Page 35

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FIVE

Jett

The problem when Fable gets deep in her feelings like this is that I never know what she’ll do.

Will she rage and scream?

Or will she lose it and stab her parents?

Will I be holding her to calm her or helping bury bodies?

I don’t know, but I’m on her heels as she marches up the sidewalk to her family home. She doesn’t even knock; she throws the door open, her body trembling with fury. The door bangs into the wall, knocking down some photos, the glass crashing to the floor and making Fable’s entrance even louder.

Her mom comes out of the kitchen in alarm as Kitty rises from her chair, her cross-stitching in her hands. “Fable? My darling?” she asks, worry on her face.

Elena looks annoyed. “What is your problem?”

My girl only shakes her head, her face full of wrath. “Where is Richie?”

Elena snorts in her snooty way. “Richie? You mean your father? Lord, you’re so over the top.” She glances at me and curls her lip. “What is he doing here?”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Fable roars, her eyes wild. “This is not your house. This is Kitty’s, and I know good and well she loves Jett and me.”

Elena rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the worried glance she throws Kitty. I almost laugh. Did Kitty tell them she wants them out? “What do you want, Fable?”

“Get your husband.”

Elena mutters something along the lines of Fable being dramatic before she calls for Richie. He comes through the side door by the library, his brow furrowing as he takes in the room. He’s dressed in a tennis outfit with a sweater wrapped around his shoulders. It’s ninety degrees outside, and he weighs as much as I do. He doesn’t need that sweater. “Fable, my love, are you okay?”

“I am not,” she answers through gritted teeth. Richie comes to stand beside his wife and looks over at her for answers. Elena just shrugs, waving Fable off as if my girl is inconveniencing her. It’s infuriating, and I know Fable is getting even more pissed with each second that passes. I slide my hand along her back to find that she’s shaking. It breaks my heart, so I rub my thumb down her spine and stand beside her with my shoulders back.

As much as these two people broke the boy I was, I won’t allow them to break the man I am today.

Not when I want to be strong for her.

“Did you split us up?”

“When?” Elena asks, her voice so tart.

“After Salt Lake,” Fable asks through clenched teeth.

She waves her daughter off again. “We offered him another opportunity. It was really for him. He loved hockey.”

“Did you tell him you wouldn’t pay for him to skate with me, when you didn’t have to pay for anything?”

Richie exhales, his eyes cutting to me. “We did say that, but we really thought there weren’t any sponsorships.”

“That’s not true,” Fable seethes. “We had sponsorships lined up, interviews, all kinds of stuff. And then it was all gone because you apparently manipulated him into leaving me!”

“There is no need to yell,” Elena says calmly, and I watch as Fable’s hand clenches to the point her knuckles are white. “And he jumped at the chance. He wanted to play hockey more than to be with you.”

“That’s not true. You told me my family would go into debt,” I remind her, but she dismisses me with an eye roll.

“They probably already were,” she says, crossing her arms. “We did you a service, really.”

“You tore us apart!” Fable wails, her tears coming down hard. “You made me feel like he didn’t want to skate with me. Like I was the problem. You said that no one was strong enough to deal with me and that I should just do solo.” I close my eyes and wrap my hand around her stomach, bringing her back into me for the silent support. Knowing she felt that way is another stab to my heart. I should have fought harder. “You sent me away, telling me it was for the best, but then kept the letters he wrote me?”

Guilt floods Richie’s face while Elena just shrugs. “You didn’t need them. All he wanted to know was if you were okay. He didn’t need to know that. He talked about hockey and music, nothing worth a damn.”

Fucking bitch. “But those words were for me. His words were mine and you stole them, just like you stole him away from me.”

“Fable!” Elena exclaims, setting her with a dark look. “We have said this time and time again—he isn’t good enough for you.”

“That isn’t your choice. It’s mine!” she screams, her body jerking with each word. “I would have chosen him then, and I choose him now.”

“Ruin your life. That’s your choice ,” she says, mocking her daughter. “But when he leaves you after spending all your money or learning how damn exhausting you are, you’ll come right on back to us.”

