Page 22 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)
I gently brush her fingers away and lift her hand up, and what I find makes the anger that was simmering inside me the moment I saw what was going on, the one I’ve been barely holding onto until now, as it is, come rushing up to the surface.
“What the fuck?—”
Deep red marks are marring her flesh, and I can already see the first signs of a bruise forming on her skin. My body is tense, and it takes everything in me to keep my hand relaxed so I don’t hurt her even more.
“It’s fine. It’ll disappear.”
Disappear?
“It’s not fine!” I hiss, my head snapping up.
Rose jerks back at the harsh tone of my voice, and I curse myself for letting my temper get the better of me.
Inhaling deeply, I let my thumb skim over her skin.
The slow circling motion grounds me. Her skin is soft, nothing like my calloused fingertips.
This time, when I speak, my voice is gentler.
“He left bruises on you,” I whisper, slowly lifting my gaze to meet hers as my words ring in the air.
That anger is still simmering, barely contained.
“It’s most definitely not fine. I should have punched him when I had the chance. ”
Her heartbeat kicks up a notch under my touch, goosebumps peppering her flesh.
“No.” Rose shakes her head adamantly, the fingers of her free hand grabbing mine. “You can’t do that. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it.”
“But you are.”
I don’t know where the words come from, but they’re out there before I can think them through.
Think of the ramifications they might have.
My thumb skims over her pulse point, the wild beat of her heart calling to me.
I press my thumb against it gently, feeling the furious thump-thump-thump that matches the ringing in my eardrums.
Rose’s lips part as she sucks in a breath, those sky-blue eyes widening in surprise. Her tongue darts out, sliding over her lower lip, and a soft pink flush spreads over her cheeks.
“Nobody has ever said that to me.”
I swallow hard and lift my gaze to hers, my voice coming out raspy. “You’re worth it, Rose Hathaway. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”
A shaky breath escapes her. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip, drawing my attention to it. What would happen if I leaned down and tugged it free? How would she feel like? Taste like?
As if she can hear my thoughts, she lets the lip pop. The color rushes into the flesh, making it the most delicate shade of pink.
Fuck my life.
A rumble comes out of my chest as I take a step closer, when from the corner of my eye, I see the front door open.
I pull back, letting her hand drop like it burned me. Rose turns around to face her son. Her trembling hand lifts, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Kyle glances at us, his eyes shifting from his mother to me, Shadow by his side. “Did your sister come?”
My brows furrow in confusion, and it takes me a moment to remember what I told him. “False alarm.”
Kyle shakes his head. “Your hearing isn’t really good. I’m deaf, but what’s your excuse?”
“Kyle!” Rose chastises, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know where that came from. Apologize to Mr. Williams right now.”
“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “He’s right. My hearing isn’t the best.”
Kyle looks at me skeptically. “You don’t hear?”
“Not well.”
“But you don’t use ASL.”
“No, I never learned it.”
“You should learn it. It’s the best. My friend Levi is learning sign language, and we can talk so nobody understands us.”
“This kid will be the death of me,” Rose mutters, her eyes narrowed at her son. As she lets her hands drop, I can see her curling her wrist to try to alleviate the ache that John’s manhandling caused. My jaw clenches, the anger at her ex rising to the surface. I need to get out of here.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I tell Kyle before glancing at Rose. “You should put some ice on that.” I tap the side of my leg. “Let’s go, Shadow.”
“You’re leaving already?” Kyle pouts. “I wanted to train Shadow a bit more.”
“Yeah, I have work to do. Another time.”
“You promise?”
I nod. “I promise.”
Rose places her hand on Kyle’s shoulder. With one final glance at the two of them, I turn around and go home. My eyes scan the space just in case, but John’s nowhere to be seen.
Good.
Instead of walking into the house, I beeline for the barn. The space has been dubbed as our garage for years now, and after I came home from my last deployment, I’ve ordered some gym equipment so I can do my PT and work out in there.
Considering all this restless energy coursing through me, that’s exactly what I need right now.
Shadow goes to her bed and huffs, while I check the weights before lying down on the bench.
I try to focus on controlling my breathing as I lift, but I can’t get the images of Rose cornered against the wall with her ex’s hands on her. Hurting her.
Gripping the bar tighter, I push the weights up in quick reps, barely taking any time in between them. The sweat is dripping down my face, and my arms are shaking.
He’d better not come back uninvited because the next time I won’t be nearly as nice.
It’s late by the time I’m done; my body is too spent to move.
Grabbing a towel, I wipe at my face as I whistle softly. Shadow joins me as we leave the barn and go to the door. I’m just about to reach for the handle when I see a little plastic container in front of the door.
Crouching down, I lift it, my eyes falling to the little paper on top of the closed container as I enter the house.
You can say what you want, but I know the truth.
Thank you for saving me.
Again.
Rose
P.S. Hopefully, you can manage the microwave better than the stove. ;)
I stare at the words for a while longer, my throat feeling tight with each passing second. Then my gaze falls on the container she left.
Food.
She left me food.