Come Back for Me (The Arrowood Brothers, #1)

by Corinne Michaels

He grins, no doubt thinking of his wife. Some guys have it all—Liam Dempsey is one of them. He has a beautiful woman to come home to, kids, friends, and he had one of those picture-perfect childhoods.

Only things I have that are worth a damn are my brothers. “What are you talking about? There’s a reason they call me Dreamboat and call you Arrow. I’m a goddamn dream.”

Loving a man who is preparing to leave again can’t be easy. It’s why I’m grateful that love and marriage were never high up on my priority list. I like knowing that there is no sacrifice made in order to love me.

Family is what matters in this life, without that, you have nothing. When we cross this threshold, we’re back home. We’re with those who love us and this, my sweet boy, is where you will always belong.”

“You can’t take a shot until you break your bow,”

“Because if you don’t break the bow, you’ll never go forward, and an arrow was meant to forge ahead.”

My angel has returned, only she isn’t mine.

The other part was the agony because I was getting married the next day,

The only memory I have that I hold on to is the night with my angel. But, like all angels, she doesn’t belong here anymore than I do. She is meant for more, and that more sure as fuck isn’t some broken ex-SEAL who has been dreaming of a married woman. She had told me she wanted to fly, which was why we never even told each other our names.

Kevin is my husband, he was supposed to be my protector, my world, and I’d wanted that more than anything. I was so naïve and hopeful and in need of love that I accepted whatever form it came in.

“So, you’re going back to Sugarloaf?” Quinn, another SEAL I served with, asks. “I’m going to hell.” Liam chuckles and lifts his beer. “I’ll meet you there, buddy. Hell, we all will.”

“It could be worse.” “Yeah, how?” I ask. “You could be in love with a girl who wants nothing to do with you.” Ellie’s face flashes in my mind because she most definitely doesn’t want anything to do with me.

Because I only ever allowed her in my dreams. Because I knew that if she was within reach, I would be tormented.

“I’m thinking it’s the pathetic thing. No girl wants a man who is that broken.”

“I have no plans on fucking up a marriage and a family, Liam, but thanks for the vote of confidence.” He shakes his head. “I don’t think anyone ever sets out to do it. I also don’t think you’re a bad guy, Connor, but I think things happen. I’ve seen lines get crossed, and if this woman means anything to you, your heart is going to talk before your head.”

Hadley crosses her arms over her chest, giving me the cutest lip pout ever. Jesus, I know why grown men are unable to say no to their daughters. They know exactly how to get their way. I used to see it with Aarabelle and Liam. She led him—and every other SEAL she came in contact with—around by her pinky.

“Thank you, Connor. You’re the best friend anyone ever had.” Oh, God, this kid is going to break my heart.

I’m not Connor Arrowood, the youngest brother, the troublemaker who barely made it out of high school. Right now, to her, my Angel, I’m a god. She looks at me with so much hope and honesty that it humbles me.

even though we are agreeing to only one night, I’ll come back for her. She just has to wait.

I’m here to remember. I’m here to forget. I’m not even sure why I came, but maybe it was for her.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I hear her squeak. “Don’t apologize, thank you. I don’t think I could walk.” I lift her, cradling her as gently as possible to my chest. “I won’t let you fall.”

I wiped my eyes and shoved down my sadness because I needed to be strong again.

I laugh internally. I didn’t do great with anything. My entire life has been a series of errors, trying to get away last night being the biggest.

since Connor came back into my life, everything has shifted. Maybe it’s nothing or maybe it’s the universe telling me I fucked up the night I left him sleeping in a hotel room and I should listen to it. Maybe it’s my parents giving me a sign from above. Whatever it is, Connor has helped me more in the last week than anyone else has since I moved to this town. He rescued my daughter and now me. He’s been kind and hasn’t made me feel small. Even now, instead of grilling me or making me talk, he’s giving me something else to think of and talk about. I’ve wondered about him for so long, and he’s here. Right when I need someone the most.

Men who use their power to make people submit to them don’t care about the situation or the person, it’s all about them. You did the right thing.”

She shivers, and I want to pull her into my arms, shielding her from the cold as well as everything that’s haunting her. I don’t want to overstep, but the need to protect her is so strong I can’t stop myself. “Can I hold you?” I ask, prepared for whatever answer will come. Her eyes lift slowly, reminding me of a wounded animal. I hate that anyone did this to her. I want to slice that man apart for ever making her fear anything. She should’ve been loved, protected, and cherished. “Will you?” I’ll fucking do anything for her.

We rock together as the sun continues to come up, lighting the sky in warmth. Her tears soak my shirt, but I don’t remark on it. If she needs to soak through a hundred shirts, I’ll let her. If she wants me to hold her for days, I’ll stay just like this. She may have gotten away from me that night, and our lives may be complicated, but one thing is for sure, Ellie will never feel small or broken again. I will do everything to make sure that, from this day forward, she feels protected.

“He can’t hurt you. He’ll have to get through me to even come close to you.” Her hand lifts, and she touches my cheek for a brief moment. “You owe me nothing, Connor.” I’m not sure what she means by that. “I’m not here because I feel indebted to you. Why would you think that?” “I don’t know, but I also don’t know why you’re doing this.” “Because I care.” “You care?” How does she not see? “I care about you and Hadley. You have no idea how many nights I dreamed of you, Ellie. I didn’t know your name or anything but your face and how you saved me that night. Your smile, your eyes, the way you gave me trust and hope when I had none is what kept me alive. Night after night, I would replay it in my head, dreaming of my angel who came down from heaven, making me want to keep fighting. So, I may not owe you, but I do care about you. I’m doing this because I can’t imagine doing anything else but being here for you. I’m doing this because you are fucking brave and strong and no one ever deserves what was done to you. You got Hadley and left. You knew that your daughter needed you to choose her, and you did. So, you have to do it again now. You have to fight and walk in there with your head held high. I’ll be right beside you.”

