Page 118 of Love Takes Home

“But you’re still keeping secrets, aren’t you?” Claire asks.

I stare at her and then at Trish. I bite my lip and can feel the tears welling up. I nod.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt them or make them mad? Because I’m embarrassed and felt worthless for so long that I didn’t think I deserved anything else? Because at the end of the day, I was afraid Keith was right and bad shit kept happening when I was around and they wouldn’t love me anymore, so why give them ammo to get rid of me?”

“Oh, Ginny.” Trish sits down on the bed and leans over to hug me, tears in her eyes. “We aren’t mad. And if we are, it’s at him. We knew what he was doing. We just didn't know how bad it was.”

“But you never—”

“We tried. But you would always shut down or change the subject or leave.”

“You did try, didn’t you?” I ask, already knowing she’s being honest with me. She told me after the first date.

“We did. But at the end of the day, it was your life, and only you could make the decision about what you wanted. And since we didn’t have proof of him hurting you, only our suspicions, there wasn’t a lot we could do.”

“All of you?”

She nods, a sad look on her face. “All of us. We all talked about it at some point, out of worry for you.”

“I wish you all had been a little more pushy.” I give her a half-hearted smile.

“Well, if Joker ever becomes an asshole—more than he already is—we’ll speak up. Deal?”

I laugh, knowing Joker isn’t really an asshole, and reply to her. “Deal.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Trish asks. “I don’t want to bring it up, but—”

“But I killed a man?” I ask quietly.

“Yeah, that.”

“Is it wrong to say I think I will be? I don’t know how tonight is going to go, or even next week, but yeah, I think I’ll be alright.”

“I feel like my work here is done.” Claire blows on her fingers like she’s hot stuff. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not leaving. Not for a few days, at least. But I think you just unloaded a lot, and it’ll take a day or so to really hit you.”

“Thanks, Claire.” I smile at her. “Thanks for being here.”

“If Daniel or any of his guys asks, I’m always happy to help.”

We chat for a few minutes, and the exhaustion is starting to kick in when the guys come back, minus Sammy. Trish gets Davis to admit it’s time to go home, and they take Claire with them. She’s going to stay with them for a couple of days and spend time with the kids, but will be with me during the days. I guess this is what you’d call intensive ambush therapy. If she wasn’t like a favorite aunt, I’d probably throw a fit, but she fits in like family, and there’s nothing wrong with more family, is there?

“You ready to try to get some sleep?” Joker asks when it’s just the two of us.

“Depends,” I tell him.

“And what does it depend on?”

“If you think your skinny ass can fit in this bed with my big one.”

He growls at me. “Your ass is fucking perfect.”

And then he does indeed get his fine ass in the bed with me and he holds me tight, keeping me safe all night long.

Chapter 34

Joker

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