The Girl Next Door by A.J. Rivers

Author:A.J. Rivers [Rivers, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2020-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Him

She was gone again. In the short time he spent away, handling tasks better left to others and yet never managed by anyone but himself, she left. He felt so much better when she was close. When he was able to drive down the street or walk along the alley and possibly get a glimpse of her. Not always. Not every time.

Sometimes he knew where she was but wasn't able to get close enough because the others were around her. Not that he could blame them. They had Emma in their lives. It only made sense they would savor every second of it. He could only imagine what it would be like to have her that close. To be able to pick up a phone and call her, knowing her voice would be on the other end. To be able to go up to her house and have her welcome him in to sit with her, to share food with her, to just be.

One day soon, he wouldn't have to imagine anymore. He would be like them, only more. There would come a time when he wouldn't have to hide away from her gaze just to look at her. When he could just reach out and embrace her when he wanted to. She wouldn't be afraid. She wouldn't wonder or worry.

It was that longing that made it so much harder. And as much as he knew he needed to keep his distance, he wished he didn't have to. He wanted her home. He wanted her back where she was safe. He wanted to bring her where she belonged. He didn't like the days and weeks that were passing. The longer she stayed in Sherwood, the more attached she became to the life she had there. There was a time in the not too distant past when she’d shed herself completely of that past life. She barely remembered it. At least that's what he told himself. He didn't like to think of a time when she was kept in such a bubble, shielded from everything that was real and true.

Her going back to Sherwood was dangerous. It drew her back in and tempted her with that life. She didn't understand. He had a much better one to give her. It would be more than she could ever imagine. And when the time would finally come to introduce her to it, she would know all he had done for her. Emma would understand everything. All that he had gone through. All that he had sacrificed for her. She would finally know the exact, painstaking effort he took to create that life for her, and she would be convinced it would be right for her.

He hoped he wouldn't have to do much convincing. He hoped she would see what he had for her and know instinctively. She would see it was what she should have always had. What she had always deserved.

He hoped it would be easy to reveal to her all

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