Beautiful Sacrifice (The Maddox Brothers #3)(28)
Author: Jamie McGuire

A soft knock on the door announced Phaedra and the mug of tea she had brought back for me. She also had Taylor’s cheesecake. “The boys took theirs to-go, too. They said to call whenever you’re ready.”

Taylor nodded, not relinquishing his grip on me.

Phaedra put the dishes on the table. “Falyn, drink your tea. It’ll help.” She nodded her head and crossed her arms over her middle. “It always helps me.”

I leaned forward and then returned to the security of Taylor’s arms, taking a sip. “Thank you. I’ll be back down in a little bit.”

“Don’t you dare. We’re slow. I’ve got it taken care of. Just take the rest of the day off. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“We’ll be down,” Taylor said.

Phaedra offered him a small smile of appreciation, the wrinkles around her mouth deepening. “All right then.”

She closed the door, and once again, Taylor and I were alone, wrapped in each other’s arms under the blue blanket.

“I wasn’t prepared for how good this feels,” Taylor said. “Every muscle in my body is relaxed.”

“Like you’ve never sat and held a girl before.”

He was quiet, so I looked up at him.

“You’re full of it,” I said.

“I don’t really …” He trailed off, shrugging. “It’s not my thing. But this is kind of awesome.”

“What is your thing?” I asked.

He shrugged again. “One-night stands, angry women, and fighting fires.”

“If you weren’t sitting here with your arms around me right now, I’d say that makes you kind of an asshole.”

He considered that. “I’m okay with that.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

He chuckled. “This surprises me. You surprise me.”

I smiled, feeling another tear slipping over my lips. I reached up and wiped it away.

“Here,” he said, offering his T-shirt.

He touched the cotton to my lips as I looked up at him.

“Why did you stay away?” I asked.

“Because of this. You make me feel weird.”

“Weird?” I asked.

“I don’t know how else to describe it. Any other girl, I could bag and not think twice about it. Not you. It’s kind of like that feeling you got as a kid, right before you did something you knew would get you an ass-whipping.”

“I have a hard time believing you’re that intimidated.”

“Me, too.” He paused. “Falyn?” He took a deep breath, as if saying my name was painful, and he rubbed his eyes. “Fuck, I thought I wanted to know, but now, I don’t think I do.”

“Ask me,” I said, readying myself to dodge the truth.

“Just tell me one thing.” He paused, unsure if he wanted the answer. “Does your connection with Eakins have to do with my brother?”

I sighed, relieved. “No. I just looked up the fire today.”

“So, you know about Travis.”

“No. I didn’t have time to get a good look, and you don’t have to tell me.”

Taylor rested his chin on my hair, his muscles relaxing again.

I was glad he couldn’t see the look on my face. Just because I wasn’t involved with the fire didn’t mean I didn’t have an agenda. “Taylor?” I said with the same hesitation he’d had in his voice.

“Ask me,” he said, repeating my earlier response.

“I do want to go to Eakins for a reason. I was hoping you’d take me there. I’ve been saving. I have enough for a plane ticket. I just need a place to stay.”

He took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “I thought that might be where you were going with this.”

I winced. “It’s not what you think. I agree, it’s a coincidence. But I’m not trying to find out anything about your brother.”

“Then tell me.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “What if I prove it to you—that it’s not about your brother? Will you consider it?”

Taylor shrugged, confused. “I guess so.”

I stood up, leaving him for my bedroom. I pulled the shoebox out of my closet and returned to the sofa, pulling out an envelope and shoving it at him. “The address on your license is on this street.”

He looked at the return address, frowning. “This is next door to my dad’s house. How do you know the Olliviers?”

I breathed out a laugh, my eyes filling with tears. “Next door?”

“Yeah,” Taylor said, handing back the envelope.

I pulled out a photograph and offered it to him. He looked it over—a four-by-six picture of a young girl standing on a sidewalk, leaning against her brother, Austin. Her waist-length platinum-blonde hair was pinned away from her face, her enormous green eyes peering up at the camera over a shy smile. Austin hugged her to him, proud and protective, like a big brother should be.

Taylor handed it back to me. “Those are Shane and Liza’s kids. How do you know them?”

I shook my head and wiped a tear that had escaped down my cheek. “It’s not important. What is important is that you believe my reason for wanting to get to Eakins has nothing to do with your brother.”

“Falyn, it’s not that I don’t believe you,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck again. “It’s just … Shane and Liza are neighbors and family friends. They’ve been through a lot.”

“I get it,” I said softly, trying to quell the frustration welling up inside of me. “It’s okay. I understand.”

Taylor’s face seemed to be weighed down with guilt. He started to reach out to me but didn’t. “Just … give me a second. I thought you were undercover or something, to get info on my brother. This is a lot to wrap my head around.” He hesitated. “What do you plan to do?”

“I …” I took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure. I don’t want to cause their family any more pain. I just know I want to start over, and I can’t do that unless my story with that family ends.”

Taylor blanched and then looked away. “You don’t have to say anymore. It’s all starting to make sense now—why you don’t drive, why you’ve started all over here, away from your family.”

“Whatever you think you know, you’re wrong,” I said, shaking my head. I put the envelope and picture away in the shoebox and closed the lid.