Page 75 of The Last Promise You Made

She tugged her braid, and I felt the softness of it beneath my hands all over again. Felt the flare of desire that had overcome me when I’d yanked it back to expose the smooth column of her neck and found the rapid beat within her, making it mine for several tantalizing seconds.

“I should get a couple hours of sleep before I relieve Enrique,” she said.

I didn’t say anything. Didn’t know what to say because thoughts of her in bed, spread across silky sheets, did nothing but make me hard, make me want to pick up where we’d left off.

She blew out a frustrated sigh at my nonresponse, turning on her heel and heading for the stairs. She turned back at the last minute. “Don’t leave in the morning without us.”

“How long do you think we have to live like this?”

Her hand gripped the rail, fingers flexing. “I honestly don’t know. But we are closing in on them, peeling back the layers. We’ll get to the core soon.” When I didn’t respond again, she practically rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, Ryder.”

“Night, Gia.”

Her sock-clad feet were light on the stairs, disappearing in a whisper.

I should have said something more after how close we’d been to tearing off the rest of our clothes and plunging over the edge together. But if I’d opened my mouth, all that would have come out was a desperate plea for her to come to my room, and I still had enough brain cells left in my body to know that would be a catastrophe. So, I let her go and could only hope my callousness would force her to take a step back, because I was pretty damn sure I’d never be able to push her away on my own.

? ? ?

I’d barely gotten the two little girls up and fed before Rianne was knocking at the door. Gia hadn’t been there like the morning before because she’d taken over from Enrique, patrolling the house like some palace guard. It twisted something savage inside me that objected to her being the first line of defense.

I knew she’d been trained to handle herself, but I still didn’t like the idea of her being the one to face the danger alone if it came at us. I hadn’t liked the idea of Enrique—who I still wasn’t sure I trusted—being my first line of defense either. Worse, he was now asleep in the bedroom I’d already started considering as Gia’s, and that pissed me off even more than the idea of her outside standing guard.

When Rianne walked in, Mila stopped mid-sentence and ran to Rianne, hugging her around the legs while giving her a detailed description of our night. When I glanced over at Addy, she was smiling. That singular smile was enough to lighten the dark mood I’d woken in.

“You ready, Chick-a-dee?” Rianne asked Mila.

“Do I have to go to school? Addy isn’t going!”

“Yes. School is not an option. Go put your shoes on.”

Mila dragged her heels down the hall, and I turned to Addy. “Go get your shoes too. I’ll teach you how to wield a hammer today.” Addy’s eyes widened, but she jumped down from the barstool and followed Mila. I turned to Rianne. “I’m not sure how much anyone’s told you, but I can’t enroll Addy in school yet. It isn’t safe.”

“No one said, but I caught the whiff of something funny. Everyone was way too serious about the situation. Plus, I knew she wasn’t Gia’s friend’s daughter. She looks just like Ravyn and has your smile.”

My heart clenched. Would it always hurt this badly when people said she looked like Ravyn? I was never going to be able to escape talk and thoughts about my ex now, and I disliked that as much as I loved having Addy here with me. Then again, if I was honest with myself, I hadn’t really escaped Ravyn before either. I’d just shoveled her under a pile of mud and dirt, as if she didn’t exist, hoping it would all disappear if I left the idea of her there long enough.

“Maddox suggested you might be willing to help us for now. Maybe you could homeschool her until things get settled? I know you’re retired, so if it isn’t something you want to do, I’ll understand.”

Rianne’s eyes sparkled. “I miss teaching something fierce, even though I was ready to be out of the daily grind. It would be a joy to work with her. Give me a day or two to pull things together. That will give her some more time to settle in. We can work out of the playroom at your mama’s place while you’re at the ranch, and she can hang with Mila and me on days I get her from school.”

Relief hit me.

“Thank you.” My voice was gruff.

“Gia and I had a chat about her lack of verbal skills and shyness. Did she tell you my thoughts on selective mutism?”

“She mentioned something last night. We didn’t really get to dive into it.”

Instead, we’d dived into each other.

“If that’s the case, she’ll need therapy,” Rianne said. “And she’ll need a solid individual education plan in place before she’s in an actual classroom setting. I can help walk you through all of it.”

“She had a bad…scare. Something ugly she witnessed. Do you think it could just be that?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, therapy and an education plan will mean the adults around her have the tools to help her.”

The girls came running back in with their shoes and coats on and their stuffed animals tucked under their arms.

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