“I’m not brave, but I want to be. I have so many things I want to say to you, but my head is such a mess.” “I’m not asking for anything. I just want you to know that you’re not alone.” “I want to be the woman you see.” I know how that feels. I stand and extend my hand to her. “Then show me.”

“Tell me what your truth is?” I say softly, not wanting to break the spell of the moment. “You can’t take a shot until you break your bow.” “What does it mean?” Connor moves his hand, covering mine completely. “It means you have to pull back on the bow, use all your might to fight against the strain in your arm as you’re going for what you want. It means that if you don’t break the bow, you can’t ever go forward and hit the target.”

“Ellie, stop. You don’t have to explain anything to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. And stop saying you’re a mess, okay?” “But I am!” “We all are. Believe me, I may seem like a hero to you, but I’m not. I’ve made mistakes and lived with the consequences. I think about you, and how, if things had gone differently, that night . . .” “I think about it too.”

“Ellie, don’t cry.” “It’s that . . . I didn’t know. I really don’t know, and she might not be yours, but there’s this part of me that has always hoped she is. Because . . . you were kind to me, and that night is something . . .” “That night is everything.”

Still, I have never wanted something to be so true in my entire life. I don’t care about any vows I made in the past because I would die before I’d let anything happen to Hadley or Ellie. I’ve known it from the minute I saw Ellie eight years ago, and that need for her is still as strong, but now, it’s the same with Hadley.

This little girl will own my heart, regardless of whose blood runs in her veins.

I remember this same exact feeling the night we met. It was as though I felt his touch so deeply that I would never be the same. Our hearts became tangled as we bared ourselves in ways that I didn’t know were possible. “It was so much more . . .”

“No one deserves to be hit, Ellie. No one. It doesn’t matter whose hand it comes from—it’s wrong and unforgivable. I vowed that I would never be like him, and I want you to understand how much I mean it. I would never hit someone in anger unless I’m trying to protect what’s important to me.” I lift my other hand and gently touch his cheek. “You don’t have to try very hard to convince me. I see who you are. There isn’t a trace of that man inside you.”

I went through with it, and all the while, I . . .” I can’t say it. If I do, it’ll be a mistake. But then I look up and see the look in his eyes, see the way he’s silently begging me to give him my truth, and God, I want to. “I wished it could’ve been you. The man who smiled at me with the softest and most loving expression. You looked at me as though you needed me, and I know it was wrong, but I needed you.” When he sits back down, his head falls in his hands before turning to look at me. “I did need you.” “But we weren’t each other’s to have.” “No, I guess we weren’t.”

“I was never gone, I was lost.” “And what about now?” I look away, letting the question settle over me. “I’d like to say that I’m finding my way. I’m not lost, but I’m not found. I’m . . . hopeful that I’ll be able to get where I should be.”

“I’m the eternal bachelor, sworn never to have a family or a real relationship. I push everyone away. I’m not doing a damn thing better than anyone.” That leaves me sitting here wondering if he’s upset with my possible revelation. “And what if Hadley is yours?” “Then I’ll be the father I never had, and that girl will never have to fear for you or herself again.”

I think about how we probably look right now. A family with a mother and father who adore the child between them. In many ways, that would be the picture’s story because I do adore Hadley and I care very much about Ellie. In some ways, I love her, which is crazy, but it’s there. Ellie has been the woman I’ve felt passion, love, and longing for almost my entire adult life.

She’s been mine this whole time, and now I have to wait until she’s ready for me—again.

look at the fully decked out tree house that I spent hours building and then to both of them.

“You did this?” “Every kid should have a safe place.” Ellie turns to me, her lips parted, the sun casting a soft glow over her face as it dips closer to the horizon. Her voice is soft. “You spent your whole day doing this for her? Connor . . .”

“This tree was where I would run if I could get away from my father. It’s where I found Hadley, and it doesn’t have to hold the same memories for her as it did for me. I did it for both of us, and for you.” “For me?” Yes, for her. As I was building, I kept thinking of my mother. It was as though she was there with me, telling me how proud she was as she smiled. “I can’t take a shot if I don’t break the bow, Ellie. I’m strong enough to hold off on releasing the arrow, until you’re ready.” Her eyes widen, and her breath hitches. It was worth it.

We may have lost our chance years ago, but I’m not a kid anymore, and I have my target set. I’m waiting for the sights to align.

I’d really like to be your friend, if you’d like to be mine.” A friend. It’s such a simple word and yet it’s something I haven’t had in so long, I don’t even know what it means.

This is a chance for me to help guide her into not making the same mistakes that I did. I want her to know that it’s not okay. No one should ever lay their hands on her, especially not in anger. I stayed too long, made too many excuses, but not anymore.

when you love someone, you never want to hurt them. What he did is never okay to do, and it is never the way you show someone you care about them.

I don’t want either one of us to be afraid anymore. You and I, we’re strong girls and no one is going to yell at us anymore.

also won’t be selfish and demand it happen now. I can wait, Ellie. I can wait until you’re ready.” “Ready for what?” He lifts his hand, pushing the hair off my face. His voice is soft, careful, and yet, there’s a confidence underlying it all. “Me.”