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She stared out the window at the house. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes. I did.” Once he knew what happened to her, there was no turning back. He had to help her. He didn’t owe her anything. He chalked it up to respecting their past and what they shared, which was a hell of a lot more good than the one bad thing that happened. Because of that, he felt like this was the least he could do for someone who’d loved him so perfectly, at least for a little while.
That’s more than some people ever experienced.
He wouldn’t give up those memories for anything.
He wouldn’t let the woman who’d made those memories with him suffer alone.
He’d put a roof over her head, settle her in a warm bed, feed her, then let her go tomorrow again, knowingit would probably be just as hard to watch her leave as it was the last time.
A patrol car pulled up behind them and parked.
“You’ll be safe here.” He could give her that peace of mind, too.
“I was always safe with you,” she whispered, then opened the truck door and slipped out.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. It brought back too many memories for both of them.
He climbed out and followed her up to the house. He had to take her arm at the porch steps to steady her. “You okay?” He rolled his eyes at asking such a stupid question.
“Tired. My whole body hurts.”
Yeah. That guy slammed her around good.
Max hoped the guy got what he deserved. Soon.
Watching Kenna struggle up four steps tied his gut in knots. So when he escorted her into the house and looked up the staircase to the second floor, his mind said,Nope. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her up.
Three steps in and she protested. “Put me down. You don’t have to do this.”
“I do, actually. I can’t stand to watch you hurting.”
“I’m fine.”
“We promised to never lie to each other,” he reminded her. He didn’t have to look to know the tears streamed down her cheeks again.
He figured the best thing to do was get her settled for the night and give her some space. So he walked into the guest room across from his, set her on her feet, butkept his arm around her to steady her, pulled back the covers on the bed, and nudged her to climb in. She did without a word and seemed to sink into the mattress like a puddle, all her energy spent.
“I’ll get your ointment from the truck and grab you a couple ibuprofen and water. Need anything else?”
She barely shook her head.
He carried out those tasks and walked back into her room. She was in the exact same spot, staring at the closet doors across from her. He set the water on the nightstand and held out the ibuprofen. “Come on, you need to take these. They’ll help.”
She struggled to sit up and do as he asked. Once she downed the pills, she settled back on the pillow, her vacant gaze straight ahead.
“I’m sure you remember, but the bathroom is one door down on the right. If you need anything, I’m across the hall. Just call out. I’ll hear you.”
The tears came again.
He wanted to wipe them away, hold her until they stopped, take away her pain and grief. But that wasn’t his place anymore.
They were finally in the same room together again, yet they were still as far apart as they’d been when they split.
He still hated it.
He still wished it hadn’t happened.
