For the Sake of Their Son (The Alpha Brotherhood #5)(42)
Author: Catherine Mann

To be honest, so did she.

There was a time she’d dreamed of escaping simple roots like the cabin in the woods, and now she saw the value of the old brass bed that had given her a safe place to slip away. The Dutch doll quilt draped over the footboard had been made for her by her aunt for her eighth birthday. She soaked in the good memories and the love in this place now, appreciating them with new eyes—but still that didn’t ease the unbearable pain in her breaking heart as she hoped against all hope for a last-minute solution.

Footsteps sounded in the hall—even, manly and familiar. She would recognize the sound of Elliot anywhere. She had only a second to blink back the sting of tears before the door opened.

Elliot filled the frame, his broad-shouldered body that of a mature man, although in faded jeans and a simple gray T-shirt, he looked more like her Elliot. As if this weren’t already difficult enough.

She smoothed a hand along Eli’s back, soaking in more comfort from his baby-powder-fresh scent. “Did you want to hold him before you go?”

“Actually, I thought you and I could go for a walk first and talk about our future,” he said, his handsome face inscrutable.

What else could there be left to say? She wasn’t sure her heart could take any more, although another part of her urged her to continue even through the ache, just to be with him for a few minutes longer.

“Sure,” she answered, deciding he must want to discuss visitation with Eli. She wouldn’t keep him from his son. She’d made a horrible mistake in delaying telling Elliot for even a day. She owed him her cooperation now. “Yes, we should talk about the future, but before we do that, I need to know where you stand with Gianna. She approached me at the stadium just before your wreck.” The next part was tougher to share but had to be addressed. “She said she’s still in love with you.”

His forehead furrowed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, but let’s be very clear. I do not love Gianna and I never did, not really. I did her a grave injustice by rebounding into a relationship with her because I was hurting over our breakup.” The carefully controlled expression faded and honest emotion stamped itself clearly in his eyes. “That’s a mistake I will not repeat. She is completely in the past. My future is with you and Eli. Which is what I want to speak with you about. Now, can we walk?”

“Of course,” she said, relief that one hurdle was past and that she wouldn’t have to worry about Gianna popping up in their lives again.

Standing, Lucy Ann placed her snoozing son in his portable crib set up beside her bed. She felt Elliot behind her a second before he smoothed a hand over their son’s head affectionately, then turned to leave.

Wordlessly, she followed Elliot past the Hummel collection and outside, striding beside him down the porch steps, toward a path leading into the woods. Funny how she knew without hesitation this was where they would walk, their same footpath and forest hideout from their childhood years. Oak trees created a tunnel arch over the dappled trail, jasmine vines climbing and blooming. Gray and orange shadows played hide-and-seek as the sunset pushed through the branches. Pine trees reached for the sky. She’d forgotten how peaceful this place was.

Of course she also knew she’d walked the same course over the past year searching for this peace. Elliot’s presence brought the moment to shimmering life as he walked beside her, his hands in his pockets. She assumed he had a destination in mind since they still weren’t talking. A dozen steps later they came around a bend and—

Four of her aunt’s quilts were draped over the branches, creating a fort just like the ones they’d built in the past. Another blanket covered the floor of their forest castle.

Lucy Ann gasped, surprised. Enchanted. And so moved that fresh tears stung her eyes.

Elliot held out a hand and she took it. The warmth and familiarity of his touch wrapped around her, seeping into her veins. She wasn’t sure where he was going with this planned conversation, but she knew she couldn’t turn back. She needed to see it through and prayed that somehow he’d found a way for them all to be together.

He guided her to their fort, and she sat cross-legged, her body moving on instinct from hundreds of similar hideaways here. He took his place beside her, no fancy trappings but no less beautiful than the places they’d traveled.

“Elliot, I hope you know that I am so very sorry for not telling you about Eli sooner,” she said softly, earnestly. “If I had it to do over again, I swear to you I would handle things differently. I know I can’t prove that, but I mean it—”

He covered her hand with his, their fingers linking. “I believe you.”

The honesty in his voice as he spoke those three words healed something inside her she hadn’t realized was hurting until now. “Thank you, Elliot. Your forgiveness means more to me than I can say.”

His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh. “I’m done with racing. There’s no reason to continue putting my life at risk in the car—or with Interpol, for that matter.”

The declaration made her selfishly want to grasp at what he offered. But she knew forcing him into the decision would backfire for both of them. “Thank you for offering again, but as I said before, I don’t want you to make that sacrifice for me. I don’t want you to do something that’s going to make you unhappy, because in the end that’s not going to work for either of us—”

“This isn’t about you. It isn’t even about Eli, although I would do anything for either of you.” He squeezed her fingers until she looked into his eyes. “This decision is about me. Interpol has other freelancers to call upon. I mean it when I say I’m through with the racing circuit. I don’t need the money, the notoriety. The risk or the chaos. I have everything I want with you and Eli.”

“But please know I’m not asking that sacrifice from you.” Although, oh, God, it meant so much to her that he’d offered.

He lifted her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “Being with you isn’t a sacrifice. Having you, I gain everything.”

Seeing the forgiveness that flooded his eyes, so quickly, without hesitation, she realized for the first time how much more difficult her deception must have been for him, given his past. All his life he’d been let down by people who were supposed to love him and protect him. His father had beaten him and for years he’d taken it to shield his mother. His mother hadn’t protected him. Beyond that, his mother had walked out, leaving him behind. On the most fundamental levels, he’d been betrayed. He’d spent most of his adult years choosing relationships with women that were destined to fail.