Chapter 24

Maddie satdown on the couch and patted for Violet to sit on her lap.

She could hear the low murmur of men"s voices, and her belly congealed. She tried not to listen, but she did, straining to see if she recognized Jacob"s voice from some suppressed memory.

She didn"t.

She"d been six when her dad had pulled her out of that house.

Six was old enough to have memories, but she had none.

How bad had her past been that she could recall absolutely nothing?

The door closed, and she looked up sharply, but it was simply Tristan closing it.

He raised his brows. "You all right?"

"How bad was it for Jacob? How bad was that place? I don"t remember anything."

Tristan walked over and sat across from her. "You were there only for a short time. Jacob lived there for many years. It might not have been the same for you."

"How bad was it?"

"Bad."

"How is he doing?"

Tristan let out his breath. "Jacob is fragile. We all try to protect him. He"s had the most difficult time of all of us. But he met a fantastic woman named Phoebe who has a daughter and a dog. They"re healing each other. It"s beautiful. Gives us all hope."

There was only kindness and love in Tristan"s voice, giving truth to Lucas"s statements about how the Harts were such a close family.

"How much does he remember about me?" she asked.

Tristan raised his brows. "You have haunted him every minute of his life since he came back from that run, and you were gone. He considers you his sister."

Tears burned at the corners of Maddie"s eyes. She knew how her dad had suffered because of Jacob, and Jacob had done the same for her. "I"m scared that if I see him, I"ll remember."

Tristan"s gaze went to the therapy vest on Violet. "I think you do remember, Maddie. You just pretend you don"t."

Her stomach was churning. "Can you go get Lucas for me?"

"You bet." Tristan stood quickly and headed for the door. He left it open, and Maddie could hear the men talking, including her dad"s voice.

"Maddie?" Lucas walked in.

She looked up at him. "Will you go outside with me?"

Understanding dawned, and he held out his hand. "Come on."

"Okay." She patted Violet to get her off her lap, then she stood up. Her hands were shaking, and she felt icy cold. "I feel like I"m going to throw up."

"That"s fine. No one cares if you vomit."

She put her hand in his, and he closed his fingers around hers, a solid, steady strength. He kissed her gently, a tender kiss that eased the tiniest bit of terror gripping her. "I don"t know if I can do it."

"No problem. We"ll find out. Whatever you choose is perfect."

"Okay. You go first."

Lucas smiled. "You got this, sweetheart."

She nodded, too tense to speak. She kept herself behind Lucas as he headed toward the front door. As they stepped outside, she used him to block her view of the men in front of her, gripping his forearm with her free hand. Violet was pinned to her leg, pressing so hard that Maddie had to fight to keep her balance so her dog didn"t knock her over.

The conversation ceased, and she could feel the weight of their gazes, but she kept her focus on Lucas"s back. I"m safe. I"m safe. I"m safe.

The frantic mantra did nothing to ease the panic clogging her throat, and she stopped. "I can"t do this."

Lucas immediately turned to face her, using his body to block her view of the men. "Maddie. Look at me."

She looked up into his face, into those dark eyes that were so full of kindness and warmth.

"I know you don"t want to hear this, but I"m telling you anyway."

Oh, God. "What?"

"I know it"s fast, but when life has dragged you through hell and back, you get to know your soul in a hurry." He paused. "I"m falling in love with you, and I"ve got no chance of stopping myself."

She stared at him, her heart racing. "Lucas?—"

"You don"t need to answer, but I wanted you to know that. It doesn"t matter if you talk to Jacob or not. If you walk away from me and never look back. But you deserve to know you"re loved, exactly as you are." Then he framed her face with his hands and kissed her.

It was a kiss of pure tenderness and love, and it settled inside her, grounding her.

He pulled back. "Don"t listen to what your mind is telling you about what you can and can"t do. What does your heart say?"

She paused, and she listened, and to her surprise, a sense of calmness settled over her. Maybe it was because of Lucas. Maybe it was because he"d said he loved her, and she believed him. Maybe it was because she was listening to something other than her crazy brain. But either way, she suddenly knew she could handle this.

That it was time.

She touched Lucas"s wrist, took a breath, and then stepped around him to meet the boy she couldn"t remember.

The brother she couldn't remember.