Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Hailee stared at our joined hands for a while without speaking. I could practically see the wheels turning behind her eyes as she realized the full breadth of my betrayal. She inhaled sharply.
“Sweetheart?” I said. “Talk to me.”
She burst into tears.
I slid closer to her before I could stop myself, gathering her against my chest. Wrapping my arms around her, I stroked her hair and rocked her gently.
“I’m so sorry, Hails.” It ripped my fucking heart out to see her in pain. I’d have done anything to make her feel better, but I found myself at a loss. How could the person who’d inflicted the damage be the one to fix it?
Suddenly, she grasped my wrist. I didn’t realize what she wanted from me until she’d already slid my hand into her track pants.
“You want me to touch you?” I asked, confused.
Hailee nodded against my shoulder. I waited a moment, in case she changed her mind, then began gently rubbing her clit. She continued to hide her face in my shirt, but I noticed her hips rocking in time with my circling fingers. I caressed her faster and harder, dipping inside her briefly to wet my fingertips before returning my attention to her clit.
She cried the whole time I fingered her, sobbing as her climax shuddered through her.
I slid my hand out of her pants and resumed holding her for as long as she’d let me. My mind raced with anxious thoughts and unanswered questions. Finally, she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and sat upright.
“Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours,” I said.
She let out a humorless chuckle. “Beautiful? Hardly. It’s a tangled mess up here.” She tapped her temple. I wanted to kiss her forehead, but I held back, letting her speak. “I feel so fucked-up. I should be disgusted by what you just told me. He’s the closest thing I have to a dad. But…”
I wiped away a fresh tear as it slid down her cheek.
“But you’re not disgusted?”
She shook her head. “I know it’s wrong. But the thought of him wanting me the way that you do makes me so horny. It scares me how much it turns me on. I feel like a freak for saying this, but while you were touching me just now, all I could think about was Graham watching me and getting hard and…” She scrubbed at her face with both hands. “God, this is so messed up. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”
“Hails, it’s okay.” I brushed the damp hairs from her tear-streaked face. “I want to help you through this however I can. Talk to me.”
She nodded. “I miss him. I’m still angry about what he did, but I can’t pretend I don’t miss having him in my life. See what I mean? A tangled mess.”
“No,” I said. “That’s not what I see at all. I see a beautiful, sensitive, passionate girl who has every reason to be angry with the men in her life.”
“I am pissed at you,” she said, laughing.
“Good. You should be. I lied to you and betrayed your trust. You should fucking hate me.”
“I could never hate you. You’re my family. And so is Graham, so I guess I can’t hate him either.” She frowned at the book in her lap. “But I can still be mad at him.”
“Maybe it’s time that you told him why you’re so upset.”
She took my hand, intertwining our fingers. I waited patiently for her to think about how she wanted to proceed. This had to be difficult for her. I was prepared to go along with whatever course of action she chose. She might not have been ready to speak to him face to face, and that was okay.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said softly. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m proud of you for deciding that for yourself.” I squeezed her hands. “We can call him on the phone if you want, or you can write him a letter—”
“I want to visit him in prison.”
That certainly wasn’t the option I was expecting her to choose.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that, Hails? It might be better to take things slow.”
“If I’m going to reconnect with my incarcerated stepfather to lay out all the reasons why I’m still mad at him, I think doing it in person is the only way to honor that conversation.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic. Tracing a finger down Hailee’s ruddy cheek, I couldn’t help thinking that I was proud of her for taking this next step. “Well said. I’ll call Graham’s lawyer and have him initiate the visitor-approval process for both of us.”
Hailee nodded, smiling for the first time since I’d made my confession.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go see my dad.”
7
HAILEE
The visitor waiting area at the medium-security prison was colder than I’d anticipated. I regretted wearing a skirt. Finding a comfortable position on the hard plastic chair proved almost impossible. Logan rested his heavy hand on my bare knee to stop it from bouncing.