by B. N. Toler
I stayed with him when his feet began to move, leading him away. He didn’t bother to think of where he was going. He just went. I knew there were days when he’d get lost inside his head, where he was consumed by his loneliness, but walking seemed to help. It kept him moving. If he didn’t make himself move, he worried he’d never get out of bed. He didn’t know I was leading him, gently pushing him toward his destiny. Ten blocks later he ended up in a booth at a diner. It wasn’t just any diner. It happened to be on the corner where he’d almost died in a terrible accident, but someone had saved him. A name he refused to speak or think of.
Setting the stuffed animal on the table, he stared out the window, remembering how he’d left the man that saved his life to die. Was there any coming back from that kind of evil? He doubted it and the thought filled him with hopelessness.
“Hi there.”
Looking up, he found a beautiful woman, her blond hair tied back in a tight ponytail with glossed lips.
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” she went on.
She knew him? He couldn’t remember having ever met her. When he didn’t answer, she tilted her head, her smile falling.
“I’m sorry,” he stuttered. “I had a little accident. My memory is a little fuzzy.” He motioned at his head haphazardly.
She frowned, then her gaze moved from his face to the cat. He fought the urge to cringe as he realized she’d think he was insane for being a grown man carrying around a stuffed cat.
“That’s Pearl’s cat,” she said, surprised.
His mouth hung open. He had no idea who Pearl was or how to respond. Did she think he’d stolen it?
“She hasn’t been here in about a year. Have you seen her?”
“The gray-haired woman?” he asked. “She gave this to me, but I don’t know why.”
Placing a gentle hand on his arm, she asked, “I’m off in fifteen. Would you like to have some coffee and I’ll tell you how I know you and all about the cat?”
He gazed up at her, wondering why in the hell she’d want to sit down and waste a minute of her time speaking with him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “You look like you could use a friend.”
“I doubt you’d want to be my friend,” he mumbled.
She stared at him, the hairs rising up on her neck as she felt someone whispering to her that wasn’t even there, telling her not to let him push her away. Her gaze softening, she responded quietly, “Something tells me that’s not true.”
He nodded in agreement then motioned to the unoccupied bench in the booth. “I’ll be waiting for you to join me, then.”
As she patted his shoulder and moved to finish her shift, I drifted away, focusing on the whispers around me, searching for where I was needed most. Max was in good hands now, and though I knew I’d still look in on him, it was time to share my magic with someone else.
“I’m heading out,” Lenny hollered from the office door.
I waved from the third garage bay. “Have a good night, man,” I yelled back. “I’ll lock up.”
“See ya tomorrow,” he called. As the office door shut, I glanced around, a feeling of gratitude washing over me. It had been a few months since I started working again, but every day it hit me how damn lucky I was. Lenny had done it. He’d taken the money I’d given him when I was Max and opened his own shop. When I’d got back on my feet—literally and figuratively—after months of rehab and physical therapy he hired me. I was back doing what I loved. It had been a long year, but the best one of my life. I made sure to bow my head every day and give thanks. A walking miracle, the press had called me because I should’ve died. I went from a dirty bum, who barely warranted a glance from the average passerby, to famous because I’d awakened after a traumatic brain injury that should have been fatal. It had been surreal.
After I woke up, Waverly told me about Pearl and her visit, the things she had said. We all searched for Pearl, scouring the city streets, but she had vanished. I missed her, but I knew in my heart she was okay. She had always been okay. After all, she was karma. Pulling myself from my thoughts, I hurried to clean up my work bench and wipe down my tools. Waverly was picking me up in ten minutes, and I didn’t want to make her wait. The garage had closed almost an hour before, but I wanted to stay a little later to work on a special project.
“Hey there, handsome,” I heard, causing me to snap my head up. Waverly had just entered the garage through the office. Not one day had gone by since I woke up where we hadn’t seen each other, and every day the woman still took my breath away.
“Hey there, beautiful,” I beamed as I wiped my hands on a rag, watching her every step. “You’re early.”
