Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
And the only thing I could see behind my eyes were two faces.
Two sweet fucking smiles.
My Little Warrior and my Angel Face.
And I remembered the promise I had made that I would always make it back to them, just as Theo was on his cell, words raking in low desperation, “Dr. Reynolds…fuck…Kane was shot, and we’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. Tell me what the hell to do.”
FORTY-EIGHT
EMERY
“How are they so cute together?” Raven gushed it from where she sat on the top step of the wooden porch that overlooked Kane’s backyard. She, Charleigh, and I were watching Maci and Nolan run across the rambling expanse of grass that flowed into the woods that fenced in his property in the distance.
The area open.
Gorgeous and whispering of peace.
Though I felt little of it right then.
Peace.
I couldn’t shake the nerves that had rattled through me since the moment Kane had left.
Unable to sleep, I’d tossed in his big bed, hugging the covers as if it might provide the type of comfort he normally held me in each night.
Foreboding had seeped down into my being. A sense of uncertainty. Like I was at the edge of something profound but had no access to what it really meant, only knowing that it threatened the one who’d captured my heart.
What made it even worse was he wouldn’t give me those answers, his own dread so stark whenever he mentioned it. Like if he admitted it, I’d disappear.
Which only made me worry about how bad it could really be if he reacted like that.
And the spiral had gone on that way, compounding with each scenario that I’d conjured in my mind.
Just as Kane had promised, the rest of his family stood guard, River, Otto, and Cash taking shifts around the clock.
They had refused to come in the house.
Vigilant in their watch.
Charleigh, Nolan, and Raven had shown up at nine this morning with easy smiles on their faces as they’d come through the door carrying a bunch of reusable grocery bags. Raven had lifted them high with a shimmy of her shoulders as she’d proclaimed, “We come bearing gifts. Prepare for us to make your day.”
She’d strode right into the kitchen and prepared a delicious brunch.
Mimosas included.
Now, we sipped them as we watched the children playing out back.
A peal of Maci’s laughter breezed through the warm, summer air.
“She loves it here,” I murmured.
Charleigh looked up at me from where she lounged on a lower step. “She’s acclimating well?”
My nod was soft. “Yeah.” I paused, then whispered, “Kane told her who he was to her yesterday. She knows she’s going to be living here permanently. Of course, I think she’s still confused about her mom, but I feel like that’s natural.”
Understanding washed over her pretty features. There was something so intuitively soft and genuine about Charleigh.
“Absolutely.” She issued it quietly. “She’s so young, and I’m sure she’s going to have a lot of questions as she grows older.” She reached out and gently squeezed my knee. “And it’s so good she has you to share all those memories of her mom with her. She’s going to need that.”
Raven peered over at me with her midnight eyes sparking. “And what about you, Em?”
I could tell what she was thinking by the gleam in her eye.
“What about me?” I deflected.
“Oh, come on, do you think we can’t tell that you’ve been absolutely loved up by that man? Kane Asher is written all over you. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Redness splashed my cheeks.
Raven giggled like mad. “In bold streaks and bright colors. Look at those cheeks.” She fanned herself. “That man must have really done you up right.”
I bit down on my bottom lip, but I found myself admitting it on a hushed whisper, “So right.”
Raven squealed and batted at Charleigh’s shoulder with the hand that wasn’t holding her mimosa. She still sloshed a little over the side. “I told you!”
A sweet smile played over Charleigh’s face. “Um, I don’t think that was your psychic abilities kicking into action. It was clear and blatant last weekend at my house. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a kickball game quite like that. The chemistry coming off you two? Scorching. I thought we were going to have to take the kids inside and give you and Kane some privacy.”
More redness flashed, mostly due to the memories of what had happened after we’d gotten home that night.
When that chemistry had finally exploded.
“It wasn’t that obvious,” I defended, though there was a guilty laugh to the words.
Raven cackled. “Oh, girl, they had to call the fire department to put out the fire you two left. Their lawn is completely ruined,” she teased.
I shook my head at her, embarrassment and joy fighting for dominance. I wasn’t sure how these two had managed to take this place in my life.