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for so long, she didn t have the energy to keep it up anymore.
While she might have wanted to stay with Griffin, she knew she couldn t. Not when she was so
uncertain about them and her life in general.
Due to the circumstances of her name changes, she d gotten away with the questionable legalities
of her running with only a slap on the wrist. She didn t know if it was luck or the Montgomery lawyer
who had helped. The Montgomerys might own businesses, but they were still pretty blue-collar, so it
surprised her the power they held. But from the way they adopted friends and family and their overall
demeanor, she shouldn t have been surprised in the slightest.
 You re frowning, Maya said, pulling Autumn from her thoughts.  I didn t mean to make you
feel bad about saying thank you. It s just you don t have to say it at all. I know you re grateful. But
honestly, you being here helps me keep my mind off things, so it s a win-win.
Autumn turned slowly, her head tilted.  What things?
Maya pressed her lips together and shook her head.  It s nothing.
 Maya.
 Nothing I want to talk about, okay? So let s talk about you. What are your plans?
Autumn sighed and moved toward the loveseat, sinking into the cushions as she tried to come up
with what to say. She didn t even know her own thoughts, how was she supposed to have this make
sense to Maya?
 I don t know my plans, she said honestly.  I ve been going from place to place, job to job for
so long, I don t even remember what I wanted to do before this all started.
 You left when you were still a teenager, Autumn. Most don t know what they plan on doing at
that point anyway. Maya frowned.  I m calling you Autumn, but should I be calling you Hannah
now? I mean, Sanders is gone for good, and you can go back to who you were. Right?
Autumn shook her head. This was one thing she knew for sure she could never go back to who
she was.
 I m Autumn now. Hannah doesn t exist anymore. I m going to get it legally changed, rather than
how I did it before.
Maya let out a breath then clicked her tongue ring against her lip.  Good, because with that hair
and your overall attitude, you re more of an Autumn to me.
She smiled.  I feel like an Autumn. As for what I m going to do? I thought about going home.
She frowned.  No, not home, that s not what it is. I guess I should call it back to where my parents
live. I haven t talked to them in ten years, but I ve done my best to keep up-to-date on them even in
little parts. So I know they still live there. I know my brother is married and has a child.
And she d missed all of that.
But they hadn t believed her.
They hadn t protected her.
 Damn. That sucks. Maya blew out a breath.  That really sucks. I hate that they weren t there for
you. I know my family has its own drama, God do we have our drama, but we ve never pulled away
like they did with you. Even with Alex, we re still there for him. He might not let us get too close, but
we re like piranha, we ll surround him if needed.
 Now that s an image, Autumn said with a smile.
Maya grinned.  Isn t it? And as for you, you don t have to go back to the place you grew up. But
are there any other places that call to you?
Autumn studied her friend. There was something about her voice that told Autumn that Maya
wasn t too keen on her moving away. There wasn t much she could do about that, though. Not when
she didn t know her next step.
She may as well tell Maya everything. Well, not everything. Maya had done well with not asking
about Griffin. In fact, the man s name hadn t been mentioned once since she d been staying at Maya s.
Oddly enough, neither had Jake s&
They really were a pair.
 I packed my bags this morning, Autumn finally said.
 I know. I heard you. What I want to know is why you feel you need to leave? Are you going
back to your place? Because, I ve got to tell you, that fucking street sucks. First, Meghan lives there
after the divorce, and she and Luc almost die, then you have to deal with that shit there. No thanks.
 To be fair, our pasts came back to bite us in the ass both of those times. It wasn t actually the
neighborhood.
 Technicality. But why are you leaving, Autumn? Why can t you stay? You know you d always
have a job with Montgomery Ink. I mean, hell, we need you at this point more than you need us.
Again, they didn t mention that she d worked for Griffin mostly for the past few weeks. But
Griffin didn t need her anymore. She d gotten him in shape, and then he had told her the lines were
blurred.
 I ve been running for ten years.
 And you don t have to run anymore.
 But I haven t stayed in one place for so long. I ve gotten used to seeing new places, seeing new
people. I m not a settler. Right?
 Are you asking me? Because from where I m sitting, it sounds like you re running again.
 Maya.
 Autumn.
The doorbell rang, and Maya stood up, her eyes on Autumn.  We re not done here. I know you re
an adult and can do what you want, but we re going to talk about your leaving before you go. You re
one of ours now, even if you don t think so.
With that, the other woman went to the front door, and Autumn put her head in her hands. She was
so damn confused. She d been trying to be someone else, hide who she was for so long, she d
forgotten who she could be. And yet, did it matter?
The idea of being with Griffin scared her more than she could admit. Could she rely on another,
could she be with him? She wasn t sure, and because of that, she had to push him away. It wasn t fair
to him or his family to try and be with him when she wasn t sure who she was without him let alone
who she was with him.
 Autumn.
She lifted her head and froze.
 Griffin.
He stood in front of her chair, his beard out of control and his hair looking as if he d run his
hands through it so much that it stood on end. He wore old jeans and a pair of boots plus a Henley that
molded to his muscles. Damn man shouldn t look so good when she looked as if she hadn t slept in
days.
Which was true. Tossing and turning while thinking about men in shadows and what to do about a
certain Montgomery didn t allow for much sleeping.
Maya was nowhere to be found. Traitor.
 I know I should have called before coming over here, but every time I picked up the phone, I
was worried you d hang up on me.
She frowned.  What do you mean?
He sat down on the coffee table in front of her.  Fall, baby, I pushed you away that day. I was a
fucking idiot and hurt you because I was too damned scared to do anything about what I was feeling.
If I had told you that I was falling for you, that at the same time the idea of you in my home and in my
bed scared me as much as it made sense, you might have run away anyway. And because I was an
asshole who pushed you out, you ran home to a place you got hurt. If I hadn t done what I did, you
wouldn t have been in that house alone. You wouldn t have been hurt. That man got ahold of you
because I let you leave. Because I didn t come after you until it was almost too late. I will never
forgive myself for that. Never.
She reached out and cupped his face, his beard brushing her palm. She immediately wanted to
take her hand back. Touching him was a mistake. Walking away would be that much harder.
 I am so sorry, Autumn. Forgive me. I love you, he whispered.  I love you so fucking much. You [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]