The judge continued speaking, but the details of his words were lost to me. Eight years. They were taking him away from me for eight years.

Worse, he had to survive in prison for eight fucking years.

By the time I realized I was crying, my cheeks were already wet with tears. Gram still held my hand, her grip sure and steady. Logan had thrown an arm around my shoulder, hugging me tight.

Oh god. He was going to prison.

A man in uniform approached Asher. He held his hands in front of him while the man handcuffed him.

And then he was being led away.

“Wait, they’re taking him now?” Logan asked. “We don’t even get to see him first?”

“No,” I said, my voice flat. I’d asked the attorney what would happen, so I already knew. They’d transport him to the prison today. “They’re taking him now.”

He seemed to move in slow motion. Hands in front, bound by metal. Head down. Every step he took opened the wound in my heart a little more, threatening to rip it in two. Vaguely, I wondered if I’d bleed to death.

Without looking back, Asher followed the man in uniform through a door. And just like that, he was gone.

18

Dear Asher

Dear Asher,

I’m still not sure how to begin this letter. I think I’ve started it a dozen times. You should see the pile of crumpled paper in the garbage can next to my desk. It’s ridiculous. But nothing seems right. What am I supposed to do, ask you how you’ve been?

I’ll just get straight to the point.

Fuck you, Asher.

I’m sorry to pick a fight with you right now, of all times. But you are not breaking up with me.

I understand why you said the things you did. I realize you’re trying to do what you think is best for me, and I appreciate that. I really do.

But no, I will not take off your ring. No, I will not find someone else. No, I will not move on. No, I will not let you go.

That’s not how this works.

You are what’s best for me. I love you, and I’ve loved you for most of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it isn’t going to.

This is not the end of our life together. This is a great big, soul-sucking, heart-wrenching tragedy. But it will only ruin us if we let it. And I refuse to let that happen.

Your only job right now is to survive. Don’t let them break you. Do what you have to do to get through each day. I’m counting on you to make it through to the end.

I’ll be out here, doing the same thing.

And let me be perfectly clear about this, Asher Bailey. I’m not going anywhere. Eight years is an interruption, not a lifetime. We can survive this. I realize nothing will ever be the same. You’ll be different, and so will I.

But when you walk out those prison doors, you’ll come home to me. I’ll be waiting for you, with your ring still on my finger.

Love always,

Grace

Bonus Epilogue

Grace

Note: This bonus epilogue also appears at the end of Gaining Miles: The Miles Family Book Five. It takes place six years after this book, Protecting You, and two years after the end of the Miles Family series.

I stood outside the house, a set of keys dangling from my fingers. My keys. A jolt of excitement sent a little shiver down my spine. I’d done it. I’d planned and saved for years for this. And today, after signing paperwork until my hand felt like it was going to fall off, the house was mine.

A tangle of blackberry bushes covered the front window—most of the windows, actually. The front yard was knee-high grass and weeds, the fence was rotting, and that was just the outside. The interior was going to be a total gut job. At least the structure was sound. It needed a lot of drywall repair, but the walls were sturdy, and the roof was good.

The rest? It was pretty much a disaster. It needed a new kitchen, new bathrooms, new flooring, new paint, new windows. My realtor had tried to talk me out of buying it. As had my mom.

But this was more than just a house. It was a dream. A dream I was fighting to keep alive.

Asher and I had walked by this house on the way home from school every day for years. Most kids crossed to the other side of the street, calling it haunted or creepy. Not me and Asher. We’d both loved the old abandoned house on Evergreen Street. Years ago, we’d made a pact that we’d buy this house, together. It was where we were going to live our life. Start our family.

The plan had been to buy it after we were married. But those plans had been interrupted. Asher wasn’t here. He was in prison.

Another shiver ran down my spine, but this one wasn’t excitement. It was cold fear. It ran through my veins whenever I thought about Asher and what he was going through.

I took a deep breath. Smelled the fresh air and shook off my dark thoughts. There wasn’t anything I could do about Asher right now. He wouldn’t be gone forever. And when he got out, he’d come back to a dream that I’d turned into reality. Our dream. This house.

A strange way to cope with your fiancé being in prison? Probably. But I wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing for eight years while I waited for him to come home.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Shannon, my father’s ex-wife. My mother had unknowingly been the other woman in an affair, having two children with Lawrence Miles—me and my much younger brother, Elijah. Four years ago, I’d gone looking for my father—he’d gone deadbeat dad on my little brother—and discovered he was not only married, but had four other children.

It had been a shock to everyone, but my new family had embraced me and Elijah—and my mom. Mom had become good friends with Shannon. We’d been at Shannon’s wedding two years ago when she’d married Ben Gaines. And when my mom had married Jack Cordero last year, Shannon had been her matron of honor.

I swiped to answer her call. “Hey, Shannon. Aren’t you still in Barbados?”

“We are,” Shannon said. “But I wanted to call and see if the house closed today.”

“It sure did.” I walked up to the front door. “I’m here now. I just got the keys.”

“Congratulations. Benjamin says congratulations, too.”

“Thanks. It’s so sweet of you to call.”

“Of course,” she said. “Send me some pictures if you get the chance. We’re here another week, but when we get back, I want to come see it in person.”

“Definitely,” I said. “Are you guys having fun?”

“This place is paradise,” she said, her voice a little dreamy. “We’re having a great time.”

“I love that. You guys go get a yummy tropical drink or something. Enjoy yourselves. You certainly deserve it.”

“Thanks, Grace,” she said. “We’ll see you next week.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call and slipped my phone in my back pocket. It was the moment of truth.

The key stuck in the lock. I had to jiggle it to get the doorknob to turn. That was fine, I’d change the locks anyway. That was the first thing Jack had said—make sure you change the locks, Grace. I liked my new stepdad. Navigating the new relationship had been a little tricky for me, but he sure did love my mom.