Page 67 of Three to Fall

Don’t be cryptic now. You know me better than that. You can tell me anything.

Golden:

You could marry me.

I nearly dropped the phone. My fingers shook. Hayden, with his arm around my shoulders and a cat on his lap, noticed my trembling and looked down at me. “Hey. What is it?”

I showed him the screen.

He swore low under his breath and pressed his lips to my head. “Just remember everything you’re reading is in the past. This isn’t happening right now, and this isn’t something you can save her from. That responsibility wasn’t ever yours.”

I nodded. “I know.”

But it didn’t stop me wishing she’d come to me. Told me what was going on. Wishing I’d been more available for her instead of so wrapped up in my own problems.

All I could do now was find this man and make sure he paid for his crimes.

I laid my head on Hayden’s shoulder and stroked my fingers through the soft fur of the cat on his lap, drawing comfort from both while I kept scrolling.

Tulip:

Are you serious? About marrying you, I mean?

Golden:

Don’t freak out.

Tulip:

I’m not. Much.

Golden:

In a good way or a bad way?

Tulip:

Is it crazy if I say good? Is it even crazier if I say I would marry you in a heartbeat?

It was like watching a train wreck in reverse. Knowing the inevitable impact and being able to do nothing to stop it.

Golden:

You would? You don’t even know me.

Tulip:

We’ve been talking every day for months. I know you better than some grumpy old dude who’s a friend of my father’s and needs a young wife to give him babies. If I married you, I couldn’t marry him!

Golden:

You don’t even know my name.

Tulip:

You don’t know mine either. That didn’t stop you from asking me to marry you. And it won’t stop me from saying yes.

Golden:

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