Page 98 of Hold Me Until Morning

But I couldn’t allow myself to settle in it. Couldn’t allow myself to get too cozy before that blanket was ripped away. Most of all, I couldn’t let Madison get attached. I could already see her slipping, enamored with the man, which I was realizing was an easy place to be.

Enamored.

“You don’t need to do that, Cody,” I mustered, tipping my head back to meet the magnitude of his gaze.

“I want to.”

“It’s not your responsibility.”

He glanced back at Maddie. “I’m not doing it out of obligation, Hailey. I’m doing it because your daughter is amazing.” Then he leaned in close and murmured so only I could hear, “Just like her mother.”

He straightened like he didn’t feel the roll of the ground vibrate beneath us, and those big boots thudded across the porch before he swung open the back door. “Now hurry up and get that cute butt ready. We need to leave in fifteen.”

It took me a second to process what he’d said, and still, I wasn’t fully gathering his meaning. “What?”

“You heard me. You’re riding with me.”

Then he stepped inside and let the door slam shut behind him.

TWENTY-ONE

CODY

Nope.

Little Button was right.

I most definitely didn’t know what had hit me.

Didn’t know what the hell had come over me.

Getting close to people when I’d sworn I’d never do it. But there didn’t seem to be any choice in the matter when it came to Hailey and Madison.

Hell, to Lolly, too.

It struck me like an arrow when Hailey finally stepped out her front door twenty minutes later, wearing tight jeans and worn cowgirl boots and a coral-colored top that scooped way down low on her chest.

A mass of blonde hair twisted into a long braid with those locks of honey and maple weaved through it. Thick and heavy and perfect for fisting.

Lashes long and lips pouty and those eyes both wary and intense as she ambled down the steps and took the walkway to where I’d pulled my truck up to the curb. It was sitting in the exact same spot as it’d been on Saturday night though facing the opposite direction.

She slowed the closer she came, brow furrowing in speculation. “You don’t have to drive me to work, too, Cody. This is ridiculous.”

I was leaned back against the front side-panel, a boot kicked up on the tire and my hands shoved into the pockets of my jeans. “I don’t find a thing about it ridiculous.”

Air heaved from her nose, and she glanced around, no doubt checking for the bastard I itched to hunt down.

It had taken every ounce of willpower I possessed to play it cool last night. To stop myself from demanding a name so I could track him down and put an end to any bullshit he might think of bringing to her door.

Since I doubted much that she’d be too happy if I made good on it, I figured standing as a barrier in front of that door would have to suffice.

Frustration heaved from her lungs. “I’m not weak, Cody.”

“Never implied you were.”

“Yet you think you need to sleep on my couch and drive me to work.”

A wave of protectiveness swelled. “It’s not what I think of you, Hailey, it’s what I instantly knew of him. One look and I knew that fucker would gladly hurt you if you didn’t cave to what he wanted. And there you stood, brave and refusing to give, even though I knew you were afraid. Afraid of who he is and what he’s capable of.”

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