Page 7 of Evidence of a Folktale

“It wasn’t that, and you know it.”

Reese sagged in his seat, and Bel could practically see the gears in his brain fighting to process his swirling thoughts.

“He’s always made me nervous,” he finally said. “I liked Eamon, but something about him terrifies me. A bone-deep, ancient kind of fear… there’s a reason for that,isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m not going to like it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t mind, but it took time for me to come to terms with it. It’s why I’m giving you options.”

“Is he human?” her father asked, but Beljuststared at him.Seemed he wasfiguring it out on his own.

Reese cursed and ran a hand over his salt-and-pepper hair. “That makes me more nervous for your safety.”

“It shouldn’t.” Bell stood up and crossed the kitchen to pull him into a hug. “If there’s one person powerful enough to protect me, it’s him. These scars resulted from something else. Something neither of us could control. Something he shouldn’t have been able to fight, yet he did. Eamon fell for me the moment he met me, and he’s been fighting to keep me alive ever since. But there are things in this world beyond our understanding. Terrifying things, but despite his brutality, he isn’t one of them. He’s beautiful, and I don’t belong here today without him.”

“You swear to me he isn’t hurting you?” Reese said. “You aren’t returning to a man who puts his hands on you?”

“I would shoot him between the eyes if he ever tried, and he knows it,” Bel laughed.

“I suppose you would. I worry about you, that’s all. I want you safe and happy.”

“And Eamon is my happiness. When you decide how much of the truth you want, you’ll see that,” Bel said. “And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’tjump intoa relationship with him until he proved himself. The first moment I realized he would rather die than hurt me was during the Darling case when he shielded me with his own body. There was blood everywhere, Dad. Hisblood, not mine. I forgave him for my scars thatday,because while he didn’t die, he’d been prepared to. He didn’t even think. He just stepped between me and the threat, and he paid the price. It’s hard not to love someone who would die in your stead.”

“How come you never told me that?” Reese asked, his tonedoinglittle to hide his offense.

“Because if I told you, I’d have to admit the truth about him, and I wasn’t sure you were ready. He didn’t protect me like a normal person would. He didn’t throw me to the ground to cover me from the flying debris. When I say shield, Dad, I mean shield. If you’d seen it, if you knew what happened to him so he could save my life, you would forever be in his debt.”

“You’re scaring me, baby girl.”

“I’m sorry.” She kissed his cheek as she finally pulled away. “It’s why I won’t tell you anymore. Mull it over, and decide how much of the truthyou’re willing tolearn. It’s a lot, though, so take your time.”

“You mean there’s more?” he asked. “More to him than finding out he was a human shield for you.”

“A lot more. Some he hasn’t even shared with me yet.”

Reese cursed as he leaned back in his chair, his face drained and limbs limp. “Youreallylove him, don’t you?”

“I do…” Bel laughed, the emotion bubbling in her chest. She loved Eamon Stone, and this was the first time she’d admitted it to herself.

“And you’re safe with him?”

“In every sense of the word.”

“And you can’t be convinced to spend Christmas with your old man?” He looked up at her with a hopeful expression.

“No, Dad.” Bel cupped his cheek. “I love you. I always will, but I don’t belong here. I need to fix my relationship. Let me know what you decide. Eamon won’t care. He’ll let me tell you whatever I want.”

“Okay…” Reese trailed off. “I love you. So much, and I may be just a human parent, but if that man ever hurts you.”

“I’ll call in the big guns,” Bel laughed.

“I don’t care what he isorhow rich he is or how tall he is. I will come for you.”

“I know, Dad. He does too. Trust me, he does too, because he knows where I get my personality from.” She kissed his head one last time before calling Cerberus to the front door. “For such a terrifying man, I’m pretty sure Eamon is afraid of two people, and you, my dearest father, are one of them.”

Bel didn’t bother knockingbefore she unlocked the Reale Estate’s impressive front door and barged in, dropping her luggage on the foyer floor with a loud thwack. Cerberus raced through her legs and disappeared down the hall in search of the home’s owner, and Bel barely shut the door behind her when an alarmed Eamon burst into the room. His hearing had clued himin toa car’s arrival, but by his expression, he hadn’t expected her to walk into his mansion this Christmas afternoon.

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