“I see, but there’s a better way to fight this. If it’s coming, get in front of it. Reveal the truth on your own terms and take away their power.”
Rory allowed the idea time to populate in his head. “Maybe you’re right. If everyone knows the story, no one can profit from it.”
“Exactly. And I will be standing right there by your side, as will the Monsters, my parents, and Jake. We’ve all got you. We won’t let you fall.”
Taking hold of my hand, Rory kissed the back of it. “You never do.”
“That’s right,” I said, gliding my fingers along his face. “No one messes with my man.”
“Not even Tucker,” he said.
Especially not Tucker. After I’d shown him that Rory and I were in a nonnegotiable relationship, he backed down… without even a fight. It was at that moment we became an official couple.
“Your turn,” he said. “What did you find when you looked inside?”
“The Reindeer Man.”
He rubbed his chin, considering. “You’re afraid of Santa?”
A smile jumped to my face. “Not quite.”
I told him the story of Ray Davis coming to me as a kid. What he’d whispered in my ear. How Jake said he’d purposely done it to terrorize me. The guilt I felt for not telling anyone. For not saving Jake. And then I told him what it was I’d seen in him that day.
“When Jake came home after the kidnapping, there was this look in his eyes, like someone had scooped out his insides and left him a broken shell. I’d never seen that in any other soul until I met you on the sidewalk with Hudson. I was so drawn to you, and I think it was because I knew what you needed. I knew how to repair you. I’d watched my mother heal Jake, day by day, piece by piece. I used to hide behind furniture and listen to them practice just like I did the night I discovered she was training you. She restored his faith in humanity, and I wished I could do the same for you. Of course, I never thought I’d see you again. And then there you were on the street! Don’t you see, Rory? You’re my redemption. I couldn’t save Jake, but I’ll be damned if I don’t save you. So you need to find a better way to deal with your house of cards because I’m not letting you go, and I’m sure as hell not living out on the streets with you.”
Rory stood up and offered me a hand. “You wouldn’t last a night.”
Once on my feet, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “No, I wouldn’t. Let’s go home.”
“Speaking of that, I don’t want to live in a hotel when I come back here. I want to buy that mansion in the hills.”
“I like that. Can I come over and visit?”
“No.”
“No?” I laughed. “You have a whole mansion and you won’t let me enjoy it?”
“You don’t need an invitation, Grace. Because you’re going to live there with me.” Rory grabbed his buckets.
“You’re bringing those with you?”
“Yeah. I paid good money to have these Instacarted to me. Plus they’ll fit nicely in my new garage.”
Walking back to the hotel, we came upon a teenage boy close in age to what Rory was when I’d met him. He was skinny and dirty and stood on the sidewalk with a guitar in hand. Rory stopped.
The kid’s eyes widened when he realized who was standing in front of him. “Are you…?”
Rory put his finger to his lips, then nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Flash.”
“Flash, huh? Doesn’t look like you’re all that fast,” Rory said, gesturing to the teen’s black eye.
“I’m fast, but dumb. Ran myself right into a corner.”
“Ah.” Rory winced. “I’ve made that mistake before. Can you keep a secret?”
The teen nodded.
