Lost and Found by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

out her window. This was so like him , deciding everything all the time. “This needs to stop Richard. I have a mind of my own. I realize over the last little bit I was in trouble , and you helped. But you can’t make decisions for me.”
    “Please Maggie , it ’ s just lunch.”
    Maggie wanted to bang her head against the glass to knock some sense into herself because , against her better judgment , she opened her door and stepped down. She needed space and distance from Richard. She hid for so long behind a chemical haze that numbed everything so she didn’t have to face up or deal with anything.
    Richard stopped in front of his truck, and took of f his shades , tucking them in his front coat pocket.
    Maggie hesitated a minute. “Just lunch , and then you promise to take me to a hotel?”
    “Lunch and hear me out, and then I promise , if you still want to go, I’ll take you to a hotel for tonight.” She wanted to reach up and touch the faint lines on his face that made him so damn good looking. He must have seen it because something softened in his rock solid features. Vulnerability? Maybe.
    “Fair enough.” She walked ahead of Richard, but he was so close , in her personal space , she could feel his heat. There was a time this was all she wanted.
    She chose a seat away from other customers at a small window table for two. A skinny young waitress brought them menus and promised to return in a moment to take their order. She stared at the menu , determined to stand her ground with Richard because she knew all too well his powers of persuasion. They didn’t speak. The waitress returned, took their orders and menus and promptly returned with coffee for her and a beer for Richard. She tapped her fingers on the table, gazed at the ocean and then lifted her cup and sipped.
    “I don’t want you to leave.”
    She set her cup down. “Ah Richard , look I told you…”
    He reached out and touched her hand , the one resting on the table.
    “Maggie please , just hear me out.” His voice softened as he squeezed her hand tenderly. “Please.”
    Maggie finally looked up at him , and what she saw melted a bit of her resolve.
    “I’m trying to protect you. I feel like I let you down. Because I never knew you got hooked on some pills , and after that last week watching you through that sick and hurt , getting that crap out of you, I swore I wouldn’t turn my back on you again. I love you , Maggie.” He pulled her hand closer and linked his fingers with hers.
    “I love you too. But this isn’t why I’m leaving , and you know it.” She pulled her hand away.
    “We’re barely holding it together to create a sense of balance for Ryley. What do you think this will do to him? You taking off? You may have an issue with me and my need to protect you, but you mark my words. You scared the hell out of Ryley. He knew you were taking pills. He told me he found them in the bathroom. We talked about it last night. I told him you were off them and home for good. His heart was broken from what happened to Lily and then being ripped away from his home. His family torn apart. If you leave , you’re not taking Ryley. I won’t let you , and he won’t go with you now. You two are on shaky ground. Your focus needs to be repairing the relationship with Ryley. You two used to be close ; he was a mama’s boy. But you terrified him. He couldn’t reach you.” Richard tapped his index finger on his head. “Did you know during one of his night terrors , he tried to wake you when you were living in that God awful rental in town ? He couldn’t. And I have no idea how long ago it was. He never told me. Not until last night.”
    She shut her eyes and squeezed her fists. This was not what she wanted to hear.
    “Maggie , open your eyes. I’m not saying this to hurt you. You need to understand what Ryley saw. You just did things. He’d ask you something , and you wouldn’t respond. How many times did you forget to pick him up at school so