Page 77 of Moonlit Thorns

I have to take the road slowly because I can’t see more than five or six feet in front of me. She’s quiet and contemplative during the ride, and I don’t bring up any of the questions I have for her. They can wait until we’re safely ensconced inside.

Once I’ve parked, I lead her to the front door with a hand on her back, then take her to the library. I could have chosen either of our bedrooms, but as much as I want to be buried inside her, we have things to discuss.

Rather than turning on the overhead lights, I flick on one of the lamps on the table in the sitting area and lead her to the couch. The room is dim, and the shadows play on her face, making her look even more young and innocent than she already does.

I need to voice the question that’s been burning in my throat from not asking it on the drive over here.

“Who is LeBlanc to you?” I attempt to keep my voice even, but I’m not sure how successful I am when she blinks rapidly at me.

“You know him?” Her head tilts.

“Not exactly. He’s tried to make trouble for my family a few times since he’s become sheriff. I’ve had to make a few phone calls to the governor and a senator to put him in his place.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” She frowns. “Galen and I dated back in high school. Ever since I returned to Magnolia Bend, he’s been intent on getting me back. He seems to think we’re the perfect couple and should be married and raising babies together.”

Anger, swift and stinging like a slap to the face, lashes me. “You can do better than him.”

She holds my gaze and nods. “I know.”

That was a stupid thing for me to say. She can do better than me too. A man who’s unwilling to commit or have a serious relationship and get married. Anabelle deserves to have someone who wants all those things with her.

But no matter. I’m not giving her up. Not yet anyway.

“Why is he so persistent?” I narrow my eyes. Could she have given him reason to be?

She shrugs. “I have no idea. I’ve made it abundantly clear that I want no part of him. He’s like the Teflon man, and the insults I hurl at him just bounce away. Though I think you made your point. Thank you for defending me.”

I cup her chin. “I will always defend you, remember that.”

She nods, and I drop my hand. “I suspect he will leave me alone now that you’ve intervened, though I hope you don’t get in trouble for hitting a police officer.”

“Don’t worry about me, Anabelle. I’ll be fine.” Something about that statement shifts something in her body language. “What?”

She opens her mouth, looks hesitant for a moment and closes it, then opens it again. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask then.” She bites her bottom lip, and I pluck it out with my thumb and forefinger. “Speak, Anabelle.”

“How did your parents die? I’m sure you’re aware that rumors have swirled around for years, but I don’t actually know what happened.”

My shoulders drop, and I push a hand through my hair, gripping the base of my neck. Not the topic I had hoped to cover tonight. I’d planned on my cock getting reacquainted with her pussy.

At my hesitation, she says, “If it’s too painful, we don’t have to talk about it. I just… I can’t help but wonder after all we’ve talked about.”

“My mother was murdered by one of my father’s enemies, and my father was murdered by someone else.”

Her hands fly to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Asher.”

It’s been so long since I’ve talked to anyone about this. As far as my mother is concerned, I’ve only ever talked to my brothers about it, and as for my dad, my brothers and I steer clear of that conversation for our own reasons.

“I’m not sorry about my father, which you can probably guess, but my mother…” I rub at the pain in my chest, at the pain on Kol’s face when he told me he’d found her. I have to squeeze my eyes shut to remove the image of my mother’s bloodied body.

Fuck, I don’t want to talk about this. Not at all.

But maybe it will be like when I spoke to Anabelle about my father’s beatings… maybe I’ll find some sense of peace from it.

“My mother was very unhappy in her marriage to my father, for obvious reasons. He had a business associate, someone who used to come around the manor a lot. They weren’t friends, more like adversaries, but they spent time together because they enjoyed one-upping each other and taunting the other.” My voice is monotone as I continue. “From what I understand, at some point, he and my mother began an affair. She was planning to leave my father, but when it came down to it, she told the man she couldn’t do it. I don’t know why. Maybe if she’d left and taken us with her, we all could have been happy somewhere else. But for her own reasons, she wouldn’t leave my father. When the man confronted her about it, he stabbed her through the heart with her garden shears. Whether it was a jealous rage, or he was just so incensed he wouldn’t have the coup of stealing Ramsey Voss’s wife, I don’t know. Kol found her out in one of the gardens. He was only ten.”

I blink out of the memory and look at Anabelle, who has tears streaking down her face. My sweet, sweet Anabelle who feels so much. Using both hands, I swipe away her tears.

---