Page 77 of Far From Sherwood Forest

“Just say it and get it over with,” I tell him, trying really hard not to let my voice crack and failing.

“Say what?”

“That this can’t happen again.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and then, “I’m not saying that.”

There’s that damn hope again.Naivehope. Dangerous hope. The kind that’s going to leave me for dead, dying for one last drink when the well dries up.

I say nothing because I don’t want to let myself believe it.

Henry sighs as he rests his forehead against the back of myneck. “I just…”

And here it comes.

“I have a lot of shit to figure out. I need some time. Just a little. Can you give me that?”

I turn around in the small space between him and my truck to face him, his hand still pressed against the window over my shoulder. Staring into his eyes, I see a similar kind of pain I saw there before when I wanted to touch him. I wish I could make it better, but I can tell he’s not ready to let me try. Not yet.

“It might not be up to me,” I tell him, reminding him that the Spirit is running the show and probably always has been. “So I hope you figure it out in time. Either you’re all in or you’re all out, Henry. If I haven’t made it obvious, I’m pretty fucking all in.”

“Why the hell would you wantme?” His brows dip low as though he’s genuinely lost for an explanation.

Hesitantly, I reach up with one hand and place my palm on his bare chest, right over his heart. “Because I know there’s more beneath that grumpy, asshole exterior of yours. Which, admittedly, is pretty hot.”

A tiny grin creeps into the corner of his mouth.

“But I know there’s more.”

I’ve seen bits and pieces of the broken parts he tries to keep hidden. Slivers that he’s let slip through his cracks. I’ve gathered them all, holding on even when they cut me deeper, ready to put them back together when he finally gives me the rest. I’d rather bleed than let them go.

He moves his hand off the window and places it on the back of my neck. This time, when he kisses me, it’s soft and slow and damn near kills me. He deepens it only briefly, his tongue brushing along mine once, before he pulls away.

“I should get to work.”

I nod. “Me too.”

Reaching past me, he opens the door to my truck like a goddamn gentleman as I step aside.

Grinning at him, I say, “Told you.”

He rolls his eyes. “Shut up.”

I bite my lip to keep my grin from turning into a full-blown smile as I climb into the cab. He holds onto the door without closing it, staring at me for a moment before speaking again.

“If the time comes, and you have to leave…” He pauses, and I know exactly what he’s going to say by the way his mouth turns down. “Don’t wait on me.”

I give him a small smile, deciding I can bear to hold onto hope one last time. “You should already know I’ll wait as long as I can.”

The lines of his face soften like that’s what he was hoping I’d say.

He shuts the door, and I start the engine. After he gives me one last look through the window, he turns and heads back inside his cabin. I watch him go, staring at his back and wishing I could kiss away the scars there.

Maybe I’m a fool for still having hope, but I’ll do it anyway.

For Henry.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Robin in days, but that’s not new. He’s been gradually taking up more and more space in my head for weeks. Months.