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A month had passed since Garrett’s death.
Ryker had spent the last month in and out of hospital for surgeries to the severed tendons and ligaments in his forearm. Being unable to work, his injury had affected the business, as had the loss of Sam, which had hit Ryker hard. Sam had been like a father to him, and seeing Ryker go through such grief had broken Jenna’s heart. Ryker had paid for Sam’s funeral—the man had no other family to speak of. They’d all attended, and many tears had been shed.
Finally settled in one place, Jenna had financially been able to make up the difference the business lost while Ryker recuperated, and she’d been happy to do so. Paying her own way and helping the small family had seemed like the least she could do considering what they’d been through because of her.
Jenna had been working through her own issues. She no longer stopped every time she passed a mirror to examine her flesh and pinch her fat in the reflection. She had the body of a survivor, a strong, healthy body that had survived the worst that could be thrown at it. She still had some control issues, especially now she was living in Ryker’s house and trying to fit in with some of the not-so-great habits of a teenage boy, but she was getting a hold on them. As for her body confidence, Ryker never gave her any reason to think his feelings for her had changed.
Detective Nick Harlem had traveled to Arlington the moment he’d heard about the incident. Though the crime had been committed out of his jurisdiction, he’d told Jenna he’d wanted to make sure she was okay. It had been good to see him again, and she’d reassured him that she was in a much better place now. He’d asked her if she planned on getting back on the road, but she’d told him no. That part of her life was over. She had nothing she needed to run from any more.
Counseling and support had been offered to everyone involved, and though Jenna and Ryker didn’t feel they needed it themselves, they agreed to go along for the sake of Mikey. Taking a man’s life at such a young age—or at any age—even when it had been done in self defense or to save those you love, was something that would haunt him, probably for the rest of his life. Social services had of course been sniffing around them, wanting to determine whether or not Ryker’s house was still the best place for Mikey to be living. After much debate, it was agreed that it would only traumatize the boy more to move him into a foster home, and the authorities came to the conclusion, since the threat had come from outside of the home, and not within, that Mikey could stay as long as they agreed to weekly meetings, and keeping the appointments with the counselor. Both Mikey and Ryker had agreed to these terms willingly.
Jenna hated that she’d been the one to bring such pain into Mikey’s life.
They sat on the couch one lazy Sunday afternoon, almost four weeks since the nightmare with Garrett, and she said as much to Ryker. He put his arm around her and told her it wasn’t her fault.
“I just keep going over and over everything in my head, trying to figure out all the places where I went wrong, or where I could have done something differently. I wish to God I had never mentioned to Garrett about me not believing you were dead unless I saw a body. If I’d kept my mouth shut, Garrett would never have brought me here and Mikey wouldn’t have been forced to do what he did.”
He held her close and kissed the top of her head. “And then you’d probably be dead right now. You’re not the only one who wishes they’d done thing differently, Jenna. I wish I’d taken you seriously about Garrett. I wish I hadn’t lied to you so you’d felt the need to go to the garage alone that day. Hell, I wish I’d gone into work that morning so Sam wouldn’t have died alone.”
They sat in silence for a moment, each trying to come to terms with their own mistakes.
Eventually, Ryker said, “Anyway, haven’t you noticed the change in Mikey these last few weeks?”
She had. Mikey seemed far more open with them than before. He no longer locked himself away in his room, or sat gaming for hours on end. He ate his meals with them at the kitchen table, chatting about his day, sports, or what he’d been watching on television. Ryker hadn’t even been called into school to sort out the usual sort of trouble his brother used to get into.
Mikey had even apologized to Jenna for stealing her credit card. “If I hadn’t taken the card,” he’d said, “Then your ex would never have found you.”
In the scope of things, a stolen credit card wasn’t a big deal, but it must have been playing on Mikey’s mind. Jenna had given him a hug. “Garrett would have found me eventually,” she’d told him.
“I’m sending all the stuff back,” he’d said.
Playfully, she’d smacked him around the back of the head. “Too damn right you are!”
The next day, the gaming gear had arrived, and they’d sent it straight back. The stolen card had never been mentioned again.
