Page 43 of The Last Promise You Made

I swallowed over the lump in my throat to choke out, “Yes?”

“I stay?”

“Yes, sweetheart, you’re staying. You’re staying, and you’re safe.”

She nodded again and slid down farther so that the bedding completely covered her head. She was so small, so slight, it almost looked like she wasn’t in the bed at all.

My hand shook as I shut off the light and stepped out of the room, closing the door.

Gia’s eyes met mine, and I saw tears in hers as well. She pushed her long fingers against her eyelids and then opened them again before saying, “Well, fuck.”

I didn’t know what else could be said beyond that. If I said anything, I’d lose it. I’d be bawling like Mila when she’d cried over an accidentally shot crow. Gia’s warm-eyed gaze seemed to read every single emotion as I experienced it, and I wanted to hate it but couldn’t. Instead, I found myself tempted to see if I could lose an entire day’s worth of emotions in fierce lips, stroking tongues, and the pounding of skin on skin.

But I wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Not only because that wouldn’t be fair to either of us but because I wasn’t sure I could lose myself in her warm embrace and not want to linger there. I’d want something no woman had been able to give me—a person who stuck by me. I certainly wouldn’t get it from Gia. She was just like Ravyn in that she’d leave Willow Creek as soon as she got what she needed from us.

So, instead of tempting fate with desires I wouldn’t be able to hold back, I turned away and headed up the two steps that led to my room.

? ? ?

My night had been restless. I’d tossed and turned, reliving my life with Ravyn. Reliving the destruction her absence had left in its wake. Getting angry all over again at her stealing from me—this time something so much more important than fucking money. Tortured thoughts ran through my head about how Addy had lived. What she’d witnessed. And behind it all, I was tormented with a burning awareness of a woman lying just down the hall. A woman whose taste I couldn’t seem to forget when I’d done just that with the woman I’d thought I’d marry. I’d purposefully scrubbed everything about Ravyn from my daily existence.

The sun hadn’t risen, but the sky had started to lighten when I finally gave up on sleep and hit the shower. When I came out of my room, Gia and Addy were in the kitchen, dressed for the day, with Gia at the stove. It was unexpected and disconcerting. Not because it felt wrong to see them there but because it felt right in a way it shouldn’t. It launched another dart into my heart I wasn’t sure I could remove.

My family had always accused me of being snarly before my first cup of coffee kicked in, but I did my best to keep the growl from my voice as I greeted the two of them. Addy had her Switch in front of her, but her gaze kept darting from it to Gia and then to me.

Our morning went much as the day before had gone—quiet questions and single-word answers exchanged over scrambled eggs and toast. After breakfast was cleared, I said, “Okay, let’s hit the mall.”

Addy’s eyes grew wide, and she slid down from her seat, running back down the hall. Gia and I shared a look, but the little girl came back with her backpack slung over her shoulder. It about killed me to think that she wasn’t comfortable enough to leave it here. That she thought she had to have her things with her at all times.

But instead of commenting on it, I headed into the garage with them following me. Gia suggested taking the Escalade because she already had the booster seat in it. Plus, no one would know her vehicle like they’d know mine if they spotted us in the mall parking lot. Willow Creek didn’t have its own mall. We had to drive fifteen minutes to the next town over, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be people there who knew me. I wasn’t ready for the questions about Addy. Wasn’t ready for the truth or the lies I’d have to tell. So, I caved and got in the SUV with Gia at the wheel.

Sadie was right. I was a chicken.

We’d barely gotten to the end of the driveway before my phone started blowing up. My siblings demanded to know how the night had gone and what my plans were for the day.

I should have been working on the two unfinished cabins, but I hadn’t even thought about the construction since I’d gone to bed last night. My mind was with the little girl in the back seat, the seven years I’d lost with her, and the sexy undercover agent who’d seemed all too at home in my house.

The snarl I’d woken up with hadn’t disappeared with coffee and breakfast. I was doing my best to keep it under lock and key for Addy’s sake, but I didn’t need to hide it from my siblings.

ME: I don’t want to talk. Stop yammering at me.

WOODY: Did you not have coffee yet?

ME: I have things to do. Leave me alone.

SASSYPANTS: Please do not scare that sweet little girl with your assholeness. Mama said she barely talks and spooks at the drop of a hat. I can’t even imagine her having to deal with you this morning.

ME: I’m not being an asshole. I’m busy. We’re heading to the mall.

GEM MINE: Oh no! The mall! You’re going to melt as soon as you step foot inside.

SASSYPANTS: I could have gone with you. I could have been a go-between for your mall-hating self and that little girl.

ME: I’m muting this conversation.

SASSYPANTS: Never mind, Mama just reminded me that you have Gia there to be your go-between. Maybe that’s why you’re excessively growly this morning. It’s all that pent-up sexual frustration.

GEM MINE: How many times do I have to tell you I don’t like talking about our siblings’ sex lives here? It’s gross. It’s like thinking of Mama and Daddy.

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