Page 68 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“I know.”
“You scare me, too,” she admitted, eyes ahead. “A big man with a motorcycle, tattoos, and piercings isn’t exactly what I expected for my daughter.”
“I only have one piercing left. You made me take out the rest,” he joked. “And what kind of man did you expect?”
“I thought she’d end up with a man like her father.”
“What was he like?”
“Perfect,” she said simply. “My Devon was perfect.”
Even in the dark, the aching sorrow in Simone’s expression struck Rowan. It had been nearly twenty-five years, but when she spoke of Devon Howard, it was with fresh grief and unshakeable love.
“Devon was calm and kind. I was forever running after the kids, and he carried the weight of our family right alongside me.” Her voice turned wistful. “But he always made time for us. We’d sneak off to watch the sunset on the porch or slow dance in the kitchen before bed. He made the little moments count.”
“I like that.” Rowan held her steady as they walked up the small hill leading to the road. “Slow dancing before bed sounds like the perfect end to a day.”
The unmistakable sound of her clucking her tongue carried through the darkness. “Just keep your dancing out of my kitchen.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter 15
“That was a close one.”
Standing on Haven’s porch, Jamison glared at CeCe drifting through Ty’s gardens. “A close one?”
CeCe plucked a bloom, twirling it beneath her nose with an impish smile. “Everything turned out fine.”
Could she punch a dream? Jamison sure as hell wanted to try, but her mother was watching.
“I wouldn’t say fine, CeCe,” Laura Jean said from the lower porch step. “I thought Jamison was about to have a heart attack. I usually back your ideas, but this wasn’t your best.”
“It worked, didn’t it? Message received and all that.” CeCe dropped the flower. “We had to sell it, or else the others wouldn’t believe.”
“What message? What are you talking about?” Jamison’s voice climbed with each word. “What the hell are either of you talking about?”
“Princess, calm down.” Her mother climbed the steps, glancing nervously at the haint porch ceilings. “Sometimes we have to let certain things happen—
“He was shot!” Hands fisted at her side, Jamison screamed at her mother. “Those women came here and tried to kill us, and then Liam was shot, but yet you want to tell me I have to let certain things happen? Are you kidding? What part of this are you okay with? Me watching the man I love almost die the same way you died? Or are you just good with people breaking into Haven House so they can hack us todeath with machetes?”
“None of it.” Her mother tried to rush another step, but the flesh on her arm sizzled as soon as the shade hit. “I hate all of this, and we’re working to keep you safe. We’ll be with you every step of the way, Jamison. Have faith in us. Have faith in me.”
In the soft glow of sunrise, Jamison’s eyes opened to find Liam staring at her. “You drugged me.”
And she would do it again.
The sound of the gunshot as it echoed through the air had yanked at her connection to Liam, snapping that invisible string tight in her chest. It had her dropping to her knees, forcing her to crawl through the muddy mix of sand and grass to get to him.
She had been so sure he was dead.
But when Bruce burst out of the cabin, reality returned. Smiling and giving her a salute, the bastard had run off into the forest. A part of her had gone immediately feral, demanding that she give chase and hurt him as much as he’d hurt her.
But she didn’t. Getting to Liam had been too important, and inside the shack, she found him crouched on the floor and bleeding. He wanted to go after Madi, and when she tried to reason with him, his blood soaking them both, he wouldn’t listen and actually ran down the lane after the old pickup speeding away.
“Holly drugged you.” She scooted closer until their legs tangled beneath the blankets. “Blame her, not me.”
How he’d convinced a nurse to stitch him in the back of her ambulance remained a mystery. By the time the fire trucks, police, and every other agency arrived, she’d gone numb and couldn’t remember much.
