Page 104 of The Lilac River

Her broken breath sliced through me as she clutched at my arms. “What happened?”

"It was the last practice before the holidays," I said bitterly. "I busted my knee and lost everything he wanted so badly for me."

Her fingers ghosted across my cheek.

"That soon?"

"That soon," I said. "I was drunk, hungover, a wreck without you. One bad move, and boom. ACL gone."

She buried her face in her hands, shaking with silent sobs. Her whole body folded in on itself, and I pulled her into my arms, anchoring her to me like she was the only thing holding me to this earth.

"No more regrets," I said fiercely. "No more because I believe I have the life I was meant to have all along. Working the land my Mom loved so much. Dad didn’t want football for me. He wanted it for himself. The power that my success could bring him." Tracing the line of her nose with my finger, I told hermytruth. “I loved the game, but I loved you more and I would have given it up if I had to. My dad knew that, and he did what he did for him, not me.” Lily’s shoulders sank as she took in my words understanding just how different things could have been.

“When I came home after my surgery,” I continued. “After I was told my football career was over, do you know what he said to me?” She shook her head, bottom lip trembling. “He said, ‘You selfish sonofabitch. Do you know how many powerful people in politics I could have reached through your success?’.”

Lily gasped, her face blanching at the realization how low the man who called himself my father would stoop to.

“I’m so sorry that he’s your Dad, Nash and I wish with everything in me I’d been braver and spoken to you.”

“And I should have told you just how much you meant to me,” I whispered, breaking inside as tears started to slowly roll down her cheeks. “What I would have done for you.”

Taking her in my arms, I cradled her, not like a possession, but like something precious. Sacred. Something I’d been trusted with once and failed to protect, but I wouldn’t fail again.

"And he’s going to pay for it," I whispered against her hair. "I swear it."

When our lips met again, it wasn’t frantic or wild. It was a quiet resurrection. A sealing of wounds that had never healed properly.

She clung to me like I was her lifeline. And I held her tighter, promising in every kiss that she’d never face anything alone again.

"I missed you so much," she sobbed. "I hated every second without you."

I tipped her chin up gently.

"You never lost me," I said. "I was always yours."

This time when I kissed her, she didn’t pull away.

She melted into me like she remembered how we used to fit, like her soul recognized mine.

"There’s something else," she whispered.

I steeled myself.

"He visited me when I got back. Threatened to ruin me and my mom if I didn’t stay away from you."

My jaw clenched. I saw red.

"I won’t let him touch you. I swear it."

"He’s the Mayor, Nash. He’s powerful."

"And I’m the man who loves you," I said, voice low and lethal. "That trumps everything."

She sagged into me, and I realized she was finally letting someone else carry the weight.

"We’ll talk to your mom together," I promised. "We’ll protect her."

Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she nodded.

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