Page 64 of Ravenous

“Joy. My mate left, so she wouldn’t stand between me and my pup.”

“Fuck. One thing at a time. We’ll take care of Remy, and then you can go after your mate. Come to the ranch now, and Johnny and I will be waiting for you in my office. We’ll come up with a plan.”

29

JOY

“Hey, Mom.”I carried a small suitcase into my mom’s house that night.

I’d tried to work in my studio that day–I’d forced myself to because I needed to produce a lot of product to make up for the broken pots–but it was hard to see the clay when the tears kept streaming down my cheeks.

And I wasn’t a crier.

I kept telling myself it was foolish to cry over a guy I met a week ago.

Completely absurd.

The fact that he was next door made it even worse. Thankfully the shrubs and some fencing blocked the view as much as my tears.

But my sore breast kept reminding me that it meant so much more than a week of sex. Wes had been serious about me. He believed fate brought us together. That we were meant for each other. That I was “the one.”

And damn if he didn’t feel like the one for me.

Especially with how much my heart ached at giving him up.

I wasn’t going to get in the way of him keeping his daughter, though. I cared way too much about him for that. The thought of Remy going off with that awful woman…

“Joy? What’s going on?”

My mom was in the kitchen, which was a good sign. She was in her work clothes, which meant she’d gotten herself out of bed today and gone into the office.

It really had seemed like her visit with Remy had been a reset of sorts for her. It pulled her out of herself. Kids were like that. You couldn’t wallow in your own misery when a tiny human needed your attention for their very survival.

Remy would do that for Wes. He’d be able to put one foot in front of the other because that four-year-old was a sweet handful. Not that I believed he was going to sink into a fit of depression without me, especially after only a few days.

Although he had looked gutted when I kissed him goodbye. Or maybe it was because his daughter was going to be ripped from him.

Me, on the other hand? I didn’t know how I would go on living next door to the man I loved.

Yes,loved.

It seemed foolish to say that about someone I’d just met, but there was no way my heart could be breaking this badly if I wasn’t madly in love with Wes.

I’d had a fling or two in the past. This wasn’t it.

“Hi,” I said to my mom, dropping the suitcase in the hallway. “I’m going to stay here until my roof gets fixed. Is that okay?”

“Well, of course, honey!” she replied brightly. “It would be great to have you here. But I thought you were staying with Wes?”

My mom scanned my face with interest when she turned to face me.

She was excited for me after meeting Wes and Remy. Hopeful, for the first time in ages.

I was about to dash her dreams.

She wouldn’t be getting an adorable, red-headed step-grandchild, after all.

Maybe I wouldn’t tell her just yet. I was liking this version of her, and I didn’t want to be the reason for her to spiral down.

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