Page 113 of Searching for Bristol
Davis looked anywhere but at Bristol.
Rocky held his breath. Many people had tried to get the homeless man to accept their help, but he’d been very stubborn so far.
“I’ll think about it,” Davis finally said.
Bristol beamed, as did everyone within earshot.
“Yay! Thank you!” she said excitedly, and hugged him once more.
Davis had obviously reached his limit of affection, because he stood up from the couch.
“Help yourself to food and whatever,” Bristol told him, still beaming.
Davis shuffled off, and Rocky stood back and watched as the strongest woman he’d ever known thanked Simon. Then continued to make everyone around her feel as if they were the most important person in the world as she talked to each of them.
His Bristol was amazing. Looking at her, no one would ever know the hell she’d experienced only a week ago. She made him want to be a better man, every single day.
Rocky made sure to thank each and every person as well, not only for helping to get him moved and for setting up the house, so he could bring Bristol back here, but for being such good friends. Everyone was giddy with relief that Bristol had been found and that she was going to be okay.
She wasn’t quite there yet, but shewouldget there. As would he.
The evening wound down, and people trickled out, and soon it was just he and Bristol in the house once more. He sat next to her and palmed her cheek. “You’re tired.”
She gave him a wan smile. “Exhausted. But happy. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
“I probably should’ve told them all to go away after an hour and come back tomorrow, when you’ve had a chance to sleep.”
Bristol shook her head. “No, this was perfect.”
“You want to see the rest of the house? Hell, I didn’t even get you past the living area before everyone descended.”
“Yes, please.”
Rocky picked her up gingerly and gave her a quick tour of the rest of the house. He hadn’t lied about it needing a lot of work, but she didn’t seem to notice the warped floors or the drywall that needed replacing. The bathrooms were especially atrocious, with pink appliances in one and green in another.
“I love it,” she told him as he lay her on their bed in the master bedroom. The room was too dim, and Rocky couldn’t wait to knock out the wall and put in a balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows. He never wanted Bristol to feel hemmed in again. Especially not in a space that would become their sanctuary from the world.
“I’m glad.”
“And I love you. So much, it’s almost scary.”
“It’s not scary…it’s right. I felt it from the first time I saw you crawling on the forest floor. I instantly knew you were someone I had to get to know. If I didn’t, I knew I’d be missing out.”
“That’s sweet,” she whispered.
“Not sweet. Truth,” Rocky said. “Now, you want to take a bath?”
“Oh my God, yes.”
“The hot water works, but there’s no guarantee how deep the water will get before it runs out.”
“Don’t care. A bath sounds heavenly.”
An hour and a half later, Rocky pulled Bristol into his arms. She smelled like the vanilla bubbles he’d poured into her bath. Her hair was still damp, but he didn’t care. Being able to hold her like this was literally every dream come true for him.
“This is what kept me going,” Bristol whispered.
All the lights were still on in the room, and would stay on until Bristol’s demons were chased away. He didn’t care in the least. As long as she was with him, he could sleep anywhere. He tightened his arms around her, emotion overwhelming him and not letting him speak.
