Page 23 of Fractured Hope
Breathing in Atticus with the fresh mountain air was perfect. I let my eyes flicker open as I glanced up into Atticus’s handsome face. His pale green irises were so captivating as he gazed down at me. There was so much care in his eyes that my breath caught in my throat. He saw me, my flaws, my weaknesses, my current injuries, and he still wanted to kiss me. Nobody had ever looked at me with such devotion.
“So, are you hungry?” Atticus whispered against my lips.
“Huh?” I was hungry, but not for food. Shaking my head at my thoughts, I tried to get my frazzled brain working again.
“I made a picnic for us.” He pulled back, looking a little bashful.
“You made us a picnic?” I just couldn’t fathom the thoughtfulness of the man standing in front of me.
“Yes.” He chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He wandered back to the car and left me standing there in his wake.
I brought my hand up to my lips. They still tingled as the ghost of his kiss played in my head.
“Are you coming?”
I must’ve spaced out because Atticus was already sitting on a bench I hadn’t noticed, pulling things out of a thermal bag.
I slowly made my way over and took a seat, setting the crutches down out of the way.
“It’s nothing special, just some sandwiches and fresh fruit. There’s also water and coffee if you’d like.”
“This is amazing.” I was still in awe that he’d been so thoughtful to do this just for me. “Thank you.”
He handed me a sandwich and a bottle of water, and we sat there enjoying the view as we ate. We talked more about our lives and the mayhem we’d gotten up to in our teens.
“You really stole your Dad’s car? I can’t imagine you doing anything like that! That sounds more like Lyric.”
“Well, it was his idea. He and Seb dared me that I wouldn’t do anything that dangerous. So, of course, I had to prove them wrong. When Mama found out, I was grounded for a month. Thankfully Pa just thought it was funny,” Atticus said as a smile lit up his face.
“Your Pa sounds like a great man.”
“He was the best.” Atticus paused, looking fondly into the distance, before turning back to me. “Do you ever wonder about your parents?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, I guess I’ve always wondered where I came from, but I made my peace with them a long time ago. I still get—or got I guess now—a Christmas card from the fire chief who found me, but that’s the only connection I have to my birth.”
“That’s nice of him. Do you try and keep in touch?”
“Not really, although, I think I’d like to. I was given the card when I was really young and didn’t understand who it was from or why they were sending me things, and then when I was old enough to understand, I was so angry at the world I didn’t cherish them or acknowledge them the way I should’ve.” It had been so long since I’d thought about the fire chief and his cards. He wouldn’t know my new address now when I finally had one, so I wouldn’t be getting another card ever again. This was another thing Derek had taken from me.
Atticus took my hand in his. “I don’t really know what to say. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this. Maybe when you get settled, we can look into telling him your new address or finding him somehow.” He sent me a soft, reassuring smile. All he wanted was to make things better. Sadly, from my experience, the world just didn’t work like that.
“Maybe,” I said and tried to return his reassurance.
After that, we switched topics, and he went on to tell me more about his family and Hope’s Ridge. The more he spoke, the more I considered, not for the first time, that maybe this was a good place for me. This idea was starting to have more to do with the man beside me than anything else, but he made me feel safe, which was something I hadn’t had in a very, very long time.
Once we’d finished eating, Atticus packed up, and we headed back to town.
“Would you like to come to my family lunch tomorrow?” Atticus asked shyly. “We have a big Greek feast. Usually all my brothers are there, a few friends, and Mama and Yaya. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
That sounded great, but all I could say was “Yaya?”
Chuckling, he shrugged. “Sorry. That’s Greek for grandma.”
“You want me to meet your grandma?”
“You’ve already met Mama. I’d love for you to come and meet the rest, and yes, Yaya, too.”
“As long as you’re sure it’ll be okay. I don’t want to put anyone out. Should we bring something?”
