“Scared the shit out of me.” Adam kissed his wife’s hand and Holly felt the loneliness overwhelm her again. Would she ever find a man who could love her, or was she destined to just be an aunt and an observer to other people’s happy life?
“I had to drag your sister screaming to the doctor. Kind of reminded me of Hope when she knows she is going to see a doctor.” Adam chuckled.
Faith laughed and agreed. “I’m going to call Mom in the morning and tell her. I wanted you to know first,”
“What does Hope think of all of this?” Holly wondered.
Liam laughed. “She informed me she is not sharing her toys and that is that. She asked why we couldn’t just get a puppy.”
That made Holly laugh. Her niece had quite the temper to go with her red hair. “Aww, changes are always hard on kids. I will have to spend extra time with her so she knows we all love her.”
“I wasn’t thrilled when you joined the family.” Faith teased her sister. “I had to share my room and my princess castle, which you broke. Meanie.”
Holly leaned back in her chair and looked at Liam. “I was five, and I tripped over one of her stupid dinosaurs and fell on her castle. I hurt my butt. Shouldn’t I be the one angry?”
Liam laughed. “You were lucky. I had two older brothers bossing me around. Still do. Hope is going to be the one able to boss everyone around.”
They talked some more about the new addition to the family, and then Holly and Liam insisted on cleaning up so Faith and Adam could watch TV with Hope.
* * * *
Holly drove home feeling tired. It had been a long day with a good ending. She smiled, thinking of the addition to the family. She wanted the kind of love she saw between Faith and Adam, and Noah and Alana. Not that their paths to love had been easy. Adam had been afraid of commitment, and he had gotten her sister pregnant but refused to make a commitment out of fear. He had lost one fiancée and was afraid to let himself love again. Faith had thought she would be a single mom. Now Adam was a great husband and father. Holly wanted a family, too, but that goal seemed so out of reach. She had gone on a few dates since Matt broke up with her, but they hadn’t captured her heart the way Matt had.
She still remembered the night she was at the local bar with her two friends, Jasmine Garrett and Alicia Garcia. Drake’s ex had caused some problems for Jasmine and a fight had broken out. Matt had showed up and she had felt so many emotions at once that she had been caught off guard. She’d felt lust and excitement, and a little fear, because he was not only big in size but also had an intimidating look about him that just screamed “bad ass, don’t mess with me.”
He had been so sweet and gentle with her, though, that her heart had melted on the spot. His size had made her feel so feminine. She was tall at five seven, but Matt stood well over six feet. She had always been on the slender side, and Matt was hard and muscled, with dark tattoos covering his arms. He was a sexy package. They had started dating, and she’d fallen in deeper as she spent time with him. When he broke up with her it, had been a total shock and had come out of nowhere. She hated thinking about it. It still hurt all these months later. She had seen him around town with a few different women, and it crushed her.
She pulled into her driveway and went up her stairs. She knew as soon as her head hit the pillow she would be out like a light. She was exhausted. What a crazy day filled with highs and lows!
As she was climbing her porch stairs, she heard her name being called. Her first instinct was fear, but then she remembered Pete was in jail. She turned around and saw Matt getting out of his police cruiser, and sighed. She did not want to see him. It was too hard on her battered heart.
“Can I help you, deputy?” She had to keep it businesslike and polite. She had her pride, and she didn’t want him to know how much he’d hurt her all those months ago.
He sighed loudly as he stepped closer to her. He had his hands in his pants pockets
and she sensed he was nervous, but she didn’t know why. “Still hating me, doll?”
She didn’t bother to answer. Her avoiding him and refusing to speak to him should let him know how she felt. It was hard, since her friend Jasmine was also one of his best friends. If she knew Jasmine had invited Matt to an event, Holly would make an excuse to not go. It was a very awkward situation.
He looked at her neck and frowned. The white bandage stood out. “I should go and shoot him again.”
Holly smiled. “Go for it. All day, I have been harassed by people wanting to know all the details of what it felt like to be held hostage, like it is something fun.”
“Yeah. It is the topic of the day,” he agreed. “By tomorrow, it will be something else. If not, call me and I will have Tony scare them all away. He loves growling at people.”
“So, did you need something, deputy? It has been a very long, tiring day for me.” She didn’t want to stand here and converse with him like they were friends. He had not stopped by her house since last summer. For so long, she had wished to see him, but now those days were over. The hope had turned into bitterness.
“Can’t we at least be friends, Holly?” he asked, surprising her.
“I don’t think so,” she answered quickly, fiddling with her keys. Her body always reminded her of her deep physical attraction to this man. She felt needy around him. She still craved this man, and she was afraid she always would. “You made it clear I was not good enough to be your girlfriend, so why would I want to be your friend and be around you? So you can shove all your dates in my face and let me know they are better than me in your eyes?”
She hated that she sounded so bitter, but she hated and loved him at the same time. How crazy was that?
“I never said you were not good enough for me, Holly. I felt like I was not good enough for you,” he insisted. “Yes, I have dated a few women, but none of them get to me like you do.”
“There is no point in going over the past. You made your choice and I have to live with it.” She folded her arms across her chest, hoping to look tough. “Why are you here?”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about today, and I wanted to make sure you were okay and not scared to be alone,” he replied. He was in uniform, so he must be on duty. What if she confessed that she was nervous? Would he offer to come in, or would he sit in his car, watching her house?