had red hair was another reason I settled on teaching. I could have as many children around me as I wanted and never have to have the stress of having someone that looked like me. That was nailed home to me when I was kidnapped one afternoon and experimented on because of my hair color. Allie reached for a tissue that was on the side table. The tears were blinding her; she was crying so hard. I’d had a front-row seat to knowing what people thought of when they saw a redheaded person. Okay, I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone thinks like my stepparents or the man who had taken me felt. But I did feel as if I lost something else that I had no control over.
I’m coming up, Allie.
She didn’t say anything to Beckett. She had it in her head that he was going to tell her she was too loaded down with issues. That he’d not thought of her being someone with red hair and what it would do to one of his children. When he entered the room, she stayed where she was and looked at him. His smile, brilliant with happiness, was exactly what she needed.
Beckett helped her up from the floor and held her tightly against his body. He didn’t speak—what could he say? she thought. But when he lifted her chin up so that they could look at each other, Allie held her breath.
“I love you. So very much.” The burst of acceptance came out as a giggle. “Christ, you’re amazing. And I am forever sorry for changing you. Bringing you here. These are the other things you didn’t mention that were out of your control. No wonder you were upset. I think I would have been as well.”
“I’m just whiny.” He said she was sharing her life with them. “I hadn’t any idea I was sharing with the others. But then I thought they might as well understand too. I think I pissed off Rogen. I’ll have to keep looking over my shoulder for a hitman until I can make this right.”
“She won’t kill you. She’d hire someone else to do it. More than likely, it will be some drone loaded up with some kind of killer bullet.” Allie stared at him. “I’m not joking about the drone, but she won’t hurt you. When she told me she pissed you off enough for you to put a gun to your head, I didn’t know what to say. But she did feel really bad about it.”
“Is all of your family like her?” He said just the women. “I see. So the men, they’re what? Lazy bums? Men who allow their wives to—”
“I think you misunderstood. We don’t allow our wives to do anything. They want to do it, they do it. None of us argue.” He laughed. “Do you think we’re stupid enough to tangle with them? Any one of them could call down a world of hurt on us that would last forever. No, we don’t even consider thinking that we could allow them to do anything. I won’t you either.”
“Thank you for that. I do want to try things. I might well fail at everything I do, but I want to have the ability to at least say that I failed, not that I’d quit.” She laid her head on his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry for what I did. Not just to you, but your family as well. I was being a bitch.”
When he didn’t agree or disagree, she was ready to pop him in the nose. But he was looking out the window, and she started to turn to see what had grabbed his attention. Before she could go to the window, he told her to move slowly and not to make any noise. Through the open window, she could hear grunts and squeals.
“They’re baby bears. Look at them. They’re just little guys.” He said they were killer babies if they tried to pet them. “Oh Beck, they’re amazing. I see mamma bear now. Will they get into the pool?”
They did. One at a time, they slid into the large pool. Mamma bear sat on the edge, seemingly telling them to behave when they started tossing water at her. Watching them was like having her faith renewed in life. A new beginning, Allie thought.
Turning to Beck, she realized he was watching her. As he took a step toward her, she wanted to feel his arms