Page 126 of The Locksmith's Promise

Moving back to the kitchen, I put on a pot of coffee and forced myself to sit down on the couch to wait.

And the thoughts I’d managed to outrun since the night before caught up to me in a mad rush.

With my head in my hands, I rocked back and forth.

My, God, I ran.

I ran and took Corwin away from Baxter.

Instead of placing my faith in Baxter, I believed the lie his father showed me.

My jealousy over Jenny clouded my judgement.

I squeezed my eyes shut, the pain of my betrayal too much to bear. Is this how Baxter felt when he believed he cheated on me? How had he stood under this?

How could he ever forgive me?

And Corwin? What about when he put all the pieces together? Especially now that he’d fallen in love with his dad.

Was there any moving on from this?

When his key finally turned in the lock, I ran to the door.

As soon as he swung it open and smiled at me, I burst into tears.

“I’m so sorry, Bax. I’m so, so sorry. If I hadn’t run, none of this would have happened.”

His smile dropped. “My sweet Maggie.” Hair damp from the shower, he toed off his shoes and hung his coat on the hook before dipping his chin and striding toward me.

Dipping his knees, he wrapped his arms around me and straightened, crushing my breasts to his hard chest and tucking his face into my neck.

I circled my arms around his neck and hung on as he walked us into the family room. My chest heaved under the burden of grief, fear, and unspent tears.

He’d suffered so much.

And the worst of it was my own doing.

Breathing him in, the fresh, clean scent of his soap and a lingering hint of woodsmoke clinging to his skin, I closed my eyes and shut out the rest of the world just like I used to.

Him and me.

Him and me against the world.

A sob rose in my throat.

I failed him so badly.

“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured.

His chest rising and falling steadily, he held me until I stopped shaking.

“Last night, I didn’t know what was happening,” I mewled.

I’d tossed and turned, the knowledge he was with my dad and his friends the only thing keeping me from hitting the streets to look for him.

“I know.” Kissing the tender curve of my neck where it met my shoulder, he continued to my bedroom and set me down on the bed.

He tipped his chin down and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

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