Page 178 of Deacon

‘I need you to hear this, handsome,’ she said, locking eyes with me. ‘I ran away for years because hiding was easier than risking the pain of staying.’

‘Ana, you don’t have to go back into all the past right now,’ I murmured, reaching for her fingers.

‘I do,’ she insisted, squeezing my hand. ‘I was emotionally unavailable for so long. I built walls to keep you at a distance because I got terrified of how much power you had over my feelings.’

I glanced down at our joined hands, the honesty of her words cutting through my remaining defenses.

‘I didn’t know how to handle a love this massive,’ she whispered, a fresh tear tracking down her nose. ‘But I do now. I know how to hold your heart, Vega. I’m strong enough to protect us both, and I’m not letting you go ever again.’

‘I won’t let you,’ I stated.

‘The incident in Ethiopia changed everything for me, honey,’ Ana murmured, her fingers wrapping around my calloused palm. ‘I came too close to losing my life until you rescued me.’

She looked out over the water, her lower lip trembling before she strengthened her grip on my hand.

‘The whole experience shifted my perspective on life,’ she continued.

A quick shudder passed through her shoulders, but her gaze never wavered from my face.

‘Whenever I’m discouraged, or I want to quit, I think back to those two nights in the Kibish, when I was in total agony. Then the joy at seeing your face, and holding your hand as you led me to safety. Know this: nothing you do can erase or shake my utter trust in you after that. Max’s move was shit, and you’d every right to believe the worst, but I never faltered in my love for you even though you refused to hear me out. I believed you’d come around to the truth soon enough.’

I shook my head, grimacing.

‘At what cost, mama? Half a mill is too much.’

‘Never for you. I’d give my life for you if I had to.’

I jolted at her words.

‘After that, I realized just how much my life, and those I love, actually mean to me,’ Ana said, a soft, genuine smile finally breaking through her tears. ‘I know how precious you and Raff are to me. I’m never walking away from us ever again.’

Chapter 35

ANA

We held each other for a long time, serenaded by the sound of the creek and the birds in the trees.

Finally, we stood up and locked our fingers together as the walked back to Deacon’s truck under the canopy of the nature reserve.

He opened the passenger door for me, then climbed behind the wheel and drove us toward my cottage in silence, his hand resting on my knee.

Raff sat on the front porch as we pulled into the gravel driveway, his soccer cleats dumped beside his sports bag.

Théa was unloading groceries from the back of her car, and she watched us as Deacon rounded the hood to open my door.

As we sauntered over, my mother’s head tilted to the side, asking a silent question.

I nodded and smiled at her, and she sighed in relief.

Deacon and I walked up the steps, his arms around me, prompting Raff to jump to his feet, eyes questioning.

‘Are you two back together again, or what?’

‘It’s the real deal, honey; we’re back.’

‘Thank heavens you FRIENDS found some sense.’

He suddenly burst into tears.