Page 39 of The Last Promise You Made

“Yep. If you can tell me what happened—”

“No.” Ryder’s deep voice boomed from behind me, and I spun around to see anger flash in his bright-blue eyes. “She’s been through enough today. You don’t get to demand that of her. And especially not without me here.”

I glared. “You wouldn’t even be with her if—”

“Stop,” Ryder cut me off, looking from me to Addy and back. I turned to see she’d wrapped her arms around her middle, distress obvious. I didn’t know if it was at what I’d asked or at our raised voices. He brushed past me, the touch scorching me as much as the fire in his eyes had. He looked down at Addy and said, “When you’re ready to tell us what happened, you can. But until then, no one is going to force you to talk. Okay?”

Her gaze flew back and forth between us.

“I catch…bad men?” she asked hesitantly.

“You can help us catch them,” I said, even as Ryder grunted his disapproval.

“Right now, you don’t need to worry about any of that,” he said before I could ask or say anything else. “Right now, my parents are here, and they’re really excited to meet you.”

“Mi abuelo y abuela?”

She sounded so downright hopeful at the idea of having grandparents that it took all my thoughts of the Lovatos and how she might be the key and wiped it away. Ryder was right. I shouldn’t have pressed her so soon. I was pissed off at myself and at him.

“Yep,” his voice sounded rough, full of emotion, but there was also hesitation in it, as if he wasn’t sure himself if they were her grandparents. I couldn’t blame him for the doubts, but the thought of Addy meeting everyone, getting her hopes up, and then being tossed aside if a DNA test proved otherwise sliced through me.

Once again, I wondered if bringing her here had been a mistake. I could have kept her somewhere safe, gotten what we needed, and had her DNA tested all before dropping her into the Hatleys’ hands. Had the pull I felt toward Ryder influenced my decision? Had I let it cloud my judgment already? Regardless, it was too late to go back. Too late to do anything but move forward.

Ryder reached out his hand for Addy’s, and this time, she ever so slowly put her tiny one in his. His jaw worked, and he closed his eyes briefly. When they opened again, our gazes locked. I knew what it felt like to have this child trust you enough to put her hand in yours. She’d done it several times with me now, and the idea that maybe I’d burned that tiny bridge by pushing her made me want to throw up the grilled cheese we’d eaten earlier.

I followed them out of the room and down the glass-walled hall to the kitchen. Eva and Brandon were at work, chopping vegetables with smooth precision. They both stopped what they were doing as we entered, huge smiles taking over their faces. Ryder had his father’s smile, right down to the half-dimple in his cheek, but his vivid blue eyes were his mother’s. Normally, her eyes were sparkling with a mischief she shared with her youngest daughter, but right now, they were practically glowing with adoration for a child she’d never met.

It tugged at my heart in more unexpected ways.

Both adults squatted down so they were face-to-face with Addy. She took a half-step closer to Ryder, but then, as if realizing he was a stranger also, froze.

“Hello, sweet girl. It’s such a pleasure to meet you,” Eva said softly. “I was as tickled as a June bug on a strawberry plant to find out I had another granddaughter. Now, you may not feel like calling me Grandma or even Nana like my other grandbaby does, so you can call me Eva if that makes you more comfortable.”

“Eva, breathe,” Brandon said, his lips twitching as he turned his pale eyes to the girl. “I’m Brandon. Or Papa.”

He stuck a large, calloused hand out. Ryder’s hand would look just like it in a few decades. Worn from hard work. Leathery from the sun. I’d had Ryder’s hands on me briefly, and I knew they were already strong and firm and sure, and there was nothing soft or gentle about them. They’d demanded things my body had craved to give. I swallowed hard, pushing aside those thoughts and forcing myself to focus on Addy.

The little girl didn’t say anything, just stared with a nonemotional look.

“Is Addy your full name, or is it short for something?” Eva asked.

“Adelaide.” The whispered name from Addy’s lips shocked me. I hadn’t even considered that she had another name than the one Anna had given in the letter.

“That’s a lovely name,” Eva continued to prattle. She gestured toward the cutting board. “Your granddad and I were making dinner. I figured you might like some comfort food tonight. I have a very special mac and cheese that my children always ask for when they’re feeling not quite themselves. And a winter vegetable medley that I promise will make you rethink hating veggies like all you young kids swear you do. Plus, I’ve got olallieberry pie for dessert. I brought two because Gia here…she almost ate a whole one herself the last time she had dinner with us.”

Addy’s lips twitched into an almost smile.

“My other granddaughter, Mila, loves to cook with me. Now, don’t feel like you have to, as you’re the guest of honor today, but would you like to help out a bit?”

“Mama, you sound just like Mila. Dad’s right, you need to take a breath,” Ryder said. His face turned up in a wry grin that did all sorts of things to the endorphins I was already fighting. Waves of them were crashing over me and threatening to pull me under.

Addy glanced around at all the smiling faces, and her little shoulders relaxed just a hair. It brought tears to my eyes—tears I wasn’t fond of shedding—and when I looked back up at Ryder, I could tell he’d noticed the way his daughter had relaxed as well, because his throat bobbed, and his jaw clenched again.

“Cook?” Addy asked quietly.

Eva’s face broke into an even larger smile—one so huge I couldn’t imagine anyone seeing it and not feeling completely comforted by it.

“Ryder, go get a step stool,” Eva instructed.

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