“Well, Matt and Alice were so engrossed with Pim I was able to slip out pretty quickly.” Matt and Alice had just returned from their honeymoon and were dying for a night with Pim. As much as that sweet little girl owned my heart, I was dying for a night alone with her mama. She had almost reached me when she stopped dead in her tracks and gaped at my special project. “Are you serious, Liam?” She smirked.
“What?” I laughed.
“You jacked up Pim’s Barbie ATV?”
In the past year, Pim had gotten three other ATVs which we also tricked out. She loved coming to the garage with me and hanging out. She was no mechanic just yet, but she liked pretending to be and I loved our time together. “My girl will always have the baddest rides,” I informed her. “Whether it’s a cage or a bike.”
She snorted a laugh as she swung her arms around my neck. “You spoil her, ya know?”
“She’s my girl,” I shrugged slightly. “I just need to finish cleaning up and wash up real quick,” I informed her before bending slightly and kissing her. Hopping up on my workbench, she let her legs dangle over the edge as she watched me finish up, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Stop,” I grumbled, doing my best to keep focused on my task. She knew biting her lip like that was my fucking undoing.
“Stop what?” she questioned coyly.
She was wearing a flowy white top that hung off one shoulder. Her hair was down and curled, begging me to the thread my fingers in it. She was my one true weakness. Dropping my tool, I moved between her legs and grabbed her ass, sliding her to the edge of the bench. “I don’t want to get you dirty,” I told her.
Kissing me, she gently bit my lower lip. “Maybe I like being your dirty girl,” she whispered.
That’s all it took. In seconds our shirts were off, and she was lifting her ass as I tugged her jeans off. Every time we were together, every time we joined our bodies, it was erotic in all the ways sex can be physically, but making love to Waverly went beyond physically satisfying. Amidst the kisses, the bites, the skin on skin, the pants and moans, I found a peace that surpassed everything. She was my home, and when we joined together, when I took her body, she filled me with calm. It was the safest place I’d ever known.
Her legs were wrapped around my waist as I moved in and out of her, her fingers digging into my back, as she moaned, “I love you, baby,” over and over again. This was my heaven.
When we were finished, we were both breathless as we remained joined. Kissing the tip of my nose, she whispered, “I have something to tell you.”
“Oh yeah?” I chuckled as I moved, but she grabbed my hips, holding me in place.
“Don’t move,” she begged. “Not yet.”
My brows furrowed as I peered into her eyes. That’s when I saw it. She was worried. “What’s wrong?”
Her head dropped, but I lifted her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze again. “Don’t do that,” I told her. “Tell me.”
Swallowing hard she breathed deeply. “He did it. Max signed the papers. He gave up his rights to Pimberly.”
My chest hurt for some reason. I knew Waverly had wanted this for a long time, but I’d hoped when Max woke up he’d turn over a new leaf. I’d hoped he’d grab hold of his second chance and ride it like the wind. That’s what I had done and
would continue to do every day for the rest of my life.
As bad as Waverly had wanted Max to sign over his rights, I knew it didn’t offer her the relief she’d thought it would. It was just another hurt chalked up to the diabolical Max Porter.
“There’s more.”
“There is?”
“He sent a check with the papers. A check to help care for Pim. He sent a million-dollar check, Liam.”
I struggled with the news. I wondered why. Why did he sign the papers? Or rather, how could he? I doubted he’d send a check that large if the decision hadn’t been made with some guilt. On some level, he cared about Pim. If he didn’t, he would’ve signed the papers and washed his hands of it all. A part of him must have wanted to give Pim something, to make sure she was taken care of.
“That money will last a long time for Pim,” I noted.
“I know,” she nodded. “Just feels a little like a pay-off.”
