Wrecked Palace (Wrecked, #3)

by Catherine Cowles

“I can’t. I have to fight him if he gets in. I have my bat.” My sweet, brave boy. Tears leaked from my eyes. “He’s not going to get in. Just hold on.”

They hoped I’d used the time to do something for myself, but I typically used it to catch up on whatever I’d fallen behind on during the week—laundry, meal prep, bills. It wasn’t exactly a glamorous life, but it was rewarding in many ways.

Normally, people who shined with that life-is-beautiful kind of positivity made me want to punch something. But with Caelyn, I was fascinated.

“I’ll try and come by.” Ford grinned. “I’m taking that as a fat chance in hell.” My lips twitched. “You’re not a stupid man.”

I’d always been one to fall for the wounded birds. Thinking I could fix things for them and then we’d be one big, happy family. It never ended well.

Caelyn smiled—no, she beamed. It was the same smile that had made me feel as if I’d taken a solid hit to the solar plexus the first time I’d seen it.

“Twenty-five hundred a week? Griffin, that’s insane.” “You want three?”

I swallowed hard, avoiding Kenna’s gaze. “It’s Griffin Lockwood.” “Oh, hell no,” Will cut in.

LOL

Will gripped the back of a chair. “He probably just wants in your pants.” “Why would Mr. Griffin want your pants? He wouldn’t fit in them. He’s a giant,” Mia offered helpfully.

But I don’t hide away from life because there’s a potential to be hurt.”

She coughed, and blood sprayed the air. Panic gripped my chest and squeezed, the grip brutal. “Beth. Just hold on. Help’s coming. Please hold on. Do it for me.” But she said nothing. Her body seized, her eyes wide. And then…silence. Only the lapping of the water against the life raft.

“I made this for you. It’s an apology drawing. Sorry if I called you a giant, and it hurt your feelings. But I still think you’re a giant and you have magic. But that’s cool. You should be proud of that. Cae Cae always tells me that it’s the things that are different about us that are the most special.”

Griffin’s mouth curved, and my lungs released. He squatted down so that he was at eye-level with her. “Can I tell you a secret?” Mia nodded silently. “I am a giant.”

“Don’t cry now,” Will whispered. “I can’t help it. It’s so freaking sweet.” Will shook his head and looked heavenward. “You need to get plugs in your tear ducts or something.” It wasn’t a bad idea. I cried at everything. Sad tears. Happy tears. Overwhelmed tears. Angry tears. It was as if whenever I had an emotional overload—which was often—the release valve was my eyeballs.

same

“I’ve been thinking I could use a second set of hands around here. It’s tough work and it can get tedious, but I’d pay you for your time.” “That would be amazing. I’ve actually been looking for a part-time job so I can start saving for college.”

Im CRYING

I couldn’t deny that the moments I got to bask in Caelyn’s light were the best of my week. She radiated this positivity that was miraculous for someone who had been through what she had. I’d

I frowned, worry gripping me again. “She’s not going to hurt herself, right?”

And Will had given me a dirty look or two.

good

This morning, I’d made a call to Second Chances and asked Bell Kipton if she’d like to take a look at the pieces before they went to Goodwill. She’d jumped at the chance. The movers were going to let her peek around the truck before they returned to the farmhouse for a second load.

Caelyn stepped forward. “If you don’t leave on the count of three, I’m going to bean you with this basket. You’re on private property and acting in a threatening manner. I’d be well within my rights.”

“So similar to the man you’re defending. Did you know he put a reporter in the hospital? The guy was in a coma for three days.” My gut twisted as I stared at the gravel, unable to look at Caelyn, afraid I’d see fear or disgust. I’d been young and stupid, at my wit’s end and going just a little bit crazy. And the reporter in question had made my life a living hell for years. He’d somehow been able to turn any person I’d gotten close to. “Well,” Caelyn began, “if they were anything like you, I can see why.”

“Did I just threaten her with my muffin basket?” A grin split my face. “Honey, you scared the crap out of her with that basket.” A small giggle escaped Caelyn. Then another. And soon, she had dissolved into laughter. “I just threatened someone with baked goods. Who am I?”

But as much hardship and pain as there is in the world, there’s also endless beauty.

