The Only Shark In The Sea (The Date Shark Series Book 3) by Gladden Delsheree

Author:Gladden, Delsheree [Gladden, Delsheree]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Published: 2015-10-06T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The Expected Rush

Sitting on the floor next to Gypsy, Natalie listened to everything Vance said. She couldn’t stop shaking from the aftereffects of his touch, and tears kept rolling down her cheeks no matter how many breathing or visualizing exercises she did. Vance had touched her, after promising he would never do anything to hurt her, but she couldn’t stop his words from echoing through her head.

Guy had asked her to help Vance through this because she was the only one in town who knew everything about the circumstances surrounding Stephanie’s death. Natalie still thought she was woefully under-qualified to help him in any way, but she understood Guy’s reasoning. What she didn’t understand in the least was why Vance seemed to think she could do anything to help him.

Hadn’t she just proven that she couldn’t? What had she been thinking packing up all of Stephanie’s belongings? It had barely been a few weeks since her death and Natalie thought she was the one to decide when it all needed to be put out of sight?

But Vance had admitted that wasn’t what had truly set him off. They both knew, logically, that he couldn’t avoid going into the bedroom and master bath forever. She had shocked him with her actions, but the true reason he’d lashed out broke her heart. His guilt was underserved in Natalie’s eyes. She had grown to care for Stephanie, but not even a saint would have stayed with her that night after learning about the pregnancies. He blamed himself for not seeing the true source of her physical pain as well, but that wasn’t his fault either.

His guilt was crushing him, and for that one brief moment, he’d believed he had a chance to atone, or at least take full responsibility. Then it was ripped away by the harsh reality that the woman he saw in his bedroom was just, well, Natalie. No one of consequence. No one who could ease the agony he carried close to his heart every waking moment. She couldn’t help him. Natalie had known that even as Guy was working to convince her she could. Why had she agreed to try in the first place?

What was the other option? Let Vance wallow, alone, hurting? Natalie knew what that felt like. The scars she carried couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, but they were there all the same. It was like Vance could sense them somehow, without knowing the source. It had linked them together from that first meeting.

Now, the link had grown stronger as Natalie realized she could now see his scars in a way no one else could. It wasn’t just because she knew what Stephanie had done to hurt him. Her insight came from knowing betrayal so deep and agonizing that it cut straight through flesh and bone, into the soul where healing was impossible, but easily recognizable to a kindred spirit.

At that realization, her tears stopped flowing and her quivering body calmed. “I can’t let you in,” she said barely loud enough to be heard through the door.

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