Pointing across the way at Styles caused Zane to pull up abruptly. He walked quietly across the room.
He sank into the sofa at the other end from her. He pointed to Styles and then gave a big thumbs-up.
Her cheeks burned. Yes, she had finally, finally got the little boy to fall asleep.
“How are you?” Zane silently mouthed to her, his brows knitted together in concern.
She rolled her eyes, and the wall around her heart started forming again. He was askingherthat?
Before she could answer, Styles sat up. “Surprise!”
Both Zane and Mabel startled before Zane started to laugh. His laugh was hoarse, though, and the skin under his eyes sagged into dark circles.
“We bee-tended to be asleep!” Styles said.
Zane dropped his head back even more as his laughter took on a deeper tone. “You totally got me.”
Mabel started laughing with him. “Me too.”
Zane dragged himself off the sofa and crawled over to Styles. He ran his hands through Styles’s hair, pressing his nose to his head, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got to go shower. You go to sleep for real now, and I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Styles nodded and wrapped his pudgy, dimpled arms around his uncle in a tight squeeze.
Zane glanced at Mabel before heading into the bathroom.
“I can stay until you’re done,” she said, her gaze on the carpet. “Who knows what this one might do while you’re in there.”
He gave a swift nod in thanks and disappeared into his bedroom.
Mabel’s mind was keyed up by the time Zane appeared in her line of vision again, this time smelling like musky pine and wearing a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
She struggled to get up into a seated position. She needed to go home. She wasn’t ready to talk to him about anything. It was going to hurt, and she wasn’t ready.
Relief over his safety gave way to anger. She’d trusted him, kissed him, and he was moving on? This kind of thing was the reason she hadn’t let herself fall for him all this time. She knew he would do this to her.
“You can lie back down again if you’re tired,” he whispered. He checked on Styles who was, blessedly, finally asleep for real.
She stood from the sofa and grabbed her wallet and keys from the side table. “I’m not tired.” Fighting to stay calm, she took a couple of steps toward the front door. “Is the fire out?” she asked, turning halfway around.
He made a low, rumbling noise in his throat, so soft she almost missed it. He must have known she was angry.
Good. Because what he was doing, to both her and Carolina, was wrong. So very wrong, and she wouldn’t be a fool again.
“Mostly,” he whispered. “We’re about ninety percent contained. The county sent more people in to relieve us.” He paused, and she could hear the sound of him scratching his face. “I think I’ll try to get a few hours of sleep and then head back over at first light.”
She reached the door and allowed herself a glance in his direction. “What was the damage like?” Mabel hated even asking, but from what little she’d seen of it from the mountain and from social media posts, it looked like a very big deal.
He blew out a long breath, his eyes looking far into the distance. “Honestly? Can we talk about this tomorrow? I’m…pretty beat.”
“I can just get that info from the Facebook group.” She opened the door, a blast of cold Autumn air hitting her, awakening her emotions of anger and fear even more. “Goodnight, Zane.”
Taking a couple of steps toward her, he stopped short, right before he reached the place where the carpet met the tile of the entry. “Wait. There are some things I didn’t explain. I know how things look with Carolina.”
Jealousy at even the way he said her name had Mabel reeling. Blood roared in her ears. She was a cushion used for sewing, where everything all around her was sinking sharp quilter’s pins into her. Everything in her soul hurt.
She held up a palm. “No,” she whispered. “I don’t want to wake up Styles.”
He reached for her, but she dodged away, taking a step out into the night air. “Don’t,” she said.
