Page 57 of His Wild Storm
As we pull out onto the road behind Haven, Wilde’s voice is small as he asks, “Are you mad at me?”
The question startles me because the thought of doing anything to make him feel that way guts me.
“No way,” I assure him honestly. “Why would you think I’m mad at you?”
“Because I broke the rules and we’re about to move to your house,” he explains.
I shake my head and glance at him in the rearview mirror. “I’m not mad at you, Wilde. I promise. Do I want you to follow the rules, especially the ones for our house? Yes, of course, but only because the rules are there to ensure you are safe.”
“I might forget them,” the little bit of worry in his voice has me considering pulling the truck over so I can really talk to him.
But that would freak Haven out completely. Damn, having the two people who matter most being in two different places is not easy to juggle.
“Wilde, I’m not going to lie to you. There may be a time when you do or say something that will make me mad.”
He gasps and breathes out, “What?”
“It’s true,” I reiterate gently. “Being mad isn’t the problem or what can scare people. Being angry is natural. It’s a feeling just like being frustrated, sad, or happy. It’s not the feeling that’s the problem. How someone reacts to feeling a certain way can be.”
“I don’t understand.” His little face is twisted up when I glance in the mirror to see him.
I take a deep breath and decide the only thing I can do is take a chance. “I’ll never hit you or your mom. Never. While I might be angry about something one day, my anger will never mean violence. It might mean a raised voice. It might mean walking away to calm down. It will never mean hurting you or your mom physically.”
“How did you know?” The way his voice shakes has me clenching my fists around the steering wheel.
“I didn’t know for sure,” I admit. “I guessed from the way you both react to certain things and because of the work Safe Home does.”
Wilde nods, his expression turning despondent. “Hewas scary a lot of the time. Mom always had me hide and promise to never come out of my room if there was yelling.” He’s staring out the window when I glance back at him again. “When it would get quiet, I would go and help her. Sometimes there was blood,” his voice drops to a whisper with his last words.
Fuck. I need Duncan to give me an update soon. Or else I’m liable to go hunt this asshole down on my own. Wilde shouldn’t know what it feels like to find his mom hurt and bleeding.
But he does.
“I will never put you in that position again, Wilde. I promise,” there’s steel in my voice.
I hope he can hear it, and can feel how serious I am.
“Good,” he murmurs just as we pull up to the house.
When Haven and I are parked, I twist around in my seat to look at Wilde. “Are you ready to go and see your room?”
“My room?” His eyes widen as he repeats my words, awe coloring every word.
“Your room,” I confirm. “I’ve been working on it for a while because I knew one day you would come home here. I wanted it to be perfect. If anything needs to be changed, I want you to tell me. My feelings won’t be hurt; I just want you to have the best room you can have so I’ll need your help. Okay?”
“Yes,” he cheers, that little fist of his punching the air again in celebration.
When I go around to his side to get him out, his arms wrap around my neck tightly. There is so much unsaid in the small gesture. I hold him close, unwilling to put him down, and carry him over to Haven’s car. She shoots me a questioning look, but doesn’t say anything.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a keychain and a key and hand them over to my woman. Her eyes are wide and filled with surprise as she looks at the key and then back at me. Not onlydoes she have a Vibrant Ink keychain, but she also has a silver storm cloud as well.
“Those are yours, Haven,” I assure her. As I nod toward the front door, I prompt her gently, “How about you let us in?”
Haven looks up at the house with awe, excitement, and trepidation. When she squares her shoulders, my chest warms with pride. She’s so damn strong and the wildest part is how she doesn’t see it in herself. Everyone else sees it though.
Wilde gives my neck a squeeze before he lets his small body relax against me completely. The trust he’s putting in me has my eyes filling with tears. Who knew that my family, one I never saw coming, could make me so emotional?
When we make it to the door, and she unlocks it, I murmur, “Welcome home.”
