We had to stick together.
We had to protect each other from all those things children shouldn’t have to worry about, but we did.
We had each other’s backs, but then, I’d get moved again without warning and I’d lose all of them.
I would lose that sense of safety and family and start all over in a new place with new people who didn’t always have my back or my best interests at heart—if they even had one. The good homes, the ones with truly caring and loving families who wanted to help us, were few and far between back then, and when I did find one, it was always fleeting. Almost like a dream dangled in front of me and snatched away quickly.
And that’s the way it went for years and years, until I was finally forced to break the cycle. Until I finally made that decision that I was better off on my own than being caught up in a system that didn’t seem to care about what happened to me as much as I did.
No child should ever feel that, should ever wonder if their actions will bring violence, or starvation, or physical or mental abuse, yet that was my life for so long. Never truly having a home or place to rest my head where I could close my eyes and not worry that the nightmares would come true when I did.
But Liam didn’t have to suffer that.
Liam had this.
This place. These people.
He was so fucking lucky that whoever put him on the McBride doorstep chose them. That someone loved him enough to ensure he was going somewhere warm, and safe, with people who would care for him as if he was their own.
It explains why he is the way he is.
Why he’s so warm.
So kind.
So giving.
So willing to bend over backward for someone he doesn’t even know.
It explains why I’m so drawn him—something so pure and unadulterated. Like this town is. Not tainted the way I am.
I pull my key out of my purse with a shaky hand and slip it into the lock. The moment I open the door, Gizmo shoots out, immediately bounding for Liam instead of me.
After all our years together, his loyalties sure changed quickly.
Liam squats on the small porch and pets Giz affectionately. “Hey, buddy.”
“Well”—I release a little sigh that really isn’t filled with any hostility, just more shock at how easily he took to Liam—“it is now one-hundred percent confirmed that he is a little traitor.”
Though, who can blame him with this man?
It would be so easy to give into this attraction and the easy way my body and soul drift toward him.
Too easy.
Liam grins up at me, and my heart skips a beat, my blood heating at the way his eyes rake over me with so much appreciation. He holds my gaze for a moment, the silence between us drawing out as Gizmo excitedly accepts scratches on his belly.
I finally can’t handle the tension anymore. It thickens the air so much that it almost hurts to breathe. “Um…thanks for walking me home.”
“You’re welcome?—”
An engine revs on the street, and I whirl toward it, every muscle in my body priming as I reach into my purse. Liam simply glances that direction at the huge, lifted truck that rolls past slowly.
He waves at the driver, then returns his attention to me. “Manny Metzler. He’s always been kind of a show-off. Just ignore him.” He inclines his head behind us. “He lives down the street.”
“Ahh.”
I relax slightly, but Liam keeps watching me curiously, then pushes to his feet, tilting his head slightly. Gizmo finally comes over to me, and I squat to greet him, though I’m clearly old news compared to Liam.
