Page 83 of Redeeming Melodies

"Liam left town after a terrible accident. Caleb was devastated. And me?" Bitter laugh escapes. "I was proud of myself. Actually fucking proud of hurting them like that."

"What changed?"

"My dad left." The admission came quiet, raw. "Said he couldn't look at me anymore. Couldn't recognize the son he'd raised. Died two years later without ever speaking to me again."

Elliot's breath caught, but he didn’t interrupt. Just kept holding me, letting the poison drain out.

"After that, I started seeing myself clearly. What I'd become. How many people I'd hurt trying to feel powerful." My voice cracked. "Joined the academy thinking maybe I could balance the scales somehow. Be the kind of person who protects instead of destroys."

"And you are." His words came fierce, certain. "Look at how this town trusts you. How Tommy looks up to you. That's not nothing, Jake."

"But Jimmy"

"Is alive because you caught the guy who hurt him." Elliot shifted closer, like he can shield me from my own thoughts. "You're not that angry kid anymore. You're the man who makes my son feel safe. Who makes me feel safe."

Something broke in my chest. "Tell that to my dad."

"Fuck your dad." The heat in his voice surprises me. "You know what I see? A man who faced his mistakes and chose to be better. Who protects this town like it's family. Who loves my kid like he's his own."

"Easy to love Tommy." The words came without thinking. "Kid's pure light."

"And you?" His fingers traced my jaw. "Are you easy to love?"

The question hits like a physical blow. "Elliot"

"Because I think I'm falling for you." He says it simple, sure. "The man you are now, not who you used to be. The one who makes pancakes for my kid and catches bad guys and kisses me like he's afraid I'll disappear."

Can't speak past the lump in my throat. Can't do anything but pull him closer, bury my face in his neck where he can't see the tears I'm fighting.

"Got something else to tell you." My voice comes muffled against his skin. "About the case."

"I'm listening."

So I told him. About Ramirez's connection to New York, about Jimmy's past there, about all the pieces we're still trying to put together. His body stays warm against mine, steady as I lay out the whole mess.

He's quiet for a long moment, just holding me in the dark. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together. All of it."

"Together?" The word comes out more vulnerable than intended.

"Together." His lips find mine, gentle but sure. "No more running, remember?"

The kiss deepened, turned into something that burns away doubt and darkness. His hands mapped my skin like he's learning me by heart, and fuck if that didn’t undo me completely.

"Stay." The word slips out between kisses. "Not just tonight. Stay."

"Planning on it." He smiles against my mouth. "Got a house to fill with memories, don't I?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you do."

We fell asleep tangled together, his heartbeat steady under my palm. And for the first time since my dad walked out, since Jimmy got hurt, since all the shadows started gathering, I feel something like hope.

Because maybe Elliot's right.

Maybe I'm not that angry kid anymore.

Maybe I'm someone worth staying for.

Maybe we're building something real here, in this quiet town with its complicated past and uncertain future. Something stronger than old guilt or new fears.

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