My body shakes against hers as I bite out, “That’s unacceptable.” It’s hard to stay calm, but I need to, when Fable is losing it. “I know you like to lie, but don’t assume that about me. I have no interest in her money. I love her as a person. I let you convince me to leave once, but nothing will keep me from her now.”

Elena scoffs, rolling her eyes, as Richie swallows hard. He looks right at his daughter. “We did it for you.”

“You ruined my life,” she says, tears streaming down her face. “But thankfully, he revived it.”

“I highly doubt it,” Elena says. Her nose is so far up in the air, I’m surprised she can even breathe.

Fable lets out a growl that has me standing straighter. “Apologize to him.”

Her mother laughs, but I’ll give it to Richie. He looks pained. “Fable, we did this for you.”

“Apologize!” she bellows, and that only makes Elena laugh more.

“I won’t. We did nothing wrong.”

“You did,” Kitty seethes. “You tore apart two people who loved each other.”

Elena snorts. “Take off your rose-colored glasses, Kitty. They were young. They didn’t know what love was.”

“I did,” I say as she brings her hateful gaze to mine. “I loved my family and chose them instead of myself. But from now on, I’ll only choose Fable.”

Elena’s laugh is taunting, but Fable looks up at me, cupping my face, and I hold her close. “I’m so sorry they’ve done this.”

I move a piece of hair out of her lashes. “I told you—they don’t matter.”

Her lip trembles as she admits, “I don’t think they’ll apologize.”

I turn my head to kiss her palm. “I don’t need their apology, princess. I only need you.”

Her eyes are flooded with tears, and they continue to flow down her cheeks. She hiccups a sob. “I can’t stay here.”

“Then we’ll leave,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “Let’s go.”

“Fable, my darling, I’m sorry,” Kitty says, and I wish she had just stood there. Another round of sobs hits my girl as she looks over at Kitty. Her grandmother falls back into her seat, pressing her hand to her head. “I didn’t know until it was too late.”

“But you didn’t make it better. Why didn’t you make it better?”

Kitty’s lip quakes, and she looks at us with agony in her gaze. “Your father told me if I did, I’d lose not only him, but you. He’d keep you from me.”

All eyes fall to Richie, and I want to murder the man for hurting Fable and Kitty the way he did. I shake my head, looking at him with nothing but malice in my eyes.

Fable’s voice is small as she asks, “How could you?”

“I was protecting you, Fable Winter. He is not the man for you.”

“He is the only man for me!” she yells, her face flushing so red, I worry she can’t breathe. “Apologize to him!”

“Never,” Elena snaps, shaking her head. “You’ll see. We’re right.”

She doesn’t even look at her mother before she asks, “Dad?”

Richie looks from Elena to his daughter, and I can’t fathom how this man ever thought he could be a father. I would never look at my daughter with such disdain and not give her what she asks for. With a shake of his head, he tells her, “I won’t. We did this for you.”

Fable nods. “Then I am not your daughter any longer. Hope you planted a new one.”

She turns, but before I can follow, Kitty says, “I am so sorry, Jett.”

I nod. “It’s not your fault, Kitty. I love you.”

She covers her mouth, sobbing quietly as she nods. “I love you, honey.”

I send her a sweet smile before I glance at Fable’s parents, both looking distraught and unsure what to do. “No one and nothing will keep me from marrying that girl. I will love her more than either of you could even comprehend, and I will remind her daily how perfectly made she is. As she is. As my wife.”

“Get out of my house,” is all her mother says.

“With pleasure.”

I break into a jog to catch up to Fable, but then I’m sprinting when I find her outside on all fours, her body shaking with sobs. I slide along the manicured lawn, capturing her before pressing her body to mine.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey,” I chant, cupping her face, stricken by the sight of how hard she’s crying. She’s hyperventilating, gasping and clawing at her neck as she tries to breathe. Panic fills me, but I grab her hard, pulling her chest to me. “Come on, princess. Breathe with me.” I take a deep breath as she struggles. Her eyes are bloodshot, her tears falling hard as she wails and fights for breath. I hold her gaze as I tell her again, “Breathe, in and out. Come on. Yes, good job,” I praise as she inhales, letting it out and repeating the motion. “I love you so much, Fable. You’re so strong.”

