Read Bent Not Broken (A Cedar Creek #1) for Free Online Page B

needed done. If I wasn’t busy, she kept me company and we had a nice chat and a coffee that she usually got for us before coming in.
    Today she was coming in early to help me open. She was getting bigger and bigger and we didn’t know how much longer she would be able to help me out, so she said she wanted to come in earlier than usual to make the most of it.
    I had unlocked the front door and had switched on all the lights when she came in with coffee for the both of us.
    “Good morning, sunshine,” she sang when she saw me.
    “Hey, Mace,” I returned and tried to smile a genuine smile. I must have not succeeded in doing that, because Macy’s smile dropped and she walked over to me, eyes concerned and assessing.
    “What’s wrong?” she inquired when she got close.
    “Nothing’s wrong. Well, I don’t think it is. But something is going on and I need to talk to someone about it. You are the only person I really trust, so I would like that to be you.” My voice was low and a little hesitant. I was wringing my hands and couldn’t quite make eye contact with her. Putting myself out there was new for me.
    I shouldn’t have been nervous.
    Macy read my body language, then wrapped me in her arms and gave me a hug. My arms went around her, and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
    “Of course you can talk to me. Anything you need,” she assured me quietly.
    “Thanks, Mace,” I whispered in her ear.
    I took another deep breath to prepare myself, then let go of her and looked into her eyes. Then I gave it to her.
    “I need to tell someone, Mace. It’s eating me up. I don’t know how much longer I can hold it together,” I got out in a raspy whisper. Macy took my hand and squeezed it gently, giving me courage.
    “Ivey…” she whispered back. Her eyes had gone misty. I could tell she knew that it was hard for me to share and she felt for me. I powered on. “My story isn’t pretty. It’s dark and painful. I realized last night that I have to start letting it go, before it eats me alive. Can you help with that?” God, this opening-up business was hard.
    “Yes, of course, Ivey. I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” she whispered on another squeeze.
    “Okay,” my eyes had gone misty as well, and I wiped the tears away before they could fall. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. It was all or nothing. “Can I come over for dinner tonight, and we’ll talk when the kids are in bed?” I asked her, my voice becoming more steady.
    “Of course. I’ll make your favourite and stop to get some liquid courage before I go home. Larry can go and watch a game in the basement after he put the kids to bed, and then we can talk.”
    “I think, maybe Larry should be there as well. I know you guys don’t keep anything from each other and I don’t want you to have to live through it twice.” Her eyes had gone wide in understanding and she nodded.
    “Okay, but only if you’re sure.”
    “I am.” And I was. I trusted Larry. He was a good guy. Possessive of his wife in a good way and protective of his family. I really only trusted a handful of people in my life, only one of them a man, this man being him.
    But even that took a good long while.
    I assumed Macy told him the little about my past she knew and that being the reason, why I felt uncomfortable and skittish at first when I was alone with Larry in a room. But he had worked hard for it and eventually made me trust him by letting me see how he was with Macy and their kids.
    Firm, but gentle.
    Always.
    Affectionate.
    Respectful.
    He loved Macy despite her craziness. Actually, I thought he loved her because of the fact that she was a little loopy. It definitely seemed that way when his eyes went all soft on her when she was consumed by one of her dramas.
    Yes, he should be there tonight to give Macy comfort, because I knew what she was about to learn would break her heart. For me. She was the kind of person that felt deeply for other people and