“I’d say fate put you here more than I.”
Rebel shook her head. “No, Edge. Every good thing that has happened to me in the last couple of weeks has been because of you.”
“I appreciate that, sweetness, but you’re giving me too much credit.”
She turned her body so she faced me. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
35
Rebel
The look on Edge’s face broke my heart. The man had done so much for me, and he’d come to expect that whatever I said would be something bad.
Like he’d done to me so many times, I cupped his cheek with my palm. “I don’t want you to say anything, okay?”
He nodded and I smiled. “Good boy.”
Edge shook his head and laughed.
“I told you before that both Tee-Tee and Casper warned me not to mess things up with you, and I told you my fear that I would, because that’s what I do.”
He kept his eyes glued to mine but didn’t speak.
“After Casper stopped by the dining hall to apologize, as she was leaving, I told her I owed her my life. She said I was wrong, that I owed my life to you. Don’t,” I added when he tried to shake his head. “It’s true, Edge. The night you pulled Possum off of me in the parking lot, you saved my life.”
That he seemed to accept.
“And then you continued. Maybe you didn’t save my life in the same dramatic way you did that night, but you gave me a life. I made one meal, and you immediately picked up on my dream to be a chef. No one knew that. Not even my mother. Yet, you knew it right away. It was your idea to ask Tee-Tee if I could work in the dining hall. I really don’t know how to thank you.”
His eyes darted back and forth between mine.
“You can talk now.”
“I know exactly how you can thank me, Rebel.”
“Bake you an orange cake?”
He smiled. “Be happy. Embrace your life and live it to the fullest. Nothing will bring me more joy.”
“Again, nothing for yourself, only for me.”
“Believe me, I’m not as selfless as you may think. It’s taken every ounce of self-control I possess not to touch you, kiss you, pull you into my arms, and never let go. But I care so much for you, I will do anything to respect your wishes. Even if that means letting you go.”
The idea that he would, made my heart hurt, but it’s what I’d asked of him. “I still want us to be friends, Edge.”
“We are, sweetness.”
“We’ll decorate your Christmas tree together, right?”
“I won’t do it without you.”
After taking a car service to Edge’s truck, our drive back to his house was quiet. I had no idea what he was thinking about. Maybe it was the possibility I’d be leaving the ranch. Or maybe it was the public defender showing up in court today.
“I never put it together.”
“What’s that, sweetness?”
“My lawyer and Lynch. I only met with him a couple of times, but you’d think I would’ve remembered his name.”