Page 57 of Broken Strings

“Can you be Branch, Dad?” She sidles up to her father, who presses his lips to her forehead, and then nods his head. When she turns to me, she furrows her little brow in thought before a smile lights up her face.

“And you can take a turn being Poppy, Summer-hero!”

Her face is so completely triumphant, and I can’t deny her, so I just nod whilst plastering a smile on my face.

“Can I have your phone to record it, please?”

Her indulgent father nods, handing her his device, which she takes and works easily to unlock, opening the camera app with ease. The recording button sounds quietly.

“Okay then. Three, two, one…go!”

Caden starts with Branch’s opening, and I’m so caught up listening to his beautifully husky voice that I almost miss Poppy’s entry until Bella shakes my leg.

Inhaling deeply, I harmonise quickly with Cade, as we used to so many years ago, and within moments, the world has faded into the background. Our voices fill the room. Eyes fixed firmly on one another. And all too soon, the song is at an end, and Bella’s enthusiastic applause resounds around the room.

And as the little whirlwind flies about the room, breaking into her own version of “One More Time,” Caden reaches between us to slip a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His eyes hold more depth than any words we could exchange. His eyes hold fifteen years of loneliness, regret, and longing, but more powerful than that, his eyes hold hope.

And that’s what saddens and scares me in equal measure, because hope is the most dangerous thing either of us could possess.

CHAPTER15

CADEN

Ford is morethan happy to drive us to my parents’ house whilst regaling us with tales of his family back in Texas. It’s exactly what’s needed to keep Summer adequately distracted as she laughs along with my Bug.

My father has used Holloway Security Detail, or HSD, for as long as I can remember. Ford’s dad, Jasper—or Jas, as he goes by—managed all the security for Jupiter’s Fallen throughout their career. He’d sent Ford, his twenty-two-year-old son, on a mission to prove his worth, to head up my own security last year, and despite his youth, we’d clicked immediately.

Henry’s wife, Liv, says he’s got an old head on young shoulders or something like that.

He’s finishing up on a story I’ve heard about a million times about his mother complaining that he needs to settle down. His delivery is dry as fuck, his timing spot on, and it never fails to make his audience crack up every single time.

“And what did your mother say?” Summer’s voice is heavily accented with amusement, and she sits forward, waiting for Ford’s answer.

The man in question chuckles, catching my eye and then Summer’s in the rearview mirror.

“She said that all men can be saved by the love of a good woman, so to make sure to bring my good woman home pronto because I’m getting more rotten by the day.”

Summer’s laughter fills the car as Bella looks at me with big, sad eyes.

“Aww, Dad. Ford’s mum hates him, too.”

My heart stops, and I blink stupidly a handful of times. My mouth feels like sandpaper, and when I open it to speak, nothing comes out. Ford’s eyes in the rear-view speak volumes.

“Oh, Curly-Sue. Your mum loves you, Bella.” Summer gathers Bug in the crook of her arm. “It would be impossible not to! You’re the best girl in the whole world.”

Bella’s lips lift as she snuggles into Summer, turning her big blue eyes up to question, “Doyoulove me, Summer-hero?”

Without missing a beat, Summer drops a kiss on my daughter’s upturned nose. “Of course, I love you, Bella. I love youverymuch.”

“I love you too.”

The easy affection between Bug and Summer is both stomach-churning and heart-warming. To think my girl barely received so much as a hug from her mother but is so openly loving towards Summer blows my mind.

Ford’s gaze holds mine in the rearview mirror as we turn onto the lane entering North property. He winks once, nodding in the direction of the girls before returning his eyes to the road and his mouth to the telling of tales from his familial ranch in Texas.

Summer is so caught up in comforting Bella that she doesn’t notice where we are until we’ve pulled into the driveway.

“We’re here!” Bella extricates herself from Summer’s hold and climbs across the car seats onto Ford’s lap. “Come on, come on! I need to show you my treehouse.”

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