Page 70 of Savage Escape

She would move on soon if he didn’t do something. He’d had his brothers entertain her when he couldn’t. He’d had his parents talk to her and work their magic. But he was afraid that it all wasn’t going to be enough to make her stay.

“Grab me the cartoon of eggs, will ya?” Bobby stood at the central counter and motioned towards the fridge that Nathan kept passing in his pacing.

“How do I make her love me?” Nathan took out the carton of eggs and waved them around while he talked.

“You can’t trick her into loving you, if that’s what you mean.” Bobby scowled up at Nate as he grabbed the eggs. “You are gonna crack these if you keep handling them like that.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Nate sighed and leaned against the opposite counter. “I mean… how do I get her to stay? She’s gonna run, I know it.”

“Maybe you should let her if that’s what she’s going to do.” Bobby cracked a few eggs into a big mixing bowl as he spoke.

“You know, your fatherly wisdom isn’t very helpful right now.” Maybe he should have gone to his mother instead.

“Then don’t listen to me.”

“But you’re the only one that I know with a good and lasting relationship.”

Bobby grunted, completely focused on the baking instead of Nate and his problems. Which was annoying, but not unexpected.

“How’d you get Mom?” Nathan reframed his questioning.

“I didn’t pick her out of a lineup or anything.” He whisked the eggs with a fork. “I asked her out three times before she said yes to me.”

“Yeah, but how did you make her fall in love with you so well that she’d stayed with you for—what’s it like, thirty years now?”

“Thirty-four years, actually.”

“Well?” Exasperated now, Nathan started pacing again. To the oven, past the fridge and to the kitchen table.

“Well, what?”

“Well, how’d you do it?”

“I don’t know, son. That’s like asking why’s the sky blue—this is something you should be asking your mother.”

“Okay then, how’d she get you?”

“She said yes.”

“Ugh!” Nathan stopped pacing to point an accusatory finger at his adopted father. “You’re so unhelpful!”

“Look.” Bobby finally put down his fork and looked up. “If you love her,tellher.”

“But she’s…complicated.” The word didn’t even begin to explain Caden Quinn.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.” Obviously.

“Then it doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out.” Which was vague as hell and not at all instructional like he wanted. He knew in his rational brain that there weren’t step-by-step instructions for making someone fall in love, but, damn it, there should be.

“So your advice is: tell her I love her and then let her run.”

“No. My advice is to tell her that you love her and then, if she runs, go after her.”

“Okay, finally. Some advice.” Nate threw his hands up in the air while his father shook his head.

“My second piece of advice is: go ask your mother.” He jerked his thumb towards the front door.

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