Chapter 59
Thea
One week later
“Is Pierce coming over today?” Dad asks. I don’t know who gets more excited to see him: me or my dad. I still don’t remember our time together, but Pierce has come over every day, telling me stories from our week on the run.
My dad has been present for most of it, so I’m convinced Pierce has tamed some things down. Like how many people tried to kill us. He says it was only one, but his left eye twitched when I asked if that was all.
I keep hoping he’ll kiss me and that will be the final ingredient to help me remember everything. But he’s keeping me at arm’s length, handling me with caution. Even though I know for a fact he didn’t treat me so delicately on our trip from Mexico.
What if my memories of Pierce never return? I like him—that much is clear by the way my heart races each time his blue rental truck rolls into the driveway—but he’s never made a move to touch me or prod me in any way. What if he gets sick of waiting for me to remember?
I’ll never even know what I missed out on, an even more painful thought.
“He should be here soon,” I say, bouncing on the balls of my feet to avoid looking out the window like a giddy child.
“Does anyone want cookies?” Aunt Megan asks. I’m glad she decided to stay for a couple more weeks. I keep finding random things that don’t make sense. Like the broken window in my room. And the damaged copy of my aunt’s book. Nothing is quite how I left it, and it’s unsettling to say the least.
“Maybe in a minute,” I tell her, scooping up the laundry basket. My nerves won’t let me keep down anything even as small as a cookie. I take the basket to my room and reach for the first item. My blue dress. The one I wore on the first night on the ship…
Wait.
I close my eyes and mentally reach for that moment—the way Pierce looked at me when I walked out of the bathroom.
I step forward, as if I can get closer to him, to the memory. Something stabs into my heel, and I jump back. A black shell. The only shell Pierce deemed acceptable. Because he found beauty in such an ugly shell, I kept it.
That memory vanishes, and in its place comes another.
Our first kiss.
The first kiss merges into the second kiss, and though some details elude me, I remember all that I need to. How he held me and carried me, mentally and physically protecting me.
I remember him.
I choke on a sob and fall onto the bed as the memories play on a loop. I was right. He’s someone I care for.
No, that’s not nearly enough.
Someone I love.
The doorbell rings. I rush down the stairs and throw open the door, breathless not from the exertion—from excitement.
Pierce stands in the doorway, hands in his pockets, a bashful, endearing look on his face as he takes me in. “Hey, beautiful.”
I want to leap into his arms and kiss him, but I hold myself back.
There are those butterflies again, mixed with a new memory, one I’m eager to explore. “Hey.”
Pierce tries to take a step in, and I stop him. “Let’s go for a walk.” I need some space to explore this.
Pierce’s expression sobers, probably assuming the worst. As if I’d ever let him go. He holds the door open for me, motioning for me to lead the way.
He doesn’t say anything as he walks, his hands buried deep in his pockets. I can feel his uncertainty.
We walk to the little pond a quarter mile from the house, then sit on the little bench. A young family is throwing breadcrumbs to the ducks, and there’s the smell of hamburgers on the barbecue wafting through the air. It’s a beautiful day for old memories and new ones.
I splay my hands over my legs. “So…”
Pierce immediately stiffens. “Yeah?”
“Tell me what you’ve left out.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve told me everything we did, everywhere we went. What else do I need to know?”
He rubs a hand over his scruff and leans back, debating. “I was scared.”
That’s not where I thought this big, strong man was going to start.
“My family life wasn’t ideal, you caught onto that. Even when my mom hurt me, people abandoned me, or my world fell apart, I wasn’t afraid. Not like I was when they took you.”
There are no words to fix the past, so I put my hand on his where it rests between us on the bench.
He turns his hand, slipping his fingers through mine. “You scare me, Thea. I told myself I’d get you home and then I’d leave, but I can’t. Yet I’m scared to stay.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “So what you’re saying is that you’re just a big scaredy cat?”
His lips twitch, and that adorable dimple appears in his left cheek. “Yes.”
“Have you ever heard of exposure therapy?” I muse.
“Yes?”
I turn my body toward his, until our knees touch. “I dare you to kiss me.”
Multiple expressions war on his face. “You dare me?”
I nod as his words hit my chest, making it thump harder with passion… with a memory. I don’t have time to visit it before Pierce’s lips land on mine. They are soft and warm, an explosion of light and color, of memories and feelings.
I love this man. I said so right before they tried to take him from me.
He didn’t leave.
I grab the back of his head and tug him to me. His tongue brushes my lips, and my body caves into his, needing more. More nights by his side. More driving him crazy with questions. More him.
I match his pace, running my hands over his shoulders, down his chest. His arms wrap entirely around my back. I’ve never felt safer.
Yet, I pull back.
“That was for saving my life again,” I whisper.
“You remember?” He exhales, his hooded eyes clearing.
“Most of it,” I say, then lean forward again. “And this is for staying.” I kiss him again and again, until he grabs my face, holding me an inch away.
“You’re my donkey,” he whispers.
I jerk back with a laugh. “You have such a way with words, Pierce Abernathy.”
“I think I have a plaque on my mantel that says just that.”
“If not, I’ll get you one.”
“Maybe I should get you one too, Miss Smith,” he says, giving me a pointed look.
I shake my head. “The only last name you’re going to change mine for, is yours.”
I expect him to withdraw from my emotions, but he surprises me by leaning even closer, brushing his lips over my cheek, stopping next to my ear. “That’s what I want for my payment.”
My heart leaps into my throat, and I can’t breathe. Is he really asking what I think he’s asking?
“Did you just propose?”
“Did you just answer?” He flashes me a wicked smirk. “You’ll have to clarify. Was that a yes or a no?”
I put my hands on his chest, giving him a shove, my face splitting in a grin. “Rude. Using my own words against me.”
His smile fades. “What if I’m serious?”
“Then you’ll have to be serious for longer than three weeks. We deserve a longer shelf life.”
He wraps his arms around me and draws me into him, as close as the bench allows. “How about forever?”
I pretend to mull it over. “Sounds reasonable.”
He presses his lips to my hair. “I dare you to meet me at the courthouse.”
“Or what?”
“Or…” His beard brushes the sensitive part of my neck and I shiver, “you have to marry me.”
“Pierce Abernathy, did I fix you?” I laugh.
“In every way.”
“I’m going to have to charge you extra for that.”
His eyes meet mine, nothing but seriousness in those green irises. “Whatever you want, I’ll pay. Whatever I have, is yours. All I want is you.”
I just about say yes. Instead, I stand and pat his shoulder. “That was a good trial run.”
He jumps up. “Trial run?”
“Did you ask my dad’s permission? Where’s my ring? I don’t care if it comes from a quarter machine, but I need something. And a dress.” I let him wrap me up in his arms. “Then, we’ll rush to the courthouse.”
“Soon?”
“Soon.”