Lila turned to stare out the window at the dawn beginning to lighten the horizon. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.” Her hand curved over the front of the yoga pants and sweater she had put on, along with a pair of sneakers. The heater was running to keep her feet warm. “Raul abandoned me—and his child.”
Skye’s attention shot to the woman in the passenger seat. “You’re pregnant?”
“I have been late for two months in a row.” A faint smile touched her lips. “And something inside me feels different. I pray it is true.” Lila didn’t say more, and silence filled the truck cab.
A full hour passed before Edge awoke and demanded to take back the wheel.
This time Skye napped in the back seat. Or tried to. She kept thinking of everything that had happened since she and Edge had gone to Chamaya. She was supposed to be pulling away from him, protecting herself. Instead, she had given in to the wild hunger stirred by the fight in the bar. Whatever her intentions, her body had refused to listen.
She’d wanted Edge. Needed him. She still did.
Her thoughts went to Lila and Raul Ramirez, the man she had married, the man who had left her alone to bear and raise his child. One thing she knew—Edge might move on with his life, but if something happened, he would never abandon her. It just made her care for him more.
Notcare, she corrected herself. She was way beyond that. She was in love with him.
Skye closed her eyes and managed to force thoughts of Edge from her mind. It was late morning when they arrived in Denver. Lila was exhausted, and the brief nap Skye’d had in the back seat of the truck hadn’t done much good.
Carrying her bags, Edge followed her and Lila up to the apartment, said a brief farewell, and disappeared. Though he lived only a few blocks away, Skye felt strangely bereft.
Once they were settled, she pulled out her cell and phoned Callie.
“I’m coming over right now!” Callie said. “Tell Lila. I’ll ask Conn to drop me off at your place.”
During the women’s tearful reunion, Lila told Callie about Stella and that Riley Beeker, aka Beekman, had killed her. She explained that Daniel had forced her to accompany him and service him in bed.
“I did what I had to do to stay alive. Then I realized I was pregnant with Raul’s child, and I was even more determined. I was so afraid they would kill me. If I died, so would my baby. Then your sister and her friend Edge came to the ranch.”
Lila explained to Callie about the shootout, how Edge had forced Daniel to go with them, then turned him over to the sheriff in Pagosa Springs.
“I will never forget what your sister and her Edge did for me,” Lila said.
Callie leaned in and hugged her. Both of them cried.
Lila believed Skye and Edge were a couple. Skye didn’t bother to correct her. She didn’t think Edge would ever belong to any woman. He was too much of a loner to open up in the way that was necessary for a relationship to work.
Leaving the women alone in the guest room to catch up and try to figure out which paths their future should take, Skye was surprised when Edge showed up at the apartment that evening carrying two large pepperoni pizzas.
“I figured after such a long day you’d all be hungry,” he said.
Skye smiled as she took the pizzas and set them on the kitchen counter. “Thanks, these smell great. I thought you’d be ready for some down time by now.”Some time to yourself, she meant.
Edge’s blue eyes fixed on her face. “I guess I’m getting used to having you around.”
Ignoring the little thrill that slipped through her and refusing to read too much into the words, she went to work. In the cupboard, she found some paper plates and set them on the counter, then called Lila and Callie to join them.
“Callie’s here?” Edge asked.
“I called to let her know Lila was safe, and she wanted to come over. Conn dropped her off. He’ll come back for her in the morning.”
She turned as the women walked into the kitchen. “Edge brought pizza. There’s soft drinks and beer in the fridge.” Grabbing a Bud Light for herself and one for Edge, she handed him a bottle.
Callie grabbed a beer. “I turned twenty-one while you were gone.” She cranked the cap off the bottle and held it up. “I’m finally legal.”
“Oh, that’s right! Happy birthday!” Skye smiled. “We need to celebrate. You can’t have a twenty-first birthday and spend the night at home.”
“I . . . umm . . . went out with Detective Powers that night.”
Skye remembered him. Buzz-cut brown hair, muscular, and good-looking.
