The Switch, Debra Kayn [best books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

eyes and then hugged the damn backpack tighter. He hated hounding her but yesterday wasn't soon enough for her to move in.

"I never thought I'd have a family." His throat spasmed, taking him by surprise. Yet, anytime he was around Bonnie, the emotions that came out of him were foreign. But he had no doubt of what they were and how to describe them.

There was a name for what he was experiencing. Other people took it for granted. But, not him.

"I love you." He clasped his hands in front of him to keep from going to her. "I've never had that before. Never felt like this. You've felt it in me."

His fingers curled, wanting to press his hand to her chest. He needed proof. He needed to know her heart beat wildly for him.

She raised her head. "Can you protect the kids and me from...everything?"

"Yes."

"No, I need to know there is no doubt that if anything threatens to hurt us, you...and your enhancements can shield us." She swallowed hard. "I've worked what seems like my whole life to protect my boys, to give them everything they need, and keep us together. But life hit me sideways a lot of the time, and I struggled."

"You won't have to struggle anymore."

She looked at the backpack. He understood what she was thinking. She had a bag with almost a million dollars in cash and could pay someone to protect her. Hell, she could go anywhere in the world.

He was asking her to stay in Avery Falls with him.

"I was nothing before knowing you." He got up from the couch and approached her. He set the backpack on the floor and pulled her to her feet. Cupping her face, he forced her to look up at him. "For the first time, I'm alive. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to love you. Let me love you."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. His heart pounded, seeing her pain, and hurt his chest.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I'll make you not scared." He brought his lips to her forehead and said, "I'll make you love me."

She pulled her face back and frowned. "I love you, too. That was never, ever a question. It's everything that surrounds you that scares me to death."

"I scare you?"

"No, it's what you're involved in." Her shoulders sagged forward. "Maybe you do scare me a little because what Grandpa Gene witnessed and documented is so different than what I experienced with you."

"I'm no longer part of the program." He stroked her face. "You'll see, I'm the man you know."

"I think of Trina with her dad..." She frowned. "She's so confused, and yet I feel like she's handling the differences better than I am. Does she know?"

He shook his head. "There's no reason for her to know. Speeder is her dad. That's all that matters."

"Oh, Lord." She blew out her breath.

"You'll see, we can make it." He couldn't stand not being closer to her and leaned down, capturing her lips. Inhaling, he soaked up being with her, needing more. "Love you so damn much. It hurts, Bonnie."

She closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her cheek on his chest. Her arms went around him, and her much smaller body held him. He cupped the back of her head and held her against him.

"The boys don't know about you," she whispered.

"There is no reason to tell them."

She looked up. "They don't know about the money Grandpa Gene left me."

"It was a land deal, Bonnie. It was payment for us using his property."

"And for keeping him quiet," she stated.

"Yeah."

She walked out of his embrace and paced in front of him. "I wish Grandpa Gene was alive so I could ask him why he never told anyone."

There was nothing he could tell her. He'd dealt with her grandpa and came to an agreement.

"He stayed. Even after he knew, he stayed in Avery Falls in the house and let you and the others do whatever you do." She sighed and looked at him. "You know what keeps popping into my head?"

"What?"

"Even when he was documenting everything and dealing with Avery Falls Motorcycle Club—which must've seemed like an alien invasion..." She grimaced. "Sorry."

He shrugged. Describing him was pointless. She would never know the extent of his enhancements or what he was capable of.

"He never once stopped mom and me from coming to visit or spending summers at the house." She reached out to him for the first time and linked both her hands with his. "I can only believe that while what was happening was unbelievable to him, he wasn't afraid to bring his family home. And, I shouldn't be afraid now."

"Are you saying...?"

She nodded. "I love you. I can't imagine not having you in my life."

"It'll be good, Bonnie. I swear on my life." He kissed her, tasting, needing her.

She pulled back, kissed him again, and then said, "I need to check on the boys."

"I'll come with you." He led her to the hallway.

She stopped. "Do you care if we spend the night? After everything I've learned, I really don't want to drive in the dark to the house and—"

"Stay." He stopped at the door of the gym. "Stay for the rest of your life."

"It's not only me." She hesitated. "I'll have to ask the boys what they think first. If they want to..."

He kissed her hard and swung the door open. "Ask."

The boys' loud voices and splashing in the pool echoed in the big, empty space. She latched on to Trip's hand. "Why don't you ask?"

She stopped and urged him forward, letting him have the privacy to do it on his own. Knowing her boys, she already knew what their answer would be.

Trip's long legs took him straight to the side of the pool. He squatted at the edge and whistled, gaining her sons' attention. She leaned against the wall in the gym, taking in Trip's backside.

He was strong, big, and graceful. Now she understood why.

While reading the second notebook, it was