“You don’t owe me any explanations. You’ve shown me time and again how good your soul is.”

Her touch, her words, they seeped into my bones. The warmth of them was so hot it burned. And I never wanted to forget the feeling.

I wanted to be the one to help ease those hurts for him, tend the marks left behind.

“Come on, it’s a little funny. Do you guys have a nickname for me, too?” I couldn’t help but ask. Caelyn’s gaze jumped around, anywhere but at me. “No. No nickname for you, sorry.” She was lying, and now I was curious about what that nickname was.

Griffin gave my shoulder a squeeze, letting his fingers trail down my arm before they fell away. “You’re allowed to need someone, too.”

“How quickly we return to one-word sentences and grunts.” Griffin plucked the keys from my hand. “Get in, smartass.” “Ooooooh, three words. Maybe all isn’t lost.”

“Any chance you want a really horrible night’s sleep on our couch? You totally don’t have to if it’s weird. I work for you and—” “I’d like to stay.” I’d already been wondering what the chances were of me getting arrested if I slept in my truck outside the O’Connors’ house.

“You amaze me.”

“You’ll like it. I promise.” “I don’t like eating salad. I sure as hell don’t want to drink it.” Mia turned to him. “You said a bad word. You have to do extra chores.”

“We were all together. And it was a really fun day.” My eyes burned and began filling with tears. Will groaned. “Seriously? You’re crying at that?” I glared at Will through my tears. “It was really sweet.”

I’d tried hard to instill the belief in my siblings that no feeling was bad or wrong. And neither was expressing those feelings, as long as you weren’t hurting someone else. Mia let her feelings fly, no matter the situation.

“I hate the idea that one of you might be hurting.” Mia reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “Everybody has hurts sometimes. But they don’t last forever.” So wise for such a little one. I felt my eyes filling again. “Oh, geez,” Will complained. “Someone distract her, quick.” Ava reached over and tickled my side. I squealed and squirmed away. I gave her my best I’m serious face. “That is not allowed.”

I scowled at the guy’s back. Caelyn widened her eyes at me. “See you tonight?” Her words swallowed my scowl right up. Because they made it seem like Caelyn was mine, and a part of me, one growing by the day, wanted her to be.

Little by little, I was letting my family out of the tightly guarded box I kept them in. And I didn’t feel as though I’d lost them by doing it. In fact, their presence felt even stronger.

“That’s your rainbow. So you’re a part of our family, and you never have to leave.” My gaze snapped from the bracelet to Mia to Will. He had frozen in the passenger seat. Everything was simple in Mia’s world, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t carry with her the knowledge that her parents had disappeared from her life. She might not have any memories of them, but she knew they were gone. Probably understood more than her siblings thought.

It was Ava’s gaze that met mine in the rearview mirror. “It looks like you belong with us.”

Something in my chest cracked at her words, the simple sincerity of them. And for the first time in a long time, I did feel like I belonged.

But Mia saw me immediately. “Griffin,” she wailed. “I want Griffin.”

Griffin took a step closer. “I guess we’ll just have to be a little monstrous together.”

Caelyn was a miracle, giving me back my family without even knowing it.

I couldn’t fathom the pain that carved into a person. To have a parent betray you like that. I pressed my lips to the top of Caelyn’s head. “She doesn’t deserve you. Never did.”

But she doesn’t care, Griffin. She never did. What is it about me that’s so unlovable?”

And you can’t take on someone else’s brokenness. That’s theirs to carry.”

“I feel like no matter what I do, no matter how often I tell myself it’s not worth it or how much evidence I stack in front of myself, I still want her love. And I hate myself for it.”

“It’ll probably always be there, the pain of losing what you always wanted but never had. But the hurt of it, the longing, it’ll lessen. The fuller your life, the less you’ll notice she’s not in it.”

Instead of rubbing itself on his leg like most cats did, it launched itself at him, locking its claws in Griffin’s jeans and beginning to climb. “Ow, shit,” Griffin winced. “I’m naming him Lucifer.”

As I stared at the photo, I realized one thing. I was in love with Caelyn O’Connor. Had been for months. A woman who I hadn’t even kissed. The knowledge had me questioning my sanity a bit. But it didn’t change the fact that nothing in the world could make me walk away from that bit of crazy.