Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
It's funny. Whoever wants my land ensured the only thing I had left was the land. They took everything else when they sent that van careening through the front of my store.
I choke on a sob, trying hard to fight it back.
"Firefly." Callum reaches for me, but I take a step back. If he touches me right now, I'm going to fall apart. I can't do that here with dozens of people looking on. When I crack, I want it to be in the privacy of our home, in the shelter of his arms. Not here with half the sheriff's office and the fire department looking on.
"I want to go home," I mumble.
"The insurance adjuster is on the way, baby."
"I don't care. I just want to go home."
"I can drop her off before I meet Finn to do that thing we discussed earlier," Cormac offers, stepping up beside his cousin. He's a giant, standing head and shoulders taller than everyone except Callum. He's usually loud and boisterous, but he's subdued now. "You can wait for the insurance guy."
Callum looks torn.
"I'll be fine. We have cameras now." I try to smile at him, but it wobbles on my face. "I'll keep Kieve close and lock the door until you get home."
"Fuck." He pulls me into his arms to kiss me hard on the mouth. "Fine. But you keep the doors locked, Firefly. I'll be there as soon as the insurance adjuster is done here."
"Okay." I press my forehead to his for a brief moment and then pull away.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Cormac leads me out of the wreckage of my store toward a massive truck pulled up beside Callum's. He has to help me climb in. Even with the step on the side, my legs are too short. I have a feeling he probably has it that way just so he has to help his wife get in when they take his truck.
We have to navigate around fire trucks and police cruisers to get out of the parking lot. The entire parking lot is still cordoned off as a crime scene. God. My store is now a crime scene.
"You'll rebuild, Hope," Cormac rumbles, letting me know I said that out loud. "We won't let you fail. That's not how it works here. We take care of our own."
"There's nothing left to rebuild." I glance out of the window to hide the tears in my eyes. "I can't mix the salves and ointments that require plants and flowers that were destroyed. Most of my stock was in that store."
"Shit."
"Yeah."
We drive in silence until we're nearly to my house and then Cormac speaks up again. "You know Callum was in the Army?"
"He told me. Special Forces."
"Yeah. When my girl was in danger, he's the person I trusted to guard her back because he doesn't fail. The word isn't in his vocabulary. When it counts, he comes through, no matter what." He glances over at me as he pulls into my driveway. "It counts more than ever this time because you matter more than anything ever has to him. Don't give up yet, sweetheart. He won't fail you, and he won't let you fail."
"Thank you," I whisper, my throat tight. "For everything, Cormac."
He grins at me, flashing his dimples. "Anytime. You're family. We always protect our family." He jerks his chin toward the house. "Go on inside and lock the doors. I'll wait until you're inside."
I nod and open the door, wiggling down from his truck. I head straight for the door, waving once I get it unlocked. Cormac waves back but doesn't move an inch until the front door closes behind me.
Kieve lifts his head from his pile of blankets to glare at me.
As soon as I hear Cormac's truck backing down the driveway, I slide down the door, wrap my arms around myself, and give into the tears I've been holding at bay all morning. They come in gasping sobs, wracking my body.
Kieve whines and then I hear his tiny nails tapping against the floor as he runs toward me. He squeezes his way onto my lap, stretching his neck up to lick my face.
"Oh, Kieve," I whisper, holding him. "What are we going to do?"
He whines softly as if to say he doesn't know.
That makes two of us.
I'm still sitting in the same spot when Callum pulls into the driveway an hour later. I carefully set Kieve on his feet and wipe my face, though I know there's no hiding the fact that I've been crying. Callum will see right through me. He always does.
From the very beginning, he's seen me more clearly than anyone else ever has. He knows me in ways no one ever has. I didn't need Cormac to tell me that Callum won't fail me. I know he won't. He'll find whoever destroyed my store. He'll make sure they pay. But it won't bring back what they took.