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Mav’s protectiveness at dinner with Joey was adorable.

He even reminded Gigi, who hugs everyone, not to touch Joey unless he initiates it.

Shay is such a sweet girl, but watching the way Mav is with her worries me.

She has a serious boyfriend, a fellow basketball player.

And I know what it’s like to love someone you can’t have. I don’t want that pain for him.

As soon as we walk in the front door, Cal’s voice comes from behind me. “Bellamy, can your mom and I talk to you for a few minutes...alone.”

My nerves skyrocket, wondering if somehow they found out about me and Cash before we could tell them tomorrow.

I look over my shoulder and find Cash and Mav wearing matching concerned expressions.

We had previously planned to sit them down on Sunday afternoon before we headed back to MRU so that they would have time to digest it without us under their roof.

But what if they figured it out on their own?

Cash nods to the couch in the living room, letting me know he’ll be right there.

Trepidation prickles along my skin as I follow my mom and Cal into the kitchen. Instead of taking a seat, like I expect them to, they stand on the opposite side of the island from me. My stomach churns with anxiety at the turmoil on my mom’s face.

“Bellamy, there’s something I need to tell you.” Her voice shakes, and a million thoughts run through my head as Cal takes her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across her skin.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my words tumbling out in a rush.

“It’s going to be okay, honey. It's just your mom got some news late last night and we want you to know about it,” Cal says, now moving his hand to my mom’s back, encouraging her.

“Your father…” She pauses, her lips trembling, and just the way she says it has the ground shaking beneath me.

“He… He’s being released. This coming week.”

As soon as the statement registers, my mind spirals and my body tilts.

Does he know where we are?

Can he get her?

Can he get me?

Will he want to hurt our family?

“We were hoping he would get denied parole again, but according to the state of Tennessee, he’s served his time.”

It’s like I can’t breathe as I look to the window, trying to remind myself there’s no thunder or lightning outside.

Please, don’t go there. Please, don’t take me back there.

He’s going to be out and free. What if he got my letter? Will he come looking for me?

My heart races. I feel like I’m going to be sick as my vision goes black around the edges. I see my mom moving, coming closer to comfort me, but I can’t stop it from happening. My knees tuck into my chest, my hands cover my head, my heart feels like it's going to beat right out of my chest.

Somehow, I’m back there under that bed, thunder pounding around me, lightning striking, shedding just enough brightness in the dark that I can see the trail of blood on the hallway floor.

The gunshot playing over and over in my head.

Or is it the thunder? I can even smell the stench of the old home.

I can hear his angry voice carrying through the walls and my mother’s desperate pleas.

I don’t want to be here. Please. Someone, save me.

Mama said not to get up unless she came back to get me.

“Bellamy.” Someone shakes me. It feels so real.

“Bella, baby. Look at me. Please look at me.” The voice begs, and that’s when I let his words wash over my senses.

Cash.

He’s here. I’m okay.

Tears seep from the corners of my eyes as I cling to his shirt, inhaling his scent, letting his presence calm me, like he always does. He places a gentle kiss on the side of my lip. “There you go, baby. Now look at me. Show me those pretty green eyes.”

My eyes open, and I’m met with his deep brown ones. Eyes I love, eyes that are filled with unshed tears, out of concern for me. Reaching up, I put one hand on his face, grounding myself more, making sure he’s truly here.

“You’re here with me, and I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”

More tears trail down my cheeks, and I bury my face into his chest, but not because I’m scared anymore. No… Because I believe every word.

A throat clears beside us, and that’s when I realize our parents just witnessed our intimate moment, but before I can think about how to handle this, Cash picks me up, my face still buried in his shirt.

“I’m sure you guys have a lot of questions, but obviously this conversation has already been a lot on everyone, especially Bellamy, so give us some time, and then we can talk. For now, I want her to rest.”

As he walks us out of the living room area, I hear Mav’s sweet voice speaking quietly, “Love you, Bellamy. Bubs, let me know if she needs anything.”

Our parents don’t respond to any of what’s happening, or at least not with words. I expect the anxiety over what they think to bombard me, but instead, I’m overcome with relief and exhaustion.

Relief they know or have a major hint as to mine and Cash’s feeling for each other.

Relief that I know Cash, Mav, and Cal will do everything to protect me and my mom.

Relief that I’m in my safe space in Cash’s arms.

Cash

I stare at Bellamy as the sun starts to peek in through the curtains, cascading across her face and making her freckles appear golden.

Her panic attack may have only been minutes long, but her mind went through a whole childhood of trauma within that short period of time, and she was exhausted afterwards.

Thankfully, she had already eaten dinner at Gigi’s before everything went down because she was so tired there was no way she would have had the energy to eat.

It was eye opening for me how much a panic attack like that can wear on someone both physically and mentally.

Bellamy let me change her into a pair of athletic shorts and one of my oversized t-shirts, then we crawled into bed, and I held her while our comfort movie played in the background. She was asleep within minutes.

To my surprise, our parents left us alone for the rest of the night, but I know we’ll have questions to answer.

Bellamy was already nervous about our initial plan to talk to them today, so at least now it’s pretty obvious there’s more to our relationship.

It’s like we ripped the band-aid of that conversation without even realizing.

I knew the second the words came out of Andrea’s mouth that Bellamy was going to have a hard time processing her father being released; however, I didn’t anticipate seeing the love of my life on the floor in the fetal position.

