Page 11 of Her Mountain Man Protector
But there’s no avoiding it.
I owe Holden the truth.
With a deep breath, I look up at him, my pulse quickening the second those deep blue eyes land on me. We’re sitting side by side, our hands still joined—Holden’s giant palm enveloping mine. It feels safe. Steadying, somehow. It gives me the courage I need to talk.
“My groom is Julian Kingsley,” I say. “He was my family’s choice, not mine.”
Holden’s brown creases. “Like…an arranged marriage?”
I nod. “Something like that. I only met Julian once before the wedding, and we barely spoke. He was a stranger to me, but I had to marry him to get the money.”
“Money? You mean Julian’s money?”
“No.” I shift in my seat, wishing we could stop talking about this and go back to unpacking. “My trust fund. There’s a clause in there which says I can only inherit the money if I marry a ‘suitable’ man before I turn twenty-five. That’s only a year away. Marrying Julian was a neat solution for both of us. It meant I’d get my trust fund money, and Julian would get to rebuild his reputation.”
Holden stares at me, looking baffled. I can imagine how crazy it all must sound to a guy like him—like something out of a historical novel.
“Why did he need to rebuild his reputation?” he asks.
“Julian’s always getting involved in scandals. Drunk driving, bar brawls, drugs, sleeping with married women…you name it. I think his parents hoped that marrying a girl from a so-called ‘respectable’ family would force him to settle down and stop ruining his family’s reputation.”
Holden nods slowly, eyes narrowed as he processes everything. “But you didn’t go through with it?”
My throat burns as I say, “No…I couldn’t.” Tears sting my eyes, threatening to bubble over. “Now I’ve ruined everything for me and Grace.”
“Grace?”
“My younger sister.” I swallow hard, willing myself not to cry. “We need that trust fund—we need the money to get away from our parents. They’re…they’re abusive. Controlling. Obsessed with status and money. They won’t let us get jobs because they say it’s beneath our family to work, so we can’t earn anything ourselves. They control what we wear and who we talk to and where we go. And if we try to defy them, they threaten to kick us out and cut us off completely. We’re desperate to leave, but we don’t have anywhere else to go…all the money belongs to our parents. Grace and I don’t have a dime.” I draw in a deep breath,wiping away a hot tear. “They don’t love us. They never have. To them, we’re like accessories, something they own. And now…now I don’t know what’s going to happen. They’ll never forgive me for this. We won’t be able to escape. I’ve…I’ve let Grace d-down…”
The tears I’ve been forcing back rush forth in full force, and I bury my face in my hands, feeling Holden’s strong arms wrap around me. I sob into his shirt, the reality of my situation hitting me all at once. Without the trust fund, I’ll never escape. My parents will make my life hell for embarrassing them, and I’m sure they’ll find a way to blame poor Grace for it, too.
“Mila.” Holden’s deep voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts. “Mila, look at me.”
I do as he says, pulling back to look at him. “S-sorry, I made your shirt all wet.”
“It’s okay.” His gaze is so intense it almost hurts to look at him. “Listen to me, okay? You don’t need to go back to your parent’s house. You and your sister can stay here as long as you need.”
My heart jumps. “But, Holden?—”
“I’m serious, Mila.” His brow creases. “Hell, never been more serious in my life. I’m not just saying it to be nice, okay? I mean it. I want you to stay here. You need to be safe.”
His words take my breath away. I can feel how much he means it, and I want to tell him yes, yes, yes, of course I’ll stay. But I know I have to be practical.
“That’s so kind, it really is,” I whisper, “and I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for offering, but—but I can’t. I don’t have any money to give you for rent or food or?—”
Holden makes a noise in his throat, cutting me off. “I don’t need your money. I’ve got plenty of it after selling up in Denver. Enough to take care of you.”
A flicker of something stirs in my chest. Hope? Fear?
Could I really do this?
It sounds too good to be true, but as I look at Holden, my gaze roaming from his lined forehead to his thick beard, I start to want it. We may have only just met, but I’ve felt a connection between us ever since we first set eyes on each other in the shed, when he covered for me with the cops. Staying with him—even just for a few weeks—would be like a dream come true. Then Grace and I would have time to find work and finally start earning our own money. Maybe we could rent an apartment together here in Cherry Hollow, far away from our parents’ house. It sounds like a fantasy, but with Holden’s kindness, maybe we could make it come true…
“That would be amazing,” I tell him. “If we could stay for just a little while, just long enough for us to find work and rent a place…”
“As long as you need.”
Our faces are only inches apart. We stare at each other, the air thickening around us as I process what we just agreed on.