Brushing her hair back over her shoulder, I kissed her. “I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I hated that Max had, once again, disappointed her. Months after I was released from the hospital, I went to his apartment to speak with him. It felt like the right thing to do, after all, I had inhabited his body. He refused to see me. Waverly wanted reasons why. Why didn’t he want Pim? I could have given her something from the sessions with Max’s therapist, but it never felt right; that was information that should come from him, if, or when, he was ready. I had my own questions, and part of me wanted answers, but I think there are some things we’re not meant to know and even if there were answers, I knew they’d never be good enough. It’s hard and unfair, but that’s life sometimes. We would probably never understand Max, but I understood, more than anything, how fucking lucky I was.
“I don’t hate him, ya know?”
I lifted my brows in surprise. “I never thought you did, not really.”
“I did,” she admitted. “I did for so long. But in the end, he did right by Pim and me.” She put her hands on my neck, her thumbs brushing against my jawline. “He lived so we could have you.”
I nodded a few times, her words hitting hard. It was such a fucked up situation and impossible to understand fully, but in the end no matter what the man had done or how fucked up he had been, he gave us each other. I’d given my life to save Max’s when he didn’t even want it, and now he’d given me his.
“I want you to adopt Pimberly,” Waverly blurted out, then bit her lower lip as if she were scared of my response. Was she serious? Had she been nervous about asking me to adopt Pim as my own? Grinning, I kissed her hard as a warmth pumped through my veins.
“It would be my honor,” I told her, my voice hoarse with emotion. Pim was mine anyway, as far as I was concerned. It didn’t matter who provided her DNA, she was my daughter. My little girl. I’d do anything for her.
Waverly’s smile was so big it made my heart skip. I was a damn lucky man, but I needed one more thing. Maybe I was being greedy, but I wanted more.
“Marry me,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d wanted to ask her the moment I woke up, but I also wanted to have something to give her when I did. I wanted to be back on my feet with a job. “I want you and Pim more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I want you in my bed every night and Pim waking me up at the crack of dawn so we can have our coffee and milk together, and I want to build a life with you. I want to have it all.”
Leaning my forehead against hers, I asked her again, “Marry me, Waverly.”
Her eyes teared up as she took my face in her hands and kissed me. “Yes, Liam,” she rasped. “We are going to have it all.”
A huge thank you to all my readers. I am humbled by your reviews, messages, and love. Thank you for your support and for sharing my work with others. You guys rock my world.
To you beautiful boss bloggers. Thank you for taking the time to read my work and share with others. I love each of you to the moon and back.
Thank you Amy Donnelly for your hard work editing this book. Your insight was critical in making this book work and I’m grateful. And I think you’re hot.
Thank you Rae Vatter Green with 77peaches for proof reading and helping me finely tune this story. Your thoughts and direction were so helpful.
Thank you Kari with Cover to Cover Designs for creating, yet again, another amazing cover for me.
Tami with Integrity Formatting. You. Are. Boss. That is all.
Dreama-Boo. I love you muchly. Thanks for all of your support and input.
Thank you to my dear friend, Kym. I appreciate all of your support and knowledge of the respiratory world. I love you, Red!
A huge thank you to my good friend, Jacob Traylor for answering bazillions of questions about motorcycles. And another thank you to your wife, my gorgeous dear friend, Kate, for playing middle man. Love you both!
Emmit Thomas and John Blaha, thank you both for also answering a ton of bike questions and reading over parts of my book to make sure I sounded like I knew what in the hell I was talking about. You guys are boss!
Lastly, thank you to my family and friends who have supported me and encouraged me. I love you all and am so thankful for each of you.
B N Toler lives in Virginia with her three rowdy children. She enjoys warm weather, beaches, reading, and music.
WEB ~ www.bntoler.com
EMAIL ~ [email protected]
FACEBOOK ~ www.facebook.com/pages/B-N-Toler-Author/279007692235640
TWITTER ~ @BNTOLER
GOODREADS ~ www.goodreads.com/author/show/7150768.B_N_Toler
The Healer Series
Healer
Hybrid
Savage
The Holly Springs Series
The Suit
The Anchor
Stand Alones
Wrecking Ball
Where One Goes
Taking Connor
Desperately Seeking Epic
