Hooked on You: An Annapolis Harbor Series Prequel, Lea Coll [love letters to the dead .txt] 📗

whatever she was willing to give me. Hopefully, I’d wear her down over time and she’d see she could trust me—that I trusted her. That we needed each other.

She took a sip of her beer.

“Can you tell me where Caleb would live when he’s accepted into state housing?”

“I don’t know many details. I was so upset I haven’t even looked into it. I liked to think I could care for him myself, but I can’t. He’s so big and he can only go to a few familiar places and be with a few familiar people. I couldn’t have a career and be his sole care person.” She looked at me, then away. “I couldn’t see how I could have my own family if I was responsible for him. I couldn’t subject my kids to what I went through, which sounds awful.”

“It doesn’t. You’re being practical.” I was happy she’d gotten over the initial shock and seemed to be thinking logically about the situation. I hoped me telling her that none of this was her fault had gotten through. That she realized she was still a good person if her family reached out for help. They couldn’t do this on their own and they didn’t have to.

“Thank you for coming.”

For the first time since I’d arrived, her body was relaxed, her eyes soft, and her lips tilted in a smile. She’d carried this burden of responsibility for so long she needed to move to New Orleans to realize it. She needed me. Now I only had to show her how much. “I’ll always come for you.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

TAYLOR

The next few days I continued to show Gabe my town, which was almost as fun as sight-seeing New Orleans. We toured the Naval Academy, rode the trolley around town, took a boat ride, and walked down all of the side streets so I could show him what I loved about this town—the broken bricked sidewalks, the quaint homes, the museums. We even spent a day in D.C. because he’d never been.

I was so touched he’d cared about me enough to travel to Maryland to make sure I was okay, to meet my family, to see my home. I knew this was a big deal for him and I wanted to jump into his arms and tell him I’d forgiven him and I wanted to be with him, but I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision.

I’d slowly come to the conclusion that my parents were doing the right thing—the only thing they could do with Caleb. They needed to prepare for when they were too old to care for him. I got that and I wouldn’t make them feel badly about their decision anymore. It was the only real decision to be made.

I drove Gabe to the airport the day after we visited D.C. and I wanted to go with him so badly. For the first time, since I’d gotten here, I wanted my life back.

“Will you be back soon?” he asked when I pulled into the departure lane.

“I don’t know.” The more time we spent together the more I wanted to go back because I missed him and my life. I needed to get back to my job.

“Isaac said Hadley’s been planning the block party.”

“What?” I had no idea. She’d messaged me several times to see how I was doing, but nothing about the party. “I’m so sorry it slipped my mind with everything going on.”

“Hey,” his low voice sent a shiver through me and he touched my thigh for the first time since our fight.

“Yeah?” I asked stopping at the curb, knowing we had only a short time before an officer would tell me to move the car.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re right where you’re supposed to be. Hadley can handle it.”

“Still, I should get back and help her.” It wasn’t just Caleb that depended on me. I’d made friends in New Orleans.

“I’m not going to argue with you about that. I want you back too.”

“Give me a few more days to make sure Caleb is settled and my parents are fine.”

Gabe unhooked his seat belt and turned slightly toward me. He hadn’t kissed me during his visit, and I wanted to tug him closer, tangling my fingers in his hair, and kissing his lips. But I wasn’t ready to make that leap just yet and Gabe must have seen it on my face because he gave me a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll text when I land. See you soon.”

“Be safe.” When he shut the door and I pulled from the curb, my eyes filled with tears. I didn’t want him to go. I didn’t want to be states away from him. I missed him so much and his visit only reminded me of everything I loved about him. When I got through his rough exterior—the chip on his shoulder—I found this amazing man underneath. He was caring, kind, and protective. And his love was so genuine because he’d never felt it before. I hoped I hadn’t made the wrong decision in giving myself more time before I fell back into him.

The next few days I spent time with Caleb and made sure my parents were fine handling his recovery. Gabe and I texted throughout the day and he called me each night even if it was only a few minutes on his break. The night before I left, I was alone with Caleb in the living room watching TV.

Holding his hand, I said, “I’m going back to New Orleans tomorrow. I’m going to miss you.”

His gaze remained on the TV show, but his body tensed like he was listening to me.

“We can Facetime, and I’ll be back to visit soon.” The strong feelings of guilt continued to lessen with each day. My parents and Gabe continued to tell me it wasn’t my fault and it was starting to sink in. But I knew leaving this time would be easier only because Caleb was wearing