He laced his fingers with her hand, rubbing his thumb across the soft skin of her palm. At least now he didn't feel completely and utterly rejected. She had her reasons, even if he didn't agree with them at all.

Cooper leaned into her hand, savoring every second of her touch. "Don't tell me what I deserve, Nancy. I deserved t'die on the gallows. I deserved a chance to grow old. I deserved not to be a monster. None of that ever happened. So if you're not what I deserve, then at least you're what I choose."