Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls, #1)

by Catherine Cowles

“The only thing they would want is for you to be happy.” My throat burned as it worked to hold back a sob. “I know. But sometimes being happy feels like the worst betrayal of all.”

The library. My dad’s favorite place to hole up with a crime novel on the weekends. You could see exactly where the firefighters had stopped the blaze. The room was how I pictured my heart at times, half destroyed and half still beating.

The last thing I wanted was to walk any closer to Rhodes. To her brightness, her color. It only made me realize just how gray my world had become.

“You shouldn’t hide a damned thing, Reckless. Especially not something that proves how strong you are.”

She laughed, and the sound hit me somewhere in the vicinity of my chest, digging in and spreading through me. That pins-and-needles sensation you got when a numb limb finally regained feeling. I fucking hated it.

What did color ever do to you?” “Reminds me of what I lost.”

I jerked my hand back as if I’d been burned. I didn’t think I’d ever gotten to my feet faster, and that included when a suspect unexpectedly started shooting at my team.

“I’ve realized lately that because I lost them, I never take one second with the Colsons for granted. Because my mom can’t see her garden bloom each summer, I take extra time breathing mine in every year. Because my dad won’t ever get to read the new John Grisham, I’ll read it for him and appreciate the twists that much more. And because Emilia won’t ever get to grow old, I’m going to embrace every wrinkle and age spot.”

“Ask. Ask me to make you come. Beg.” Another flash of gold—that defiance I loved so much. “Or I could go back to my bedroom, get the toy from my nightstand, and finish the job myself if you’re not up to the task.”

Now, grab the headboard and ride my face.”

“You didn’t sneak past my defenses, you bulldozed them. Reckless to the bone. And maybe you made me brave enough to be reckless, too.”

“Your beauty scalds, Reckless. Anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of looking at you will never be the same.”

“You are not bailing on me.” “Rho,” I croaked. “You try and bolt, and I’ll hunt your ass down.”

“I don’t regret loving you for a single second. Scared the hell out of me, but it brought me back to life.” “Reckless,” Anson choked out. “I’ll always love you.”

she was my sanctuary. I’d just never realized how fragile it all was.

You tore down every wall I put up. I didn’t want to love you. But I fucking do. With every part of me. It’s not a sappy love. It burns. Scars. It changed me. All in the best ways. I love you, Rho.

“You gave me air when I thought I’d never breathe again. You gave me color when my world had gone black. You see every part of me. I don’t want to spend another moment without you. Marry me.”