“Just to check in. Today’s been a lot.”
“I’m okay, Rosie,” he assured me, his hand curling around my nape.
“I know, but this is one of those times we spoke about, remember? You hold on to what’s real, and that way, when the world tilts back to its rightful place, you tilt with it.”
“You scared, baby?” he asked gently.
“Not scared exactly,” I told him. “But I’m apprehensive.”
His fingers curled tighter. “Don’t be. I’m good.”
“I hope so,” I whispered.
His eyes took on a confused look, and he bent his head to rest his forehead against mine. “Okay, we’ll talk.”
“Hey, guys!” a voice called over, penetrating our huddle.
I turned to see Kennedy approaching, with Gabby and Kady in tow. “Can Gabby and DJ stay at ours tonight. The boys wanna work out, so Kit said that given the circumstances, they can use the club’s gym to avoid town.”
“Kady and I want to watch movies,” Gabby informed me. “The TV in her room is bigger than mine, and she has her own Netflix.”
“They’ll be fine with us,” Kennedy interjected.
I smiled through the stab of worry in my chest and asked, “Are you sure?”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Like Kit will let anything happen to them.”
She was right. There was no way any harm would come to my kids if Breaker was in charge of them. In fact, I’d probably end up feeling sorry for the fool who tried. I’d heard rumors about Breaker, and they involved knives, snapped necks, blood, pain, and death.
“Okay,” I agreed.
Kennedy grinned. “Perfect.”
“Wait,” Donovan exclaimed. “Where’s Imogen?”
My heart took a nosedive, and I looked around the garden.
“Yo! Cash!” Donovan called out. “Where’s Wilder at?”
“He took Imogen inside,” Cash called back. “Said your girl was tired.”
Donovan’s eyes met mine. “What the fuck?”
“Come on,” Cara said, walking toward us. “We’ll go find them. Don’t worry, Wilder will look after her.”
“This is getting ridiculous,” Donovan grumbled as we followed Cara into the house. “I don’t get a fucking second alone with Imogen as it is; Ma’s all over her like a goddamned rash. Now I got mini-Cash sniffing around, and it’s making me nervous.”
“She’s not even a year old,” I pointed out. “What harm can it do? And don’t you think that it's nice that she’s already got a best friend?”
“Remind me of that when she’s sixteen,” Donovan bit out.
Cara glanced back and rolled her eyes. “Wilder’s been a loner since the day he was born. I’d call him socially awkward, but it’s not that. It’s more like he just doesn’t give a damn about the same things kids his own age do, and doesn’t care about fitting in. He’s advanced for his age and extremely smart, and he knows his own mind already. Wilder obviously sees something in Imogen that he’s drawn to. Don’t take that away from him, especially since I know my boy will look after her.”
“She’s still a baby,” Donovan muttered as we walked through the deserted living room.
“And so’s Wilder,” Cara shot back. “Imogen seems to be drawn to him, too, and while they’re both happy, maybe we should leave them to it. As they get older, we’ll keep an eye on them, and if things start to turn inappropriate, that’s when we step in. But don’t punish them for being friends.”
We hit the stairs and walked up to the first floor. “It’s not that,” Donovan protested.
