Finding Solace

He doesn’t rule my mind or control my life anymore. The people of Solace Pointe are no longer blind to who Cole Cutler really is. I doubt he’d be able to get within a mile of my farm now that they know the truth. I finally feel . . . free. Vindicated.

I let myself rest, leaning on the counter. Warm lips caress the back of my neck as his hands slide around my hips, coming to rest across my belly. After kissing the shell of my ear, he whispers, “You think we have a baby in there?”

I cover his hands. “I hope so.”

30

Delilah

Shelby Noelle always did stand out in a crowd. As much attention as I got for my good grades and looks growing up, I’d simply followed in her footsteps. She’s two years older than me and won everything from homecoming queen to Miss Freeland County, prepping me for the roles. But she was also something I wasn’t—outspoken.

After picking her up from the airport more than an hour away, Jason and I have been peppered with questions from the back seat of the car we borrowed from his mom. Everything on updating her on the farm to more personal questions like, “Where are you sleeping if you’re not staying in the house?”

“We put a bed and a few essentials in the loft,” I reply, already knowing how she’s going to react.

“The loft of the barn?” she exclaims but then laughs. “Good Lord, Delilah. You two are literally rolling in the hay.”

“Sort of.”

Jason’s adds, “Definitely.”

She laughs, and then adds, “I lost my virginity out there.”

Jason’s shaking his head. “Peter Monroe was an asshole.”

“He was, but man, did he know how to—”

“Eww,” I say, hoping she doesn’t finish that thought. “Don’t even go there.”

Under lots of laughter, she rubs my shoulder. “I think you’re old enough to handle the truth, Delilah.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear too much of my truth.” I glance at Jason, giving him a little wink.

“Actually, I want to hear everything.” Her tone turns sentimental. “You don’t know how terrified I was when Jason called me and told me what happened.”

I sigh, exhaling heavily. I’m still not sure I’m happy he called her. On the one hand, I get it. I do. He did it because my family should know. On the other hand, I knew it would worry her unnecessarily. “I’m fine.”

“Now,” she adds, “but that might not have been the case.”

“We can play out fifty different scenarios, but the only one that exists is the one where we survived. Let’s not rehash it.” We can bicker all we want, but I don’t want to spend my time with my sister like that. “We’re here. All is good.”

“Okay,” she relents. “You haven’t changed much, Jason. Charming my sister just like you always did.”

He’s changed so much, but those changes are hard to see when you’re looking at our hometown hero. He’s more than that. He’s my savior in so many ways, the king of my heart. I won’t correct her, though. He’s fine lying low and letting everyone else fill in the blanks. Now that I understand the deep-seated reasons behind his calm demeanor, he deserves even more respect. Jason doesn’t need the glory. He never did. Not when he played football and not now.

He quietly goes about putting himself on the line for others, protecting what he cares about, and loving me like there’s no tomorrow. I don’t mean for my swoony mewl to slip out, but it does.

After grieving the loss of my parents, missing my sister, the fear of losing my home to debts, and the abuse—emotionally and physically—I survived at the hand of Cole, it feels good to feel this happy, to find happiness with this man I’ve loved for what feels like my whole life.

He’s changed.

I’ve changed.

Our once naïve young love has changed.

And I like us better. I’m better just from him being back. We’re moving forward together with our eyes wide open and on even footing.

Jason reaches over, his hand covering the one resting across my stomach. In this sweet moment, it’s easy to remember the most valuable lesson my sister taught me: looks don’t matter. It’s what’s in your heart that counts.

We came from a long line of beauty queens, but they all had something else in common—they loved with their whole heart, and they lived for their families. With one hand on my stomach and Jason’s nestled on top, I’ve never felt closer to my roots, and for the first time, I truly understand what Shelby meant.

Jason Koster has good looks down to a science, but it wasn’t his looks that drew me to him. Not then and not now. It was his heart. It still is. He’s given me his heart to protect, and I will with all that I am. I peek back at my sister, and say, “We’re getting married.”