Found (Captive Heart #2) Read Free Page A

were. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? You never know how unrealistic you’re being until you’re actually in the shit of it.
    I wake alone, Tucker nowhere to be found and his side of the bed cold and lonely. He hadn’t even touched me last night. I smash my head back into my pillows and ruminate over that kiss.
    It had been beautiful and warmed places in me that had gone dry and dark for three years. But then he’d pulled away. Like it pained him to be close to me. And when I’d snuggled up against him, the one thing I’d been yearning to do ever since he’d been taken to jail, he flinched.
    I get it. It’s not necessarily about me, but still. I want him to be comfortable around me; to be the old Tucker that warmed my bed all those nights at Camp Marsh. But, as we knew it would be, it’s so different now.
    He’s lying on the couch, his arm thrown over his eyes, when I get downstairs. My foot causes the loose floorboard in the last step to creak, and he’s flailing off the couch.
    “Get away!” He holds up his fists, enraged in his sleepy daze.
    “Tucker! It’s just me.” I go to him, running my hands over his closed palms.
    He seems to register my face, and drops them immediately. He also steps back, away from me. “Jesus, I’m sorry. It’s a … habit now.”
    I shrug, not knowing what else to do. “I get it.”
    A beat of silence.
    “Are you hungry?”
    He looks around, and then down at me in my white satin robe. “Yeah.”
    I could almost swear he isn’t talking about food, but I don’t push it and instead walk to the kitchen.
    “I can make you eggs, French toast, bacon…we have cereal and I got English muffins, too. Anything you’d like!”
    “Whatever you’re having is fine. I’m not picky.”
    When I knew he was getting released, I went to the grocery store and basically emptied the shelves into my cart. At Camp Marsh, we’d only had the limited pantry and canteen snacks to get us through. In prison, I’m sure the food was awful. I wanted him to have his pick of anything when he came home. I wanted to treat him and feed him like a glutton for punishment. But he didn’t seem to want any special treatment.
    “Okay, I’ll make the lot of it then.” I flash him a smile and get to removing pots, pans and cooking supplies from various places in the kitchen. “Do you want to take a hot shower or something? It’s going to be a little bit before everything is ready.”
    I notice Tucker hasn’t even removed the clothes he came home in yet. If I were him, I would have taken a four-hour bath. But maybe he doesn’t feel at home …
    Before he can answer, I’m walking across the kitchen to him. “Tuck, I know this is going to be hard. And I know we talked about maybe getting a new place eventually. But we’re here for now. And I want you to know that this is as much your home as it is mine. I want you to feel like you can do whatever you want here. There are no rules or areas off limits. Okay?”
    He nods at me. “I get it, Char. I’m good for right now though.”
    His brush off is the only thing he’s been able to do since we got home yesterday. I let it slide again though.
    “Don’t you have to go to work or something?” Tucker sounds like he’d rather me be anywhere but here, with him.
    I crack eggs into the skillet. “I took the rest of the week off. I’ve been saving up days, and I wanted to be here with you. I mean … I wish I could spend the next three years catching up on all that we’ve missed, but I’m due back Monday morning. But we have four glorious days to do whatever it is that you want together!”
    When I catch his expression out of the corner of my eye, it’s like I’ve just told him I’ve drowned his cat. He looks miserable.
    “You didn’t have to take off work for me. It’s important that you go. Didn’t you mention you might be promoted soon?”
    I move to the baking sheet and begin laying bacon strips out. “That’s just a rumor, maybe. I don’t