Dylan listened to the rumble of his truck for a solid minute before jumping back to reality and killing the engine, one hand remaining on the wheel with a tight grip.

There had been so many fucking tears during the two hours he spent with his parents, and not just from them. Dylan had lost his shit more than a few times in that restaurant, and let himself really fall apart once he left.

His mother wanted Hailey to go to the police for a restraining order against Alex, then get a real divorce. She said it wasn't fair having everyone looking for someone who didn't want to be found, uncertain if she was alive or dead. Her parents had arrived on the third day, and his mother said they at least deserved to know.

It was fair. Restraining orders did little besides piss the other person off more, but Dylan could handle Alex. He sat behind a desk, for Christ's sake. He was willing and ready to disappear with Hailey, but her getting a straight up divorce would mean that once she was ready, they could start a real life together.

Dylan still wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to be with him. They'd danced around the topic a few times in the last week, and he'd admitted to loving her, but she hadn't fully done the same. Still, he could feel it in the way her eyes followed him, and the way her smile was getting brighter. In his heart, he knew she loved him, just as he knew she was at least falling in love with him back when she worked at the diner, and just as he knew, she fought that love when engaged to Alex.

Where his mother wanted Hailey to go to the police, his father wanted him to do the same. He wanted Miranda behind bars, and Dylan wasn't sure he was ready for that sort of step. There was no statute of limitations for first degree sexual assault of a child, or repeated sexual assault of the same child in Wisconsin. They could prosecute even second-degree assault until he reached the age of forty-five, which gave him plenty of time.

Dylan wasn't certain if he'd ever be ready to face that woman again, but he agreed to consider it.

He knew his parents would go through every page of that book once they arrived home. They'd know every single thing she did to him, and how all those acts put together fucked him up to the extent that for years he was convinced it was beyond repair.

As it turned out, Dylan could be repaired. He'd done some of the work before Hailey, but as soon as she walked back into his life, he wanted to be a whole person for her.

Dylan wiped away any fresh tears he had and exited the truck, slamming the door behind him as he took in a slow breath and took in the scenery of his property.

All he had was a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere, but it was his. Away from the lights and noise of the city. Away from the drama of the outside world. That's why he'd chosen the place. Just big enough for him to live his days alone, and with enough property where he could walk in peace, no matter the time of day. He'd given up on the fantasy of living his life with that woman by his side seven years ago. Now that she was inside waiting for his return, it all seemed too small.

Dylan wanted more for her, and more for himself.

He wanted her freedom, and his own.

When he walked into his small home, there Hailey was, fast asleep on the couch, a book tucked beneath her delicate hand.

Dylan hadn't given himself much of an opportunity to really take her in since seeing her at the bar that night. It was all too surreal for him to truly allow himself to believe that he had her after all these years. But there she was, a sleeping beauty he so wished to kiss back to life. Dylan had only kissed her twice, but from the first sight of her, he'd fallen in love.

Love at first sight seemed such a ludicrous thought. How could you love someone before knowing all their strengths and flaws? How could you truly give your heart to someone before speaking to them? But he knew right then and there, with that first smile, that she would be the key to freedom and happiness.

Dylan had denied it for a while; his mind tricking him into believing he was a lost cause. That his scars were too deep to mend. He told himself she deserved someone better than his broken self; someone whole. And she still deserved better, but he would no longer deny her of what she wanted. If she wanted him, he'd give himself to her completely. Hell, he already had. Women may have had his body since they'd first met, but none had his heart or his mind.

Both those things he'd given to her that first night, long before they ever kissed. When she walked into his life, Hailey became his salvation. Now Dylan hoped to be hers.