Page 142 of Rescued by the Single Dad

A small, warm hand cupped hers. “Please don’t go,” Talia said, sadness painted across her little face.

“Yeah, Brooke. Stay,” echoed the rest of the children in the house.

Only Jagger came to see her off. Dom, Wyatt, and Bennett were down at the restaurant working. They’d come up earlier that day to bid her farewell. And even though they were all very kind, she could tell they were glad to see her—or at least the drama that seemed to follow her—gone.

Jagger hung back with the kids in the house, but Clint stood behind Brooke and Talia. His heat penetrated Brooke’s back, reassuring and protective.

And when his hand fell to just above her sacrum, she sighed a little and relaxed.

The moment didn’t last, though.

“Brooke’s safe now, honey,” Clint said, removing his hand. “She has a life in California she needs to return to.”

“But why?” Talia asked.

“Because it’s where she belongs,” he replied.

That stung worse than touching your eyes after cutting hot peppers.

Brooke swallowed past the lump at the top of her throat.

Inez returned from putting the duffle bag in the car, a curious look on her face. “We’re still leaving, right?”

Brooke readied herself to respond, hoping not to capsize. “Yes, yes, of course. I’m just saying goodbye.”

Jagger appeared behind Clint. “Well, give us a hug.” She turned around and was enveloped into his thick corded arms, his beard brushing her shoulders. He smelled amazing. “Don’t be a stranger. Just because you’re all famous and shit doesn’t mean you can’t come back to the island. You’re always welcome.”

She blinked and hugged him tighter. “Thank you.”

He released her, then the kids swarmed.

She hugged them each individually, then all together again. All of them except Talia, of course.

Talia hung back behind her cousins, waiting her turn, then she threw herself at Brooke, tears tumbling down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to go,” she sobbed against Brooke’s shoulder. “I love you.”

Brooke’s heart officially shattered to pieces. Millions of them. And she knew the moment she drove away from this place—this haven—that she’d never be able to collect all those pieces and put them back into place again. The people here would keep those fragments. Which was where they belonged.

“You call me anytime, okay? Day or night. As soon as I get a new phone, I will send your dad the number. Whatever you need, you just have to ask. I will always be here for you, you got that?” She held Talia by the shoulders and looked into the little girl’s wet blue eyes, waiting for her to nod.

She did. It was small and accompanied by sniffles, but she nodded. “Okay.”

Brooke kissed her on the cheek. “That’s my girl.” When she lifted her gaze from Talia’s face to Clint’s, her belly did an agonizing flip. Her heart thudded painfully against her ribs, and everything inside her said, “Stay.”

Blowing out a slow and deliberate breath between thinly parted lips, she mustered a smile. She could do this. “Thank you, Clint. For ... for everything. I owe you my life.”

His smile was grim and sad, mirroring everything that she felt and more. The heat in his eyes betrayed the rest of his expression, though. The want. The need. The craving. She felt it all, too. But there was resignation and confliction there, as well. Hesitation and worry.

She didn’t belong here.

Her presence disrupted their carefully protected way of life. It had already hurt his child, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“Always happy to rescue a mermaid,” he said, clearing his throat and rolling his lips inward.

“Ferry leaves in thirty-five minutes,” Inez blurted like an antsy pressurized can shooting spray. “We should get a move on.”

Brooke nodded. “Right.” Then she leaned in for a hug from Clint. It was awkward at first. Neither of them really knew where to put their hands or how hard to squeeze. But the longer she stayed in his arms, the easier it became. The more they held each other, the more they relaxed. He shuddered against her and buried his face in her neck. A small sob was all she got before he released her like she caught fire, sniffed and shoved his hands into his pockets. His eyes were glassy, but he also refused to look at her.

She exhaled, nodded and rallied a smile. “Thank you, everyone. For saving me.”

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