Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
I could feel her love wash the atmosphere.
A tiny boy who was probably three came tottering toward us, and he lifted his arms to Dakota. She swept him up, snuggled his sweet cheek to hers, and smiled my way. “And this is my little man, Kayden. Can you say hi to Mommy’s new friend, Hailey? She’s a really good friend of your uncle Cody’s so I’m pretty sure you’re going to be seeing her a lot.”
She smirked at me.
I choked out a laugh.
“Hi, Haywee.” The tiny boy reached for me with precious, chubby fingers.
I reached out to touch them, and that was it.
My heart burst.
Paisley knocked into my shoulder with hers, though this time, there was no tease to her words. “Welcome to the family.”
THIRTY-SIX
CODY
“What the fuck happened to your face?” Rage jumped into Ryder’s demeanor the second he saw me.
Yeah, I knew that one was coming.
“What the hell, man?” Ezra wheezed it when he turned around, his hand cinching down on the can of beer he held.
I took off my cap and anxiously squeezed at the brim. “Had a little run-in with a punk after I left Time & Tap Tavern after I met you the other night.” I issued the words in Ryder’s direction.
Ezra jumped in, spitting with enraged disbelief. “Looks to me like you had a hell of a lot more than just a run-in. From where I’m standing, looks like you landed somewhere in the area of getting your ass beat and needing an ambulance. And this went down in my town, and you didn’t think to tell me?”
Unease wobbled through my consciousness. “I had it handled.”
Incredulity pulled into Caleb’s expression, and his attention swept between me and the steaks he was flipping. “And what’s the other guy look like?”
I blew out the strain. “Don’t know. He took off before I could get a look at him.”
Ezra hissed. “I’m not sure that I’d describe that as having it handled. You didn’t get anything on him? And he just took off? Did he rob you?”
I could feel Ezra spinning, the badge he wore coming out, dude Sheriff through and through.
I scuffed my palm over the top of my head, and I warily glanced at where Hailey was being introduced to the kids. Joy emanated from her, the girl so fucking stunning where she stood beneath the shade of the trees with the little flecks of light making their way through.
I turned back to my crew.
“Think it’s more complicated than that.”
A disturbance rolled through them, and I saw the second Ryder came to awareness. His mind traveled right back to what I’d told him that night. When I’d warned him about what Hailey might be up against.
“Hailey’s ex?” The two words ground to dust. In an instant, my best friend was a toil of turbulence.
“Like I said, I didn’t get a look at the bastard, but I’d bet my life it was him, or at least someone he sent to shake me down. Scare me off. Whoever it was said I had one chance and said he’d recommend I use it to run.”
I couldn’t tell them there was another option.
That this might be on me.
Karma finally swooping back to end that borrowed time I’d been living on.
“Fuck.” Ezra rubbed a massive paw down his face before he planted his hands on his hips. “Why the hell didn’t you come to me?”
“Hailey is trying to figure this shit out for herself right now, and I didn’t want to get in the way.”
“Figure it out for herself? That’s dangerous, Cody. You know that.”
While I agreed with Ezra, I had to respect her wishes.
She was the one who’d told me to stay away while she was dealing with this bullshit, and I was the one who’d insisted I wasn’t going anywhere. But at the base of it, I wanted her safe. I hated the idea that motherfucker might be out there lurking. Waiting for an opportunity to hurt her.
“We discussed it, and she said she needed time to decide what she was going to do. I can’t blame her for that.”
“Because she’s afraid of him?” Ezra pushed, his own protectiveness swelling high.
Fury coiled my insides. “Maybe…but she’s working a plan. She said she wants to get him out of her life rather than making the situation messier than it already is.”
Ezra stared across the space where our girls had gone to watching the kids play. “I don’t fucking like it.”
“I don’t like it, either. But we’re holding right now. Besides, I’m not one-hundred-percent it was that fucker, anyway.”
Intuition screamed that was a lie.
Ezra took a single step toward me. “If anything else happens—even a fucking whiff of the guy—I want you to call me. You can’t ignore this, Cody. It’s reckless.”
I hesitated, and he pressed, “Promise me.”
“Yeah, man, I promise.”
“That, or Cody and I can handle that bullshit together.” Ryder vibrated with hostility.