, kind eyes. His thick beard, wavy hair. Someone who didn’t know him would think he’s just fine, but I see how tired he is. I see the pain there, the hurt. Maybe I just see it because it’s how I feel too.
“There’s something we need to talk about.”
“Okay,” he says carefully, concern etching his face. “What’s going on?” He shifts on the couch, and I get up, unable to look at him any longer. I go to the window, staring out at the vast yard and the feet of snow piled up against the trees. There is so much snow out here, it’s scary. Someone could easily get lost in all that.
“Angel…”
“Don’t do that,” I say shakily.
“Do what?” he asks, getting up from the couch and coming to stand beside me.
“You can’t just pretend everything is okay.”
“I want it to be,” he says. “It can be, if you’d just listen—”
“I don’t want to argue with you, Grizz,” I say sharply, turning to face him.
It was a bad idea, because the pain I see on his face almost brings me to my knees.
He steps closer, hands coming up like he wants to touch me, but he pauses, thinking better of it and dropping them.
“Angel, please… I can’t do this anymore,” he pleads. “I need to be with you. I hate this. Just hear me out.”
I search his eyes, so badly wanting to tell him what I need to tell him, but I just can’t. All I can think about it what he did, and how he almost got Dorothea killed. He led her father, that monster, straight to us by doing something I told him not to do. He deliberately went against my wishesandlied to me about it.
“I’m sorry, this was a mistake,” I say with tears in my eyes. I rush past him, down the hall and into Dorothea’s room. I close the door and hear deep voices on the other side. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but they don’t sound like they’re fighting. Just having a slightly heated conversation.
Grizz obviously doesn’t want to leave. And either Kolton or Lucian is telling him that he needs to. I can’t thank them enough for what they do for me.
