Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“I got to spend time with my grandma in the kitchen. She made cooking and baking seem so effortless. I loved working side by side with her at the counter as much as I loved working with the animals with my grandfather.”
“How old were you when you stopped going?”
“My grandparents died in a car accident when I was twelve. My parents sold their farm. I never got to see it again, and ever since, I’ve wanted a horse so badly, but no matter how many times I wished for one or tried to save for it, that dream never came true.”
“Come here.” He tugged on my shoulder encouraging me to turn over. When I did, he pulled me to his chest, and I let the tears fall. “I’m so sorry.”
“Their farm was the only place that ever felt like home to me. They were my real family.”
17
GRANT
I knew right then that I would do anything I could to make Jacob feel like this was his home. I might not know how to have a real relationship, but I knew how to create a family out of the shitty remains bad parents left behind. The relationship part… Maybe I could figure that out. I wasn’t sure I had a choice.
I was going to give Jacob the family he needed. There was no way in hell he was going back to the people that had hurt him, not his family, not Trey, not anyone who failed to appreciate him. If anyone even thought about hurting him, making him feel invisible, or dismissing how incredible he was, they would have to go through me to do it. And no one got through me.
Rogue always knew who needed comfort and friendship. I still wasn’t sure how he’d met Jacob. I had a feeling I didn’t want to know. He’d admitted to being involved in some way with the Russos, but clearly, he didn’t mind pissing off Trey. Was it possible that was who was coming for us? If so, they might be after Rogue as much as Jacob. I needed to keep Rogue far away from the next attack, not that I knew when or where it was coming.
I rocked Jacob against me, letting him cry until there were no more tears, only sniffles. He pulled away enough to look up at me and wipe his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I… haven’t cried in years, and now I’ve cried on you twice in one night.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You can cry on me whenever you need to.” I hated thinking about how long he’d bottled up his fear and grief.
“I don’t want to cry. I want to be strong like you.”
“You are. You spent years with Trey, and you survived.”
He shook his head. “That’s not—”
“It’s as much a battle as anything I was involved in.”
“But I didn’t fight back.” He looked heartbroken, and I couldn’t stand it.
“You did when you had the support you needed.”
“I should have been able to leave on my own.”
“No, even in the marines, we didn’t always choose to fight. If we weren’t in a defensible position, we waited. Jacob, you’re incredible.”
“I… you don’t have to say that.”
I gripped his chin and made him look up at me. “I mean it. You can ask my brothers or the men who served under me. I don’t say shit just to flatter people. If I compliment you, I mean it.”
“But you said I was beautiful.”
“You are.”
“No one has ever… Trey said—”
“I want you to forget everything Trey said. That man isn’t fit to even look at you. He’s so far beneath you he’s deep underground. And that’s exactly where I intend to put him.”
“You can’t just kill someone for me.”
The hell I couldn’t. “I can do anything to keep you safe.”
“Grant—”
I laid a finger on his lips. “I’m going to protect you. Just accept that.”
“I bet you were an excellent marine.”
“The corps would say differently, but that’s… I can’t talk about it, not now, not yet.” I didn’t want to tell Jacob that ugly story, but I also knew he deserved the same openness he was giving me. Maybe one day… “You should get some more sleep.”
He frowned. “It has to be almost time for you to get up.”
A glance out the window told me the sky had lightened considerably since we’d woken. “Probably, but you should rest more.”
He started to sit up. “I need to make breakfast.”
“Not today. Today you’re going to sleep in as long as you like.”
“I meant it when I said I would earn my keep.”
I pulled him back to me and gave him a gentle kiss. “I know, but consider it your morning off. Everyone deserves one of those.”
“Including you?”
“Everyone but the guy who is stuck running the place.”
“When’s the last time you took a day off?”
I considered that. “I had down time when I came home.”