“Hawkins!I told you to stop that!”Halo scolded him, then sighed as he sprang off the chair and landed in a squat on the ground, arms still spread open and a big grin on his face.
Damn, that kid looked so much like Crosby that it hit me in the chest at times.Remembering the kid he’d been.Wondering what kind of dad he would have been.
“That’s awesome, bud, but you’d better obey your momma.It’ll keep you on her good side, and you know what that means,” I told him with a wink.
He frowned for a moment, and then his eyes widened.“Ice cweam!”
Chuckling, I pulled out the chair beside him, thinking I could help keep the little guy from any more wild acts to stress out Halo.I’d much rather she talk to my cousin and his friend.I didn’t feel like being hospitable.
“I was thinking you’d get to go ride Jack with Stevie again,” I reminded him.
Stevie was Linc’s daughter, and Hawkins loved going to ride Linc’s quarter horses with her.They were older, smaller, and not as intimidating as Bane’s thoroughbreds.
He nodded his head vigorously.“I wike widing Jack!”
“Then you might want to sit your booty back in this chair and eat your breakfast like a big boy.”
He thought about that, then finally caved to the promise of horseback riding.Little did he know, that was already in the plans for him today.Bane had scheduled me to take Halo and Hawkins over there after lunch.They never left the gates to the property without one of us with them.Bane was going to meet them there, but he had to finish handling some business with Linc.
I stuffed a bit of casserole into my mouth, then glanced over at Halo, who gave me a silent,Thank you.
My focus shifted to the other female in the room before I could stop myself.Yep, just as fucking gray as I remembered, or maybe they would be considered silver.Damn, she had insane eyes.Her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck, showing off completely unblemished skin.The pulse at the base of her neck was beating so hard that I could see it.Why was that?My gaze darted back up to see her eyes watching me.Interesting.
“Let me get you both plates,” Halo said cheerily, and I jerked my head back around to look down at my food.
Gathe was right.She was smoking hot.And she was fucking my cousin.Had to be.I didn’t want any drama.If Gathe wanted to console her and get all mixed up in that shit, whatever.Not me.I had my own set of problems.No need to add more to it.
Six
Elsie
Don’t look at him.Do not look at him.He caught you already, and he was unhappy about it.Don’t do it again.
Sure, he was gorgeous, but he was also terrifying.
“Here,” Calvin said while handing me a plate with a small portion of the breakfast casserole, a slice of bacon, and some berries.
“Thank you,” I replied, taking it, although I didn’t have an appetite.I knew I had to eat, but I didn’t want to.
He was leaving me here with these strangers.Halo, Winslet, Cressida, and Noa all seemed very nice, but I didn’t know them.I had just met them yesterday.I needed Calvin.Asking him to stay this morning had been wrong.I knew he had to get back to LA and that his career depended on it.But in the light of day, facing the horror of my situation, I had cracked and begged him not to go.
He’d already postponed things to get me to safety.I should be thankful for that, and I was, but I’d woken up twice with nightmares about my parents.What they’d gone through.I had ended up crying in the shower, curled up under the water, at three this morning.Trying to hold it together while I watched Calvin leave today was going to be hard.
A chime went off, and Hawkins jumped out of his seat.“Daddy!”he called out, appearing thrilled.
His father was scarier than Forge, although somewhat friendlier.But the kid sure seemed to be excited about him.
“No, baby, that’s probably Oz and Winslet,” Halo told him.“Or Than and Montana,” she said with a shrug.“Daddy is at Linc’s.”
The little boy’s shoulders sagged, as if he was deflated.“I wanna go to Winc’s too.”
Forge leaned closer to him.“Remember what I said.You sit and eat like a big boy, and I bet you just might get to go.”
That had the little boy scrambling back into his chair.He wasn’t so scary when he interacted with Hawkins.In fact, it was rather heartwarming.
“Sorry we’re late,” Winslet said as she walked into the room, looking from Halo to the two of us.“The alarm didn’t go off.”
“Sure that’s what happened,” Forge drawled.
