Page 21 of The Last Promise You Made

And that seemed to take the bluster out of all of us.

A little girl had lost her mother. Maybe witnessed her being killed. I thought about Mila’s traumatized tears after she’d seen me accidentally kill the crow yesterday. What Addy may have seen…it made acid burn through my stomach faster than lye through grease. Who might come after her—and Gia as she stood watching over a child who might be mine…I couldn’t even think it all the way through.

“The cabins aren’t fit for anyone right now. Construction is going on all around them with the additions we’re putting up,” I grunted out. “You’ll stay with me.”

Gia’s eyes widened, and her breath hitched. And damn, did I want her breath to hitch for all the wrong reasons, which meant inviting her into my home, into the place I’d never taken any woman, was as wrong as it was right.

“People will talk, Ryder,” Maddox said. “You know what they’ll say.”

Gia’s gaze met mine. I wasn’t sure if it was resignation or a dare that burned in them.

“Let ’em talk,” I said quietly.

I’d walked into the sheriff’s office with dread and premonition following me, but all I felt right now was resolve. If someone came after Addy, and Gia because of it, then I’d be there with my damn gun, defending them. I had no doubt this confident, smart, lean-muscled undercover agent had been trained to protect herself and might be able to guard Addy with more skill than me, but I’d be another body between them and her. I’d be the one thing the little girl could depend on.

“What about Dad and Mama? Our family?” Maddox asked.

“We’ll tell them the truth,” I said, meeting his gaze with a sure one.

“I don’t think it’s wise to tell more people who she really is,” Gia said, arms across her chest.

“I’m not a liar. I don’t lie to the people I care about. Let the rest of the town think what they want, but I won’t be anything but honest with the people who matter to me.”

Maddox looked over at Gia. “If you and a little girl all but move in with Ryder without telling our family the truth, they’re going to roll out the welcome mat and start planning a wedding.”

Gia grimaced, and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. “I’m not moving in. We’ll just say we needed a place to stay, and Ryder offered.”

“You don’t get a say in what I tell my family,” I growled.

“And you don’t get to put her and an entire operation at risk just to relieve your conscience.”

Maddox huffed out a mix of laughter and exasperation before saying, “I’m not sure this is a good idea. While it would be entertaining to watch the two of you go at it, that little girl needs peace around her, not a constant battle.”

It shut us both up once again.

After a long moment, I uttered words I wasn’t sure I felt but was convinced I had to try. “He’s right. Truce?” I offered her my hand.

She stared at it for a long time and then took it. Heat swept over my palm, up my wrist, and along my arm. We both pulled away quickly, and Gia rubbed her hand along her thigh, proving that what I’d felt every time she was in the same vicinity as me plagued her as well. But I was a grown-ass man. I could ignore the unwanted attraction. Gia Kent would be there for a matter of days, just long enough to ascertain if the Lovatos were coming for Addy or not.

Then she’d be gone, and I’d try to figure out what pieces of my life were left and how to pull them all together.

Chapter Seven

Gia

AMEN

Performed by Alana Springsteen

Despite having graduated summa cum laude from college and being commended multiple times for keeping my wits about me on the job, I felt like an idiot as Addy and I followed Ryder to his home. Staying with him was a bad idea. An epically bad idea.

The way my body had sparked and burned at our simple handshake was proof.

I glanced at Addy in her booster seat in the back. She was staring out the window at idyllic views of cows and horses roaming over white-fenced fields. What would it be like for her to grow up here? Learning to ride horses, playing in the lake on hot, humid summer days, surrounded by a family who loved each other enough to stay rather than leave.

My family loved each other and would be there in a flash if one of us needed something, but my brother and I had followed in our father’s footsteps by putting our country before our relationships. As adults, we rarely saw each other, and we definitely didn’t know how to stay.

Except, my parents had now lived in Virginia for longer than they’d lived anywhere in their marriage. After moving three times during my last three years of high school, Mom had finally reached a breaking point, and Dad swore he’d retire before he’d move again. Mom had finally been able to watch the gardens she put her heart into mature and bloom just like she’d designed. She’d found friends and kept them, whereas I had done the opposite.

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