All Chapters of SLOW BURN : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“I'm so sorry, Taylor,” Kane said with concern, seeing my daughter retching to the side of the pen where we stood. “It’s okay,” Taylor murmured, still with her hands on her knees and her eyes fixed on the grass. “You didn't know I'd end up throwing up.” “What’s happening?” George asked, approaching us, “Why is Taylor throwing up?” “Kane thought it would be safer for me to sit on his shoulders instead of the fence to watch Mom working with the goats,” Taylor explained, straightening up with pale face and unsteady voice. “But it was weird being so high up and with Kane moving from one side to the other…it didn't feel good.” “I'm so sorry, honey,” The tall man said again, crouching down beside her. “I figured that after living here, you'd be used to riding horses and stuff.” “This isn't that kind of place,” I explained, climbing over the fence so I could look at his face once he straightened up. “People aren't allowed to use animals in that way, and Taylor never thought about riding

“Are you sure you want to do this?”“I've never been as sure of anything as I am right now, babe,” I answered, not taking my eyes off the work the boy in front of us was doing.“Taylor is going to love it,” Vivienne sighed, letting her head fall onto my shoulder. “Though I don't think she'll be too surprised when she sees your present.”“But then she'll know I'm dead serious about her mother.”“Baby, you had another one of your surprised conversations with the girl. You told her you loved me, I think she knows how serious you feel towards me. And Jacob, enough with the presents. Half the things you've bought her are unnecessary.”“Hey, Peter's had her too long with him. Everything makes me think of her.”I couldn't stop my reply from coming out in the form of a complaint, but it was the truth.Peter had taken Taylor to Portland to visit both her maternal and paternal grandparents, and I never imagined how much I would miss the little girl.I’d grown used to having both Taylor and Vivi

“Hmm, I'm not understanding anything.”“This is your punishment.”Jacob looked intensely at the expanses of lights I was offering to him and then looked back at me blankly.“You did see the employees decorated the house, right? There's even a fucking Santa on the ceiling peeking out of a fake chimney next to the real chimney, Vivienne. There are so many lights, the damn house can be seen from space.”“Yes, but only in the front.”“What?”“They only decorated the front,” I said once more.“Did you hear what I just said?” An exasperated Jacob let out, “Vivienne...”“You kept information about this damned place from me, Jacob Simon,” I interrupted, my tone harsher than normal. “There's a fucking lawsuit against The Eden. The lives of dozens of cows are at stake in this lawsuit, and you kept it a secret.”He looked at me frustrated.“I hate it when you say my full name,” He said, messing his hair. “It's not that important, Vivienne. We’re gonna win. Those animals will have better lives on

“How come you haven't seen her yet?”“I'm still in the waiting room,” I replied to my mother through the phone.“So, Taylor's still under observation?” Mom insisted, “Silvia told me something else.”“Taylor is already in her room, Mom. But I… You know.”The heavy silence that followed was broken by my mother's long sigh.“My love, do you need me there? I know we promised you we'd leave first thing in the morning, but I think you're in need of a little knock on your head to straighten your mind. Are you sure the cold didn't cause any damage up there?”I couldn't help but laugh at that.“I'm fine, mom. And I don't want you traveling this late.” I looked up the hallway that would take me to Taylor's room if I only decided to act once and for all, but the fear gripping my body forced me to sit still where was. “I don’t want to bother.”“Jacob Simon Coleman. You saved that little girl from a certain death. You risked your life for the daughter of the woman you adore, and you think you're g

“Look at me, Jake! Look how high I can jump!”“That was awesome, Tay-Tay,” I said from the edge of the pool, relaxing again as Taylor surfaced with a big smile on her face.No matter how much time passed or how well she swam, I would always relive that moment years ago every time Taylor dove into the water, though the feeling was gone once I surfaced.True to my promise, I had built an indoor swimming pool so we could use it year-round. And although this one wasn’t Olympic and we had to walk a bit to get to it since Vivienne had refused to build anything that would damage the beautiful landscape we had from our patio, Taylor loved coming here daily―always accompanied―and today I had decided to take the day off to be with my family.The last two years had been incredible. Not perfect—perfection didn’t exist—but very rewarding.I had married the love of my life the following spring, my wife had been the most beautiful bride in the world, and Taylor had been the most beautiful flower gir