“Got it.”
She braced her hands on his chest and kissed him, soft and sweet and way too brief; he felt it to the edges of his heart.
“I never wanted to love someone so much that just seeing them walk into the room makes something ache inside me. I didn’t want to have my happiness reliant on another person ever again, but you’ve done that to me, McBride, and I’m sure I should be really pissed with you, but all I can think is that you’re mine and I’m yours and I always want it to be that way.”
“You must be a writer to have those words at your disposal.” Jake slipped his hand under her hair. “And if I say ditto, will that be an okay response? Because there’s no way in hell I can compete with you.”
“Yes.”
He held her and kissed her until he had to lift her off his body or take her back to bed.
“We need to go downstairs now, Rosebud, before your father comes looking for us.”
“Okay.”
Jake was happy that she sounded as frustrated as him. He watched as she pulled on a shirt of her father’s that reached her knees, then rolled the sleeves five times.
“You’re one sexy woman, Branna O’Donnell.”
“Okay, sure, now let’s get out of here before I jump you.”
Jake’s eyes crossed at the thought of her sitting on him. “Give me a minute here.” Adjusting his jeans, he thought about his grandmother, who was at present sailing the Med, and felt himself begin to calm.
“Right, get moving.” Patting her backside, he followed her out and down the stairs.
Declan, Branna, and Jake sat around the table drinking coffee and discussing Macy in hushed voices. They decided it was best to take things slow and work out what to do with her, instead of for her.
“She’ll want to go back to him at first. He will have brainwashed her into making her believe that she’s to blame and that, combined with the fear of both him and exposure to the town, will make her want to go back,” Jake said.
“We can’t let her go back.”
“I know that, baby, but I’m telling you what she’s going to say.”
“It will be hard in a small town,” Declan added.
Jake looked at him and nodded. “And she’s going to need strength that she probably doesn’t even know she has right now.”
“Morning.”
Jake stood as Macy appeared in the doorway. He hadn’t seen her without makeup, six-inch heels, and expensive clothes for years, and he’d forgotten how small she was… fine boned. She looked like a child standing there in Branna’s robe. He took in the bruises on her face and the wounded expression in her eyes and wondered why he hadn’t looked closer over the years.
“Morning, Miss Macy,” Jake said, forcing himself to smile at her, when inside he was angry as hell.
“Come sit down beside me, Macy, and I’ll get you some coffee and toast.” Branna pulled out a chair and motioned her into it. She hesitated and then did as Branna asked.
“Would you be able to take me home soon, Branna? Brian will worry about me if I’m not there to make his breakfast.”
“No, Macy, you’re not going home.”
“Why, Jake?” She looked genuinely confused at his words.
“Because Brian has been abusing you, and you’re pregnant, and it’s my understanding that you don’t want to lose this child like you have the others.”
Her face broke. She lowered it to Branna’s shoulder and began to cry, silent tears that made her shoulders shake. Branna held her, speaking softly, and Jake and Declan stayed where they were, very aware that the last thing she wanted at the moment was support from a man.
They talked to Macy gently, asked questions until the story of her life at the hands of Brian Delray began to unfold. Declan was gentle; Jake was insistent, but gentle, and Branna was the rock Macy had tethered herself to.
He asked her questions about her pregnancy and the state her body was in. Was she experiencing pain anywhere? Did she have nausea, any bleeding? Jake’s training came back as he questioned her, trying to work out what she would need from a medical standpoint. His mother needed to check her out, as he was sure she wouldn’t want a man touching her, but that would come, just not today. He would get her something to help her sleep, because at the moment that was the best he could do for her and the baby.
