Hold Me (Fool's Gold #16)(63)

She sat at the far end of the sofa, her bare feet tucked under her legs. Her hair was long and loose, her skin pale.

She was beautiful simply because she was breathing, but his need to be close to her had a whole lot less to do with sexual desire and was a whole lot more about protecting. He wanted to find and slay whatever dragons taunted her. Only it wasn’t that simple. She’d been shattered by something he couldn’t attack or defeat. She’d been undone by her own heart.

He reached across the couple of feet separating them and touched her hand. She shifted her arm so their fingers could entwine and gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Thanks for coming by,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I’m not better company.”

“I’m not here to be entertained. I wanted to check on you.”

He’d called a couple of times, then dropped by after dinner. Starr had already gone to bed. Destiny had explained the teen had been too nervous about running away to sleep much over the past couple of nights.

“You should yell at me,” Destiny told him. “I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do. I didn’t do enough when Starr arrived. I didn’t make her feel welcome or safe. I thought she was happy at her boarding school. I wanted her to go back because it would be easier for me.”

He shifted closer and angled toward her. “Hey, beating yourself up doesn’t fix anything.”

“I hurt her.” Big green eyes filled with tears. “I’m a terrible sister.”

“You took her in. You gave her a home.”

“A temporary one.” She swallowed. “That’s not good enough. I don’t know why I didn’t see that from the start. She needs something permanent.”

Which was a problem, he thought. Given Destiny’s job description. “You’re quitting.”

She looked at him. “How did you know?”

“It’s the right thing to do. You said it. Starr needs something permanent, so you’re going to provide it. What are you going to do?”

“I honestly have no idea. I’m still in shock about all of this. I can’t believe she was so unhappy, and I never knew. I guess I only saw what I wanted to see. Plus, it’s not like we’ve known each other very long. I am so in over my head.”

“So get help.”

One corner of her mouth turned up. “Is this you fixing things?”

He held up his free hand. “No way. You’re above my pay grade by miles. Get help from someone who does know what they’re doing. It’s like being an athlete. You hurt something, so you get it fixed. Surgery, physical therapy, whatever it takes.”

“You mean family counseling? I never thought of that.” She gave a short laugh. “With our family history, we could be an entire case study. A therapist. It’s a good idea. Starr needs someone she can trust to talk to. I know she has me, but I’m sure she needs to talk about me to someone. And I need to be able to share my feelings.”

He deliberately kept quiet—letting her work it out herself. He suspected that for most women he knew, the talking about Starr role would be handled by a girlfriend. But Destiny kept the world at bay. He understood some of the reasons. Others he could guess at. Funny how from the outside, being rich and famous seemed like a dream come true. But for those living it, the situation was anything but.

She drew in a breath. “Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.”

“And for helping earlier today. I panicked. I don’t get it. I’m the one who understands the search criteria. I’m the expert. But when I needed to take charge, I crumbled.”

“You weren’t dealing with an exercise or practice session. It was family.”

She shook her head. “Grandma Nell would be so disappointed in me.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet, then drew her against him. She stepped easily into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her.

“She would tell you that loving someone is never wrong,” he told her. “She would tell you that giving up is the only unforgivable mistake. Except she’d have a cute Southern accent.”

Destiny laughed, then started to cry. He continued to hang on, rubbing her back and murmuring softly that it was going to be all right. And for reasons he didn’t question, she believed him.

* * *

DESTINY AND CASSIDY arrived at Jo’s Bar for lunch. Destiny was looking forward to time with her friends. She was emotionally exhausted, and she longed for the support she knew she would find at the table. The past forty-eight hours had been an emotional marathon. Starr had run away and returned home. They’d agreed they were going to be a family, and Destiny had given notice at her job.

There were dozens more decisions to be made. Were they staying in Fool’s Gold? What was she going to do with her life? The list went on and on. But for the next hour or so, all she wanted was to hang out with people she liked and laugh a little. Nachos would be good, too.

She tried to remember the last time she’d felt this way about a group of women in her life. Maybe in college, she thought. How sad. All her refusal to connect with the people around her had gotten her was a lonely, solitary existence. No support, no love, no sense of belonging. What had she been thinking?