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remember from so long ago.
 I think I can take ya. He winks at her.  The truth is  he looks to Laney and me  I made it
clear to your mom before I went in that she was free. We filed for divorce as soon as they threw away
the key. I didn t think I d ever get out, and I sure as heck didn t want her to suffer because of my sins.
 That man who died  Laney says it just above a whisper  did he have a family?
 Mother, father  dad blows out a breath  no wife, two kids that were each with their own
momma s. He was a drifter. Your mom and I went out for a night on the town, and he decided she
would look real good sitting on his lap, so he tried to make it happen. I stopped him with a sucker
punch, and the rest was history.
 His father hired an attorney that made sure your father fried. Mom claps her hands together
once.  And, thankfully, he was paroled.
 What did you do before that? Laney pulls her shoulders to her ears.  I mean, I don t really
know that much about you. We heard you took off end of story.
 I used to work the rail lines. I ran freight back and forth to the south. It kept me away a couple
days a week, but it made coming home that much sweeter.
 I remember the day you left. Tears pool in my eyes.  You asked me to make sure Mom was
never alone to protect my little sister. I nod.  And to write.
His lips twitch somewhere between a smile and a good cry.
 Hang on there s something I d like to give you. I head to my room and speed back with the
letters in hand. I hold them out as if I were offering a gift to the king, and in a way I am. My father was
always my king, and our home was his castle.  I wrote you, Daddy. I hand over the impossibly huge
stack of letters, all of them bundled in colorful rubber bands according to year.  I wrote you every
day. It felt good to do this. I felt like you were still here, somehow that I was talking right to you.
Do you remember what else you said to me that day?
A river of tears slick down my father s face as he quietly shakes his head.
A stone settles in my throat, but I push the words out anyway.  You said that you d never be able
to read them.
He cracks a smile a ray of light that pierces right into my soul and fills in the darkness.
 Honey, I love it when I m wrong.
We share a soft laugh, as he pulls the wrapped bundles to his chest like a prize.
Mom s phone rings, and she stares at the screen a moment.  I think I need to take this. She picks
up and starts in on a brief conversation that has her saying okay, and that s great , over and over.
Mom ends the call and picks up her lemonade.  It was the realtor. Great news! I have a buyer for the
studio. She cuts a look to Laney and me as her smile turns into a scowl. You could slice the air with
my mother s displeasure over the fact we re not sharing in her elation.  Knock it off girls, this isn t
the time. Pick up your damn glasses, she barks out the command.  To new beginnings.
We reluctantly lift our lemonade.  To new beginnings.
I take a quick sip.
Yup leprechaun piss. That about sums up how I feel about losing the studio, too.
It feels like I m losing my best friend, my invisible third parent. I guess when the universe gave
me back my father, it needed to take one good thing away in order to make that happen. In a perfect
world, I d have both. But I m glad my father is the last man standing.
I can t help think how perfect my life would be with both my father and the studio in it.
I guess I ll never know.
That night, much to my mother s horror, Holt helps me move three duffle bags filled with my
stuff into his truck. Mom and Dad wave us off as we drive to Holt s apartment my new home.
We park and head on up. Holt places my bags down just inside his door.
 You ready to do this, kitten? He gives that cocky grin that I m positive he invented just to
make my insides melt.
 Only if you are.
He scoops me into his arms, and I let out a little scream mixed with laughter.
 I want to do this right. He carries me over the threshold and lands us softly onto the couch.  I
think we should do a lot of things right. He tucks a kiss up by my ear.  I m in this for the long haul,
Izzy.
 Me, too, Holt. I dig my fingers into the back of his cool, soft hair.  I think there are a few fury
people we forgot to bring.
He sucks in a quick breath.  Sounds like we need to make another trip. He starts to get up, and I
pull him down by the shirt.
 Tomorrow. I give a quick wink.  We ll let grandma babysit just one more time.
A muted laugh drums from his chest.  That makes this the last night we get the whole place to
ourselves.
I give a silent nod.  We should probably make the best of it.
 I ll make sure we will. Holt presses a soft kiss over my lips.  Thank you.
 For what?
 For just being you.
His hands run up my thighs in one smooth motion as his heated skin connects with mine. Holt
teases me with soft kisses as he lifts off my dress. He pulls back and examines me with my lace
panties, my matching bra that I picked out just for him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]