Zipping up her suitcase, she looked up and her eyes fell on a photograph of Kyle. Walking over, she picked it up, gaze caressing his handsome face. For most of her life, he’d been all she ever wanted, all she thought she’d ever want, even after his death. But life went on, and even though she never thought she’d move on from him, she found herself doing just that.
“I love you, Kyle. I’ll always love you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Nothing will ever change that. I need you to know that. But you’ve been gone for three years, and there’s a man in my living room who wants me, who can make me happy. Who already makes me happy. And I want to try. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, or do it right, but I want to give this thing between him and I, whatever it is, a shot. This isn’t me forgetting you. I could never, in a million years, forget you. But maybe it’s time to let go of the past and move on. I think you would have wanted me to do that.”
Tears burning her eyes, Holly raised trembling fingers to her lips and placed a kiss on them before pressing them to the photo. Glancing over as the sun broke through the heavy storm clouds and poured into the room, illuminating her body, she smiled, taking a shaky breath as warmth suffused her chest. Maybe it was stupid, but it felt like Kyle just gave her his blessing, telling her it was okay to move on.
Setting the photo down, she tried to get ahold of her emotions, composing herself before she went back in the living room where Ian was waiting on her. When she felt like she was in control of herself again, she sat her suitcase down and grabbed the handle, looking at the door. She felt like stepping through that threshold was tantamount to stepping into the future and leaving the past behind.
It was scary. Terrifying, really. But like she told Kyle, maybe it was time. And she couldn’t think of a better person to walk into the future with than the massive fighter waiting patiently for her in the living room, intent on protecting her from whatever life was trying to throw her way.
Inhaling deeply, she took a step forward, leaving her past behind and stepping into the future.
IAN GLANCED OVER AT HOLLY LONG ENOUGH TO make sure she was okay before looking at the road again. She was sitting calmly, hands folded in her lap, staring out her window. A lot had been thrown at her in a short period of time, but she was handling it like a pro.
Fury burned through his veins as he thought of her car. The slashed tires were bad enough, but the word on her back window… his fingers tightened reflexively on the steering wheel. He couldn’t even think it. That anyone could say something like that about sweet, pure Holly was incomprehensible to him.
And he was very much worried that whoever was after him or Kian, was after her, as well. Which made it likely that Kian wasn’t the target. He was. As far as he knew, Holly went to work and back home, not going anywhere else unless it was to shop. And from what he’d seen at the dance, students, parents, and coworkers all seemed to adore her. No, what was done to her car wasn’t about her. It was about him.
He’d hoped that by staying away from her this past week and only watching over her from a distance, this situation wouldn’t touch her. And he’d thought she was safe while she was at school. But clearly that hadn’t helped. Whoever was doing this had already taken note of his interest in her before Ian backed down. Which meant he put himself and his tiger through the agony of staying away from her for nothing.
And it really had been agony. Every moment he spent not with her, not speaking to her, was torture. His animal had begun pleading with him to give in, urging him to seek her out, confident they could protect her. And when Ian remained strong, the cat became listless and despondent inside him, something Ian couldn’t ever remember him being.
Finally breaking down last night when he was in the store and found the stuffed tiger, he quickly scribbled a note to go with it, needing her to know he hadn’t given up on winning her over. He snuck into her classroom early this morning and left them on her desk. Still yearning with every fiber of his being to actually touch her, he’d nevertheless felt a little better over letting her know he was still in this.
And now this. His efforts to stay away from her, to keep the attention off her, had been in vain.
He was still a little in shock that she hadn’t put up a fight about coming home to Rocky River with him. He’d been sure she’d resist, but it took very little to get her to agree. Either she was more shaken up about her car than she let on, or she’d missed him as much as he missed her. He was betting it was a little bit of both.
He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he heard her whispered words when she was packing her bag. Shifters had enhanced hearing, and being a cat, his was even better than most. So even though her words were soft and quiet, he still heard them. And they made his heart leap with joy. It’d been all he could do to not whoop with relief and excitement, or fist pump his way through a happy dance.
Shaking his head slightly, he nearly snorted. If someone had told him a couple months ago that he’d want to dance with happiness, he would have decked them and felt zero remorse. But, unbelievable as it was, he had.
Part of him felt pain and sadness over her losing her husband. Granted, it was a very small part because if she’d still been married, he wouldn’t be with her right now. But he hated the pain she’d endured. She didn’t think it did, but it toughened her up, made her strong as steel, and he couldn’t believe she didn’t see that.
She’d gone through so much in her short life. She was twenty-six, two years younger than he was, but she’d endured so much pain and heartbreak already. Her leg, losing her baby, losing her husband—all by the time she was twenty-three. And the fact that she was still apparently willing to take yet another chance with him—he had no words for how that made him feel. How proud he was of her for being able to take that step, to take that risk. He knew she still wasn’t sure she could successfully do it, but he knew she could.
He’d be there to guide her every step of the way. Be there to lift her up, to give her the confidence to take what she wanted, and make her life what she wanted. And he knew she could take care of herself, knew she didn’t want to be coddled, but the urge was strong in him to take care of her, as much as she’d let him.
Turning into the driveway, he cleared his throat, smiling at her as she glanced over at him. “We’re almost there. And before we get there, I want to apologize in advance.”
Brow twitching, she said, “Apologize for what, exactly?”
“We’re a pretty tight-knit group. More family than friends, really. And they like to tease. Love it, actually. I think they’ll probably hold off on teasing you for the first night, but I’m fair game, as usual. Seth is the worst. He was a warped sense of humor, and he says some really off the wall shit sometimes.”
“I think it’s great that you have so many close friends. You’re very lucky.”
“Well, you have it now, too.” She glanced at him in surprise, and he threw her a wink as he smiled. “You’re basically one of us now, Holly. And they’ll treat you like it. Get used to it, because you now have more friends than you’ll know what to do with.”
She was still staring at him in surprise as he pulled up in front of the house and parked. Finally wrenching her eyes from him, she gasped. “This is your home? Oh, Ian, it’s lovely.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it,” he replied, pleasure filling him that she didn’t hate his home. Because hopefully, one day not too far from now, this would be her home, as well.
Turning forward, he looked at it with fresh eyes, seeing it as she did. The house was a sprawling two story whitewashed brick with blue shutters, a wide wraparound porch gracing the f
ront with various chairs and rockers scattered down the length, and a porch swing swaying in the breeze. He loved sitting out there, and the porch had become the go-to place for the fighters to gather.
Behind and to the side was the barn they used as a gym, and on the other side was the shed Seth used as his workshop. He lived with Amelia at the Anderson ranch now, and had a new workshop there, but he still had a few things there. There weren’t many decorations or any flowers planted, but there were some big oak trees dotting the yard, one of which had a tire swing dangling, and another that had a half completed tree house nestled in its branches.
They’d done a good bit of work to the house before they moved in, and the end result was one he was pleased with. And he’d never viewed it in terms of a family, besides Shelby of course, but it absolutely was a family home. The fighters might be staying there now, but they’d all found their own homes and moved out.