Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,21

me with his chin on my head.

“I feel like I have to be everywhere. That if I let her out of my sight for one second, she’ll disappear. You make me feel like for one moment I don’t have to be the only strong one. That for once in my life, someone else could share the burden.” He was talking as if to no one, holding me tight in his arms.

He leaned down and kissed me softly, taking in every inch of my mouth. His hands were lightly rubbing my cheeks, then my hair and finally moving down to my back. I was lost in his arms, still remaining as still as I could and letting him drive the moment. He slowly pulled away and I looked straight at him, keeping eye contact as long as I could, hoping to convey to him all the feelings that my mouth had no ability to say. How I would be there for him—how much I cared about him. I wanted his trust; I wanted to be close to him in a way I’d never felt before. He turned away and walked out the door without a word, leaving me more confused and than ever.

“Lord, I pray you reveal your glory to her in mighty ways. I pray that she see your hand in all that nature offers, and she knows that same God has every hair on her head numbered…”

4. ZIP LINE

The next morning Issy was on a tirade, swearing she was going to call the University first thing Monday morning and get our locks changed. I was pretty sure I had heard her say the phrases, “How dare he?” and “Who does he think he is?” at least fifty times. Pete, in the meantime, was excessively texting and calling her. She ignored him, rolling her eyes each time the phone made a noise. I guess that infatuation was a one-night event. I wished I could be as lucky. I couldn’t seem to get Jake out of mind. There was so much I didn’t understand. Who was he with last night, and why was he kissing me when he had just been on a date with someone else? I wondered who he really was. Issy kept alluding to the fun loving, partier he used to be, but all I had seen up to this point was a serious guy who seemed wounded in more ways than one.

It took all of my willpower not to ask Issy those questions. However, the last thing I wanted was for her to know the depth of my feelings for him, and she was incredibly perceptive. She fell on her lip love seat and looked at her phone

“Ugh! Stop calling me!”

“Why did you go out with him in the first place?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I was mad at Jake and I knew it would bug him.”

“Why were you mad at him? I thought you two were bonded by some supernatural force.” I was hoping the teasing in my voice would mask the pure curiosity I had to find out as much about Jake as I could.

“It’s a long story. Let’s just say that he and I don’t always agree on the ‘family’ issues, and the older he gets, the more he tries to intervene. It has reached new levels since my Aunt Kathy died.”

My heart skipped a beat. His mom had died. I looked up at Issy. “When?”

“This summer. She had an inoperable brain tumor that slowly took her. It was really hard on him and my mom. That’s part of why we fight so much. He idolizes my mom. He thinks she hangs the moon because she took care of them. It’s like he has this need to pay her back, and that means dote over her and protect me at all costs. And the cost right now is our friendship. Things just haven’t been the same since.”

My heart was heavy as I tried to imagine the pain he must be in. No wonder he was tired. No wonder he was guarded. My compassion for him overwhelmed me. I looked at Issy with a serious stare.

“Maybe you should cut him a break.”

“Oh, not you too! Ugh, is there no safe place from him? I told you to stay away from him. You didn’t listen,” she accused shaking her head. “Do you want to know why Betsy left? She was in love with Jake, and she couldn’t take being around him every day when he acted