Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,55

such an important part of my life disturbed me.

Dr. Payne had said I probably had a repressed memory. My mother assured me I was okay. I’d failed a test at school and then a couple girls had bullied me and punched me a few times, all of which sent me into depression. I didn’t remember any of it, but it certainly sounded like something that would depress a person, although I’d always been an excellent student. The girls who bullied me had apparently both moved away by the time my senior year rolled around. Not that I wanted to confront them, but if I could have at least seen them, maybe I’d remember the trauma.

Then again, who wanted to remember trauma?

I cleared my throat and told Brad the story.

“You really don’t remember?”

“I don’t. Sometimes I wish I could, but other times I’m glad I can’t.”

“Why would anyone bully you?”

“Why does anyone bully anyone? I have no idea.”

“Usually because they’re weak or jealous,” he said. “In your case, it was probably both. They were weak, and they were jealous of you.”

“Why would anyone be jealous of me?”

“Because you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

I smiled. His words made me feel warm and cozy inside. Special. Protected. His words were like a suit of armor that would conceal and protect me so no one could ever hurt me again.

“You didn’t have any problem when you went back to school?”

“No. Those girls were gone, and everyone else was nice, though most were distant.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I’d been gone for a year. My few friends and I had grown apart, and my best friend had moved. It was different. Not great, but I made it through.”

Brad stared at me, his eyes meeting mine as if he were searching for something.

Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Brad

I should drive her back to campus. See her safely to her dorm room and never set eyes on her again.

But that wouldn’t happen. She was inside me now, a part of me, almost as if I’d grown a new limb. It sounded crazy even to me, but I couldn’t deny the truth.

Daphne Wade was like a beautiful castle fashioned out of sand. One tide could come in and topple everything. She was fragile. So fragile yet so strong. Not everyone could get through such a year and come out swinging, ready for college.

Daphne was the ultimate paradox—and she was mine.

From the first time I laid eyes on her, I’d wanted to protect her. I didn’t know why then, but I knew now. She needed me.

And I needed her.

I needed something sweet and good in my life.

But could I in good conscience bring this fragile woman into my fucked-up universe? I’d done things I could never take back, things that could have consequences far into the future. I could mitigate the fallout. Indeed, I had and would continue to. But some things were beyond my control.

I had to believe. I had to believe in the goodness of humankind. I deserved happiness, and so did Daphne. We could find it together.

She needed me, and I needed her.

A life with her would never be easy or simple, but then a life with me wouldn’t be either.

I reached forward and touched her silken cheek.

She smiled into my hand. “You didn’t run away screaming.”

“Why would I?”

“Because I just told you I spent time in a mental hospital.”

I smiled. “You’re not the first person I’ve known who spent time in a mental hospital.”

“Oh?”

“My mother was hospitalized while I was in high school.”

“I’m so sorry. Why?”

“It’s a long story. Her relationship with my dad has been strained since the accident. My dad… Well, he’s not the best husband in the world.” I didn’t want to lay all the details on Daphne yet.

“Is she okay now?”

“She is. She has things in her life that make her happy.”

Daphne smiled. “I bet you’re one of them.”

Just when I thought I couldn’t adore her more. “Let’s go back to the ranch,” I said. “It’s nearly dinnertime, and then I want to take you someplace special tonight.”

My mother’s greenhouse was about a mile away from the main ranch house. She kept her favorite flower, the tulip, in bloom all year long. I cut a bright-yellow bloom from one of the bulbs and handed it to Daphne.

“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a tulip in the fall.”

“To say my mom has a green thumb is an understatement. She has a way with all plants, but she especially loves spring flowers.”

“Your