He tucks a lock of hair, more red than gold in the moonlight, behind my ear.“No one else existed once I ran into you again.You’re all I’ve thought about.Honestly”—he shakes his head—“I might have picked up on Danielle’s intentions sooner if I hadn’t been so caught up in thinking about you.And then there’s this mess with Kate I’ve been dealing with.”
He rolls me on top of him.“I’m sorry.I’ll make it clear to Danielle and anyone else that I’m not interested.I have everything I want.”
Whelp, that clears things up for me.I nuzzle his neck and kiss him beneath his jaw, straddling him.
Jaeger needs to push back more when it comes to Kate, but his heart is in the right place.He doesn’t want to make the wrong move when it comes to a child’s life.Kate weaseling her way into the middle will have to be dealt with—but maybe not right now.
A second later, our clothes are off and we’re putting the translucent tent fabric to the test.
The restof the week goes by faster than I can blink.Between my job and school, and Jaeger’s commissions and meetings with lawyers, we’ve only seen each other at night.
Tonight, I’m waiting in our tent, reading one of Gen’s romance novels.This one’s about a vampire with obsessive-compulsive disorder.I give her a hard time for reading this stuff, but now that I’ve cracked one open, I can’t put it down.It’s freaking addictive.
The screech of the zipper has me jumping back, tucking the book under my pillow.I roll on my side, head propped on my hand.“Hey,” I say, breathlessly, as if I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t.
If Jaeger notices, he doesn’t show it.His eyes are at half-mast as he slips his wallet from his back pocket, kicks off his shoes, and crawls onto the bed face down.A rumbly sound comes from his chest.I think he said hello, but I can’t be sure.
I crawl on his back and dip my head over his shoulder by his ear.“You okay?”
He turns his head to the side.“Now.Don’t move.Feels good.I’ll be asleep in three seconds.”
I’m worried about him.He’s wearing himself out.“You’re exhausted.What can I do to help?Do you want me to beat Kate up and get her sister’s phone number?”
He snorts.“No.My lawyer has people searching birth certificates for information on her daughter.They offered to track Kate’s sister Hannah down, but I’ve got tomorrow off.I’m heading up again.I don’t want the lawyer getting involved yet.Don’t want to scare Hannah or the girl.”
I roll to the side, facing him.“Let me go with you.I’ll take the day off too.”He studies my face.“It might be nice for them to know there’s another woman in the picture.Maybe Hannah doesn’t trust Kate.It could help smooth the situation over if she and her husband know you’re in a serious relationship.That you’re the kind of guy who commits.”
His gaze is interested but guarded.“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
Jaeger raises his head and kisses my lips.“I’d like that.”
The next daywe leave at six a.m.to beat traffic and catch Kate’s sister before she begins her day.We arrive in Reno at seven thirty, and pull into the Donner Springs neighborhood.
“What’s Kate’s sister like?”I ask.
“Hannah?No idea.Kate and Hannah didn’t get along in high school.I met her a couple of times, but the visits were brief.I’m surprised custody went to her.Kate manipulated her parents, but she had a better relationship with them.”
“And the little girl’s name?”It could have been intentional on my part, to block what I don’t want to believe, but I’ve rarely asked Jaeger about his daughter.If she’s going to be in his life, I need to make a bigger effort to learn about her.
His jaw tightens and he shakes his head.“Kate won’t tell me anything, not even that.She’s not making sense.Whatever I learn from Hannah, I know it will be different from what Kate’s telling me.For all I know, Kate dumped the child on her sister’s doorstep and told her to take care of it.”
Jaeger checks the address on his truck’s GPS and pulls up to a small yellow house with a yard that needs to be mowed.“We’re here.”A maroon sedan sits in the drive, a car seat in the back.
We walk up the driveway and I grab Jaeger’s hand before he knocks on the door.A child’s playful screech sounds in the background, along with a thunder of small footsteps.
My heart pounds, my hands cold and clammy.I glance over and Jaeger smiles reassuringly.I think I’m more nervous than he is.
The sound of a chain sliding free scrapes before the door opens.A woman with tawny, shoulder-length hair and dark blue eyes stands on the other side.“Yes?”
“Hannah?I’m Jaeger Lang.I—uh, I dated your sister.Back in high school.”
The woman blinks, her quick gaze taking in his size, then settling on his face.“Oh, sure.Hi, Jaeg.Is everything okay?I—uh, I don’t really keep in touch with Kate.If that’s why you’re here?”She glances at me curiously.
Jaeger anchors an arm around my waist.“This is my girlfriend, Cali.I’ve seen Kate.I’m here because of what she told me.Do you mind if we come in and talk to you for a minute?”
Hannah opens the screen door.“I’ve got to leave for work soon and drop off my daughter at school, but we have a little time.”
