Hailey frowned, her brows drawing together. “Why didn’t that lady seem to like you?”
I deflated a little inside.
“Well,” I sighed, “I really wanted Maverick to go to a special school that would help him learn better. But his mom and dad didn’t like the idea.”
Hailey’s concern deepened. “So are they mad at you?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged, like it wasn’t important. “But since I’m not watching Maverick anymore, that means I get to watch you.”
I grinned, though it felt a bit unnaturally wide. “And that makes me very happy.”
Hailey’s mouth curved into a tentative smile.
Before she could ask anything else, I stood and gathered our empty mugs and plates.
“Come on,” I said. “It’s getting late. We should probably get home and start dinner, okay?”
Hailey nodded and slid out of her chair. Her fingers curled easily around mine, warm and trusting.
I kept my smile in place, but my thoughts drifted back to Maverick’s fingers tangled in my hair…the way he had clung to me like something safe. Like something he needed.
I swallowed hard, my scalp stinging where the strands had been yanked from it.
This was exactly why I had promised myself things would be different this time. I couldn’t let myself care too much. I couldn’t get so attached.
This was why I had to protect myself.
No matter how hard it was, I couldn’t let the Ramseys take my heart.
Because if they did…I wasn’t sure I’d make it out alive when they didn’t want it anymore.
11
Palmer
Itwasfullydarkwhen Hailey and I stepped outside the coffee shop. The streetlights cast warm pools of light along the sidewalk. Kayla and Maverick were nowhere in sight as we walked back toward my car.
But then a piercing cry echoed through the night.
We both froze. The sound cut through the cold air, sharp and wrong, sending a chill straight down my spine.
A few people walked briskly toward stores or their vehicles on the other side of the street, but here the sidewalk stretched out empty in both directions. There was nothing but snow piled high, glittering faintly in the light. I turned slowly, my pulse picking up as I searched for the source of the sound.
It came again. High-pitched. Distressed.
Before I could react, Hailey gasped. “Oh!”
She tore off down the sidewalk to the left, her boots slipping on the packed snow.
“Hailey!” I shouted, panic surging through me as I rushed after her.
She stopped a few yards away and dropped to her knees, reaching for something on the ground. My heart hammered, breaths clouding in the air as I ran toward her. I froze when I realized what she was holding.
Something small was clutched to her chest.
“It’s a kitten.” Her voice trembled.
I blinked, squinting down at the dark shape in her arms.
