Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Diego leaned one hip against the sink, half turned to face her. Again, that dim light seemed to wash over him, putting shine in his hair and casting his face in a shadow. His eyes held a peculiar glow to them, almost as if he were a wolf or a large cat of some kind. Hunter’s eyes. Eyes that could see in the dark. Eyes that could look inside you and expose your soul.
“My father was a very stern man. He and my mother were extremely religious, and just about everything was a sin. Telling my sisters stories of fairies and fantasy was a sin. Missing a deer with a single bullet was a sin. Pretty much everything was.” He went silent.
Leila’s heart sank. She had hoped for a good memory of his father. He had to get his code somewhere. It hadn’t been from his mother.
“On the other hand, there was a lot more laughter in the house with my father around. He cushioned my mother all the time, although he was insistent on having children. He believed it was her fault that she had so many girls when they needed sons. Rubin tried to tell him he was responsible, but my father didn’t take kindly to a very young child telling him anything about the reproductive system. He could never quite accept the fact that Rubin was brilliant. My mother, as sick as she was, recognized it.”
Leila wondered why neither of his parents saw the genius in Diego. It was there for anyone with half a brain to see.
“My father may have been exacting, but he taught us how to survive. To fish, hunt, track, to live off the land. If we hadn’t had him, Rubin and I wouldn’t have made it.”
She saw through the little he told her about his life. He’d lived under harsh conditions and simply accepted it. His childhood was where he’d learned that calm acceptance.
“Tell me something no one knows. Not even your brother.”
He dried off the plates and returned them to the cupboard. “I’ve done a lot of things, sweetheart. Most of them aren’t things to discuss with someone you’re courting.” He sent her another enigmatic smile. “Perhaps a year or two after we give Grace a brother or sister.”
Leila allowed her gaze to drift over him. She couldn’t help feeling a little possessive. And she liked the idea that he wanted more children. He seemed to accept Grace as much as he accepted her.
“Have you been around a lot of children?”
“A couple of the GhostWalkers in my unit have families. Wyatt and Pepper Fontenot have five little girls.” His mischievous grin came back, this time lighting his eyes. “They have triplets and twins. Those little girls, the triplets, when they first came, were really intelligent, but just tiny toddlers. They’re very venomous, and when they were teething, it was quite a circus. We had a few nicknames for them, ‘the Little Vipers’ being the most prevalent. That didn’t go over well with Pepper.” He laughed at the memory.
Leila loved that he’d shed that hard edge he usually wore. She didn’t want him to have it around her.
“Then there’s Trap and Cayenne Dawkins. They have twins, a boy and a girl. Trap is on the spectrum and so off-the-charts smart it’s scary. Cayenne is as lethal as hell but is totally devoted to Trap. I have no idea how they work, but they do. You rarely see one without the other. Trap has even managed to be a good father. I suspect Wyatt works with him. The two of them have always been tight.”
“Do they live close to you?”
He nodded. “Wyatt’s grandmother has lived out there in the swamp for years. She welcomed every single one of us. Until I met her, the only other woman who had an impact on me was Lotty, Luther’s wife. She was very much like Nonny, a woman who was a full partner with her man and very devoted to her family.”
“I’m glad he had that,” she murmured. She knew he heard the note of exhaustion in her voice because he immediately lifted her, cradling her close to take her to the bathroom.
“Let’s get you in bed and we can continue the conversation. It’s been a long day, and I think we both could use some sleep.”
For some reason she liked that he admitted he was tired as well. She didn’t feel quite so much of a burden. He had a spare toothbrush, which was especially nice, and once she was under the covers, she felt quite comfortable. He hadn’t put her in the loft, instead choosing the room she knew he most likely used. Rather than leaving her alone, he tossed a sleeping bag on the floor and stretched out after extinguishing all the lights.
Out of the darkness, Diego’s low, velvety voice brushed over her. “You really want to know something about me no one else knows?”