Page 46 of Rock Chick Bonus Tracks

“Babe—”

“He just…showed up?”

“Ava babe?—”

“At your office?”

He pulled her face closer to his. “Listen to me, beautiful. Please?”

He could feel the soft pants of her breath, how her not getting enough air was making her body work, and he wished he hadn’t let Mace cool him down before he confronted her father.

But now it was about his Ava.

“Breathe, baby,” he coaxed.

She pulled in a shaky breath.

He waited for her to take the second one before he spoke again.

“He wants to see you.”

“He wants to see me,” she parroted.

“I got more you should know before you make your decision.”

“Oh hell,” she whispered.

“I know you told me not to look for him, but first, I didn’t know if that would hold. And if you wanted it, I wanted to be in a place to give it to you. And second, I wanted to be prepared if what happened today actually happened. So I found him.”

“You found him,” she again parroted.

“Yeah.”

“Where was he?”

He gripped her tighter and said, “Castle Rock.”

It took a second, but what he expected to happen did.

She exploded off his lap.

Luke followed her up and caught her before she went ass over head over the coffee table. But once he righted her, she tore out of his hold and, skirting the coffee table, took two steps away.

He followed her.

She lifted a hand his way, stopped, and so did he.

“No, I’m okay. It’s okay,” she lied, and then she proved it a lie by shouting, “Castle Rock!”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he said gently. “He’s been there the whole time. Fourteen years. He’s been living with a woman the last twelve.” He paused, then gave it all to her. “She has two daughters. They were ten and thirteen when they met. He helped raise them.”

“Oh my God,” she mouthed.

And then she lost it.

He caught her before she went down and got her in bed, stretching out with her and holding her close.

She had a lot to get out, and he was glad as fuck she did it, sobbing and bucking and hiccupping in his arms. It took a long time, but eventually she wound down, sniffling, rubbing her face on his tee and burrowing into his body.

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