Page 74 of The Last Promise You Made

I knew as soon as I shifted my hips to grab my phone from my back pocket, she’d be gone. She’d leave. And we’d be back to our verbal sparring, hiding our sexual tension behind walls we were both good at keeping.

My phone stopped and started a third time.

“You should get it. He might get worried and send out a deputy to check on us.”

I hated that she was right. And I hated that she did exactly what I’d thought she would, shifting off me as I reached for the offending device. She pulled her bra back on, and then her flannel, and tossed my shirt at me.

“What?” I groused into the phone.

“Uncle Phil passed.”

Now, I felt like even more of an ass. I hadn’t made it to the hospital to say my goodbyes. Hadn’t been there for Mama when she’d lost the last living member of her McFlannigan family. Guilt hit me like a sledgehammer.

“I’m on my way,” I said.

“There’s no reason for you to come. He never woke, and there’s nothing you can do here. McK is working on the paperwork. Mama and Sadie have already gone home.”

My throat closed for a moment, and I couldn’t even answer him.

Maddox sighed. “Don’t go all Ryder on me and feel responsible for this, dipshit. There was nothing you could have done. You were where you needed to be tonight, taking care of our daughters. We all needed that just as much as Mama needed a couple of us here. It allowed her to grieve without worrying about them.”

I wasn’t used to having a child to think about, but I also realized the truth of what Maddox had said. If I hadn’t had Addy dropped into my world, and I’d been at the hospital while Maddox had been home with Mila, I would have understood. We wouldn’t have wanted her there, watching Uncle Phil take his last breaths. It was just that it had never had to be me before. I’d always been present where I was able to control the situation if things went haywire.

“How is Mama?”

“Stunned. I don’t think any of us expected Phil to ever die. He was too ornery. Too determined to eke out every last pleasure he could.”

“He ate awful. Drank worse. Smoked a pack a day. I’m actually surprised he lived this long.”

“He was only sixty-five.”

Silence settled down for a second, and Maddox continued, “Mila settle in okay?”

“I’m not sure you’re going to be able to tear her away from Addy.”

“How does Addy feel about that?” he asked with a laugh in his voice.

“She’s talking in full sentences. Her shoulders are relaxed. Mila’s magic at work. I’ll take it.” That damn lump returned to my throat, making it hard to swallow.

“She’s gotta go to school tomorrow. What are you doing with Addy?”

“I don’t think school is an option yet.”

Maddox didn’t disagree. “McK and I both have early shifts, so Rianne will be by in the morning to pick her up.”

“I can drop her off at the school. I have to get back to the ranch and make sure the build stays on track. I want to see Mama and figure out what she needs help with.”

“Mila needs her backpack and school supplies anyhow. Let Rianne do it. Maybe she can help out with Addy’s education somehow. A homeschool kind of thing.”

It was an option I wouldn’t have thought of because I wasn’t used to thinking about kids and education.

“I’ll talk to her.”

“McK just came out, so I’m gonna go. Love you, dipshit.”

“Love you too, asswipe.”

We hung up, and I turned back to face the woman I’d just had straddling my lap with our tongues tangled. The moment was lost, but just looking at her caused those flames to flicker again. The distance between us felt charged, but it also allowed me enough space to start listening to the warning signs that had been blaring.

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