Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“I’m Luke. This is my sister, Aneshya.”
The girl gave Falcon a shy smile but didn’t say anything. She clung to her brother, and Luke put an arm around her.
“It’s good to meet you, Aneshya. You know Lemon and Apple, right?”
“Yeah,” Luke answered. “We like them.”
“Good. They’re waiting in the house. Thought you’d like to explore and pick out your rooms.” Falcon continued to smile but gave me a look. “You think you can do that while your mom and Knox go see Rocket? Me and Bear over there’ll be outside if you guys need us.”
“Mommy?” Aneshya looked up at Evelyn. I wasn’t sure if the girl was afraid or if she was asking permission, but Evelyn knew her daughter.
She knelt down in front of the girl. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can. I doubt Rocket will keep us too long. No one’s gonna hurt you or Luke.”
“You’re gonna protect us now?” Aneshya addressed me, her eyes wide and questioning.
“I sure am. Me and everyone here. We’re all one big family.”
That seemed to please Aneshya because she finally had a real, if small, smile. “I like that.”
“We’re learning how important it is to have family you can rely on, so we like it too.”
Evelyn lifted her face to me, giving me a questioning look. I nodded. “Stay with Lemon and Apple. I’ll be right back.”
Luke stepped up to me. “You take care of my mom. I’ll protect Aneshya.”
“On my word, Luke. Your mother will be safe. So will you and Aneshya.”
Luke and I shared a long look, then Luke nodded. “I don’t think you’re like Danny. You’re his brother, but you’re not like him.”
“I won’t betray any of you, Luke. Not for anything. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. I do.” Luke stuck out his hand to me and I took it. He gave me a firm handshake. “If you do to Mom what Danny did, I’ll kill you.”
“I expect nothing less. You’ve got more of your grandpa in you than your father.”
That seemed to please Luke because he lifted his chin and I saw the ghost of a smile and something like shock. Like I’d just given the kid the highest praise. He nodded once, then took his sister’s hand and led her toward the house. We watched until they opened the door. Apple and Lemon greeted them with smiles and hugs. To my amusement, Luke hugged Apple for a very long time. Before Apple finally pushed him off, she was laughing, and Luke was smiling. Then Apple rolled her eyes, threw up her hands, and hugged him again. Luke had a shit-eating grin on his face. I knew one day he’d be capable of breaking hearts wherever he went. The thing was, because of the way Danny had lied to his family, by deceiving them all, Luke would never intentionally harm a woman or child. Physically, mentally, or emotionally. As I saw it, my job now was to reinforce those instincts in him by proving I would always love and protect his family now.
My family.
With that last, though, I leaned in and kissed Evelyn’s cheek. “Come on. Let’s go see what’s going on so we can get back and make sure everyone gets settled in.”
Evelyn nodded, then turned her face up to mine. She pulled herself up on her tiptoes and kissed my mouth tenderly. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her back.
“You up for this? I can go by myself if you want to stay with your kids.”
“No. I need to know what happened. And why.”
“I know. But you know I can explain it all. After.” I wanted to spare her what I knew would be a painful encounter but knew she wouldn’t take me up on the offer.
“No. I need to see the truth in his eyes.”
“He’s lied to you before, Evelyn.”
“I know, Knox.”
She tried to look away, but I turned her face gently back to me. “I’m not criticizing you, honey. I just don’t want to cause you more pain that you’ve already endured.”
“I know. But I need to do this. I’ll trust you to have my back.”
“You’ll do what I tell you? I promised your son I’d never hurt you. If someone else hurts you on my watch, that kid’ll jack me in my sleep.” I grinned down at her, trying to lighten the mood while still getting her promise to do what I said. If Rocket found out something to condemn Danny and he managed to tug at Evelyn’s heart strings, I might not be able to keep that promise to Luke. And I had no desire to, and no intention of, breaking that promise.
She smiled back, though it didn’t really reach her eyes. “Yes, Mr. Bossy Pants. I promise I’ll do what you tell me. I wouldn’t want my son to have to hurt you.”