Tilly’s eyes softened. “Kayden was the same. He was slow to trust in me,andus, but I like to think that at some point, he realized he was fighting a losing battle.”
“You two are perfect together.” Everyone always talked about how hard and grumpy Kayden was, but around Tilly, he was the complete opposite.
“Thank you. And you, Eastern and Avery make such a beautiful family.”
A family. The three of them. It was equal parts wonderful and terrifying. Wonderful because she loved them both so much and wanted to be with them, and terrifying because they gave her something to lose.
“I heard her mother’s been hanging around.” Tilly’s fingers visibly tightened on the wheel.
“Yeah, she said she’s going to fight for Avery and keeps mentioning lawyers, but so far, Eastern hasn’t heard anything. That kind of scares me.”
“Why does it scare you?”
Sadie lifted a shoulder. “I guess because she was so insistent on taking action to get Avery back, but now her silence feels almost…”
“Ominous?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what it feels like.”
Tilly gave her a reassuring smile. “Maybe she’s realized it’s a fight she’s not going to win. I mean, even if she hadn’t done everything she’s done, Avery has Eastern on her side. Hell, she’s got the entire Walker family. That’s not a group I’d want to mess with.”
Sadie knew that. A normal, sane person wouldn’t go up against Eastern and his family. But there’d been something almost wild in Jamie’s eyes the last time Sadie had seen her. She could only hope the other woman had found sense and decided Avery was better off with her father.
If she really wanted to be a part of Avery’s life, then she should stay in Misty Peak, wait for Avery to feel comfortable seeing her again, then slowly gain back her trust.
When they pulled into the supermarket parking lot, her phone vibrated at the same time as Tilly’s. She shook her head at the text.
Eastern: Everything okay?
She looked across at Tilly. “Kayden?”
“I swear, if he wasn’t so gorgeous I’d strangle him for being so overprotective.”
She chuckled as she climbed out of the truck. She was about to respond when a guy walked out of the supermarket, his gaze finding hers, then Tilly’s, and narrowing.
Sadie frowned. Where had she seen him before?
“I hate that guy,” Tilly whispered under her breath as they crossed the lot.
“You know him?”
“Mm-hmm. He’s a deputy at the station. Questioned me a few months ago after someone set me up for a crime I didn’t commit. He was an asshole. I swear he gets his kicks out of making other people’s lives hell.”
Yeah, he did look a bit like an ass.
She was about to respond to Eastern when she remembered where she’d seen him; he was on duty the night she’d found Denny’s body. But that wasn’t all—he’d also been in the liquor store talking to Mr. Anderson.
The man who’d referred to him as “Dad.”
It was Mr. Anderson’s son.
God, she’d been such a mess the night Denny was found, she hadn’t made the connection. It probably hadn’t helped that the female officer had taken her statement while he’d taken Scott’s.
Just before stepping into the shop, she glanced over her shoulder to find him staring straight at them…and the look on his face made unease curl through her belly.
CHAPTER 24
“Is this right?”
