AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not only because she was scared to leave him here with Eric, but also because she needed him.
Right now, she was keeping all of her fear and anxiety at bay. The memories threatened to drag her into the shadows. And without him holding onto her, she knew everything would come rushing in to crowd her.
Scare her.
Harm her.
By now, she was shaking, her teeth chattering.
“Hey, Little Blossom, shh,” he said soothingly. Moving, he took her out onto the front porch. It was far cooler out here, but that felt like a good thing. Her skin was overheated, and it was getting harder to catch her breath.
Walking up and down the porch, he crooned to her in a low voice, jiggling her up and down.
As the panic faded, she was able to hear the words.
“Hush, Little Baby, Don’t You Cry?” she asked.
“It seemed appropriate. My grandma used to sing it to me to get me to sleep.”
Darn. That was so unbearably sweet that she felt tears fill her eyes.
“That wasn’t meant to make you cry,” he said in alarm.
“It . . . I’m just emotional right now.”
“You need me.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
“I’m s-sorry.”
“Hush,” Reuben said firmly. “You don’t ever need to be sorry for needing me, you understand?” He reached up with one hand to tug her head back. “I’d be upset if you needed me and didn’t tell me.”
She fought back her tears.
“I’m so proud of you, baby.”
Faith blinked. That was unexpected. Suddenly, a door opened, and the other bodyguard stepped out. He held up a blanket. She glanced up at Reuben, who nodded before the silent man wrapped it around her.
That was so nice.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The big man disappeared as quietly as he’d appeared.
“That’s Cairn,” Reuben told her.
She drew the blanket around her. She hadn’t realized how cold she was.
“Why would you be proud of me? I didn’t do anything. Well, I did Mace him. But I think I could have fought him off better. We should kept running instead of hiding from him.”
“Listen to me.” He set her on the banister of the porch and stepped between her open legs. His hands were on her hips so she didn’t slip off. “I’m proud of you because you did exactly what you should always do in these circumstances.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“You call me as soon as you can, and you keep yourself safe until I get to you.”
“I thought you might tell me that if I’d just moved in with you that I could have avoided all of this.” She’d been feeling guilty about that.
Why hadn’t she just done what he’d wanted?
