Page 66 of Outlaw

“Are you okay?” I asked, and she tensed.

Her eyes shifted to mine, and she stared at me as if my asking her that was confusing.

“Yes,” she said, but her voice gave away her emotion.

When the car stopped, she reached up and wiped at her eyes, sniffed, and then straightened her stance. Seeing her transform so quickly and hide her emotions made me pause. She was good at that. Too good. She knew how to hide her hurt. I didn’t know women who could do that. Most wanted the attention.

The door to my right opened, and I stepped out as Branwen leaned over to unbuckle Stevie. I nodded my head to Six, one of the members in the family who Garrett used as security. Stevie had been fascinated with his tattoos and piercings when she saw him waiting by the Escalade when we disembarked from the plane.

Stevie’s blonde head peeked out, and I held a hand out for her to take before she jumped down.

“It is weally big,” she said, staring up at the Hugheses’ mansion while continuing to keep her hand in mine.

Branwen followed her, and the skirt she was wearing had ridden up. Long, tanned legs for fucking miles stepped down, and I tore my gaze off them, only to catch Six’s attention being where mine had been. When I cleared my throat, his eyes snapped up, and he stiffened.

“I’ll have the luggage brought in and sent to your rooms,” he informed me.

I gave him a pointed look. He knew what it meant. Keep his eyes to himself. Or at least off Branwen. I waited for her to move up beside me, but when she stayed a step behind, I almost started up the stairs with Stevie when I remembered Six and decided Branwen would go in front of us. Six didn’t need a view of her ass.

“Go ahead,” I told her.

She looked unsure, but finally moved in front of Stevie and me to climb the wide steps that led up to the Hugheses’ mansion. When we reached the top, she veered over to the side, not wanting to be the one to ring the doorbell apparently.

Stevie was bubbling with energy as she bounced on her feet. With the hand that she wasn’t clinging to, I rang the bell.

It had been a few months since I’d been here. Garrett had eased up on his command, and Blaise was in complete control. When we met, it was in Blaise’s office at his house or at Huck’s motorcycle repair shop.

When the door swung open, Ms. Jimmie—Garrett Hughes’s cook and head of house staff—opened the door. Her bright smile went from me to Stevie.

“Oh Mylanta! What a doll!” she said, bending down to look at Stevie, and then she glanced over at Branwen. “Good Lord in heaven, did you grow up to be a raving beauty,” she said with a gentleness to her voice.

It seemed Garrett had already informed her of just who was coming with me.

Branwen’s smile made her jade eyes shine. “Hello, Ms. Jimmie. You haven’t aged a day.”

Ms. Jimmie waved a hand. “Oh, I know better. These Hughes men have aged me a thousand years. But thank goodness they’re settled and happy now. Just takes the right woman,” she said, her eyes swinging back to lock on me.

Then, she looked back to Stevie. “You’re the spitting image of your momma as a little girl,” she told her. “Well, that is, if Demeter had known how to tame all those curls.”

At the mention of her father’s name, I tensed, and my eyes flew to her face, but a soft laugh drifted past her full lips.

“Daddy never could get my hair right,” she agreed.

“My dad?” Stevie asked with her head tilted back, frowning at her mother.

Branwen shook her head. “No, sweetie. My dad. He worked here, down at those stables with all the horses you saw. I used to play down there all summer, after school, and on weekends while he worked.”

Stevie’s small mouth opened in surprise. “Weally?”

“Yes.”

Stevie’s eyes swung over to me. “Did you know my mommy used to play hewah? At youah fwiend’s stables?”

“He knew all right. Wasn’t a soul on this property that didn’t know your momma’s favorite was your dad. She was as little as you and would follow him everywhere. It was sweet as could be,” Ms. Jimmie informed her.

“He’s my favowite too!” she stated with pride and squeezed my hand tighter.

Ms. Jimmie looked back at me. “Seems he’s a lucky man.”

---