“Where did you think you’d end up?” he asked.
She
glanced at him. “I gave that up when I was little.”
“Gave what up?” he asked, wrapping a long strand of her black hair around his finger.
“Playing the what-if game. It can be defeating.” There was no inflection to her words. “It’s better to take one day at a time—have no expectations.”
He stared up at the ceiling overhead, asking, “What happened, Kylee? How did you and Shawn get here?”
She lay there, her fingers stroking along the plane of his stomach, without saying a word. He’d almost decided to change the subject when she spoke, her words so rushed he knew it was hard to tell him.
“Shawn was born, dad died and suddenly we had no money, house or car. Mom worked all the time, but we struggled.” She paused. “Shawn kept me and Mom going. He never cried, even when he was a baby.”
She drew in a deep breath, her pace slowing. “Mom went missing my freshman year of high school. It took a few weeks to learn she was dead—assaulted and left in a field. We had no one so we started bouncing through foster homes. Some okay, others weren’t. I was almost ready to graduate when they said I’d have to leave the system...and Shawn.”
In that instant, Fisher understood. There was no way she’d ever leave Shawn undefended.
“I was too young to be his guardian. And the home we were in then...” She shook her head. “I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I couldn’t leave him. The night of my graduation, we took the bus from Oregon to Las Vegas. Jesse was waiting at the bus station, looking for kids like Shawn and me—young, scared, impressionable. Stupid.”
“You were taking care of your brother, Kylee, protecting him,” Fisher argued.
“But I didn’t,” she spoke softly. “He’s a good pickpocket. He can hotwire a car. He can swipe a phone, a set of keys, even a purse without getting caught.” She paused. “He’s twelve, Fisher...but he’s not. Sometimes I worry he’ll never really be a kid. Because of me he lived on the streets—without Jesse, we were eating out of dumpsters, sleeping in cardboard boxes and begging for money. Jesse might not have had the best intentions, but he got us off the streets. Something I couldn’t manage to do for my little brother.”
His heart hurt—for her, for Shawn. At the mention of Jesse, something hot and hard settled in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t a vengeful man, but he suspected he’d get great satisfaction from punching the man senseless. “I wish I could make it better.”
She looked up at him. “It’s getting better. I just hope one day Shawn doesn’t wake up and realize I’m the reason his life was so messed up.”
“You’re not. What alternative did you have? Leave him?” Fisher frowned. “He loves you, Kylee. I think you’re his hero.” He smoothed her hair back. “He’s a kid. They bounce back. And the Shawn I know is happy.”
“That’s all I want—for him to be happy.”
“What about what you want?” he asked. She’d spent so long worrying over Shawn’s well-being, their very survival. Did she know what she wanted? Did she know there was nothing holding her back now?
“I don’t want anything.”
“Nothing?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
She studied him again. “All I ever wanted was love—maybe for Shawn and me to be part of a family.” She looked at him, hesitant. “Over time, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”
He sat up, gripping her shoulders. “Kylee—”
She placed a hand over his mouth. “Then I met you.” She drew in a shaky breath. “After everything I’ve been through, I should know better than to hope. I should know better than to listen to my heart. But you say things, do things, that...that make me hope again.”
Her words gutted him. “You’ve got a second chance in Stonewall Crossing, Kylee. You and Shawn. I want to be a part of that, a big part of that, if you’ll let me. But, whatever you want, I’ll help you get it.”
She shook her head, her long hair rippling around her shoulders.
“What?” he asked, pulling her closer.
“Why me?” she whispered.
“Why not you?” he asked, tilting her head back to peer into her blue eyes. “I love you because of who you are. Considerate, protective, fierce, cautious.” He stroked her cheek. “Patient, smart, loyal.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Gorgeous, kind and sexy.”
She laughed. “You’re only saying that because I’m naked.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m saying it because it’s the truth. Though I admit I do appreciate your nakedness.”