“I think Mikey is realizing how close he came to losing you,” she said to Ryker, “And maybe that’s made him appreciate you a little more. Maybe he’s even appreciating his own life a little more.”
Ryker smiled. “And he’s treating you like a hero. The woman who offered up her own life for him. You can do no wrong in his eyes.”
“Yeah, well I’m sure he’ll get sick of me sooner or later. I’m surprised he hasn’t already started complaining about me still living in his house.”
Ryker shifted away from her on the couch. He appeared nervous, and she noticed his hand trembling. “Actually,” he said, slowly, and her heart dropped. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about that.”
Suddenly she felt sick. Was this it? Was he finally going to ask her to leave? Things had been going so well for her, but she always misread situations, and perhaps she’d finally out stayed her welcome?
He took her hand. “Jenna, there’s something I want to ask you. I know I should probably have taken you somewhere fancy and romantic, but I didn’t want to wait, and also someone else wanted to be here to hear the answer. This is your home now, and I know a home isn’t something you’ve had for a very long time.” He reached behind a cushion and pulled out a small box, before dropping to his knee in front of her. “We haven’t been together for very long, but the time we have been together, we’ve been through more than most couples would go through in a lifetime. You’re smart, and beautiful, and quite possibly the bravest person I have ever met. Jenna Armstrong, I hope you’ll consider this to be your home for the rest of your life, and I hope you’ll allow me to be in your life for that long as well. Will you marry me?”
He flicked open the box to reveal an eternity ring of diamonds. A lump rose in her throat and she choked back tears.
He looked at her with those deep, blue eyes, tears swimming in their depths. “It was our mother’s ring,” he told her. “We both thought you should have it.”
Jenna clutched her hand to her mouth, overcome and unable to speak.
His face took on a worried look. “Is it a yes?”
She nodded frantically, wiping at her tears and finding her voice. “Yes! Of course it’s a yes!”
She threw herself into his arms, so they both ended up on the floor. Ryker caught her up in his arms and kissed her through her tears. His mouth was warm and sweet, and felt just like coming home.
They broke the kiss long enough for Ryker to take the ring from the box and slip it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.
She twisted her hand in the light, the multi-faceted diamonds glinted rainbows back at her. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Feet pounded down the stairs and Mikey’s head popped around the door. “Have you asked her yet?”
Ryker rolled his eyes. “Good thing I have, because you’d have spoiled the moment.”
He grinned. “I knew you had, really. I was listening from upstairs.”
Ryker gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.
Jenna held out her hand, displaying the ring.
“It was our mom’s,” Mikey said.
“I’m honored to be wearing it, Mikey. Thank you.”
The boy shrugged. “Don’t thank me. It was Ryker who gave it to you.”
She gave the boy a smile. “You know what I mean. It means the world to me.”
Mikey blushed and gave another shrug. “Yeah, well, you’re family now.”
Jenna glanced between Ryker and Mikey and smiled. He was right.
She was home and she’d finally found her family.
Acknowledgments
I wrote this book differently to how I normally write. A friend of mine Reetah Mitchel, sent me a link to Wattpad, and an article about how well people were doing on the site. I figured I’d give it a go, so instead of writing Cut Too Deep in my usual unplanned, unedited way, I wrote each chapter, and then edited it, before posting it to Wattpad.
Because of this, one of my proofreaders, Glynis Elliott, was pestered by me every few days for two months to read yet another chapter, and another, and another, until the book was done. So a huge thank you to you, Glynis, for your patience and putting up with me only wanting one thing from you.
A big thank you, as always, to my editor Lori Whitwam.!
Thank you, as well, to my proofreaders, Glynis Elliott, Kim Hayes, and Vickie Turley. Your keen eyes always pick up on those little things that are so easy to miss. I hope you all enjoyed the story!
A big thank you to all the Wattpad readers, for all your words of encouragement and comments about the story. Your comments made me want to write and post even faster so I didn’t keep you all waiting too long.
And, of course, thank you to my readers. Without you, there would be no books. I will always do my best to write the best I can for you.
If you want to stay updated about my new releases, please sign up to my new release list on my blog. You will receive notification of when a new book comes out, together with exclusive previews and sales!
Thank you once again.
Marissa.