Page 79 of Wildflower and Whiskey
I shut the folder, turned off the light, and walked back to the loft. I started to wonder why we were staying in the loft when I had a big house all to myself. I hadn’t slept there in months because I wanted to be close to Elyna. But was now the time to suggest she move into my home?
When I stepped back into the loft, the warmth hit me like a wave. Elyna was still curled on the futon, one hand resting near Braden’s monitor, as if even in sleep she was guarding him.
I knelt beside her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Her lashes fluttered, but she didn’t wake.
“You’re safe,” I murmured, more to myself than to her. “I’ll make sure of it.”
The cameras blinked outside the window. Somewhere out in the dark, men were making moves they thought were clever.
But they hadn’t met our family, our resolve was thick. If they thought they could drag Harmony back into this town as leverage, or scare Elyna into running again, they were about to learn what it meant to push too far.
CHAPTER 35
Elyna
Morning slipped into the loft like a hush, the kind that only comes after a night of watching and waiting. I lay on my side for a long minute, staring at the gap in the curtains where the orchard was washed in pale sunlight. For once, the first thing I felt wasn’t dread.
It was him.
Phoenix was sitting in the chair near the door, boots off, socks braced on the floor, elbows on knees. He’d put the chair there after the second motion alert and said, “It felt right to keep eyes on the entry.” He looked like he hadn’t slept, and yet his face was clearer than I’d seen it in days, like he’d been happy to stand guard all night.
“Morning,” I whispered.
His head lifted. Those dark cobalt eyes softened. “Hey.” He scrubbed a hand down his face and stood, crossing the floor with that contained grace that made something low in my stomach go warm. He crouched by the futon, brushing a thumb under my eye. “You slept.”
I nodded. “You didn’t.”
He huffed. “I’ll nap after I get a good dose of caffeine.”
“I make a mean instant coffee,” I threatened.
That pulled a smile out of him. He leaned in and kissed my forehead, a quiet, steadying press. “We need to talk.”
Which I learned in Phoenix language meant he’d been rehearsing this conversation all night.
I pushed up, tucking my knees under the blanket. “Okay.”
His hands went to the edge of the futon, fingers curling like he needed to hold something. “We move you and Braden into my house. Today.”
My instinct was to say no. To point at the cameras and the lock he’d reinforced and the way I’d finally slept. To cling to the thin scaffolding of normal I’d built in the loft. But his jaw was set in that way I’d learned meant he wasn’t pushing me; he was protecting me.
“I don’t want to run,” I said quietly.
“You’re not.” His voice gentled, but his eyes didn’t waver. “You’ll still be at the brewery. You’ll still drop Braden at daycare. You’ll still roll your eyes at Cooper when he tells bad jokes. But at night. . .” He tipped his chin toward the door. “At night you’ll have walls thick enough to slow anyone down, and a floor plan I can lock down like a puzzle. More cameras. Better sightlines. My dad is happier if you’re in my house until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“Pierre asked?”
“He suggested,” Phoenix said. Then, after a beat, “And I want it.”
Something in me softened at that. Want. Not obligation. Not duty. Want. “Phoenix. . .I can’t just move into your place.”
“I know nothing about this relationship has followed a traditional path, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want you in my house, Elyna, I want you in my bed. Braden can have his own room. . .”
“It’ll be temporary,” I said because I needed the word, even if I didn’t know why.
Phoenix frowned and it was then I knew I’d hurt him. He also wanted this for us, not just to protect me. That did something to my insides, but with everything going on it seemed like bad timing to tell him how hard I was falling for him. How I didn’t see my life without him in it anymore.
“Temporary,” he agreed. “We pack what you need for a few weeks. Braden’s crib comes with us. I can set it up in the guest room next to mine.”
