Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“I believe in fate, and I know that it was no accident that you found me where you did. If I hadn’t left Paul, I wouldn’t have crashed into that tree. You wouldn’t have saved my life, and I wouldn’t have met two of the most caring, compassionate, and wonderful men in the world. It’s only been days and hours since meeting you two, but you’ve stolen my heart.” His words had him pulling her toward him and latching his mouth onto hers.
She hadn’t said she would stay, but the way she bared herself to him had hope springing in his chest that maybe she would stay with them.
Their mouths crushed together, their tongues dueling. Arousal spiked his blood, causing the feeling of intoxication to sweep through him. The fog of desire started to overtake him, and he found his hands sliding to her chest.
Her bulky coat was in his way, but when he went to unzip it her hands landed on his, stopping him.
“I really don’t want to give the coffee shop patrons a show.” She smiled against his mouth, and he chuckled.
He had never laughed so much, had never felt so much happiness.
And it was all because of this sweet, tiny female sitting beside him.
He kissed her once more and put the truck in reverse. Even though he would love to sit here and continue to talk about how she felt, he needed to reveal some of his own dark secrets.
Chapter
Nineteen
They sat in silence, their view that of the Steal South lake. Snow steadily fell around them as they sat in the warm confines of the truck.
Their coffees had since been finished, and the radio was on low. The silence was comfortable, and Jessa enjoyed looking out the windshield and staring at the frozen lake.
Large pine trees surrounded the lake in a crescent shape, their green branches dusted white from Mother Nature. She knew Deacon wanted to talk to her, but she wouldn’t push him.
“We moved to Steal South about seven years ago.”
Her heart hammered in her chest as he started talking. She didn’t know what he would say, but she knew it couldn’t be good.
The seriousness in his voice when he said they needed to speak had her conjuring up all kinds of horrible scenarios. Maybe he was married, or had children?
Maybe he ran from the law? If so they were more alike than she could have ever imagined.
“We used to live in Alaska, in Anchorage. It was Thayer and I and our parents. Growing up was pretty hard. My father had been a military man, and so he brought his rigid rules home with him. Our father had a wicked anger problem. He always seemed to find the bad in everything and everyone. Being the oldest, I took the brunt of his wrath.”
Silence filled the cab of the truck for several long minutes. Jessa didn’t want to say anything and risk Deacon closing up on her.
“I’m glad he hit me and not Thayer.” Her breath hitched at his softly spoken words. “I asked him one time, when I was older, why he did what he did to me. His response was that a male of worth could take pain and turn it to strength.” He grimaced before continuing. “Thayer was always the smart one, the male that could solve any problem and fix the outcome. Maybe that was why our father went easy on him, because he didn’t see him as strong.”
“I’m so sorry, Deacon.” She reached out and twined her fingers through his. “Wasn’t your mom there? Couldn’t she help you? Stand up to your father?” His hand tightened on hers before he spoke again. “My mother acted like a lot of females in our … group.”
The way he spoke of women, calling them female seemed a bit strange, but she assumed it must be the way they spoke where he came from.
“She was docile and submissive. My father kept her under his thumb, dictating her life the way he did ours.” He turned and looked at her, and it was the first time she saw the blistered look of defeat cross his face. “He would lock me in the closet to ‘toughen me up.’ He would beat me until my back bled to rid me of weakness. There were times he tried to go after Thayer, but I begged him to beat me instead. I would instigate problems so his focus wouldn’t go to Thayer. I wanted his wrath directed solely on me.”
Pain lanced through her at hearing his story. How could any parent hurt their own child? And how could a mother sit back and watch it happen? She wanted to pull him into her and wrap her arms around his big body.
Jessa wanted to tell him everything would be okay, that he wasn’t weak or scarred. Although all of those things were on the tip of her tongue, nothing came out.