Page 21 of Taming His Honeydoll
Chapter 5
Sawyer kept a closeeye on Emma while she napped on the way to Revere. Such a fierce little thing. He’d never have imagined her owning a gun let alone knowing how to use it with such proficiency. Of course, her tough girl image had turned somewhat soggy when she’d promptly thrown up, but there was little doubt in his mind that she could have tagged one of those men if she’d wanted to. Her drive to be independent had always surprised him. Especially when she could turn right around and be so submissive, sweet and warm. The name he’d used fit her so well—baby brat. She was his baby, and his brat at the same time. Or she had been. Now she was a prickly baby porcupine with trust issues. He only had himself to blame with regard to their relationship.
Channeling his thoughts away from regrets, he reflected on the situation at hand. The first time he’d had to slam on his brakes he’d known something was going on up ahead. He’d weaved his way around traffic trying to get to the source and finally spotted their vehicles on the side of the road just before the two men from the black SUV had turned tail and ran after Emma’s shot. The girls had been lucky Ty and Oliver had been following them so close though. It could have gotten ugly very quickly.
Questions burned in his mind. Who was after his Emma? Someone was, that was pretty clear now. Her house catching on fire was no accident, someone had set that intentionally.
He glanced back at the sleeping Levi again, his throat tightening for the hundredth time.
His son.
What if he’d never known he had a son? What if he’d lost them both just as they’d come back into his life? The thought was sharp and painful. Levi had to be getting close to four years old now, and he’d missed out on everything to do with him. Emma did have a lot to answer for and he intended to get those answers. And to find out who was after them and why.
He looked curiously around him as the vehicles ahead turned off the state highway and down a gravel road. They weren’t that far from Revere but the countryside was beautiful with no homes around. A quarter mile down the road ended with massive gates encased in concrete blocks. A simple redwood log fence construction with concrete bases stretched into the rolling hills on each side. It wasn’t particularly secure, but it would keep vehicles from having an easy entrance to the property.
When the gates swung open, he followed the other vehicles inside for another quarter of a mile and came to a similar setup, only this compound was made to keep everything out. Tastefully done to blend with the countryside, it was still an intimidating force to be reckoned with if someone wanted in who wasn’t supposed to be there. Kudos to the two badass detectives who lived here.
Having experience in security and advanced stealth technology, he could spot the hidden cameras that others might miss. He had to admit, he was impressed with the tasteful blend of home and protection at the same time.
What was really amusing were the pumpkins sitting in little nooks between the steps and the wooden deck, along the six-foot redwood fence and around a spreading veranda. They were in the yard at different points and stacked up by the barn in colorful arrays. Some were huge, some were carved, some were just decorative gourds piling out of places like old tree stumps. Colorful mums and other flowers were everywhere.
The home was an amazing two-level blend of old and new styling to create a cozy, homey atmosphere in the middle of the property. Someone certainly had a decorating hobby. His mom would love it, she had those same instincts.
Off to the left there were some horses grazing in the sunshine in the pasture and a couple of barn cats sitting on the rails. Off to the right was a series of small cabins neatly landscaped with pretty decorated gravel walks running between them. He wondered if they did rustic outdoor adventures. It was something he’d always been interested in doing.
As he parked alongside Ty and Chessy’s big blue suburban, Emma slowly sat up and pushed her hair back away from her face. “We’re here,” he said softly. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Yeah, a lot better,” she said, then yawned. “My head still aches, but the nausea is gone.”
“Mama?” The little voice coming from the back seat had him turning around and meeting a pair of huge blue eyes sizing him up. There was no fear, just curiosity in his steady gaze, and then he shifted to his mother and a smile lit up his little face. “Mama.”
“I’m here, baby,” she said soothingly. She pointed to Sawyer. “And this is Saw...”
“Your daddy,” Sawyer interrupted, and smiled at him.
“Daddy?” He cocked his little head sideways.
Sawyer grinned wider. “Yes, Daddy.”
Levi still stared. “My daddy is gone. He said he had to move away. He said he would come back.”
His little lip trembled slightly and Sawyer’s heart engaged one hundred percent. He also blinked at the full sentences the child had just used. Deciding honesty would be the best thing, he took the plunge. “Your other daddy was taking care of you for me until I could return,” he answered quietly, reaching back and taking Levi’s small fingers in his hand. “I’m your real daddy and I’m home to stay now.”
“I have two daddies?”
Sawyer nodded solemnly. “I guess you could say that. Sometimes a person can have more than one of the same things.”
“Like two cookies?” Levi turned his head sideways and asked the question in all seriousness.
