Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,70

left, and he did. Your father and I decided it was best you not know. We didn’t want you thinking he was a coldblooded killer because he’s not. What happened was an accident. And, at the house, we never talked about it in depth. You never probed, Izzy—you never asked questions.”

“That’s because I didn’t know what I needed to ask!” My voice reverberates over the small room. “Did you ever ask why the hell I was so afraid of every damn man you dragged into the house?”

She inches her head back as if she had just been slapped.

“That’s right. Remember Chuck? I believe your cute little pet name for him was Chuck the F-bomb? Well, guess what? He was trying to screw more than just you.”

“Crap!” My father thunders as he slaps his hand down onto the table, and now he looks as if he wants to kill my mother, too.

My body goes numb. My stomach turns into lava, and vomiting doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Here my father is back, and, instead of appreciating the moment, instead of accepting it for what it was, I threw every form of misery I had ever encountered into my parent’s faces.

“I’m sorry.” I bolt out of the house, and Holt appears beside me on the porch.

“Come here.” He wraps his arms around me, and I lose it. I bury my face in his warm, familiar chest and sob for what feels like weeks. It’s safe like this with him. Holt is the only real and tangible thing in my life right now.

“I’m sorry.” His voice cracks as he takes in a quick breath. “I’m so sorry about what happened to you.” He presses his lips over my ear, panting into me with his grief. “Just say the word, and we can be anywhere.”

“Little Bit?” My father’s voice resonates from the living room as he makes his way over, and I melt straight down to my soul. “I’ve waited twenty long years to see your pretty face again.” He chokes on his words. “I understand if you don’t want to see me.” He steps outside, wiping down his cheeks. “But I’d sure appreciate it if you’d stay a minute longer.”

Here he is, alive and in the flesh. He’s real, not some figment of my imagination. This is happening. It’s no dream.

Holt and I head back into the house together. We sit for hours listening to my mother and father tell stories about the past, filling Laney in on a world she never knew.

My father thought they had locked him up and threw away the key. He and my mother were simply trying to protect us.

I take in the beautiful man by my side, and the beautiful man in front of me. I have two wonderful men in my life—Holt and my father, the only two men that I’ve ever really needed in order to breathe.

And here I am wondering if I should let either of them back into my world.

Holt

The night before the wedding, Cole and I take Ryder and Bryson out for their last meal as free men.

The Carving Board is a ritzy steakhouse that sells cow carcass for the price of gold per ounce.

“Where the hell do they get their cattle? Middle earth?” Cole nearly passes out as he scans the prices.

“Take it easy,” Ryder says it calm while perusing the menu. “Tonight, it’s my treat.”

“No, it’s mine,” I offer. “You two are the ones putting your balls in a noose. It’s the least I can do.”

“Balls in a noose?” Bryson shakes his head. “Say one more boneheaded thing around Izzy, and you’ll be begging her to noose your balls as she’s walking out the door.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she’s sensitive, in the event you haven’t noticed. And I’d like to see you make things work, so put a muzzle on it.”

“Got it.” For once it seems he’s right. “We’ve spent the last few days and nights together, and she still hasn’t opened up to me about what happened.” I guess I got the rough and dirty side of it. I thought she might want to have a private conversation about it. I don’t need a lot of details. I just thought we should at least try to process it together.

Ryder tips his beer in my direction. “Laney said his name was Chuck Dupree. Said he was a crazy jackass who drank the day away while their mother slaved at the studio.”

Chuck Dupree. I tuck the name away