Page 65 of Family: Posy 4

"You didn't ruin anything." I kissed his cheek. "And I feel safe with you. I know you will never, ever hurt me and that you got angry because you're outraged."

He held me close for another moment, then eased back to look in my eyes.

"You said that now you're able to see how she was protecting you. You didn't know at the time that he was hurting her?"

"No. Not until Jayden read the letter she left with the photo album." I bit my bottom lip for a second, then asked, "Was I a bad daughter not to notice?"

"No, Posy. You were just a child. And I bet she hid as much from you as she could. She probably became an expert at that. You didn't know he was hurting your brothers, either, did you?"

"At the time, no, but I was in a haze of pain most days after Mom died. Then my brothers moved out when Aiden turned eighteen, and I hardly saw them after that. Idoremember some of what James said that day at Green River, and I started to have suspicions once I was able to think more clearly, but I wasn't completely sure until Aiden showed us his back right before my luna ceremony."

"Hmm. I wonder if Lark knows more?" He kissed my forehead. "I bet she became an expert in protecting you, too."

"She has always protected me. Someday, I'll ask her, but not today. Today, I think we've talked enough about deep topics." Scrambling to my feet, I slipped my feet back into my sandals, then leaned down and held out my hands to help him up. "Let's pick wildflowers!"

"What are you going to do with them?" He paused to stretch his arms over his head and yawn. "Take them back to the cabin and put them in a glass of water? That's what Grandma Pippi used to do. She always had glasses of flowers sitting all over the place."

"Maybe that, too, but you'll see," I said with a secret smile.

He finally put his hands in mine and let me pull him to his feet. Well, he pulled himself to his feet and let methinkI helped.

Soon we'd each gathered an armful of poppies, daisies, Queen Anne's lace, chicory, and a half dozen other flowers I couldn't name and returned to the quilt. I sorted them out, then began to trim the ends.

"So that's why you asked me to bring scissors," Cole chuckled as he laid down with his hands under his head and watched me.

Nodding, I concentrated on arranging the flowers how I wanted them, then wove them together in a long strand. Once I had a nice length, I joined it to make a circle and held it up for his approval.

"Very pretty. A flower wreath. Are you going to hang it on the front door?"

"It's a flowercrown!" I corrected, then I stood on my knees, set it on his head, and squealed at how adorable he looked. "See? A crown for my prince!"

As he rolled his eyes, I reached into my mini backpack, took out my phone, and snapped a picture of him.

"Posy! Don't you dare send that to anyone!"

"I won't," I said, blinking at him as I hid my phone behind my back.

"Ha! Don't give me those innocent eyes! You'll show my brothers the first chance you get!"

He tackled me to the quilt, and I giggled and looped my arms around his neck as he laid on me. I stared up into his fern-green eyes, admiring how his darker skin tone set them off so beautifully. The flower crown made them pop even more, and my heart fluttered in my chest at how handsome he was.

"I love you, honey. More than I ever knew it was possible to love someone."

"And I love you, too. So very much." Giggling, I added, "My wildflower prince."

With a pretend growl, he lowered his head and kissed the giggles right out of me.

Cole’s Letter:

Dear Posy,

Once when I was in elementary school, I lost my temper and hurt someone very badly. My parents punished me, as did my own conscience, but neither affected me as much as something Uncle Jay said. “Anger clouds the mind and doesn’t solve anything,” he told me. “It builds nothing and can destroy everything.”

I didn’t learn my lesson, did I?

Honey, I am so sorry I lost my temper and hurt you. I destroyed your moment of triumph when I should have been celebrating it.

Please don’t give up on me. I’ll do better. I’ll be better. I’ll become the mate you deserve.

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