Free Hold on to Me by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

before he could do just that, the tears spilled over her eyelashes, she pulled free of his hand, dropped her backpack on the ground, and sprinted toward Simone.
    Simone fell to one knee and caught her in a tight hug. Shannon held on for dear life and sobbed. Mitch couldn’t hear what Simone said to her daughter, but the relief and love rushing over Simone’s features told him everything he needed to know.
    He was the outsider here. He’d gotten so caught up in the whole idea of having a ready-made family, he hadn’t paid attention to what was right in front of his eyes. Simone and Shannon were a unit. They needed each other, just like Julia and Ryan needed one another. And though they’d let him into their circle for a little while, their world wouldn’t crumble without him. Even if things hadn’t gone to shit between him and Simone, he always would have been the outsider, looking in, wanting to be a part of something that, frankly, wasn’t his to want.
    That realization sliced right through the center of his chest, but he clenched his jaw, picked up Shannon’s bag from the floor, and forced his feet forward. He stopped two steps from mother and daughter, still tangled together, and cleared his throat. All he wanted now was to get the hell out of here, but for Shannon’s sake, he stood still. And waited.
    Simone looked up at him. Tears glistened in her eyes. Tears a part of him wished she’d shed, just once, for him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
    He nodded. Couldn’t seem to find anything else to say. Cleared his throat again. “Shannon, I need to get going.”
    Shannon turned in her mother’s arms. Blinked several times. Then swiped her sleeve over her damp eyes. “Already?”
    “Yeah.”
    Simone pushed to her feet. “Are you heading back to Seattle right away?”
    Small talk. Mitch could handle small talk, for Shannon’s sake. He shifted his backpack on his shoulder and tucked one hand into the front pocket of his jeans. “No. Tomorrow. I need to pick up a few files I left at the office.”
    Simone nodded and placed both hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “I-I’m…sorry we interrupted your plans.”
    “Shannon is never an interruption.”
    Shannon’s eyes filled with tears again, and that was all Mitch could take. He had to get out of here, before he said or did something he’d regret later. Before he begged.
    “Anytime you want to talk, Shannon, just call. I have my cell on me most of the time. And don’t give your mom too much trouble. She loves you, even when you don’t think she does.”
    A tear spilled over Shannon’s lashes, and she nodded.
    “Mitch,” Simone whispered, stepping around Shannon.
    Yeah. No. He was not about to reopen wounds that were already oozing.
    Mitch gripped his backpack at the shoulder and turned. “I gotta go.”
    He pushed his feet forward one step at a time. Refused to look back. Forced himself to head across the long, wide hallway toward the doors to freedom. Two days ago, he thought his heart had shattered when Simone had told him she didn’t love him, but today he knew no matter where he went in his life, it would never be whole again.
    “Mitch!”
    He stopped at the sound of Shannon’s voice and glanced over his shoulder. Shannon darted around Simone and streaked across the airport. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She held her arms out wide.
    He dropped to his knees, caught her in a tight hug, closed his eyes, and held her close.
    “I love you,” she sobbed.
    “Ah, sweetheart.” His chest squeezed tight. “I love you too. That’s never going to change.”
    “But you’re leaving.”
    “I’ll be back, Shannon.” He eased away just enough so he could swipe at her tears. Swallowed back his own. “I have to leave for my job, but that doesn’t mean I’m not coming back. I’ll always come back.”
    Her shoulders shook with her heart-wrenching sobs.
    God, this was killing him. He brushed the tears from her cheek once more. “Tell you what.