He looks at me with those amber eyes, and I almost fall for him all over again. It would be so easy to do. To kiss him and let him hold me, to make love gently and passionately, to forget the last three years ever happened. Mia mumbles in her sleep, breaking the spell, and I remind myself of why I left in the first place.
“I wish I could say the same.”
I don’t let myself see the hurt on his face as I shut the door on him.
Chapter 8
Lena
The next morning, I try to explain the situation as clearly as possible to Mia without scaring her. Luckily, she seems to take the news of our new living situation well and cheers up when I tell her Pop-Pop is okay.
“Pop-Pop?” she says, and I know she’s asking if we can see him. She sounds so hopeful it breaks my heart.
“Not yet, sweetie. Pop-Pop needs to rest to get better. Soon, I promise.” I hope it’s a promise I can keep. “Now, how about we go downstairs and make some breakfast?”
She agrees enthusiastically, and I feel hopeful that perhaps she will somehow process what happened yesterday as a sort of bad dream. That it won’t haunt her in the way I know it will haunt me.
I open the wardrobe in search of something to wear. My clothes from last night are stained with blood, as are Mia’s, I discover, to my horror. Luckily, it seems Judge’s mom was about the same size as me. Based on the fashion of the items, she must have passed away in the nineties when Judge was still young. I pick out a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Dressing Mia is trickier, and we have to resort to her wearing a t-shirt as a dress. She seems happy about it since the t-shirt is yellow, her favorite color. We’ll have to find clothes for her soon, but it’s probably not safe for me to go home. Zeke is no doubt watching, and I’ve no money to buy new clothes.
I feel like I’ve traveled back in time to three years ago, when I fled Zeke and then Rex with nothing but the clothes on my back. To have come full circle and ended up here with nothing to my name, caught up with Zeke and Rex again, feels like a cruel trick the universe is playing on me.
It’s still early, so I’m surprised to see Cole and a dark-haired man sitting at the kitchen table. “Good morning, Lena, this is Doc,” Cole says, gesturing to the man sitting opposite him.
Doc stands up, and I get a proper look at him. He’s a little shorter than the others, maybe a little under six feet. Unlike the others, a smattering of stubble covers his cleft chin. He has a nice smile and kind, warm brown eyes with long eyelashes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lena,” he says, reaching out to shake my hand, his voice rich and deep. “And you must be Mia,” he says.
Mia hides behind me, holding onto the edge of my shirt and peeking out from behind me. “Mia, say hello.”
“Hello,” she says shyly.
“It’s nice to meet you, too. Cole tells me you’re the one who tended to Big Joe’s bullet wound. Thank you. Is he going to be okay?” I ask, desperate for news.
“It’s still early days, he lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. If we hadn’t found him when we did…” he doesn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning is clear. Big Joe wouldn’t be alive. “But the doctors are confident he’ll make it.”
“Thank you,” I say gratefully, squeezing his hand.
He smiles in acceptance. “I was just about to make pancakes for breakfast. Would you like some?”
This perks Mia up, who loves pancakes. “Pancakes!” she cries, coming out from behind me, shyness forgotten as she bounces with glee.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, smiling indulgently at Mia.
“Please, take a seat. The coffee is still warm and there’s juice,” Cole says, gesturing to the table. We make small talk while Doc cooks.
“So you two must be the early risers out of the four of you,” I comment.
“Actually, no, Judge is usually up first. He’s a terrible insomniac, so don’t worry if you hear him moving around at strange hours. He and Rex left early on official club business,” Cole explains.
I let out a sigh of relief that I won’t have to see Rex. I can’t help but wonder if part of his day will include spending time with his family. Perhaps he isn’t working at all, and Cole is just saving my feelings by not rubbing Rex’s domestic bliss in my face. Mind you, it’s been three years, for all I know, Rex could have cheated again and gotten caught. He could now be single for real. I don’t know how to handle that notion, so I push the thought away, telling myself I don’t want him, even if I could have him.
If I’m going to pine after a Soaring Eagle, I should do it over one of the other sexy men in the house, for they are undoubtedly attractive in their own ways. Most women would be envious of my current living situation. Though, of course, this is just fantasy, I’m sure they also have wives or girlfriends.
“What do your old ladies think of your current living situation? I can’t imagine many women being thrilled at the prospect of you shacking up with some woman they don’t know.”
“What makes you think we have old ladies?” Doc asks.
I shrug. “I guess I just assumed, given your approximate ages and the fact that you all seem like nice, attractive men, that you wouldn’t be single.”
