Tragic (Lark Cove, #3)

by Devney Perry

He had a tragic allure, one that screamed sorrow and loss. I knew that pain all too well. Recognition hit me in a flash and I spun around, hurrying back in the direction we’d come. That man was up here to grieve, and we’d just intruded on his private moment.

One look at her and the pain in my hand vanished. Her chestnut hair was long and full, parted in a perfectly straight line down the middle. It hung past her shoulders in thick, silky strands. Her deep-set eyes were the color of my favorite dark-roast wood stain. Her lips were plump beneath the regal bridge of her nose. The green forest light illuminated her olive skin. Her classic beauty was out of place on my dusty porch.

A dining room table that looked exactly like the one I would have made for myself.

Of all the neighbors I’d had before, and there had been many, Kaine was far and away my favorite.

A sense of pride filled my chest, squeezing out the pain from past memories. Knowing I was the cause of his smile and laugh was empowering. I did that. Me. I made Kaine smile. He made me forget.

I’d realized another thing on my road trip—I was not made for casual sex. My bruised heart was on the line and it required careful relationships, not callous. Friendship was the most I should offer Kaine.

But things weren’t all bad. My shoulders weren’t tense and balled up at my ears. My jaw was unclenched for the first time in weeks. It wasn’t the hangover’s doing. It was Piper’s. Having her back in this house was settling. I’d been a grumpy bastard ever since our dinner because I’d missed her dimpled smile. I’d missed her witty comments and knowing smirks. I’d missed the way she looked at me with those big, beautiful eyes. I’d missed her.

“Sarcasm is my weapon of choice. Unlike some people I know, who prefer to wield chainsaws against innocent lounge chairs for being the wrong size. A half inch was the problem, if I remember.”

“This turned out so . . .” I trailed off, without words to describe the masterpiece. “It’s yours.” My hands froze. “What?” “I was going to wait until your house was done, but I decided to give it to you now. This is for your dining room.” “But what about the person you were making it for?” He shrugged. “It was always for you.”

I was falling in love with my grouchy, tormented neighbor. I was falling in love with a man who was sweet and kind. I was falling in love with a man who had a little magic of his own.

Should I tell Piper about my baby girl? If I were to confide in anyone, it would be Piper. She’d become the best friend I’d ever had. She laughed a lot. She made me laugh a lot. And I trusted her.

I pictured her, pregnant with our child, trapped in a crumpled car as life seeped out of her body in a crimson stream.

since I hadn’t been able to put her name on the granite, I’d given her wings instead.

“After a while, he’ll move on,” Thea reassured me. “I hope so.” I shrugged. “I loved him for a long time, and even though he hurt me, I still want the best for him.” “You’re a better person than I am. I kind of want him to get a receding hairline and beer belly.”

It was the embrace I hadn’t even known I’d been craving, the one that would stitch together so many of those open wounds. So I wrapped my arms around her back and held her just as tight.

after uncovering those wounds and letting them breathe, I was starting to feel some much-needed closure.

Do you . . .” She took a deep breath. “Do you want—” “Yes.” I stepped into the room. “I want them.” Them. Her. Us. I wanted it all. “Okay,” she breathed and her shoulders dropped. Leaving Piper again would be nearly impossible. She’d ingrained herself into my life. And I’d missed enough of this pregnancy. Though it scared me, a spark of excitement was there too. I was getting the chance to be a father again. I was getting the chance to try this again with Piper.

There were no lines anymore. I would cross them all. Piper Campbell had broken past all of my walls and made me fall in love with her. She’d worked her way into my broken heart, filling the black holes with light.

Maybe backward was the only way we’d end up forward.

Kaine cherished me.

“I like that label.” “So do I. We missed all of this. Before the boys, we missed the nights together. The you and me and getting to know one another. I want to go back and do it all. I want the hand-holding. The kisses. And I was waiting for you to be ready for the rest.” “The rest?” He nodded. “The rest. Sharing this bed. Sharing these boys. Sharing a life.” “You want that?” “I want you. I’ve wanted you for months.” He brushed a lock of hair off my shoulder. “Somewhere along the line, you stole my heart. I’m going to steal yours in return. Just wait and see.”

“You really mean all of this?” “You’re important to me,” he said quietly. “The most important person in my life.” “You’re important to me too.”

I’d keep asking her to marry me until I got the answer I wanted.

This real love, this deep and profound feeling of being with the one, wasn’t something I’d understood with Adam.

He hadn’t asked me to move in, he’d just done it. Because this was our life. Our home.

Her touch extinguished the bloodlust I’d felt just seconds ago. And with it gone, all that was left was pain.

“We’ve got a lifetime of magic left.” “How can you be so sure?” “Because it was never the cake.” I brushed my lips against hers. “The magic is us.”