Page 236 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Okay, there was no question my hair was mussed, my skin permanently flushed, my lips so swollen and red there was no denying what we’d been up to.
Theo was written on me in broad stripes and bright colors.
She chuckled low as she waddled to the refrigerator. “Right. And I’m turning fifty-two next week. We can all live in a fantasyland, though I bet I can guess the type of fantasies you’ve been living.”
She raised her brows as she turned from the refrigerator with a stick of butter and a bottle of cream.
From over the counter, she peered at Theo.
He still had Finn in his arms, though they’d moved over to the Christmas tree. Theo bounced and swayed my son as they inspected the ornaments, Finn babbling about each one, pointing his little finger at his favorites.
The twinkling lights glinted and glowed and cast them in the softest warmth.
My spirit throbbed at the sight.
My body did, too.
“Looks like she’s gearing up for another marathon,” Nelly mumbled.
“Nelly.”
She chuckled, though her expression was tender. “It’s okay for you to be happy, Piper. There is no need to reject it when you’ve already been given it.”
Emotion crested, and I looked at my grandmother. The truth dribbled out on a hushed admission. “I never expected to ever feel this way, Nelly. It’s like I’m going to burst every time I look at him.”
“That’s love, my sweet. It feels like you’re both shattering and becoming whole at the same time.”
Love.
I knew that’s what it was.
What burned and thrummed and chained us in the middle of the questions.
I dropped my voice lower. “I…the sense I was getting? The worry that Justin might have found us?”
Unease whipped through her being as she gave a tight nod.
“I was wrong. There was something else going on. A danger for another one of the residents.” I could trust Nelly, but I wouldn’t give her the full details until I received the clear from Theo that he was okay with me sharing it.
So, I kept it simple. “Theo took care of it, and I think…I think he will take care of us in the same way. We don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
A rush of air wheezed out of her. “You told him?”
Tentativeness wound with the resolution. “Some, but not everything. But I’m going to. I just need to figure out how to bring him into it.”
It was a lot to ask him to shoulder.
But he would.
The hope that had sprung promised that he would.
She peeked over at Theo then back at me. “He’ll hold it, Piper. I knew it the first time I saw him. From the second the light hit his face when he opened the door of your car. He’s your avenger and your savior.”
Hope brought moisture to the backs of my eyes. “I know.”
With Finn still in his arms, Theo suddenly spun around, and he ambled across the short distance with a curious grin playing all over his brutally handsome face.
Desire twisted my stomach.
