Page 72 of On Her Team
“Thank you for a wonderful morning and lunch.”
We reach my SUV and I lean against it before pulling her into my arms. She squirms to be let free, but I tighten my hold. I will always hold her tight to me. Because I’m not letting this woman go. She’s mine.
“Wonderful?” She snorts. “We went to the jail to spring my brother.”
“He never should have been in jail in the first place,” I growl. I hate bullies.
“And then my siblings argued through most of lunch.”
“They also teased each other and laughed,” I remind her.
“It’s a miracle!”
I smile down at her. “You’re lucky to have them.”
She rolls her eyes. “Should I get Penelope’s dictionary for you to look up the word lucky?”
I brush her hair from her forehead. “You are lucky. Some people would kill for a family like yours.”
Her brow wrinkles as she studies me. “Someone like you?”
I consider running away. Not telling her about my past. I never tell anyone about it. I never talk about it, period. I don’t even discuss it in therapy. I’ve shoved all the memories into a box I never open.
But I can’t be with Addy and keep my past hidden from her. It’s no way for us to move forward. And, make no mistake about it, we will move forward. Maybe at the pace of a snail. But we’re doing it.
“Yes.”
She palms my cheeks. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I love her for giving me an out. But I’m not accepting it.
“I grew up in care.”
“Foster care?”
I nod. “I never knew my mom or dad. They abandoned me.”
She gasps. “Why would anyone abandon an innocent child?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I’ve never been interested in searching for my birth parents. Why bother? They couldn’t be bothered with me.
“And you weren’t adopted?”
I shake my head. “Apparently, I was a sick child. No one wants to take on a sick child. Especially when the medical history is a mystery.”
“I can’t believe you were a sick child. You’re the strongest, fittest man I know.”
I kiss her nose. “Thank you.”
“There’s no reason to thank me. I’m simply stating a fact.”
“By the time I was a teenager, I’d bounced around from home to home. No one was interested in adopting a young kid.”
“I’m sorry. I never should have complained about my siblings.”
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s obvious you care deeply for them. You practically raised them.”
“Mom didn’t get herself together until after Mila was two. She couldn’t hold down a job. There was no food on the table unless I paid for it.” She shakes her head. “Sorry. I’m moaning about my life, but we were discussing yours.”
