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Physically, she seee and her resiliency to overcoh Breakneck would come by often to check on her As he had directed, she spent a lot of ti

It was her emotional state that worried me She still refused to let her parents know her location She did call theain she used a disposable phone Although I didn’t totally agree with it, I didn’t press her about it It did slightly alarraia She seeinia, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that

She grew hts on the lu in my bed with her It wasn’t uncharted territory, since we had spent the night in the same bed before But at the sa about it I felt like a teenager sneaking off to do so I had felt for a very long time While I didn’t want to think about Annabel in any sexual way, it was hard not to when she cas or thin tops that showed off her cleavage I knew better than to say anything to her about it, lest I’d look like so off on her

There was also the fact that waking up with a beautiful wo wood If Annabel ever noticed, she didn’t say anything I also hoped she didn’t noticewood Again, if she knew, she never said anything I could have easily taken out h I had come home with a woman, it hadn’t deterred some of them from their interest in me Before, just a flash of a pair of tits would have hadto fuck whatever was closest to me But after Annabel, it didn’t have the saiance to only one woman, and painfully, it was the one as off-lihts easily fled when she woke up, screahtmares at least two to three tier to those types of wake-up calls, I wouldher body closer to mine "It’s okay, Annabel You’re okay," was usually all I would have to say She would spend a fewin the dark, as if she was trying to believe that she was really with ia and not back in Mexico with Mendoza Finally, after a so back to sleep I wondered what it would be like for her if I weren’t in bed beside her Would she be able to calhts like I had in the past?

While I was helping Annabel, it didn’t escape my mind how much I enjoyed her presence, either I wanted her to be well, and to not need me, but her presence was a comfort, too One I expected I wouldto feel like the human equivalent of a child’s safety blanket While I wanted to be there for her, I was still so frightened that I was i as I allowed her to use me, she would never be well on her own However, she neverthese concerns With Alexandra’s help, she had ed to find one she liked, and had started twice-a-week appointht spot in her life, and if I let myself admit it, inso h Annabel’s care, he--we’d discovered we had a boy--was thriving I was ae she possessed to care for hi him to pee or poop arm cotton balls blew led "Well, his mother would do that in the wild to protect him from predators"

"But how"

"With her tongue," she replied

"Disgusting," I muttered

Poe had er crate on the back porch He was soon going to be big enough to use an old dog run we had on the property Annabel never had to do his feedings alone Willow often ca scene hen Deacon or Bishop would coive hi with Poe I had insisted that Annabel take it easy after she helped Ma meal for a faot a strong whiff of ani up to the roadhouse

After I showered and shaved, I ca on the couch At the sight of me, she lowered her e-reader, and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously "Going soo up to the roadhouse One of our prospects is getting patched in"

Her face took on a bewildered expression "Patched in? What does that hed "It means he’s a fullerrands He’s proven he’s worthy of us"

"That all comes in the form of a patch?"

"Before, he had to wear a prospect’s patch, which is like a sign saying you’re everyone’s bitch Now he gets the real deal"

"Sounds interesting"

"I don’t know about that Of course, Crazy Ace, the guy we’re patching in, could "