Page 45 of The Locksmith's Promise

He grinned. “I can’t wait to play.”

“I’ll teach you, if you want,” I offered as we loaded everything into the truck. My heart beat ridiculously hard in my chest.

What if he said no?

Was I pushing too hard?

“I can get you online lessons if you prefer,” I added hastily.

His big eyes flicked up to mine, freckles standing out as his face pinked. “I want you to teach me.”

I worked to quell my wide smile as we headed to the shopping mall. “Well, all right, then. I guess I better buy some chairs.”

He laughed, the sound hitting my chest and filling it with effervescent bubbles that rose to pop behind the back of my eyes.

I swallowed tightly and forced out a chuckle. “Your laugh sounds just like my mom’s.”

“Mom told me she’s not here anymore.”

I shook my head. “She’s here. She’s here in your laugh. She’s in me and she’s in you, too.”

“Wow,” he whispered. “I know you’re my dad, but I didn’t think about what that means.”

“What does it mean?”

“You’re part of me, same as Mom. And I’m part of you.”

The idea my father had any part of Cor turned my stomach.

“You’re the best parts of me, Cor. Only the best parts.”

By the time we got back to Moose Lake, it was closing in on dinner time. As I parked the truck, Maggie flew out her door and bolted down the stairs.

Fisting her hands at her sides, face red, she gritted out, “Where have you been?”

I blinked.

What the fuck?

Eyes widening, I gestured to the truck. “We went shopping in the city. We talked about this.”

Her body trembled. “It doesn’t take all day to pick up a guitar, Baxter.”

“Mom, we—” Corwin ventured, but she cut him off.

“Go inside, Corwin.”

When he tried again to explain, she leveled him with a gaze that would weaken the knees of a seasoned, battle-weary soldier.

“Okay, okay,” he muttered. Lips pressed into a stubborn line, he looked at me. “Are you coming up?”

“Let me talk to your mom and then we’ll see,” I replied quietly, my hands going to my hips.

In my chest, my bloodless heart fluttered like a leaf in the wind.

How the hell did people deal with this many emotions? Was this what it was to have a family? One you cared about?

Terror that it would be over before it began assaulted me.

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