like he needed to protect me.”
I try to keep my breathing even when his finger traces the edge of my nipple, puckering it tight. “He loves you. I can’t fault him there. And let’s keep this in perspective. Your father arrested me to keep us apart. If it was my father, and I was with someone he disapproved of, he would have killed her.”
I take a second and let that sink in. That’s who Rob is. That’s what I’m asking to become part of.
The flicker of doubt is snuffed out when he smiles and adds, “But my mother would have rooted for us. She was a hopeless romantic.”
“Lee said she was killed outside the Bienville?”
He nods as he rolls my nipple between his fingers. “I used to go there and just stare at the spot, as if I’d somehow be able to feel her or something.”
The ache in my heart is nearly incapacitating and my eyes well. “I do that too, sometimes. I sit on the side of the road where Mom died and try to feel her.”
He rolls me so I’m under him and gazes down into my eyes. “I’m just starting to realize my mother’s always been alive in all us kids. I’m sure there’s a piece of your mother in you too.”
“Sometimes I think I didn’t love her enough for her to want to stay with me.”
He kisses the tip of my nose. “You are an incredible person, Adri Wilson. You are the most good and caring person I’ve ever known. I’d be shocked to find your mother was anything less. She’s alive in you. Don’t ever doubt that.”
A tear spills over and Rob kisses it away. I shift so his mouth covers mine and kiss him with everything I have. I burrow into him, living in his scent and the feel of his strong arms around me. He starts moving inside me.
I smile. “More?”
His lips brush along my cheekbone to my mouth. He kisses me deeply and says, “I will never get enough of you.”
I reach into my bag for another condom and watch as he changes equipment. We give each other all of ourselves. No holding back. No secrets. I love him and he loves me back with every fiber of himself. When we’re sated and exhausted, we collapse into each other’s arms, and that’s where the sun finds us when it rises over the beach in the morning.
I don’t rush. I dress slowly and Rob does the same, then we climb the path.
He walks me to the T-Bird at the end of his driveway. “When will I see you?”
I grab the front of his T-shirt and pull him toward me. “Right now. You’re coming with me.”
He tips his head at me. “Where, exactly, are we going?”
“Home. There’s someone I need you to meet.”
He rubs a hand down his face in a weary gesture, and his focus clouds a little. “I should go check on Sherm.”
“Are we doing this or not?” I ask, my voice sharper than I intended.
His eyes focus on me, deep and clear—windows to his soul. “We’re most definitely doing this.”
“Then there’s no choice. We need to clear the air.”
He nods slowly. “You’re right.”
We climb into the T-Bird, and when we get to the house, Sergeant Dixon is on his front porch. I wave on the way by and pull into our driveway. Rob is slow to get out of the car once I’ve stopped, and I wait for him. We move up the walk hand in hand, and I ask him to wait outside the door. I push through and find Dad in his recliner with the TV on.
He stands and looks at me, his expression moving right through relief into anger. “Are you going to tell me where you were last night?”
I take a deep breath. “Dad, I have someone I need you to meet. He’s very important to me, so I hope before you decide you don’t like him, you’ll get to know him and give him a chance.”
I duck out the door, and Rob is standing there looking like he’s swallowed a porcupine.
“I’m not sure this is the best idea, Adri.”
“You two need to start over and there’s no better time than the present,” I say, holding out my hand.
He rakes a hand through his hair, then gives it to me and lets me drag him through the door.
Dad’s eyes widen the second they fall on him.
“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Rob Davidson. Rob, this is my father,