Page 25 of Naughty by Nature

He set his coffee cup on the island. “I wanted to talk to you before the girls got up. I talked to Marlene last night and she had a couple of pieces of information.” He related the details. “So, I’m going to go check out leads this morning. I want you to stay inside the entire time you’re at school. Do you understand?”

She nodded, reaching for a dishcloth to wipe her hands on. “I know.”

“Are the girls going with you?”

She gave him a narrow-eyes look. “Where else would they go?”

He shrugged. “Well, Olivia is home, so I wouldn’t worry about them staying here today.”

Cheyenne frowned. “I’m not sure Olivia is really on board with us right now. Maybe in a few days when she’s more used to us being around. That’s kind of a lot to dump on her.”

Sheridan tipped his head. “If that’s what you think.”

“I think my girls would burn her out in the first day,” Cheyenne laughed.

“Honestly, I think Grace might burn her out in the first day.”

They laughed quietly together and it struck Cheyenne as almost joyous, having someone who understood the parts of your life and could still laugh about them.

As soon as the eggs were done Cheyenne dished out a plate for Sheridan, then went to wake the girls. When they heard she had breakfast waiting on them they rushed to get dressed. Grace needed help deciding between which pair of holey blue jeans to wear, but otherwise it went pretty smoothly. When they trooped down the stairs Cheyenne was surprised and happy to see Olivia sitting at the table, scooping out a spoonful of eggs.

“Olivia, you remember my girls Grace, Savannah and Carolyn.”

Olivia gave a little wave, then went back to the eggs. Her girls didn’t seem to mind the unenthusiastic welcome, they just said hello and dug into breakfast. While they did that, she headed back upstairs to finish with her hair and makeup.

Cheyenne looked into the mirror and for the five-millionth time wondered about changing her hair. The deep auburn color was very distinctive, she knew that. Wade had told her many times that it had been what had caught his attention all those years ago, blazing down the arena on the back of her horse, her hair flying. She’d been barrel racing then, and Wade had been on the bulls. Though her mama had told her over and over again that rodeo men were trouble, when Wade asked her out, she’d said yes immediately.

And for the most part, it had been good. Well, when he’d been winning, at least. As soon as he’d been injured, everything had gone downhill.

Fisting her hands in her hair she bunched it on top of her head. That would be really short. She’d had long hair all her life. Cutting it off might be more traumatic than any other part of this situation, she thought with a laugh.

Frustrated, she pulled it back into a French braid and let it hang down her back. She would worry about it later.

Sheridan drove them into town in his big department truck. As they drove past the feed store, she looked for any hint of her ex, but she didn’t see anything. It was only seven-forty-five. The store didn’t even open till eight.

Sheridan parked in the turnaround loop in front of the school and stood guard, basically, as she and the girls trooped inside. Cheyenne paused, hitching her bag over her shoulder.

“Thank you for doing all this, Sheridan. You’re going above and beyond what any man should.”

He blinked at her and frowned, then turned to look out the glass doors. “No, I’m doing what I should have done years ago when I saw you trying to hide the bruises under your glasses at that gas station. If I had stepped up then, this would all be different.”

The wind whooshed out of her as he reminded her of that day. It had been a traumatic day for everyone. Cheyenne could tell that it haunted him, though. There were shadows in his green eyes she’d never seen before. She shook her head and rested a hand on his arm.

“I don’t want you to carry that around. We all make decisions we regret. I regret not taking you up on your offer then, too, but it can’t be changed now. It all happens for a reason.”

He looked at her, shoving his hands into his pockets as he faced her. For some reason his demeanor struck her as defeated. She was struck with the need to comfort him. Cheyenne reached up and hugged him.

Sheridan didn’t move, as if he knew how hard this was for her to do. After a moment his arms went around her in a light squeeze, then let her go. When she released him, his eyes were wary as they watched her.

If Cheyenne had freaked out, he would have felt even more like crap, so she forced herself to ease back calmly and give him a smile. Her heart was racing and she couldn’t tell if it was from fear or just being that close to him. Sheridan Lane was one hell of a man.

“Can you call me if you find anything out?”

“I will,” he promised. “If I don’t learn anything I’ll be here in front at three.”

She gave him a quick smile. “Okay, thank you.”

Cheyenne turned and headed into the building, very conscious of the man behind her, watching her walk away.

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