Page 40 of The Bad Boy's Homecoming
He realized they’d stopped to stand just a few feet away from where the tide was rolling in and Missy was looking out at the water.Wrapping his arm around her he pulled her into his side, careful not to touch her injured hand, and held her.
He didn’t know what to say and doubted there were any words that could make her feel any better about what happened.So instead he just held her for a while.
“Two sad orphans,” he finally said.
“What a pair,” she breathed, her voice deep with emotion.“They say familial dysfunction is hereditary, like if you’re raised in chaos or abuse, you’re highly likely to repeat that cycle.A person will just be drawn to creating the same situation for their own kids.”
“Who is this ‘they’?”
“Statistics, every social worker, those people.”
“Haven’t you already broken that cycle, by choosing your Aunt Honey to raise you, going to school, creating a business?You’re the opposite of chaos.”
“Maybe, or it’s like a ticking time bomb, lying in wait: one wrong move and I’ll blow up my life.”
Giving her another squeeze Levi threaded his hand with her good one and started them walking farther down the beach.
“You strike me as the type who does the exact opposite of what your biological mother showed you.I haven’t known you long, but I think you’re more like your Aunt Honey.Taking care of my gran in your subtle ways so she doesn’t lose any dignity.Helping out your cousin with his two boys after his wife died.”
“My mom was only twenty when she had me, so I’m sure that played a big part in her inability to parent.”She sighed with what almost sounded like regret.“I won’t be having any kids anytime soon so I already broke that cycle.But she also always chose the wrong man, and my last relationship didn’t end well.”
“Is this the man who pushed you?”Levi said, trying to keep his tone calm.
Missy sighed and shook her head.“I knew you weren’t going to let that go, but I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“Okay.”He was torn between wanting to know and wanting her to trust him enough to want to tell him.“But one bad relationship doesn’t mean you can’t trust your own instincts about people; it just means he was good at hiding who he really was.”
“Says the Bad Boy of Baseball,” she said with a laugh.
“I’m not bad, and if you were mine I would never touch you in any way you didn’t want to be touched.”Levi realized they’d both stopped and he was staring down into her brown eyes full of questions.“I think you’re insanely talented and brave, and you should stop questioning yourself.”
She nodded and dropped his hand to turn back the way they came, and he immediately felt the loss.
He thought she was upset with him but then she gave him a side-eye with one eyebrow raised.“I did have an odd email recently from an art dealer in Atlanta.She said she found my online gallery but mentioned a piece I never posted there.”
“Interesting, I bet she saw one of the pieces that was commissioned,” Levi said, knowing she would hate to know he’d sent a few pictures of her work to one of his friends’ wives that ran an art gallery in Atlanta.At the time, he’d wanted to know if she was legit or a fraud.
“Maybe, but I don’t think I’m ready for all that.If ever.”
“What, why not?Isn’t that part of the point?Artists need to be discovered.Wouldn’t getting in a gallery propel your business?”
“Maybe, or one bad showcase could destroy the success I’m already enjoying.”
“Ahhh, I see,” Levi said, putting his hands in his pockets to avoid reaching out to touch her.“So if you don’t put your art up there to be judged, you won’t risk being judged?”
Missy looked at him full on now, but before she could respond her foot stumbled over something in the sand and Levi barely caught her by the shoulders before she fell face first.He was careful to grip her biceps but she’d raised her hands to catch herself on instinct, and her injured hand was on his chest.
He could see the pain roll over her, as her face charged with anguish, her eyes watered, and her mouth opened to cry out.
On instinct he pulled her closer, kissing her open mouth and swallowing her cry.Her body trembled from the pain and he gently bit her bottom lip, hoping it would distract her a little.Her full lips were lush and her body tensed from the shock, but then she seemed to melt into his grasp before sinking down to the sand.With his hold on her arms he managed to slowly lower her and follow her down to the sand.He hovered his body above her and found her mouth like a magnet searching for the connection.He kissed her lips first and then moved to her eyelids, and her high cheekbones with light adoring kisses.Tasting the salt of her tears.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her skin.“I know that must have hurt so much.I shouldn’t have brought you out here.”
Her breath was coming fast like she’d been running a sprint, and she squeezed her eyes shut.But continued to take deep breaths until finally she came back to the present and settled her eyes on him.
“I think burns must be the most painful injuries, because I’ve never cried so much in my life,” she said through clenched teeth.
He brushed away some sand that had gotten in her hair and was careful to settle his weight on her left side, as far away from her injured hand as possible.
