Page 108 of Tapped

Is she everywhere I look?

Can I feel her in every room I walk into?

Fuck, yes.

But the house isn’t quiet with just me and my parents this time.

Quiet isn’t a thing with Chase Litchfield Michaels around. He’s not the only one filling my senses. Evie casts a light on the shadows that have haunted me since we lost Hannah. There’s something good for me to focus on in this house for the first time in over a decade.

Mom had dinner ready when we got here. She made too much food, but she said she didn’t know what the doctor and her son liked. The spread was elaborate and varied, and Chase wasn’t forced to eat carrots. He made a mess with spaghetti and chased it with chicken fingers.

Now he’s sticky from ear to ear from roasted marshmallows.

S’mores were a staple in this house growing up. I can’t remember the last time I had one.

I do know. It was with Hannah.

Since I met Evie, this is the first time we’ve spent time together with her son. I’ve become obsessed with touching her anytime she’s near me. Keeping my hands to myself is a chore. Since we got on the plane with Chase, we’ve kept a safe distance other than the precious minutes he passed out.

Chase hasn’t once asked about his dad—even though the asshole has only been out of their lives for a few days. It doesn’t matter what this thing is between me and Evie, I can’t go there in front of her son. Keeping my hands off her in front of Chase is the right thing to do no matter how hard it is.

They’ll be sleeping across the hall from me in Hannah’s room. This week might do me in.

“How do you be a cowboy?”

Chase stands next to where my dad is reclined in his Adirondack. Just like my father is with everything in life, he doesn’t care who he’s talking to, he delivers his answer with no nonsense. “No one canbea cowboy, Chase. You’ve gotta love it. It’s in your soul. You either are or you aren’t.”

“What’s my soul?” Chase asks as he licks chocolate from his fingers.

My dad smacks him lightly on the chest. “It’s in your heart.”

Chase looks down at his chest before he turns to me where I’m standing next to him by the fire. “Are you a cowboy?”

“Nope. I was forced to be when I was your age. I had to earn my marshmallows.” I reach down and give his hair a rustle. Chase cackles since he has quickly realized he can get whatever he wants to eat under this roof and he doesn’t have to earn any of it. “Being a cowboy isn’t in me. But you can try it out tomorrow and see if it’s in you.”

Chase turns to my mom. “Can I have another marshmallow?”

My mom has given the kid anything he wants since we walked through the front door. But this time, she has the decency to check with Evie. “It’s up to your mom. You don’t want a tummy ache. You need to get a good night’s sleep if you’re going to try to be a cowboy. It takes a lot of energy.”

Evie is wrapped in a blanket and sitting across the fire from where I stand. The flames dance in her dark eyes, and there’s a peace about her that’s new.

I like it.

I like it even more that I gave it to her.

And I like that she found it here.

She smiles. “I can’t say no to you today, can I? One more, then you need to shower and get to bed. It’s been a long day. With the time change it’s late.”

I listen to Chase and my parents make plans for tomorrow and the rest of the week, but Evie and I are quiet. I stoke the fire and listen to them talk about cows, riding horses, and fishing.

This is new. New for me, and new for them.

Evie stands and folds her blanket. “It’s time for bed, baby. What do you say to Tess?”

Chase moans and complains about having to go to bed, but finally looks to my mom and says, “Thanks for not making me eat a salad.”

“Chase,” Evie admonishes him. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

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