Page 31 of Second Goal

I almost told him everything yesterday.

Part of me still wants to.

To lay my soul bare. To free the demons that terrorize me daily.

But I know he’ll never understand. He thinks I’m the victim. That’s why he’s protecting me. Why he looks at me the way he does. But I’m not. I’m the villain in this story.

And now I have so much more to lose than just a roof over my head and my tense relationship with my brother. I let my guard down, and Blake slipped past my walls, infusing himself in my heart.

Selfish.

Coward.

Imposter.

I’m all those things and worse.

But when I pad down the hall toward the kitchen and Blake sees me, a huge grin spreading across his lips when his gaze meets mine, for a heartbeat, I wonder if I can be the person he thinks I am.

He’s on the phone, a spatula in his hand, and he flips bacon as he ends the call he was on. He moves around the island and wraps his arms around me, kissing me softly. And everything in the world seems right.

“Are you hungry?” he asks against the shell of my ear. Pax barks beside us in response to the question, and he scolds him gently, “You already had your breakfast.”

The dog whimpers and lies down, giving us both a pathetic look like he hasn’t been fed in days.

“One piece won’t hurt him,” I say, taking a slice that’s cooled, then crouching to give it to him. Lady runs up to me, wagging her tail and expecting the same sort of treat. I chuckle and break off a smaller piece for her.

“No wonder they like you better than me,” Blake says, laughing, pulling out a stool, then pouring a large cup of coffee, placing it in front of me when I stand. “I’m going to miss that guy.”

“The center found him a home already?” I ask, frowning and glancing down at Pax.

“There’s a family that’s interested.”

“Oh.” I’m not sure why, but my heart hurts a little.

Blake sets a plate in front of me, bacon, eggs, toast, then sits down beside me with his own plate. “They have a house outside of the city with a big yard for him to run around. He’ll be better off there.” He says it like it’s no big deal, and for some reason, it frustrates me.

I push the eggs around on my plate and frown.

“What?”

I’m not sure why my defenses are up, but they are. “It’s that easy for you to just give him up?”

“That was always the plan. I’m just fostering him until the center finds him a permanent home.”

“Right,” I mutter, putting my fork down.

He spins me toward him, hands on either side of me. “You’re upset.”

“No,” I lie. I am upset, and I don’t understand why. Sure, I’ve grown attached to the dog, but Blake is right, I always knew he was only here until the shelter found him a permanent home. Other than Lady, Blake never kept the dogs he fostered long-term.

“You sure this is about Pax?” Blake asks, gray eyes studying me.

I frown at him. “What else would it be about?”

“You and me.”

I let out a shaky breath and close my eyes. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m worried that it’ll be just as easy for him to give me up when the time comes. Because the time will come. Like Pax, I’m just a temporary fixture here.

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