Page 55 of When the Storm Breaks
“Oh. Right.” She gave the woman an apologetic smile and I stepped forward to take the bags from the woman’s hands.
“You ready to go?”
Shiloh tucked her hair behind her ear with a shaky hand and nodded.
“Viv was just telling me she’s staying in your guesthouse,” Meredith said with a big smile.
“Yup.” I kept my gaze on Shiloh. She was paler than normal.
“Make sure you show her all that the Hill Country has to offer.”
“Will do. I’ll show herallthe best things.” Meredith smiled and told Shiloh it was nice to meet her, and Shiloh echoed her words. With my arm still around her, I guided her away. “Noah, let’s go.”
“But I wanna play with Hayley.”
“You’ll see her at school. Say goodbye.”
He exhaled loudly like I was ruining all his fun, but he was smart enough to know when he’d been beaten, so he said goodbye and climbed into the truck. When I pulled onto the road, Shiloh slumped in her seat and let out a weary sigh like the whole encounter had exhausted her.
I side-eyed her. Her face was averted, and she was still wearing sunglasses, so I couldn’t see her expression. She was spinning the silver ring around her thumb. “Hey. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just...” She took a deep breath and let it out, shaking her head a little. “I’m fine.”
Something felt off, but since I couldn’t see her face and didn’treallyknow her, I had to take her word for it. She was so quiet on the drive to Kate and Patrick’s I thought she might have fallen asleep.
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of the stone farmhouse I’d grown up in and parked behind Lila’s SUV. The first time I saw this house, I’d just turned ten and to me, it had looked like a mansion. Patrick had shown up at the foster home I’d been put in after social services had removed me from my home. The neighbors had reported a noise disturbance and when the police had come to investigate, they’d found me locked in the closet which was usually where I spent my time when my mother was hosting one of her ragers. As it turned out, living with my mother had seemed like a dream compared to the hell of foster care. When the social worker told me I was going to live with my aunt and uncle, my first thought had been, “Where the hell were you when I’d needed you?”
Kate used to take me to counseling every week, and every week it was the same. I kept my mouth shut and refused to speak about anything that had happened to me in the first ten years of my life. I still didn’t talk about those things. There were only three people I’d ever told—Jude, Lila, and Walt. I had no recollection of telling Lila. It was the night Noah had been conceived and we’d been falling-down drunk. And of those three, only Walt knew the whole story.
His idea of therapy? A vision quest in the desert. And shit, that peyote had messed with my head for four of the weirdest, most fucked-up days of my life. But it had worked. I’d made my peace with all the shit that had happened and, for the most part, I let it go.
I opened the back door for Noah and he jumped out and took off running. Always in such a hurry to get to the next thing. He was right at home here and Kate spoiled him rotten.
“Hey Shy,” I said as we crossed the front lawn, the bags clutched in her hand.
“Yeah?” She sounded distracted.
“I don’t think the Petersons have any idea who you are.”
She gave me a small smile. “I don’t think they do either.”
“People have a bad habit of being overly friendly in these parts. It’s that damn Southern hospitality.”
She laughed and bumped her shoulder against mine. “And how come you don’t extend that same hospitality?”
When we reached the front porch, I pulled her into my arms. “Thought I was downright hospitable last night.”
“Hmm...” She looped her arms around my neck and looked up at me. “I still think there’s room for improvement.”
I squeezed her ass. “Is that a challenge?”
“You need to up your game, Cowboy.”
I pulled her closer and crushed my mouth against hers. “Takes two to play this game, Sugar Lips.”
“Funny. Last night didn’t feel like a game.”
“Pretend I’m not here,” came a voice through the front screen door. I released Shiloh and took a few steps back as Lila stepped onto the porch, a sly smile on her face. “Sorry to interrupt. I left Levi’s favorite blanket in the car.”
