A Grave of My Own: A Curse of Blood Serial (Hartford Cove Book 2) by L.L. Frost

Author:L.L. Frost [Frost, L.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Small Bites
Published: 2021-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

Family of One

“Rowe?” Concern fills Owen’s voice, and a warm hand settles on my shoulder.

Shrieking, I stumble back a step, and only his quick reflexes stop me from falling down the long flight of stairs behind me.

“Easy.” He pulls me onto the landing. “It’s okay. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

I stare at him, trying to force what I remember and what I see now to makes sense. There’s no way Owen walked out of those woods alive, yet here he stands, whole and healthy.

That night scarred the rest of my life, as proven earlier today when I thought I saw the same monster in the police station. But there’s no way that’s possible.

Right?

Owen reaches up to touch my cheek. “I’m so sorry, Rowe. I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances. I tried to reach out, but your grandma didn’t have your contact information after you left Hartford Cove. I wanted so badly to know you were safe. What happened destroyed me, too.”

I rear back from him. “Destroyed you? It wasn’t your mom who was killed!”

“No, it wasn’t.” He refuses to release me. “It was my fault we were in the woods. My fault your mom came looking for us. I’ve spent the last fifteen years living with the fact that I was responsible for her death. That I lost my best friend because I was too weak to hold off that monster.”

“You were ten,” I protest instantly. “There’s no way you could have stood up to it.”

He shakes his head. “I should have been stronger, a better protector. You lost your mom that day, and I lost the most important person in my life. When I got out of the hospital and couldn’t reach you… It was like you died in those woods, too.”

The pain in his voice strikes a chord inside me, and a low whimper escapes. I don’t want to forgive him, to accept that, while he pulled me into the woods, I could have refused, I could have turned back to the house and gone home instead. Part of the guilt I’ve carried these last fifteen years came from knowing that, if I had done the right thing, Owen would have stayed safe with me, that he and my mom wouldn’t have died.

A sob catches in my throat, and tears well in my eyes.

“Rowe.” Motions slow, he pulls me forward. “I’m so sorry.”

I resist for only a second before I let out a choked gasp and lean against his strong, solid body. He’s not the skinny kid I remember, more bones than meat. The man who wraps his arms around me is all grown up, his muscles lean and hard against me. But the feeling is the same.

Another sob rips from me, and I clutch the fabric at his waist. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too. So, so much.” He buries his face against my neck, his breaths ragged as if he struggles to hold back tears.

His hold shifts from my arms to around my waist, pulling me in tight, and he holds me as I cry against his shirt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.