The sight of her like that broke me into pieces. There was nothing or no one stopping me from taking care of her in that moment.

I gently trace the freckles on her cheek. She’s so beautiful, and after today, no matter what, she will be mine, out in the open for everyone to see. My stomach coils with excitement at the thought. She’s been my dream since I was seventeen, and it’s finally coming true.

“Good morning,” she whispers, taking my hand in hers and bringing it to her lips before she even opens her eyes.

“Morning, Bella.”

“Last night feels like something between a dream and a nightmare.”

I nod, a sad smile taking over my face.

“Thank you for taking care of me. That hasn’t happened to me in so long.”

I shake my head, gently rubbing my thumb across her palm. “Don’t thank me. I’m sorry you had to feel an ounce of that pain.”

“So, from what I remember of last night, there’s probably no way our parents don’t know there’s more to our relationship.”

“Probably not, but at least the awkward part of today’s conversation is out of the way.”

“True. I was wondering how we were going to drop the initial bomb,” Bellamy teases, already smiling. She’s one of the most resilient people I know.

“You ready to do this?” I ask, taking her pinky in mine.

She takes a deep breath, releasing it with a whoosh . “Let’s do it.”

“Before we go down there, I don’t want to upset you, but I want you to know…” I reach over, tucking a piece of shiny red hair behind her ear. “I’ll always be here to protect you. No one will ever hurt you again. And I know my dad will protect your mom with everything too.”

She runs her hands through my hair, tugging me down for a kiss.

When she pulls away, she whispers, “I know, baby. I’ve never felt safer. Last night was just sudden, and I wasn’t prepared, so old coping mechanisms wiggled their way out.”

I place another kiss on the top of her head and take her hand in mine.

Neither of us bother to change out of the comfortable clothes we fell asleep in.

Deep down, I think we’re both ready to get this over with.

So we head down the steps. I give her a hand a squeeze when I hear the sound of movement in the kitchen, telling us our parents are awake and waiting.

My stomach rumbles with nerves as we round the corner. “I love you,” I whisper.

I love you , Bellamy mouths back with a reassuring smile.

Two pairs of eyes immediately fall to our joined hands before moving quickly to Bellamy’s face. They soften quickly. I know, just like me, the turmoil we witnessed her go through last night is something we won’t forget.

My dad is the first to speak. “Let’s sit.” He waves to the breakfast nook.

Once we’re all seated, he says, “First, I want to mention one thing about last night, but Bellamy, we don’t have to discuss it if you don’t want to.”

I squeeze Bellamy’s hand, letting her know I’m right here. She smiles at me before nodding to my father. “I’m okay to talk about it.”

“I want to assure you, we’ll do everything to make sure you and your mom aren’t on his radar.

I’ve already made a phone call about putting up a gate here and more security.

We can add more safety measures for you at Mountain Ridge too.

I made a call to my buddy, Smith Rexwood, who runs the local Rebel Knights Motorcycle club.

He has some guys who do PI work. So, I’m going to have your father followed to make sure he has no ill intent when it comes to both you and your mom. ”

“Thank you,” she says, and I feel her body completely relax beside me. Tears gloss her eyes when she looks at her mom, who reaches over to squeeze her hand before sitting back.

“Now, for the other matter,” he says, looking between the two of us.

“We’re still processing this revelation. I’m not going to lie, I’m struggling with it a bit, but between Mav and Andrea, I’m really trying.”

Andrea speaks up, directing her words to Bellamy.

“I remember that first summer... You’d never let another person in the way you did with Cash.

It terrified me, because I was finally falling in love again, and I’d hoped your closeness would turn into a sibling connection, but deep down, I knew there was more between you two. ”

Bellamy smiles at her mom, and I can tell what she said means a lot to her.

My dad clears his throat, tucking a strand of his longer salt-and-pepper hair behind his ear.

“Mav told us you guys have put your feelings aside for years because you wanted us to be happy. Three years ago, I wouldn’t have liked it one bit, but now…

Now I see how important you are to each other.

I’m not saying it’s not going to take some getting used to, but all we want is for you both to be happy, too. ”

Bellamy’s hands go to her face, and I know she’s crying from their approval and reassurance. I lean over and pull her into my arms. These tears are different from last night. These are tears of joy and relief.

She lifts her head up, swallowing roughly. “I’m sorry. I just love Cash so much, but I also wanted my family. Mom, you’re right, I’ve never looked at Cash like a brother, but he’s my family and so is everyone else on this ranch. I’ve just been so scared I’d have to give up one to have the other.”

Our parents both stand, walking around to our side of the table and embracing each of us in a hug. “We’re a family. Who cares if it may not look like others? I’d never want you to give that up,” my dad says, emotion thickening in his voice.

“We love you both. Seeing the way you took care of my girl last night convinced me right away that there’s no one better for my daughter. In a way, I should’ve seen it long ago,” Andrea sniffles.

“And there’s no one better for me. Trust me, I tried, but there’s no stopping the way I feel about Bellamy.”

My hand finds Bellamy’s again, loving that I can touch her whenever I want to.

“I missed the family group hug memo,” a smirking Mav says from across the kitchen.

“Get in here, Rick,” Bellamy laughs, the lightness in the sound allowing me to finally take a full breath.

Well, this went a lot better than I imagined.