Page 29 of Outlaw

“Stevie!” I called her name, taking longer strides than normal to her en suite, but the lights were off in there too.

My heart started picking up pace as I swung my gaze around to see any signs as to where she might be. The slippers that I had left beside her bed were gone.

Where had she gone? Why hadn’t she come to my room?

Rushing out the door, I moved as fast as I could in my heels. This house was too big. She could have gotten lost. She couldhave gone outside, alone. When I reached the stairs, I slipped off my heels and broke into a run as I headed down them. I hadn’t told her not to go exploring here by herself, and I should have. Panic tightened my throat and stung my eyes as I scanned every area I passed.

Then, I heard her trill of laughter. I slowed and placed a hand over my heart as I sucked in a deep breath. She was okay. Closing my eyes, I took a second to calm down, then put my shoes back on before heading toward the sound of voices. I smelled the bacon before I got there.

By the time I reached the door that led into the kitchen, my heart rate had slowed, and I wasn’t about to burst into tears.

“Can I have thwee mowa, please?” Stevie asked as I stepped into the kitchen.

The windows went from the floor to the ceiling, facing the back of the house. The sunlight poured in and made the white and black kitchen appear even more spacious than it already was. The island sat between two sets of double ovens, and the gas range stovetop looked like something out of a commercial kitchen with at least ten different eyes. The circular bar, which had twelve barstools, was covered in food.

Stevie was on one of the barstools, sitting on her knees, with a glass of oat milk that had a curvy pink straw in it. Her gaze swung to mine, and her smile stretched across her face, causing the dimples I loved so much to pop out. “Good mownin’, Mommy! Jayda made bweakfast, and she gots lots and lots of bacon,” she called out to me.

“I see that,” I replied, making my way over to her. “I didn’t know you had woken up. I was scared when I couldn’t find you.”

Her face fell. “I’m sowwy. I thought you was asleep, and I was weally hungwy.”

Brushing her curls back from her face, I placed a kiss on her forehead. “I understand that. Just don’t go running off withouttelling me, okay? This house is big, and you could get lost.”

She shook her head. “But I didn’t get lost. I came wight hewah. And Jayda was making bweakfast. She got me some milk.”

I glanced over at Jayda. “Thank you. This looks amazing.”

She shrugged. “I like to cook. When I have people to cook for, I go a little overboard. When the guys have women over, they aren’t invited to stay for breakfast, so unless Linc’s son is visiting with his wife, I don’t get to do big breakfasts. Luther rarely eats until noon, and Linc is afour eggs, two pieces of toast, and a coffeeguy. No room for creativity.”

I wasn’t a big breakfast eater either, but Stevie was.

“You might become her favorite person,” I told her. “Although we don’t require all this every morning. I would gain a hundred pounds. But Vivi Lu here loves her some breakfast food. She’d eat it for all three meals. We’ve done pancakes, cheese grits, and bacon for dinner many nights.”

Jayda smiled at Stevie. “I will remember that,” she told her and winked. “We might just have us some breakfast for dinner soon. Sounds like a fun way to mix it up.” She finished putting three pieces of bacon on a plate and placed it in front of Stevie.

“Thank you,” she said before snatching up a piece and taking a bite as if she hadn’t already had a plate of food.

“I can make you a plate, or you’re welcome to do it. I don’t know what all you like just yet, but I am a fast learner,” Jayda informed me.

I liked this girl. And if I wasn’t at least ten years older than her, we might just become good friends. She didn’t seem to have any claim on Linc or Luther. She wasn’t being territorial, which, honestly, was what I had expected to happen. The comment about the women they had over not being invited for breakfast was so blasé, as if it was no big deal to her. She didn’t sound catty or anything. Maybe I was wrong, and she didn’t screw around with the guys. It was just so hard to believe. She was gorgeous.

“No need to worry about me. I will feed myself,” I told her, not about to let someone wait on me. I might have to live here for a year, but I wasn’t going to turn into some diva who let other people wait on her.

I walked over to the island, and Jayda handed me a plate.

“Here you go. Are you a coffee drinker? Or maybe espresso? I make a killer caramel vanilla latte.”

I looked from the food back to her. “Really?” I asked, my voice giving away my excitement at the wordlatte.

Jayda grinned. “Before this job, I was a barista,” she replied. “Which one do you prefer?”

“That caramel vanilla latte sounds wonderful.”

“Cold or hot?”

I laughed. “I feel like I’m at Starbucks. Hot, please.”

“Tall, grande, or venti?”

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