Chapter 16 #2
“How do you remember that?”
“One doesn’t forget a major turning point in his life.”
“A turning point?”
He nods. “That was the moment I met you. Everything changed after that.” The tone he uses is so casual, but the words are anything but.
“If you knew you liked me back then, why did you wait?”
He arches a brow. “I tried to ask you out back then. Before I could get the question out, you started telling me all about your dating hiatus and how all men sucked. Then I realized I wouldn’t ever quite match up to what you deserved.
I was a soldier with cigarette burns on my back and nearly half a dozen arrests on my juvenile record, and you were the princess of Stormwatch Landing. ”
I snort. “The princess of Stormwatch Landing?”
“Oh yeah. That was clear from day one.”
“You’re perfect for me, Sawyer. You know that now, right?”
“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for the right to be,” he replies. After a moment, he clears his throat. “Anyway, I didn’t want to risk losing you in my life, so I kept my mouth shut and waited.”
“A long time.”
“It all worked out, though, right?” he grins and slips a grape into his mouth.
“So many years, though. We could have been together. Who knows where we’d be now?”
“Oh, I know exactly where we’d be.”
I turn toward him. “Really?”
He nods. “Married. Couple kids. A white picket fence.”
I nearly choke on the grape I’m eating. “Did you say marriage?”
“Sure.”
“You sound so confident.”
“Because I am.” He eats another grape, then takes the tray out of my hands and sets it on the coffee table. Then, he tugs me closer with his good arm, pulling me into his lap. “There is not a single possible way that this doesn’t work out between us.”
My heart leaps with joy as my pulse kicks into overdrive. “Most men run at the thought of marriage.”
Sawyer leans in closely. “I’m not most men. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am quite excited about this whole middle part, too. Just know, that’s where my head’s at. In case you were wondering.”
I wrap an arm around his neck and lean in to kiss his cheek. “That’s good to know. And just so you know where my head’s at, I’m excited about this middle part, and looking forward to what comes next.”
So long as I survive to see it.
The coffee shop has been a constant stream of patrons all day today. Since Tessa and Zane had something to handle in town, it’s Weston who’s sitting at the table with Sawyer. The two men have been there all day, playing cards and chatting.
Pastor Reeves was even here earlier, sitting with Sawyer before Weston arrived. They’d visited for a while, and it was nice to see, given Sawyer’s hesitation to attend service regularly.
It’s just me working right now since Katelyn had to leave to go to an appointment.
Of course, both Sawyer and Weston offered to help, and for a while, I let Sawyer run the register.
But when things started to die down a smidge, I sent him back to rest. After last night’s declaration, I’m desperate for him to heal and my normal life to resume.
That way, we can actually get to know each other as more than friends.
There’s still so much I haven’t told him.
Does he have more secrets, too? I think of those scars on his back.
Cigarette burns left from a childhood riddled with trauma.
It makes me sick. And so very angry. Remembering that God has a plan and that He was there with Sawyer is hard to do when all I want to do is the exact same thing to the man who put those scars there. Just to see how he likes it.
The door opens, and three teenage girls come in, each of them giggling.
“Hey, what can I get you ladies?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing.” The one in the middle looks to each of the girls on either side. “But we have something for you.” She reaches into her pocket and withdraws a small, blue box, then hands it to me.
“A present? For me?” I accept the gift with a smile. We’re such a small town that it’s likely word has spread about what’s going on. My guess is that someone is just trying to be kind. I open it right as the girls are racing back out onto the street.
But the moment I see what’s inside, all joy vanishes like a heavy rock beneath the surface of a lake.
My heart begins to hammer.
Bile burns the back of my throat. I toss the box to the counter and sprint outside after them. “Hey! Who gave this to you!” I scream, but they’re already gone.
“Anastasia!” Weston grabs and spins me right before glass shatters.
I scream, the shards raining down on me. But Sawyer is right there, dragging me into the coffee shop and to safety while Weston retrieves his firearm and scans the street before rushing out.
“Are you hit?” Sawyer demands as soon as he’s got me tucked back behind a wall. His good hand travels over my arms, my face, my legs, searching for injuries.
“I—I don’t think so.” My entire body is trembling, but even so, my gaze lands on that discarded box.
Sirens wail in the distance, but all I can see is what was in the box.
“Baby, talk to me!” Sawyer’s hand grips my chin, and he forces me to look at him. His caramel eyes are wide and full of fear.
“I think I’m okay.”
“You’re bleeding. Don’t move.” Staying low, he moves through the shop and disappears behind the counter. Seconds later, he returns with my first aid kit. Using only his good arm, he sets it down and unzips it, stabilizing it with his knee.
The entire time Sawyer’s moving around the contents looking for what he needs, I’m focusing only on the contents of that tiny box.
One question echoes through my mind loud enough that it drowns out everything else.
How does this monster know my deepest, darkest secret?