Page 90 of The Other Side

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the life you deserved. The longer I stayed away, the harder it was to keep going without you.”

She lifted her head and looked up at him with dry eyes now. “I was deep in depression when the ladies at Misty’s church found out about me. They helped me through it. That’s how I found the Lord. He sent me the sweetest, most selfless people when I needed to know about Him.”

Tugging on his shirt, she smiled. “Then, when I ended up back here, and I needed to be reminded who I was and what I should have been fighting for, He sent me you.”

Brett cupped her face in his hands. “Cupcake, I won’t ever let you go again.”

The smile nearly split her face. “I like it when you call me Cupcake.”

“Seriously, watching you eat a strawberry cupcake with hearts in your eyes is the highlight of my life.”

She leaned her head back and brushed her hands through her hair. Brett watched her with a look that held nothing short of desire.

He held her chin and tilted her head up to face him. “You’re so special. They never saw it–the light you bring. Every time you walk into a room, my world lights up.”

She pressed her lips together. Thinking about how little her family cared for her was always a sore spot, but it paled in the wake of Brett’s love.

“They don’t know you like I do,” he whispered, still brushing his thumb over her chin. “It’s selfish of me, but I hope they never see the parts of you I fall more in love with every day.”

Thea lifted onto her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Where do we go from here?”

“Alabama. The east coast. Mexico. I don’t really care, as long as we’re together.”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, what do we do next? You can’t leave Wolf Creek.”

Brett shook his head. “It’s just a place. It’s just a job. It’s just a small town like any small town.”

Thea opened her mouth to protest, but Brett stopped her with a finger on her lips.

“It’s not my home. You are my home, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

When his finger slid from her lips, she took a second before speaking. “No. I don’t want to lose this either. I love it here. I want you, and I want this place. I want our friends. I want it all.”

She stepped back and stood her ground, finally sure of what she wanted. “I’m not leaving, and neither are you. They’ve taken too much from us. I won’t let them take anything else.”

Brett grinned at her and nodded once. “Then we’ll stay.”

Thea’s bravado deflated. “How though?”

Brett’s comforting arms were around her again. “I know how.”

“What? You do? Care to let me in on the secret?”

“We have to mend fences. Mr. Chambers told me what I needed to do a long time ago, and I’ve been resisting.”

His gaze swept over her face, taking in every inch as he mapped out their plan for the future. “But now, I have to. If you want a life here. If you want a home where you feel safe. If you want a future here, with me, then I have to do it. If we don’t, no one else will.”

“What do we do?” she asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

He gave her a playful grin. “You think Ava could spare you for the day?”

“Why?” She was bursting to know what he had in mind.

“First.” He whispered in her ear until her heart beat wildly against the walls of her chest.

She looked up at him and gasped. “You’re crazy.”

“You’re not the first to tell me that,” he said.

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