That was so very Frank and Kara, never wanting to hurt me. And I’d been too scared to ask them about Ford, didn’t want to hear that he was gone and never coming back. I threw my arms back around him, pressing my face into his muscled chest. His body felt different, the shape of it, the curves and edges, but the warmth felt just the same. “I’m sorry I was so angry with you. You’re not the only one who’s been focused on themselves.”

I’d been so hurt by Ford leaving, by not having him to lean on when he was the one person I wanted, that I didn’t stop to consider just how this whole thing might have warped his mind. Lies had taken root there, in his head and in his heart. And they had been screaming at him for over a decade. “It wasn’t your fault, Cupcake.” A tremor ran through him at my words. “Please hear me. It wasn’t your fault.”

Ford pulled me tighter to him, his heartbeat pulsing against my cheek. “I know. The rational part of me does, anyway. But I can’t tell you how much it means to hear you say it. I never thought I’d hear those words from you.”

I pressed my cheek harder against his pec. “Well, you’re hearing them.” Guilt took root in my belly and oozed outward. Ford had been through so much, and I hadn’t once paused to consider all the ways he could be hurting beyond losing Vi. We’d both been too focused on our individual pain, drowning in it, unable to reach out a helping hand to anyone because we were struggling to simply keep our heads above water. But that season had passed, and we were stronger now. We’d healed. But in a way where some of the bones hadn’t set right. We’d needed to rebreak them to ensure we walked without a limp, without pain. And now we were both broken wide-open.

“I’m so sorry my parents did that to you. I didn’t know.” The guilt flowed around muscle and sinew, making a home in my chest.

Ford rubbed a hand up and down my back. “I know you didn’t, Trouble.”

Tears threatened, burning the backs of my eyes. “I missed that.”

“Missed what?”

My mouth curved into the barest smile. “You calling me ‘Trouble.’”

Ford chuckled, the action sending vibrations through my body. “Never thought I’d say it, but I missed you calling me ‘Cupcake.’”

My smile grew as I forced myself to release my hold on Ford and step out of his embrace. The loss of him was physically painful. His arms, his warmth, they felt too good. “I’ll make sure to use it often and say it loud, especially in front of customers.”