Free Too Hard to Break by Missy Jane Page B

invade his personal space.
He smiled at her but it was nothing like the way he looked at me. When he just
shrugged and headed for me the pain in my chest started to fade.
    “We’re going to grab a bite to eat once we leave here,
Gloria. I just couldn’t keep this place a secret any longer. It was killing me.”
    Gloria nodded and the smile never left her face as Hank put
his arm around me. My gut eased further.
    “Everyone, this is Gloria Hudson. She’s been an immense help
to me in organizing everything for this place. Welcome to the new home of the
Elle J. Woodard Foundation. It’s a private enterprise to help battered women
escape their dangerous situations.”
    My jaw dropped as Megan squealed and Sean grinned. The air
in my lungs froze and all I could do was look around in shock.
    “Oh, this is so awesome, Elle. It’s named after you,” Megan
said.
    Hank tightened his arm around my shoulder, hugging me to his
side. A good thing since most of the feeling had left my legs.
    “What?”
    It was all I could think to ask. After working myself up to
the worst possible conclusions, I couldn’t wrap my head around what was
happening.
    “This foundation is the new project I was telling you about,
baby. I was thinking maybe you’d like to help run things here.”
    I pulled away and stared at Hank with my mouth still open.
His grin started to fade and I vaguely heard Gloria offer Sean and Megan a
tour. Soon Hank and I were alone in the front room.
    “What’s wrong? Are you mad I named it after you?” he asked.
    I shut my mouth and shook my head as tears started sliding
down my cheeks. Relief at what was really happening flooded my system almost
too fast to process. I sniffed and wiped my eyes with both hands before trying
to answer.
    “N-no. I’m not mad. I-I’m overwhelmed. How can you be so
damn good to me?”
    He sighed out a laugh and pulled me into his arms. “Oh,
Elle. I told you I love you. Isn’t that enough reason?”
    I hiccupped and gave a slow nod. “I love you too, you know?”
    He kissed me slowly before hugging me tight to his chest
again. “Yeah, baby. I know.”
    We stood that way for a full minute before he let go. I
finally took a good look around what I had originally thought was an empty
room. There was a table with pamphlets and flyers on it just inside the front
door. A few folding chairs were set up in the center of the room with others
lining one wall.
    “So…we good?” Hank asked.
    I looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. I think we are.”
    He smiled and kissed me again before taking me by the hand
and heading for an open doorway. “Good. Let me show you the rest of the house.”
    It was a very nice, spacious four-bedroom house. Three of
the rooms were furnished to accomodate two people each and the fourth held a
single full-sized bed.
    “This one’s for you,” Hank said. “In case you’re ever here
late and just need to rest for a bit.”
    He had decorated it in my favorite colors and I was
speechless. The kitchen had brand-new appliances but wasn’t stocked just yet.
The dining room held a long table with enough room for twelve. There was a
washroom with an industrial-sized washer and dryer set. The backyard sported
two picnic tables and a wooden playset.
    “The plan is to house women here transitionally until they
either get on their feet or move on with family,” Gloria said.
    “I’m still trying to secure funding,” Hank said. “I’m hoping
to have enough put aside for at least two years to start.”
    “I can’t believe you’ve done so much without me even
realizing it,” I said.
    Megan laughed. “You are easily distracted, you know.”
    “Very funny.”
    She just grinned and gave me a hug.
    “So, now that the tour is over, you ready to eat?” Hank
asked.
    “Yes,” I said.
    We said our goodbyes to Gloria, who was finishing paperwork,
and headed out the door. I was almost giddy in my relief that all my fears had
been unfounded. Hank helped me into the