Page 19 of Lumberjack DADDY
“I love you, Emery. And I know you love me,” Travis calls out. “And don’t worry, I won’t hold this against you. When I’m out, we’re going to be together. I promise you!”
“You ever come back around here again, and I promise you I’ll put a bullet in your fuckin’ head,” I call back to him.
Travis glares at me, but I see the fear in his eyes. Emery narrows her eyes and stands as tall as her petite frame allows. She shoots him a hateful look but says nothing as they stuff him into the back of one of the cruisers. Tucker takes his leave, and they all drive out, leaving Emery and me standing alone in front of the cabin. I turn to her.
“It’s over now,” I say. “You’re all right.”
“If not for you?—”
I laugh. “Like I told Tucker, I think you’d have beaten that boy just fine on your own.”
“Well… It’s not something I want to test.”
I pull her to me and wrap her in a tight embrace. She’s so small and fragile, but she’s tough. She’s a survivor. And she’s got a strength she doesn’t even realize she has. I can see it in her, even if she can’t. She turns her face up to me.
“Would you really shoot him?” she asks.
“I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” I tell her. “And as long as I’m around, I’m never going to let anything bad happen to you. For as long as you’ll have me.”
Her smile is warm and fills my heart with a lightness and a sense of joy that’s been uncommon in my life. And it’s like a drug. I’m addicted to the feelings she inspires in me.
“What if I want you for a long time?” she asks.
“Then you’ll have me for a long time.”
“You make me feel safe, Eli.”
Safe isn’t a word I’ve used much in my life. It’s a word I never really thought applied to me. It’s a word I never gave much thought to. But as I stare into her eyes, I feel that’s changing. I feel like my entire world is changing. And she’s the reason for it.
“You make me feel safe, too,” I tell her and mean it. “Safer than I’ve ever felt before.”
I lean forward and kiss her forehead, and she melts into me.
Safe. It’s a strange word.
But it’s a word that feels as good and real as Emery Pierce feels in my arms.
13
EMERY
Over the next few weeks, Eli and I spend every waking moment together. I was supposed to have gone home a couple of weeks ago, but there’s nothing waiting for me back there. It feels like everything I want—everything I need—is here. It’s a strange feeling to have. I’ve not known Eli long at all, and yet at the same time, I feel like I’ve known him forever. There’s just something about him that feels natural. That feels right.
The more I get to know about him, the more I want to know. He’s had such a fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking life, and though he’s a tough nut to crack, the fact that he’s opened up to me the way he has makes me feel special in ways I never have before. I know he doesn’t share those parts of his life with anybody, so the fact that he chooses to share them with me means a lot.
It means the world to me, actually.
After my last relationship, I felt cold inside. I felt parts of my heart shutting down for fear of repeating that terribly abusiveexperience. I was content to be alone and focus on myself. On my art. I was content to be alone so I could heal. But Eli opened a door in me that I had been trying to keep locked. More than that, he opened some new ones. Doors inside of me I never knew existed. Every moment I spend with Eli is amazing. And he makes me see the world—and myself—in ways I never considered before.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
I look up, and a smile crosses my face as Eli comes through the door. He’s been out all day running errands, so I’ve been relaxing and unwinding. We had to meet with Sheriff Tucker earlier today to give follow-up statements and talk to the prosecutors about Travis. It was tense, and I hated having to see him again, but I got through it. I said what I had to say, and hopefully, Travis is going to go away for a while. This isn’t his first time stalking somebody, as I’ve learned.
“Just unwinding,” I say.
“I’m proud of you.”
“For what?”
