Mine to Keep Read Free Page B

though he tried to keep it contained. The way he looked and treated her touched a part deep inside her heart that she’d thought had died. Steven hadn’t taken every part of her and to know it made her so happy.
    Twenty minutes later, Gabriel pulled up outside his house. She’d never been there before. There was a light on in the front. The garden was large and open. She saw a couple of trees in the garden with a swing hanging from one of the branches. Amy felt instantly at home. Her gaze kept going to the swing. It had been ages since she’d let go on one.
    “Your house is beautiful,” she said.
    “I see you’re eyeing up my swing. Come on.” He took her hand, leading her over to where the swing hung. Gabriel helped her on. She didn’t think about protesting. Amy held the onto the rope handles. She wasn’t ready to let go. All she did was sit and take in her surroundings. “You can let go and fly. I’ll be here to catch you.”
    Gabriel smiled at her. She knew he would catch her no matter what. The trust she felt towards him scared her, as she’d never trusted anyone else in her life. “I’m not ready.”
    He cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing her cheek in an action filled with so much tenderness that she thought she’d cry. “One day soon, Amy Grant, you’re going to be ready for everything.”
    She hoped he was right. Her world seemed to be full of so much fear at times that she never saw beyond her problems.
    “Come on. You haven’t seen inside. I’ve not got ‘round to unpacking everything. I’m decorating a room at a time.”
    He helped her grab the kids. He opened the door, and they all entered his home. From the view at the front of his house, she saw how much he loved his home. There were several boxes placed along walls, but underneath all that, she saw the care he’d taken. Gabriel took pride in his home. She smiled thinking about him holding a feather duster and cleaning down shelves. A smile broke out on her face, and when she turned to Gabriel, she noticed he was looking at her funny.
    “Follow me. I’m going to show you the next best thing to proper pizzas.” Gabriel led them through to his kitchen, which was at the back of the house.
    There was a counter in the centre of the kitchen with stools for them to sit on. She helped her children into the stools and sat in between them, watching as he grabbed some bits from the fridge. He turned on the grill and came back to face them on the opposite end of the counter.
    “How are you kids doing? Are you hungry?”
    “Starving,” they both said.
    Gabriel pulled out a loaf and cut two squares of bread. She watched as he pulled faces at her children and spread tomato sauce on the base of the bread.
    “Pick your topping of choice.” He pushed over three containers for them to pick their toppings. Billy picked out the sausage slices and Mia some ham pieces. Amy picked out the chorizo. She loved spicy food.
    “Bread pizza coming right up.” Amy hadn’t heard her children laugh in ages. Gabriel pulled faces and began singing a tune as he made the pizzas. Mia and Billy joined in, laughing with him. “Come here, guys.” He gestured for them to stand with him. He placed the pizzas under the grill. “You’ve got to watch the cheese melting in case it burns. We don’t want burnt cheese, do we?”
    Mia and Billy shook their heads. She watched them at the grill. Gabriel had an arm wrapped around the shoulders of each of her children. They never got so close to their father. Steven would lash out or shout. He was under the impression that children were to be seen and not heard. The life they’d lived had been awful, and she’d been too weak to see beyond him.
    They pulled the pizzas out, and Gabriel served them up. They sat at the counter, eating their food and drinking milk. Her kids were enjoying themselves, and she didn’t want to pull them away from the fun. She couldn’t help but laugh when he made a puppet out of his oven glove. He