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When the coffee’s ready, I pour us each a cup with Thorn leaning against the counter beside me. "I called Dex last night and had him send some prospects over to start cleaning up the mess at your trailer."
"That's... really nice of him," I say, surprised he'd thought that far ahead.
Thorn shrugs. "Didn't want you having to deal with it, sweetheart."
"Thank you." It's been a long time since I had someone take my back like this.
"Nothing to thank me for, baby. Knew before you gave yourself to me this morning that you were mine." He says the words like it was always a given and if I'm being honest, I think I felt it too.
We finish our coffee and head out to Thorn's truck.
The drive to my trailer is relatively quiet, each of us lost in our thoughts.
"Oh God," I whisper, feeling my eyes well up with tears when he pulls into my driveway.
I knew it was bad yesterday, but seeing it now, in the light of day, I was not prepared.
"Come on, baby. Gotta rip it off like a bandaid," Thorns advises, getting out of the truck.
I take a deep breath to calm myself and climb out. When I round the hood, I can see that the prospects did their best to clean up what they could, but the place is still a mess.
Sensing I'm close, Thorn's hand finds mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, baby. I'm going to figure out who did this and when I do..." He leaves the rest hanging between us.
Looking up into his stormy gray eyes, I nod.
I know if I ask, he’d tell me, but I think it’s best that I don’t.
"Keeping your head in the sand?" His brow lifts.
I shrug. "If there's something you think I need to know, then you can tell me. Otherwise, I think I'd prefer to stay in the dark about it."
"Fuck, you're perfect," he says, giving my hand another squeeze before leading me inside.
The second we step through my door, I'm hit with a wave of emotions.
This tiny trailer has been mine and Morgan's home for so long. It isn't much but it was our safe space, and someone came in here and wrecked it - violated it.
"Come here." I step into Thorn's arms and let him hold me together as the tears fall. "Get it out, sweetheart. I've got you."
And I do. I cry and let it all out. Not just what's happened here in my trailer but everything I've been through in the last six years.
When I finally feel like there's nothing left, I pull back and look up at Thorn. "Thank you."
His eyes search mine for long seconds before he finally says softly, "Always." With a tender look on his face, he lifts his hands and wipes my tears away.
I don't care that it feels like we're moving at light speed. Unless he tells me to kick rocks, I'm holding on with both hands.
"Talk to me, what's going through that head of yours?"
"It was so hard when Derek left," I start, my voice shaky. "I was alone and pregnant, and I had no idea how I was going to manage."
Thorn's arm tightens around me. "You're so strong, baby."
I take a deep breath and laugh humorlessly. "He left me with a mountain of debt, I'm still trying to pay off and when I called my parents in Georgia, begging for help, do you know what they said? ‘You took off with that boy. You're on your own.' When I look at Morgan... never would I refuse to help her." Thorn's jaw clenches, but he remains silent, letting me continue.
"I was scared out of my mind. Eighteen and pregnant," I shake my head thinking about how naive I was. "I had no idea what the heck I was going to do, but after that first doctor's appointment, when I heard Morgan's heartbeat for the first time... that's when I knew I'd do whatever it took to give her a good life."
"A fucking warrior. That's what you are," Thorn growls.
