Free SCARRED - Part 4 (The SCARRED Series - Book 4) by Kylie Walker Page A

better was to not lose you at all. Your mother and I knew you from the day you were conceived. You were a part of us, and a part of the sister that you will never know. Unknowingly, your beautiful sister has gotten us through the long days and even longer nights as we grieve.
    We have to maintain a sense of “normalcy” for her sake and we do try. I went back to work this week and while I’m there, I go through the motions. I smile and I court clients and I pretend like I’m okay. But, every once in a while I have to lock myself in my office alone and as soon as the door is closed and the lock is turned, the tears come and I let myself cry. Sometimes at night when your mother and Sarah are sleeping I take a walk around the grounds and I stop to pet the horses and I wonder if you were still here if you would like to ride them as much as I do. I wonder about so many things. There is one thing that no one who knows me or your mother will ever have to wonder about, and that is how much we already loved you. I will never stop thinking about you and I will never stop loving you. I will always be your Daddy and I hope that heaven allows just this one letter to slip through so that while you glide around up there on your white and glittery angel winds, you know how dearly you are loved and missed here on earth.
    I will always love you. 
    Your Daddy.
    The letter brought on another onslaught of tears. Once she and Trevor had been able to let go of their embrace, Chloe sat the book aside to read another time. She was an emotional wreck at the moment. She didn’t know how much more crying she could take.

Chapter 10
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    D inner was good, but quiet. Everyone was pretty much talked out, except for Derek and he was laying low and letting the family get to know each other. After dinner Derek asked Chloe if she wanted to take a walk. She jumped at the chance to get some fresh air. Her head was pounding. She had gotten more love in one day than she had her entire life. She really didn’t know how much more she could take. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just new and different and it was going to take her a lot of getting used to.
    Derek took her hand as they walked through the yard and towards the little iron fence. Overhead a canopy of stars spread out across the ocean of darkness. The moon was just a sliver but the night was illuminated just the same by the twinkling stars. It was much cooler than it had been earlier in the day and as they walked a bit, Chloe shivered. Derek put his arm around her.
    “Are you cold, baby?”
    “No...I just have that feeling again.”
    He stopped walking and looked at her. “The feeling like someone is watching?”
    She nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s just my paranoia. I just get this creeping sensation down my spine and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stands up...it just hits me lately, out of the blue.”
    Derek pulled her into his broad chest and held her there.
    “Considering all that you’ve been through and the emotional rollercoaster you’ve been on today, I’d say a little paranoia was warranted.”
    “You feel so good,” she sighed.
    She hadn’t realized how tired she was physically until she laid her head on him. She was so warm and comfortable in his arms that she could go to sleep right there standing up.
    “You feel better,” he said with his mouth right next to her ear. She shivered again, but this time because the vibrations and the heat of his voice sent a spark traveling down her spine. He held her back and looked at her face. “Do you want to go back inside?”
    “Can we just stand here like this all night?” she asked him. He pulled her back against him and wrapped her up in his strong arms.
    “We can stand like this forever, if that’s what you want.”
    She closed her eyes and sighed as he ran his hand down her hair and across her upper back. Between Derek and her parents, she’d never felt so loved and wanted in her