Page 63 of The Disputed Legacy

He had to have noticed the panic growing on my face. As I stepped back to pace, to move, to do something, he reached his hand toward me.

I dodged it. I didn’t need his comfort now. I didn’t want his touch. I had to remain as clear-headed as possible andthink.

“We have a lot to learn about each other, Willow, but please understand that when I have concerns about your safety, it’s not a bluff or joke.”

“I…” Closing my eyes tightly, I shook my head and gave him my back. I couldn’t look at him now.

Because he was right.

There was too much secrecy between us. His wording implied that he wouldn’t let that be an obstacle from having me, from us being together.

We’d gotten too close despite the distance I tried to keep us apart. My offer as friends. Telling him I wasn’t dating anyone anytime soon. The cool aloofness I tried to stick with when he first came into the diner. It hadn’t worked. We were too drawn to each other.

In a normal world, if I could still be the strong and independent woman I’d been for years, this was the moment when I’d redraw that line between us. Now was when I’d tell him no, to get out and let me be so I could continue calling the shots about my life.

I wasn’t that woman anymore. Since realizing how safe he could make me feel, how soothing it was to have his support and not be alone, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to go.

I didn’t want him to go.

And I struggled to accept that life had changed that quickly, that drastically.

How can I trust you?

How can I trust that Oscar won’t be taken from me if I let you into my life?

Oscar was all I’d had to live for. His safety with me was my number-one priority. Yet, after how quickly and effortlessly Saul seemed to have gotten rid of that cop, and how he’d risked himself to take a bullet for my son, it seemed illogical to think that we’d be safer on our own again.

Wewerestronger with Saul here.

“Willow.”

He stepped toward me, perhaps too impatient to let this silence wane between us.

I turned, lifting my gaze to his as I cleared my throat. “No.”

“No what?” He furrowed his brow, not angry, but making sure he was following.

“No, I can’t relocate. I can’t uproot Oscar and…” I shook my head. “No. I can’t go anywhere with you, Saul.”

He licked his lips and sighed, as if he had to take a second to regroup before making his case again.

“If you’re… if you’re in trouble and bringing danger in your wake, then I can live with that.” I knew all too well what it felt like to be hunted. He was the only one shot at the diner. A cop had only shown up at my doorstep since Saul was staying here. The connection was clear. He was the common denominator to all this.

“If you need to lie low and hide, you’re welcome to do that here. For as long as you need to or want to, you can stay here.”

He had to be a fugitive. Or someone on the run. That was the only explanation that fit. And I could sympathize with that. I’d felt owned by another, by a system, for way too long and I wouldn’t wish it on someone I cared for. And I did. I cared for this rugged, mysterious man even if I shouldn’t.

I had no choice over what my heart wanted. No one did.

“I can’t lose my apartment. It’s not much, but this is all I have. Oscar and I haven’t had a very easy life, and I’ve worked too hard to provide for him with this much. We’ve alreadymoved too many times. We’ve already had a rocky life with little stability. And I can’t take this sense of being home away from him.”

He let out a deep sigh and reached me. Holding me close once more, he guided me to lean against him. I was too weak not to. I yearned for his touch too much.

I wasn’t going to tell him to leave.

I couldn’t when it felt too right to have him near, like this.

“I don’t want you to take anything away from him. I only want to make sure you’re safe.”