Page 6 of Corrupt Obsession

“I can see that.” A pause and then, “I’m not trying to replace your dad or rush things with your mom. We can take this as slow as you need. You let me know if it’s too much.”

Though Isaac could be saying this to win brownie points, he suspected the man was as honest as his daughter. If he wasn’t comfortable with the speed of everything, Isaac would give him time. Since his father died, it seemed that days inched along. There was nothing to look forward to. Nothing piqued his interest like before. Now, everything was moving at the speed of light. He’d come here to meet a guy his mom was dating, and within the hour, he was ninety-nine percent certain this guy would soon be his stepfather.

When they joined Violet and his mother in the parking lot, Mom gave him a searching look and touched his shoulder before she went to Isaac. When she lifted her face for a kiss, Jesse turned away and found Violet in front of him, her gaze fixed overhis shoulder. He knew the moment they kissed, not because he heard anything, but because Violet jumped up and down and silently clapped.

He wasn’t prepared for her to fling her arms around him. She hugged him the way Mom had when she got the news that Dad died. It was tight enough to hurt, but coming from her, he found he didn’t mind.

“We have to keep them together,” Violet said fervently.

When he didn’t respond, she looked up. The tears were gone, and her warrior spirit was back, making her eyes shine.

“You want us to be together, don’t you? A real family?” Violet asked, hands twisting in his shirt.

When he didn’t answer, Violet’s expression fell. When Isaac called her name, she stepped back. The loss of her body against his made that ball of dread come back. As she started toward her father, he couldn’t help himself.

“Violet!”

She looked back.

“I do want that,” he said.

She gave him a megawatt smile that made his chest flood with warmth. She ran to her dad, who tucked her against his side. Isaac climbed into a white pickup truck and held up his hand in farewell as they drove away.

“I’m sorry,” Mom said as he dropped onto the passenger seat. “I wasn’t planning to say that. It just came out. You must be overwhelmed. I know it’s too soon, but?—”

“It’s okay.”

“It is?”

“Yeah.” He reclined his seat a little and tossed his arm over his eyes, which were burning. He wasn’t sure why. “I get it.”

Mom clutched his arm. “You do?”

“Isaac’s exactly what you said he was, and Violet…”

“She’s never had a mother,” Mom said quickly. “She’s been raised mostly by her father’s friends and families from church, since Isaac has long work hours. She just needs some guidance?—”

“She’s perfect just the way she is.”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you to say.” Mom lightly punched his arm. “Especially when you said girls are annoying, and you didn’t think you’d have anything in common.”

“You’re right. She isn’t like the girls I know, though she did cry at the end.” He grimaced. “I hope she doesn’t do that often.”

Mom laughed as she started the engine and rolled down the windows. “Tears aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes, there are no words to express how you feel. The only thing you can do is cry.”

He heard her sniffling and extended his free hand while the other arm stayed draped over his eyes. Mom grasped his hand and squeezed.

“I never thought I would feel like this again,” Mom whispered.

He knew exactly how she felt because he felt the same. For the first time since Dad died, he was looking forward to something, and that something was seeing Violet again. Something about the way she’d looked at them, as if they were the answer to prayer, and they possessed something she desperately wanted, made him want to be everything for her that she would ever need.

With his father in the military, being an only child, and constantly on the move, loneliness was something he was very familiar with, and it was stamped all over Violet as well. The way she talked to him like they were on a team made his mouth curve. That hug she’d given him, he wished it had lasted longer. He wasn’t sure what it was about her that had captivated him, but he wasn’t going to examine it too closely. He was gratefulfor the break from the monotony, for something unexpected and intriguing to turn his life right-side up and bring color back to his world. He’d been trudging through life, but today he’d been offered an opportunity to rejoin the living, and he was going to take it.

Chapter 2

JESSE

5 MONTHS LATER

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