Page 107 of Space Oddities

“I—” My voice cracks once more, as well as the rest of me.

Ian hugs me tight again as hard, long sobs wrack my body. Until my body goes limp and he scoops me up in his arms.

Through my sobs I hear Rose tell Ian she’s taking me back to the ranch and Ian’s less than polite refusal. My body rocks against Ian as he stalks out of the building, the lawyer complaining loudly about paperwork. I feel the morning light on my skin and hear Holt’s voice telling Ian he’ll drive us, and all the while my tears keep coming.

I don’t look up or talk for the entire ride, though the body-shaking sobs do subside. Ian continues to keep me tucked in his arms in the back seat of Holt’s truck. Carries me into his house. Up the stairs.

Continues to hold me while he runs a hot shower, the heat feeling so good against my skin as he washes us. The tears fall again.

He holds me through that too.

And when we’re finally in bed, cleaned of travel and jail and cuddled under layers of blankets, my heart finally settles into a steady rhythm, my limbs soften, and my muscles relax.

I’m home.

Twenty-Seven

Culmination

Trish

Bang bang bang.Ding-ding ding-dong.

Ian stirs in bed, his arms around me tightening. He mumbles about nosy neighbors.

Bang bang bang. Ding-ding ding-dong.

“Fucking Veronica.” He kisses the top of my head and slides his arm out from under me.

I whimper.

“Sorry, babe.” He kisses me once more. “I’ll tell her to get lost, and I’ll be right back.”

Cursing Veronica in my head, I begin to drift off until a loud shout startles me.

A man’s loud shout. And it isn’t Ian’s.

Struggling out of bed, I pull the comforter off and wrap it around me, Ian’s scent and heat still trapped inside. My eye catches on a piece of paper lying on the dresser.

My letter.

One of the girls must have given him the letter I wrote. The one where I said goodbye. My heart physically hurts when I think of Ian reading my Dear John letter after everything he did. Facing my past when I could not. Loving me when I couldn’t love myself. All while overcoming his fears in the process.

And then he reads a letter saying that even after all of that, I’m leaving him.

Another shout from downstairs. Tiptoeing, I make my way down the hall to the upstairs landing.

“I don’t get why you’re so upset.” Ian’s tone sounds bored.

“You don’t, do you?” Senator Kincaid’s angry voice freezes me in place.

Peeking around the corner, all the leftover warmth from the blanket fades when I see Ian’s father, red-faced and pacing in the foyer.

Ian leans against the banister, crossing one ankle over the other. “Is there any reason Ishouldbe grateful to you?”

The senator pulls up short. “Seeing as how you usedmyname in Georgia and Texas the past few days to get your trailer-trash girlfriend out of trouble, I’d say yes.”

“Well.” Ian stands tall. “Seeingas using your name these past two days is theonlyuseful thing you’ve ever done for me as my father, I disagree.”

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