“Some of the kids have to be homeschooled and the old ladies all banded together to help.”
“Why do they have to be homeschooled?”
He winced.“Well, we only get the really worst cases, Mia.Some of the kids are so traumatized they don’t do well outside of Haven without their mothers or one of us.Outside schools are fine for some, but not all.The level of abuse is… sometimes extreme.”
“You know, I could help.”I shrugged, trying not to sound too much like I was going to barge in and take over.I didn’t want that.I wanted to help.“In any way you need me to.I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ve got time.”
“Many of the kids are behind in school.Some were kept out after they’d been beaten or were so traumatized it made learning difficult.Penny organizes volunteers, but we could always use more expertise.”
“I’d like to help,” I said, meaning it.
Oktober smiled, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.“We’ll arrange it when we get back to Nashville if you still want to when we leave.”
I sensed there was so much more to his world than he was sharing, layers of complexity he kept hidden.Likely because not everything fit into black-and-white.Shades of gray seemed to more accurately fit the narrative.Oddly, if Oktober and the men and women he spoke so fondly of defended the weak as much as he said they did, I had no problem with any gray areas they might venture into.
The moment was broken by the buzz of Oktober’s phone, which he’d placed on the rock beside his jeans.He glanced at it, then sat up abruptly, his relaxed expression hardening into something I hadn’t seen before.
“What is it?”I asked, sitting up and wrapping my arms around my knees.
He lay back on the rock with a heavy sigh.“You’ve got company at your cabin.”
“What?”
“Noose said there’s a guy and a woman.He says they’re threatening to call the cops and shit if they don’t talk to you.”
I scowled.“Eric and Jade?”
“Looks that way.”
“I have no desire to talk to either of them.”I turned my head away, laying my cheek on my knees.“Fuck,” I muttered.
“If you don’t want to go, I’ll text Noose and tell him to tell them to fuck off.”
God, it was tempting.“This has been the most wonderful day I’ve ever had in my life, Oktober.”My voice was barely above a whisper, and I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me.Didn’t know if I wanted him to hear because I felt too fragile, where before I’d been so fucking strong.
“Day isn’t over yet,Kätzchen.If you don’t want to see this guy you don’t have to.But if you want to tell him to take a fucking hike, I’ll make sure you have a great rest of your day.And night.”
I turned to look at him, really studying him.I could see the truth in his eyes.He would give me whatever I needed to make this better.I leaned in and kissed him.“Thank you.For today.For last night.”I kissed him again.“For everything.”
He frowned.“I only leave if you tell me to leave, Mia.That fucker doesn’t deserve you and I don’t scare easily.”
“I’m sure you don’t want to deal with my drama.”
“Oh, trust me, I’d love to deal with them.But I don’t have that right yet.”
I opened my mouth to say something but stopped.“Wait.What do you meanyet?”
He just threw me a cocky grin before reaching for his pants.“Come on,Kätzchen.Get dressed.We’ll go see who dares disturb my princess’s fairy tale.”
Despite the confrontation to come, I felt myself smiling at the magnificent man before me.I loved the way he lived in the moment.I scrambled into my clothes, still smiling.Oktober gathered our things while I finished dressing.I hated confrontation and this promised to be an epic confrontation.
“Look at me.”I hadn’t even realized he’d stopped packing and turned to me.He gripped my shoulders before pinching my chin gently with his thumb and finger, tilting my chin up.His gaze held mine steady.“Nothing bad will happen.I won’t let it.Understand?”I nodded, not even realizing how much I needed to hear him say exactly those words until he’d said them.“Good.”He pressed a swift, hard kiss to my lips.“Now let’s go.I want to meet this asshole who thought he could hurt what’s mine.”
His possessive words should have bothered me.Instead, they grounded me as we set off down the trail back to Oktober’s bike, the peaceful waterfall disappearing behind us.
Chapter Six
Oktober
