Page 144 of Burning For You

Now, there was so much in her mind to get out, but it was being overrun by the real threat she was living.

Talk about frustrating. Maybe her mother was right—it just took time.

So she was doing what Rory suggested. She was free-writing scenes that maybe made no sense.

Ideas and characters she’d love to have.

She didn’t want to lose a piece of the inspiration, even if she hadn’t officially started her book.

She was putting out the words of what she was actually living.

What she was going through. What she was feeling.

And damn it all, it was almost like therapy she should have done years ago.

“I wanted to be there last night,” Brenna said.

“There was no reason everyone had to show up so they could see me cry.”

Brenna moved to the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. “I don’t know that I’ve seen you cry more than a handful of times. And even then, it was catching you trying to hide it.”

“It’s a sign of weakness.”

There she was again, letting Jenny Murphy screw with her head and mess with her thoughts.

“No, it isn’t,” Brenna said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that. There is nothing like a good cry to cleanse you.”

“You never cry at anything other than movies.”

“That’s right. So when I’m feeling particularly stressed or edgy, I watch one I know is going to make me bawl for at least thirty minutes. You know,” Brenna said, turning to face her after she added creamer to her cup. “The kind where your sinuses swell up so much that you can’t breathe through your nose and you talk like you’ve got rags in your throat.”

She laughed. “I don’t need to watch a movie for that. It happened last night.”

Embarrassingly in front of Ash.

But he’d held her so tenderly that, in the end, there was nothing to even be embarrassed about.

Getting in her own head again.

Brenna set her mug down and moved closer to hug her. She put her hand up to stop the motion.

“Nope,” Brenna argued. “Not letting you have your way. I need a hug. Just a quick one. I promise.”

She stood still while Brenna wrapped her up in comfort.

Was she itching to return it?

Hell yeah.

But it’d just worry her sister if she did, so standing like a statue was her wall. Her defense.

The thing she always did and that would cause her sister to laugh.

Just like what happened.

“Do you feel better?” she asked when Brenna stepped back.

“Yep, I do. How about you?”