Page 28 of Saving Savannah (Haven, Texas 3)

“I didn’t mean to make you both worry so much. The truth is, I don’t know what to do either. I don’t like being like this. I want to be normal.”

“Hey, just because you’re having problems doesn’t mean you’re not normal. Or maybe it does, but in that case, none of us is.”

She gave him a tentative smile. “I guess.”

“And Logan, well, we both know he’s never been normal.”

“I heard that,” Logan yelled out.

Her smile grew.

Max cupped her cheeks. “There’s that smile I’ve missed. I’m going to make everything better, Savannah. You just concentrate on doing what the therapist wants and let us take care of everything else.”

She thought of the bills she’d found, wanting to bring them up. But for the first time since she’d been kidnapped, they were actually talking to each other, and she didn’t want to ruin that.

Still, she’d bring them up. Soon.

Chapter Five

She was going to do it. Anger filled her. She was sick of tiptoeing around this issue. Enough was enough. He was not going to control her life anymore.

She stepped forward. Slow breath in. Then out. She could hear the therapist’s voice in her head. Molly was lovely. Sweet and calming and smart. But things were moving too slowly.

She’d had three sessions with her via Skype. Surprisingly, Molly was able to fit her in right away. Her sessions were in the early evening so Savannah wasn’t certain if she’d actually had availability for a new client or she’d made room by extending her office hours. She’d asked Logan if he’d bullied Molly into taking her, but he’d just grunted in reply. She pretty much took that as a yes. But Molly didn’t act like she resented Savannah, and Savannah couldn’t imagine talking to anyone else about her issues.

If only things were moving quicker. Maybe she’d been overly optimistic but she’d thought that by now she’d be able to open the front door without having a panic attack. But Molly had barely touched on her issues about going outside. They’d mainly spoken about what had happened and how it made her feel.

Ick. She hated talking about how she felt as Stanton had touched her, terrorized her, and hurt her. She was with Logan on this. Talking about feelings sucked.

She managed another step forward. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she could feel the sweat gathering on her forehead. Her body shook.

Come on, Savi, you can do this.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a man stood there. The bright sunshine highlighted his outline, but his face was in shadow.

It was him.

Savannah let out a startled scream and turned, ready to run. He was here. Oh God, he was here!

“Savannah! Savi, it’s me!”

The voice barely penetrated her panic, and when she felt him touch her arm, she turned, slamming her palm into his chest, pushing at him, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs.

  “No! No!”

“Savi, it’s me! It’s Max! Savannah!”

Abruptly, he let her go, and she fell backwards, landing on her ass with a thump of pain. She scooted back.

“Don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me!”

“I’d never hurt you, love. Not for anything.”

Max stared down at his wife, helplessness and fear coursing through him. Even though he knew she wasn’t really seeing him, he felt ill at the idea of her being afraid of him.

He crouched and started talking in a low, crooning voice. “Savannah, love, it’s me, Max. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe. You’re at home on the ranch. I just came inside to check on you. I’ve been outside, seeing to the horses. I thought that later on, we might snuggle up on the couch and watch one of those romantic comedies that make Logan want to throw up. What do you think? Think we can find a really sappy one that makes him look like he’s constipated?”

He was rambling, trying to think of something to say that might snap her out of her fear.