Page 38 of Just a Little Promise

“Skye isn’t someone I recently met,” Tripp divulged before taking a long drink of his beer. “I dated her back in Boston when I was in med school, so I’ve known her for a while.”

“Why did you break up?” Beck asked.

Tripp absently glanced out at his parents’ beautifully landscaped yard, something his father took pride in now that he was retired and in remission from cancer. “At the time, I was so overwhelmed with school and my residency, I felt like I couldn’t give her the commitment she wanted.”

Drew groaned in commiseration. “I just recently learned that lesson, too. I believed I couldn’t have both a career and a relationship, and I would have lost Georgia if I hadn’t pulled my head out of my ass and realized she was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and that Icanbalance both.”

Tripp smiled at Drew, happy for him. “Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way, because letting Skye go back then was one of my biggest regrets. I’m just glad that I’ve got a second chance with her.”

“Sounds... serious,” Beck said quietly.

Tripp nodded. “It is. For me,” he said, then gave them a bit more information to better understand Skye hesitancy. “She had a bad marriage and now she’s cautious and guarded, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s what us Daniels men do,” his father said, and lifted his bottle of beer toward his three sons in a salute. “We fight for the women we love.”

Tripp grinned, because there was no denying hewasin love with Skye.

“Damn straight we do,” Beck said, having had his own struggles with winning over Chloe, since her brother, Linc, had been Beck’sex-best friend.

Their father stood up from his chair. “Drew, come and help me get some shovels and fertilizer for the new rose bush,” he said, and together the duo headed toward the shed in the backyard, leaving Beck and Tripp alone for a few minutes.

“What happened with Zach?” Beck asked once it was just the two of them. “Was he able to help you out, and get the information you needed from the license plate?”

Tripp glanced inside the house to make sure the women were still in the kitchen, because this wasn’t a conversation he wanted Skye to overhear. From what he could see through the glass slider, the women were still gathered around the block island, chatting away.

“Actually, he got back to me pretty quickly, which I appreciated,” he said, then explained the entire situation more thoroughly to Beck, which he hadn’t had time to do during their brief text exchange on Friday night. About being followed to Skye’s at least three times that he knew of, and the confrontation when the asshole had turned aggressive and cut him off, and how Tripp was certain her ex-husband, Jack, was somehow involved.

“I would have bet money that the car was registered to Skye’s ex, but it came back as belonging to a Doug Hammond.” Tripp shook his head, disappointed at what he’d learned.

“The guy driving the car is clearly unhinged, but it’s good that it’s not her ex, right?” Beck asked optimistically.

Tripp’s jaw clenched tight. “The thing is, I’m not convinced that all these incidents aren’t related somehow, or tied to her ex. It’s even possible that Jack hired this Doug guy to harass me, and eventually Skye. I haven’t told her because once I do, she’ll think she’s safe, and I’m not ready to leave her unprotected yet.”

Beck’s brows rose. “So, you’re lying to her?”

Tripp winced at how that sounded. “More like a lie of omission because I haven’t told her I’ve heard back from Zach yet,” he said, then met his brother’s gaze, pinning him with a direct look. “What wouldyoudo if you were in this situation with Chloe?”

“The same,” Beck acknowledged. “Trust my gut and do whatever it took to protect her, including lying by omission.”

“Exactly.” Tripp dragged his fingers through his hair and exhaled a deep breath. “Fuck, I don’t know what I’m going to do, because I can’t keep this information from her indefinitely. But once she knows it’s not her ex, then there’s no reason for me to keep an eye on her and stay close by, either.”

Beck groaned sympathetically. “God, our women are such stubborn creatures sometimes.”

Tripp couldn’t argue that, especially when it came to Skye. “Now that I have the guy’s home address, I’m going to have to make time when Skye is at work or home in the evening to go to his house and confront him about why he’s been following me, just to rule out Jack’s involvement.” But Tripp also knew that it could take a few days to pin this Doug Hammond down, because he wouldn’t necessarily be home when Tripp stopped by.

A low, frustrated growl of sound escaped Tripp. “You probably think I’m being over-the-top neurotic about this situation, but if I wasn’t around and something happened to Skye and the baby—” Realizing what just came out of his mouth, he abruptly stopped and narrowed a warning gaze at Beck, whose eyes went wide in surprise. “Skye isn’t ready to say anything to the family yet, so you didnotjust hear that.”

Beck held up his hands as a slow grin spread across his face. “Hear what?” he asked with feigned innocence. “Although that does explain why you’re being so neurotic, as you put it. And just between us, I get it now. I wouldn’t take any chances with my wife and daughter, either.”

The slider opened at that moment, and the women, and Whitney, came out onto the patio just as Tripp’s father and Drew returned with a shovel and bag of fertilizer and potting soil. His mother, Chloe, and Georgia had glasses of wine, while Skye had opted for iced tea.

He caught her gaze and she smiled at him, looking relaxed and at ease with his family.

As soon as Whitney saw her papa and her uncle Drew with a shovel and a big bag of potting soil and fertilizer, her cute little face lit up with excitement.

“I wanna help dig!” she said in a high pitched voice. “Daddy even let me bring my shovel from my garden tools at home!” She raced inside the house and returned with a miniature sized plastic garden shovel in her hand, ready to lend her assistance.

Tripp picked up the bucket with the recently delivered rose bush, and they all headed down to the yard where the other roses had been placed throughout the years. Finding the perfect spot for the newest one, Tripp rolled up his shirt sleeves and with the help of his brothers and Whitney, they planted the shrub.

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