“Yep. She’s back and stronger than ever.”
“Since you’re Ella again, I’m assuming you went home.” Suddenly nervous, he glanced down at his feet. “I’m surprised to see you back.”
“I had some unfinished business.”
“Which was?”
“I couldn’t let you fight tonight.”
“Oh.” His hope deflated. “You know, I had every intention of stepping into that cage tonight and throwing that fight.”
“I know you did, but you shouldn’t have been backed into that decision. It should’ve been yours to make.”
He scrubbed the back of his head with his hand, wanting nothing more than to pull her to him. To never let her go. “I shouldn’t have allowed my pride to refuse your help, either.”
A small smile came to her lips. “True, but my trip back to Maine opened my eyes to the way pride can work.”
“How’s that?”
“Sometimes you have to go through a situation on your terms. You have to find your peace with the resolution. Not someone else’s.”
“Seems we might have both stepped into each other’s shoes.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Do you want to know what I felt while I watched you in that cage?”
“What?”
“Fear. Worry. Anger. I would’ve given anything to take your place, keep you safe.”
“Yeah?” She nodded. “I’m quite intimate with those feelings.”
He ran his thumb over her darkening cheekbone. “Watching you take that hit about killed me.”
She grasped his hand and laid it fully on her check, turning her head into his palm. His heart beat hard against his chest from longing. He was touching her, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.
“I went into that cage believing that my will to win would be enough,” she said. “I’d come far enough that I could separate my past from my present. That first stinging hit was all it took to send me spiraling back into the nightmare…” She inhaled deeply and straightened. He instantly missed the connection. “I’ve spent years convincing myself that it’s dangerous for me to rely on others to feel safe. Then I heard your voice beside me. You couldn’t help me. You couldn’t stop her. I was still trapped. But you just being there gave me strength. You’ve always done that for me, Lance. You’ve helped me rise above. Thank you for that.”
Fuck, it sounded like she was telling him good-bye. “Is gratitude all you feel?”
“No. And that’s the business I’m here to finish. I don’t like the way we left things.”
He stepped closer to her, his hope building again. “So you weren’t here just to be a substitute?”
“Definitely not, but I find myself to be in a bit of a jam.”
“How’s that?”
“You see, I returned home only to realize it wasn’t my home anymore, and that I left something back in Kansas I don’t want to live without.”
“What’s that?”
“You.” She bit her lower lip as she gazed up at him. “So I’m kind of jobless and homeless at the moment. You wouldn’t have any idea where I could stay, would you?”
A crooked grin came to his lips, and he pulled her to his chest. Ella wrapped her arms around his neck. “I happen to know this farm house in Cheney. It even has its own gym in the backyard.”
“You don’t say. Sounds perfect.”
“I must warn you, there’s a rambunctious, never-stops-talking, almost nine-year-old that stays there from time to time.”
“That’s okay. I happen to love that little girl.”
“What about her daddy?”
“You really have to question that? I don’t let myself get rocked for just anyone, you know.”
A soft chuckled escaped his lips. “Let me hear it anyway.”
“You make me want a future. And I want more than anything for that future to include you—and your daughter. I love you, Lance Black.”
“You did get rocked pretty hard. I guess that means you really love me, huh, Wonder Woman?”
“Don’t let it go to your head, big boy.”
“Never.” Sobering, he lowered his forehead to hers. “I’ve always struggled with asking for help. Would dig myself deeper and deeper into a hole before I ever admitted defeat. It took a determined woman, who has interfered with my life since the moment I met her, to make me see that it’s okay to ask for help. I don’t have to do it alone. And it feels really fucking good to have a partner. I love you. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
He claimed her lips, loving the way she immediately melted against him, and she met the fierceness of his kiss with one of her own. Together the two of them could face anything, because they had already proven that when one was weak, the other was strong.
Together they were unbreakable.
Epilogue
It was amazing how quickly her life had changed—for the better this time.