I sit and watch as Elijah grabs my things from my car. Back and forth, he carries armloads of stuff and puts it in the back of his truck. His last load includes my purse, phone, and everything from the front seat. He opens the passenger door. “I figured you wanted this up front with you.”
I take the phone and the purse from him. “Thank you.”
He nods. “I’ll be right back, honey. You okay? You need the heater on?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m okay.”
He nods and shuts the door again.
I watch as he walks over to the tow truck driver who is loading up my car. Damn, that is going to cost a fortune, and I’m not sure how I’m going to afford it. My first priority is going to be getting a job. Thank God, Kane is in a position where he can let me stay with him. Of course, he’s not going to be too happy when there is a baby waking him in the middle of the night. A sigh escapes me as Elijah climbs into the driver’s side of the truck.
“All set?”
I stare out the front windshield, and I’m not sure what comes over me, but suddenly everything hits at once. The last six months have been hard. Everything from morning sickness, finding out Jason cheated on me, saying that he doesn’t want a baby with me, and now my car. It’s like it’s all built up, and I can’t hold it back. I try. Hell, I bite my lip until I taste blood, but it doesn’t stop me. Huge, wracking sobs come out of me. I hold my head in my hands and cry. And once I start, there’s no holding back.
CHAPTER 3
ELIJAH
My mouth drops, and I stare at Sam in horror.
Her sobs tear free, gut-wrenching and raw. Her body is trembling as the sounds of her grief fill the air. I lift the console between us, and without thinking about it, I slide over to her, lifting her into my lap.
She tenses but almost immediately, she melts into me. “I’m… so… sorry…”
I hold her tighter, trying to soothe her. I slide my hands up and down her back. Her face is pressed into my neck, and she’s crying harder and harder.
“Honey, please don’t cry. It kills me to see you like this. I promise you from today forward, life is going to be good.”
She leans back and looks at me. Her eyes are red and bloodshot. She shakes her head and sniffs. “You can’t promise that.”
I use the pads of my thumbs to wipe under her eyes. “I can promise that. Hell, honey, I’d sell Wolfe Construction to thehighest bidder and give you the money if it meant that you wouldn’t be sad again.”
She searches my eyes, and I know she sees the truth in them. She shakes her head. “I wish it was that easy.”
I brush the loose blond strands of her hair away from her face. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
She adjusts herself in my lap. “Uh, first do you want me to get off your lap? I know I weigh a ton and?—”
I put my hands at her hips and hold on to her. “Nope. None of that. You’re perfect. And I’m right where I need to be. If you start crying again, I’ll have you close.”
She sighs and leans into me, resting her cheek against my chest. I wrap my arms around her and hold on to her because I don’t know how long she’s going to let me do it.
She burrows into me. “We should probably get back. You’ve wasted your whole day dealing with me.”
I shush her. “I didn’t waste a second. Now talk to me, Sassy.”
It’s like I can feel her roll her eyes at me. “I can’t believe you still call me that. I’m a grownup; you know that, right?”
I run my hand down her back. “I know you are. Trust me. I know. But the nickname was never about you being a kid or younger than me.”
She breathes in. “What is it, then?”
“I started calling you that because you always challenged me.”
She rears back. “I don’t challenge you.”
I smirk at her. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. I don’t know how to explain it. I always enjoy the way you push back. You’re fierce, confident, and quick-witted… I mean it as a compliment.”
