Page 54 of Love is Blind

Maybe I’m reading too much into things.

“Nice try,” she volleys.

I decide not to argue and instead I pick her brain for more information.

“Did you know he had a daughter?” I ask.

“Yes, but I never met her. I started working at Sally’s right after she died.” She pauses and sighs. “Such a tragedy.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“I guess that means he told you how it happened,” she says.

Now would be a fine time to share I had encountered Ghost’s ex, but I keep my mouth shut and nod my head.

“That’s why I said he was broken, Birdie. I didn’t know him before Abigail’s death, but I’ve heard talk around town and at the bar. They say he’s on a self-destructive path.”

It’s not that hard to believe. Most days I’m on that same path and the loss that steers me isn’t nearly as excruciating as the one steers him.

“Can you really blame him?”

“No, but I don’t want you getting wrapped up in all that.”

That angers me something fierce. Emmy doesn’t get a say in what I get myself wrapped in. My life may look different than hers but it’s mine and I don’t need anyone telling me what I should and shouldn’t do. We’re in it to make mistakes. It’s part of the journey. And sometimes what looks like a mistake is actually the complete opposite, but we don’t know unless we try.

“Thanks, but I’m a big girl,” I spat.

“Birdie, he tried to kill himself.”

I thought there was nothing left that could shock me, but those words seem to do the trick. They also make my chest tighten with despair.

“What?” I whisper hoarsely.

“From what I hear, Holly saved him. Took the gun out of his mouth before he could pull the trigger.”

I turn my head and touch my forehead to the passenger window. Closing my eyes, I lift a hand to my chest and rub at the dull pain in the center of my chest. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to take that man’s pain away if it’s the last thing I do. I’m also going to hug Holly if I ever see her again. Pushy or not, that woman is a fucking hero and while I don’t understand it, I have gratitude in my heart for her.

So much gratitude.

“We’re here,” Emmy says as the car rolls to a stop.

A moment later she kills the engine and I open my door. As I stand and unfold my cane, Emmy gets Lucy from the back seat. She hands me the handle of Lucy’s harness and I command her to walk forward, following Ink and Hawk into the clubhouse.

“It’s about time you two…” Ghost’s voice trails and I turn around to face him. “Birdie, what are you doing here?”

My original plan was to come here and raise all hell until he agreed to take back Lucy, but after what Emmy shared, the dog is the last thing on my mind. All I want to do is wrap Ghost in my arms and tell him he’s not alone. That there is more life for him to live and it can be lived in color. I want him to know I don’t have to see him to feel his pain. That I just want to take it away.

“She doesn’t want Lucy,” Hawk supplies.

“Actually, I changed my mind,” I say, my hand tightening around the handle. “But I was hoping maybe we could talk?”

He doesn’t say anything at first, but I can tell he’s closer than he was before. Not by his scent, but by the way my heart races.

“I got church, but why don’t you hang out by the bar and wait for me?”

What is it with all of these guys and church?

“Church? It’s Monday.”

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