Page 6 of Saint

“I-I know,” he said, shuffling along beside him. “I know, and I’m terrified now that I’m going to lose her.”

“You listen to me,” he said, turning and gripping his collar. In the distance, Bogey was watching the entire interaction. He wasn’t going to interfere. In fact, he hoped that Trevor would knock some sense into his son. If it got out of hand, he’d step in.

“Listen to me. Marilisa is so brilliant I can’t even fathom what’s in her beautiful head. I am humbled by her presence every day she is with us. I could not have asked God for a more perfect daughter in every way.

“But there are nights, there are nights that she wakes screaming and crying over a memory she cannot bring into the light. Something so horrible that she will not voice it for fear it will come to life.”

Saint swallowed hard, tears coming to his eyes seeing the tears in the eyes of Trevor.

“I’ve done this before, Saint,” whispered Trev. “Ashley. Her nightmares were horrible. She’d see that son-of-a-bitch standing over her with that knife carving her beautiful body to pieces, and she’d scream like you’ve never heard before in your life. Seeing that with Marilisa is killing me. Lately, she wakes up crying over you.”

“Over me?” he frowns.

“Yes, son. She wakes up crying because she has dreams that you’ve left her again. You’ve walked away.”

“Shit,” he said, shaking his head. “Trevor, I never meant to hurt her. Never. I meant to protect her. I’m so scared about the age difference, and I’m still working on it.”

“I know you are, Saint. Age means nothing. Nothing. And it’s not just older man, younger woman. Look at Eagle and Tinley, Angel and Mary. Their wives are older than they are. Sophia and Ivan. Whiskey and Kat. It means nothing in the end, Saint. If she loves you, and you love her, nothing else matters.”

Saint nodded at the older man as he pulled him in for a bear hug, slapping his back so hard he thought it was intentionally done to kill him.

“Don’t wait too long, Saint. She’s talking about interviewing elsewhere, and after speaking to all these new folks here, I think she’d be in a lot of danger out there in the world.”

Trevor turned, leaving Saint standing there alone. A few people were watching them, then slowly turned away. Behind him, Grip whispered to him.

“If you boys would listen to me more often, things would be so much simpler.”

“I know, I know. Where is she?”

Marilisa sat on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet in the cool water. Alvin swam around her feet, and she couldn’t help but smile at the old alligator. He was so gentle and sweet it was remarkable to watch. He’d rub his snout against her feet, blowing bubbles to tickle her. He was a reptilian dog, thought Marilisa.

“Love is hard,” said Martha, taking a seat beside her.

“Why? Why does it have to be hard, Martha? Shouldn’t love, of all things, shouldn’t love be simple and easy?”

“It should be,” she grinned. “I had a lot of suitors in my day, Marilisa. Most wanted nothing more than my land and my house and my money. I got rid of those pretty fast. I was lucky my father didn’t force me to marry anyone. Then, it was my brother who gave me free will. I loved them both for that. I never knew true love until I met Nathan.”

“Maybe he doesn’t love me at all,” she whispered.

“I think the opposite is true, honey. I think he loves you so much he’s not sure what to do about it. I think he’s terrified that he’ll hurt you or do something wrong, and you’ll both be destroyed. He doesn’t know what to do.”

“Kiss me. Make love to me. Tell me,” she listed off. Martha chuckled, nodding.

“Did you ever think that he’s not just worried about the age spread from him to you, but you to him?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Marilisa, you’re young, and to my knowledge, you’ve never had a serious relationship,” said Martha.

“Well, n-no, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want one.”

“But what if he hands you his heart, loves you with everything he has, and in a few weeks, a few months, you decide this isn’t what your little first-love fantasy should be at all. You see, you want to rush right into this, and Saint wants to take it slow so thatyoucan be sure. Not him.”

“I-I never thought of that,” she said in a shaky voice. “I mean, I don’t think for one moment that I wouldn’t love him forever. But I can see where that might scare him.”

“A lot of things scare him,” smiled Martha. “Griffin coming to your rescue before he could get there was one. He’s just a man, Marilisa. Flesh, blood, bone. He can be broken, and he knows that some things can’t be put back together, even by the pond.”

Marilisa just stared at her bare feet in the water, then looked up to see some of the other animals swimming in the bayou. If anyone else besides Belle Fleur people were here, they’d think they were seeing things. Monkeys, gorillas, bison, all swimming like they were at a country club for wild animals.

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