And I suddenly wondered if I had such a hard time speaking up for myself because the people who were supposed to love me the most didn’t even hear me.
“Stop,” I gasped.
I dropped his hand and bent over. I placed my hands on my thighs.
“What’s wrong?” Brooks asked.
But I couldn’t speak. I could barely even breathe.
I pressed my fingers to the hollow at the base of my throat. It felt like something had been trapped there for a long, long time. Now it was desperate to be released.
Suddenly, I gulped a deep breath. A breath so deep, I wondered how long I’d been living shallow.
“Brooks,” I whispered.
And then I dissolved into tears, reaching for him.
He scooped me into his arms and held me. I wrapped my legs around him, wanting to get closer, wanting to burrow into him so deep where it was warm and safe and never come out.
“I got you,” he whispered against my hair.
I cried harder under the starry sky.
In the arms of the man I loved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Ranch
He began to walk, carrying me in his arms as I continued to sob against his neck.
My tears bathed his skin as years of overwhelming emotion poured from me.
I was unconsolable.
“I have to put you down,” he said.
I tightened my legs around him.
“Just so I can get the door open and get you inside. It’s too narrow for me to carry you.”
Hiccoughing, I reluctantly released my legs.
He gently set me down on the ground.
I turned and saw the bright lights illuminating an RV.
“This is my trailer. That was the errand I had to run. The work on it is done.”
Brooks opened the door and went up the stairs first so he could flip on the interior light. He held a hand out to me and helped me up the stairs.
He moved out of the way just enough so I could come fully into the space. Brooks closed the door behind us.
It was one long box with small windows, a kitchen with a dining counter, and two recliners.
“Bed and bathroom are through there.” He pointed to another set of stairs.
“May I?” I asked through a sniffle.
