Page 96 of Protecting Her Secrets

“I don’t know. You held your own. But I’d love to knock their asses down a peg, so don’t hesitate to call us up again. I might even send them some karma all on my own.”

“I won’t stop you.”

The Sons climb on their bikes and ride away. Once they’re gone, things go quiet, and I’m left feeling antsy. I have to do something. Sitting around and waiting is fucking torture. I can’t stop wondering where she is: is she okay, is she being hurt, and to make things worse, is the baby okay?

“Let’s get this ATV and the boxes up to your house. Maybe by then, we’ll hear back from Martha,” Wilder says.

Rowan hops on the ATV, and I take all the memories Skylar has left in this world up the hill. Stepping into the house, it feels so empty and devoid of life. Is this how it was before she came back into my life and I just didn’t notice? Because now that I know what it feels like to have her here, I can’t go back. She’s everything to me.

Rowan claps me on the shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. My feet are rooted in place between the mudroom and the rest of the house. It’s stupid, but I don’t want to bring memories of Skylar being taken into our safe space. Next week, when she’s back and we’re cuddled on the couch watching TV, I don’t want to be thinking about that time I sat on that same couch, not knowing where she was.

“I’ll be outside,” I say, flipping the switch to the exterior lights as I pass. One by one, I plug in the lights around the pasture fence, the ones around the chicken coop, and finally, the ones lining my front fence. Once again, my house is lit up the way it used to be, glowing brightly to make it easy for Skylar to find me. Even though it does little to help during the day, it makes me feel the slightest bit better.

I unplugged them when she agreed to stay, leaving them strung for when the holidays came around, not realizing I’d need them again so soon. Walking around to the backyard, I take in the mountain peaks around me, hoping to find the serenity they’ve always given me, but it’s nowhere to be found. Skylar has ruined everything I used to find comfort in because nothing means anything without her. A pretty view is just a pretty view unless you have someone to share it with.

“It’ll be okay,” Ridge says. I didn’t even hear him walk up.

“It won’t be if she doesn’t make it back to me.”

“She’s a smart girl. She’ll keep herself alive until we can get to her.”

“Why didn’t I just stay? Or have one of you come and sit with her? Why the hell did I leave her alone? And what was she thinking?”

“She was thinking everything good in her life had been taken away, and even though she was rebuilding something stronger with you, she was hoping she could get back a little of what she lost. You can’t blame her for that.”

I blow out a breath. “I know, and I don’t.”

“I didn’t want to like her. None of us did. We all had our reasons, but they were all bullshit. When it comes down to it, we didn’t want to like her because she’s a reminder of what we don’t have, what we may never have.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who wants a wife and kids.” I realize we don’t talk about shit like this. Work, sports, towngossip, and giving each other shit are pretty much the extent of our conversations. Sometimes, one of us will brag about some chick we hooked up with, but we never talk about settling down.

“I don’t—or I didn’t.” He squints, tucking his hands in his pockets. “I’m a moody son of a bitch. I can lock myself in my art room for days. And sometimes, the demons in my head trap me in bed for weeks. Otherwise, I’m just a normal guy. No one wants to deal with all that up and down, so I just accepted it would never happen. But seeing how Skylar is with your grumpy ass, it makes me think maybe someone out there could put up with me.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me grumpy?” I ask because it wasn’t until my wife showed up that people started using that word to describe me.

He pins me with a look. “Rowan’s the outgoing, crazy one, Wilder’s the rule-following stick in the mud, I’m the dark and mysterious one, and you’re the grumpy one.”

“Why are you the only one who gets a good descriptor?”

He grins, and I realize this might be the longest conversation we’ve ever had. I’m certain he only came out here to distract me, and it worked. It also made me miss Skylar even more because he’s right—she’s perfect for me, and I need her back.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, seeing a picture of Miss Martha’s pretty face. “Hey, did you find anything out?”

“Of course I did.”

I pull the phone from my ear and hit a button. “You’re on speaker. Ridge is here.”

“Hey, sweetie. You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says.

“Good. Clara had a hair appointment but didn’t want to take Lucy, so she drove her out to the school so she could walk thetrack with their dog, Princess. She had Gerry check on her now and then, since he lives across the street.”

“I’m sorry to hurry you along, but is there a point?”

“Sorry. Anyway, when Clara picked Lucy up, she showed her a picture of a Plymouth like the one that took our Sky and asked if she saw it. Lucy insists she saw it head north, which would’ve taken them up toward Marcus and Tess’ house. They aren’t home, but Atticus delivers the mail up there around that time, so I called him, and he said he saw them turn up toward Beaver Lake. He said he remembers it so clearly because no one goes up there during winter. Now, if you remember, Lawrence and Susan own some cabins up there, so I gave them a call, and they said none of them are rented, but someone definitely could’ve broken into one.”

Ridge gives me a nod and runs back to the house, taking the initiative to gather Rowan and Wilder.

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