If he could forgive his grandfather, and Wayne, and even Mia…why was he having such a difficult time granting forgiveness to himself?
He was a good man. He hadn’t always been a good man, but Mia had inspired him. He’d been ready to go straight for her. If only he hadn’t made that last bad decision… He’d let vengeance get in the way of what he knew was right. It had cost him everything.
He’d become a good man behind bars. He’d learned pride in his work and the satisfaction of a job well done. He’d learned empathy and the value of friendship.
He was earning his keep now, that was for sure. It felt damn good. Hard work was good for the soul. And so was honesty and a job well done.
But he wasn’t whole yet.
And Maria deserved someone whole.
* * *
Thirty-Three Years Earlier
Tap.
Maria jolted in her bed.
Tap. Tap.
Her mother worked the night shift at the local convenience store. She was alone in the house except for her little sister, Meghan.
The tapping was coming from outside, against her window.
She looked at the clock. Only ten. It was early yet. Who could it be? Her neighborhood wasn’t the best, but the neighbors watched out for each other. If anyone had seen anything suspicious, the cops would have been called.
She peered out her window.
“Oh!”
She stared straight into the handsome face of Jeff Bay. Her skin tingled. In the moonlight, with the silver highlighting his dark hair, he looked like a god. Already her skin tightened and the place between her legs throbbed.
She opened the window. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled his lazy grin. “I missed you.”
Her breath caught. He was beautiful. “That’s…nice. But it’s really late, Jeff, and my little sister—”
“I won’t wake her up. Can I come in just for a minute?”
“Why didn’t you go to the door?”
“I didn’t want to wake up your mom.”
“She’s at work.”
“Oh. Well, no problem then. I’ll go around to the door. Meet me there.”
This is so not a good idea. But Maria’s feet walked her to the door and her hands turned the knob and opened it. She wanted to see Jeff. She wanted to kiss him some more. She wanted to…
He grinned at her. “Nice jammies.”
Oh, God. Her cheeks warmed. A cotton T-shirt a size too small and bikini underwear—what had she been thinking not pulling on some clothes before going to the door?
“Excuse me.” She cleared her throat. “Go ahead and get yourself a drink in the kitchen if you want. There’s soda in the fridge.”
She hurried to her room and pulled on a pair of shorts and a larger T-shirt. Quickly she returned to the kitchen.