Free Undefeated (Unexpected Book 5) by Claudia Burgoa Page A

thing.
    “Porter bought it, for me.” Harper gives me another round of smiles. “He taught me how to ride like a big girl.”
    I check my watch. I’ve been gone for about two hours. During this time, he managed to buy a bicycle, teach my daughter how to ride it, and the best of all, make her smile. He’s like a dream.
    “Okay kids, it’s time to get a snack, come with me,” My aunt yells, standing up and gathering my children. Then her attention goes back to me. “You can tell me later about your new job.” How does she know that I got it?
    “So did you get it?” Porter’s low voice asks.
    I nod, telling him about my crazy schedule. Then tilt my head toward the bike he holds. “Thank you, for telling me about the position . . . and the bike. How much do I owe you?”
    “Nothing.” He shakes his head. “I thought this might help her out of her funk, you know.” He gives me his typical shrug, as if saying, “I do this for everyone.” I find his actions endearing. “When I learned to ride a bike, it gave me a sense of accomplishment and pushed me to find my way for a little while.”
    Wow, he’s giving me some background information and I take the chance to ask questions. “Your dad taught you?” He shakes his head. “Mom?”
    “No, my mom died when I was four.” His shoulders slump and my heart hurts for him. “My big brother and my baby sister died along with her.” Oh, God, he lost his entire family. I want to open my arms for him, hug him, and tell him . . . I don’t know what, but make it better. Well, that explains why he avoids connecting with others, doesn’t it? “Nothing was easy, but everything changed when I found my foster parents. One of the things they taught me was to ride a bike—I was fourteen, but it felt good. They . . .” He goes silent, his head dropping.
    Did something happen to them, too? I take a few steps closer to him. We’re so close that his deodorant is all I can smell. It’s a masculine combination that I can’t name but it makes me dizzy. “What else happened to you, Porter?” My voice comes out all breathy and wrong. What happened to the confident Mackenzie? I have no fucking idea, but whatever is going on inside me isn’t something I want to analyze.
    “Me. I happened to myself,” he says and I don’t understand. He brushes a strand of hair off my face and curls it around my ear, making my entire body shiver. “Once upon a time I had everything. I was on top of the world. Lost what mattered most because of the material shit and then some more.” Some more what? He’s making zero sense. His eyes fixate on me as they start to warm up and I lose myself in them. Embraced by him I feel safe and protected, yet there’s an edge hiding inside. “I have to go to work.” He breaks the spell, turns around, and leaves toward the gas station.
    I wrap my arms around myself, rubbing them to warm up from the coldness that overtook my body as he ran away. What the hell just happened?

    I want to promise you a blue sky
    Promise you that nothing will touch you
    I want to take the pain away
    Promise you that I’ll never hurt you
    But I won’t since this time I don’t want to fail
    [Chorus]
    Baby, nothing is perfect
    Nothing is painless
    But after the rain, the flowers will bloom
    The pain rooted in your heart will dissipate
    And only love will remain
     
    I wish I could promise that I’ll be here for you
    To hold your hand, to listen to you
    But I can only promise that I’ll see you through
    The storm of rain and blood
    Ready to catch you, or to hold your hand
    [Chorus]
    Baby, nothing is perfect
    Nothing is painless
    But after the rain, the flowers will bloom
    The pain rooted in your heart will dissipate
    And only love will remain
     
    I promise to collect each teardrop you shed
    Every story you say
    Every smile you gift me
    Each and every memory you share
    I promise to safeguard all of them next to my wounded heart
    [Chorus]
    Baby, nothing is perfect
    Nothing is