“I want you to stay with me at my house. Whoever is fucking with you doesn’t know where I live. And even if they had my address, they’d never be able to find the place.”
“I can’t stay with you. We don’t even know what happened. It could just be a random robbery, or the door couldhave blown open from the wind, or the light burned out, or something simple.”
“We both know it’s not random, Lily. You are in danger. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you or the kids. Trust me, I know how to protect you.”
“I know you do. I don’t doubt that. But we’ve just started dating again. I can’t move in with you after one date. That’s crazy! We’re not completely back together yet.”
“We are together.” I grabbed her hand and kissed it before shoving my seat back and lifting her across the console to sit sideways in my lap, her back to the door, my arm around her waist. She tucked her legs in sideways, knees to the side of my chest, feet to the seat.
“It doesn’t work that way, Luke. We’re not back together just because you say we are. We have to get it right this time.” Her gaze was cast out into the night, watching the house instead of on me.
“It does work that way. Because that’s the way it’s going to be, Lily. I’m yours, and I always have been. I won’t wait for anything when it comes to keeping you all safe.”
Her eyes blazed into mine as I declared my intentions. She started to argue. “Calla isn’t yours. She’s not your responsibility. You’ve been through enough, and you just got home. None of this is fair to you?—”
“Fair? Nothing in my life has ever been fair. And Calla? She’s not mine yet, but she will be.” Her eyes widened. “Don’t argue with me on this, please. You and the kids should stay with me. You can have your own room if you like, for now.”
“I’m staying with my parents. The kids are already packed up and there.”
“You’ll end up with me anyway. It doesn’t make sense to move your things twice,” I insisted.
Her jaw dropped and a nervous laugh escaped. “Presumptuous, aren’t you?”
“Lily, we are inevitable. You know it, but you’re scared,and I don’t blame you.” I caressed her cheek, turning her face back to mine. “You’ll trust me again,” I whispered as I leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.
“This has nothing to do with trust, Luke. It’s too soon to live together. It’s too much pressure for us. We’re not ready. Please,” she begged.
“In the end, we’ll be together like we should have been all along. Calla will be my daughter. If that’s a worry for you, forget it. Of course she’ll know about Will, just like Dylan knew about me. But she won’t ever be without a father’s love and protection. I’ll adopt her if you let me.”
Her eyes welled up as she took a sharp breath in. “Luke...” she breathed, overcome with emotion. “Please slow down. I don’t want to hurt you. I won’t let us rush and ruin this. It’s too precious to put at risk. We both just got back to Sweetbriar. We have time. We have forever.”
“Okay. You’ll stay with your parents.” I conceded. I never could say no to her, and maybe she was right about moving too fast. My desire to protect her and my desire to have her back in my life had collided, taking my reason away.
She clung to me as she spoke. “Everything in my life has changed so fast. Don’t give up on me. Please.”
“I’ll never give up on you. I will wait forever if I have to. In this life and into the next, I swear it.”
She buried her face in my chest and held on to me.
My arms convulsed, squeezing her tighter before I pulled back to kiss her forehead. “I don’t know what I would do without you now. When I was gone, I would remember things like this—holding you, being close to you. I lost my head. Someone is out there threatening you and I want to be the one to protect you.”
“I get it, I do. I’ll be fine with my dad. I promise.”
The headlights of Ben’s police SUV broke our moment as he headed toward the house, with Cade’s cruiser following close behind. They parked, then headed for the front door,guns drawn. Ben put his hand up, indicating we should stay in the truck. He followed swiftly behind Cade, then disappeared up the dark walkway and into the house.
She shuddered in my arms. “I hate this,” she whispered. “I hate everyone being in danger because of me.”
“How is any of this because of you? And it isn’t even because of Will. It’s because some asshole he probably busted thinks he can mess with you now that he’s dead. He can’t, and everything will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
Another police cruiser pulled up behind us and two more officers exited and headed into the house. We held each other in the cab of my truck, eyes glued to the dark-as-pitch front porch.
The not knowing was driving me crazy. I gathered her close and whispered, “Whatever happens, we’ll fix it.” Ben came out through the front door and began walking down the steps. I shifted her back to her seat, asking her to stay inside as I exited the truck to talk to her father.
Ben clipped his gun back into his shoulder holster. “Whoever it was, they’re gone.”
“And they trashed Gram’s house. She’s going to have a fit. They were looking for something and did a thorough job of tearing the place up,” Cade added, shaking his head.
Turning at the slam of her door, I pulled her into my side.
