Page 5 of Heartstrings & Horseshoes

But, like the pain in my ass he always is, Connor resumed arguing with me as we left the memorial. That’s how my sister found out what our mom got herself into and how I ended up freezing behind a dumpster waiting for Connor to rescue me.

She and her fiancé Reid have been so generous to host me at the ranch for endless hours to keep me away from home. They offer me a permanent place to live on a daily basis. But a little something in me still tethered to my mother always has me declining the invitation.

This morning, however, my world was flipped on its axis when Connor declared I’d be moving in with him. He left zero room for argument.

He took me back to his apartment, forbade me from leaving, and went to my no-longer-home and packed my things. One truck load was all it took to move my world to the other side of town.

Connor stomps into the apartment carrying one last box and locks the door behind him. I open my mouth to protest, but he cuts me off.

“Delilah, don’t try me right now. You’re staying here and that’s final.”

I’ve spent the last seventeen years under Connor’s constant supervision and protection. Typically, I’m equal parts embarrassed and grateful. But today, I’m pissed.

“Connor, I’m a grown woman, and can make my own decisions,” I snap.

“Clearly not, since you should’ve gotten out of that hellhole years ago. I decided for you, end of story.” His highhanded declaration infuriates me.

“And who are you to make my decisions for me?” But I already know the answer.

“I’m yours. You damn well know that. You’ve been mine since I found you crying in the dirt in that pretty yellow dress.”

His recollection spears me in the heart every single time.

“I don’t want to burden you. You work a ridiculous number of hours, take care of your parents, and have been taking care of your sister since Sam died. I can’t be another weight on your shoulders.” I slide the tarnished sun pendant across the chain I’ve replaced over the years.

Tears leak from my eyes without my permission. I’m not crying intentionally. My tears have always been Connor’s weakness. Since we were tiny kids, he’s taken it upon himself to dry my tears and hold them at bay with his love and support.

“Fuck, don’t cry, doll. You know I can’t take it when you cry. I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”

He joins me on the floor, sits behind me with his legs bracketing my hips, pulls me into his chest, and cages me with his rainbow-colored arms.

I’m sobbing. “It isn’t fair! Why do other people have parents who take care of them when I got left by one, and forgotten by the other? What’s so unlovable about me they couldn’t take care of me?”

“No, no, no, doll. There’s nothing unlovable about you. Izzy loves you. Olivia loves you. I fucking love you. Everyone who meets you adores you. It’s not your fault your parents prioritized their vices over their children.”

He kisses the top of my head, softly rocking me in his arms.

“It was past time for you to get out of there. Please let me do this for you. Please, doll. I can’t stand you hurting, and you being in that trailer makes me sick to my stomach.”

Since he has my arms pinned, I smoosh my face into his forearms, rubbing it back and forth on his arm hair to wipe away my tears. I’m so tired of crying over my parents.

I huff a humorless laugh. “Oh, so the move was all for your benefit?”

He pinches my side, making me squirm and yelp.

“If that helps you sleep at night, sure. It’d be doing me a huge favor if you’d live with me so my stress level will drop back below heart attack range. You little shit.”

He tickles me along my ribs as I curl away from his fingers. He always knows how to make me smile.

I twist around in his arms to face him.

“Thank you. For everything, Connor. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

The rich chocolate irises that’ve always soothed my soul trace across my features. He looks at me like it’s the first time he’s seeing me, taking in my every detail.

“Good thing you’ll never have to find out, because you’re stuck with me, doll.” He kisses my forehead and hoists us both off the ground.

“Come on. Let’s go find somewhere to put all your things.”