Her lips quiver as she wails, wrapping her arms around me and hiding her face in my neck. “We have to go. I can’t be out here like this.”

“The fuck you can’t. We aren’t moving until you can breathe.”

“Jett, people can see,” she sobs, but I shake my head once more.

“They see a man holding the woman he loves,” I tell her, kissing her ear. “In and out, princess. Breathe with me.”

She does as I ask, and as I hold her to me, I watch as curtains open and people peek through. Some even come onto their doorsteps, but I don’t let her go. Her heart is still beating out of control, and with every other breath, she shudders or hiccups instead of breathing. When I see movement in the corner of my eye, I notice her neighbor approaching the black fencing.

The older lady’s face is full of concern, her eyes a little teary as she asks, “JT, honey, is everything okay?”

Fable tenses in my arms, and I send the older lady a wide smile, rubbing Fable’s back. “Yes, Mrs. Eisman, just helping my woman breathe.”

She nods, though she’s not convinced. “Fable, honey, are you okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she stammers, her voice so broken it hurts.

“Okay,” Mrs. Eisman says, but I can tell she’s worried. “I love you both. I have always rooted for you two. The only people who matter are you two and Kitty. Okay, sweetheart?”

Fable lets out a sob, and I hold her tight. Mrs. Eisman grimaces as I send her a thankful grin, and she blows me a kiss as Fable wraps her arms around me. I don’t move, only hold her tighter as she takes in breath after breath, easing my tormented heart.

When she pulls back, her red-rimmed eyes bring tears to my own when she looks up at me. “If I said I wanted to leave this town, would you let me?”

I search her eyes, knowing my truth. “Yes, and I’d go with you.”

“But the Thistle? Our home?”

“I don’t care. I’ll go with you.” Her lip wobbles, and I flash her a small smile. “Baby, breathe. They don’t matter. The past doesn’t matter. It’s my job to take your breath away, not all this other shit.”

Another sob leaves her as she leans into me, clutching me tightly to her body. “I love you,” she whispers, and I kiss her temple.

“Not as much as I love you.”

She draws in a shuddering breath. “Why aren’t I enough for them?”

My heart shatters as I lean in. “Because you scare them. You’re the best parts of your grandparents, and they don’t know how to handle that.”

Fable lets out another sob, and I press my lips to her nose as she sighs shakily. “I don’t want them to take what we’ve built.”

I hold her gaze as I stroke her cheek. “Then we stay and show them that, no matter what, they can’t break us.” I rub her jaw, my eyes searching hers. “They can watch us live a life they wish they could have. Share a love that is only ours. You and me, baby.”

She nods, pressing her nose to mine. Her eyes drift shut, and I watch as she takes a breath and lets it out through her nose. “I’m sorry.”

“Fable, for what?”

“For freaking out like this,” she answers, shame in her voice. I only saw her get panic attacks when we first started skating, but they never were this bad.

“Princess, all I care about is that you are breathing.”

“Still, I know it’s scary.”

“It’s scarier to live without you.” I kiss her nose. “You know I’ve got you.”

“I know.”

“And you’ve got me?”

“Always,” she answers, kissing my top lip. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get them to apologize to you.”

“I told you,” I remind her, “I didn’t need their apology.” I cup her face, making sure she’s looking into my eyes, as I tell her, “The past was our start, the twenty years apart were an interlude, the last six months were the twist and climax. But our future, baby, that is our happy ending.”

Her lips quake before a sob escapes, and she promises, “I’ll love you forever, Jett Thomas Cook.”

I sigh deeply, my whole body making the motion before I bring my mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. No one has ever stood up for me like she has, and I know no one will ever evoke the feelings Fable inspires in me. I hate that they hurt her, that they hurt us, but no matter what, we’re partners in life.

When I pull away to make sure she’s still breathing correctly, I fall deep into her eyes. I know she’ll always catch me. I give her a light kiss before I whisper against her soft, trembling lips, “And I’ll love you even longer.”