I stiffen.Has Cyrus found out about this place?
No—he was laughing. That can’t be it.
“I don’t understand.”
“You will when you get here. I’d come to you, but there’s someone I need you to meet here in town.”
I narrow my eyes. “What are you up to?”
“Kenna, just do it. Please? Leave everything. We’ll go back for your things later. Call me when you’re close and I’ll meet you at the house.”
“The house? Are you sure it’s safe?”
He snorts. “Babe, if you don’t know by now that keeping you safe is my number one priority, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
Babe?I’m not even used tosweetheartyet. No one has ever used endearments on me. The way they flow out of him seems so natural. So honest. So…sexy. I think I could get used to it.
“Kenna?”
“Yeah, okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Drive safely. And when you get here… Well, let’s just say our lives will change forever.”
“How is that—”
“Kenna, trust me. Please.”
“Okay.”
“Gotta go. See you soon.”
The line goes dead and a dozen questions swirl in my mind. Why did he say we’ll come back for our things? How can he ensure our safety? What if Cyrus is lurking around, waiting forme to show up? How can our lives change forever? Who is it he wants me to meet?
As I clear our breakfast dishes, insidious doubts start to creep in. Have I misjudged Carter? Has he been working these past few days to figure out how to get me to keep the money? Maybe he’s found a lawyer and that’s who will be at his house. Am I about to see his true colors? Was he just being patronizing, biding his time on Saturday when he told me he didn’t care about the money?
“Mommy, can you play a game with me?” Amelia says.
“Later, sweetie. We have to go back to Calloway Creek for a little while.”
She claps and dances around. “Yay!”
“Hold on. Don’t get too excited. It’s just for a meeting. We’re coming straight back after.”
Or maybe straight to Florida.
“Will Christian and Bug be there?”
I shake my head. “They’ll be in school. But you’ll get to see Carter.”
She shrugs a bit unhappily. She sure has missed Christian and Bug this past week. “Okay.”
~ ~ ~
Despite Carter assuring me we’d be safe, I pull into his driveway with every nerve ending prickling. Is Cyrus out there somewhere? Watching? Waiting?
There’s an unfamiliar Lexus SUV parked here, and I look around, hesitant to even exit my car.
I hear Carter’s voice in my head.“Kenna, trust me. Please.”I want to. I want to so badly. But somewhere, deep down in my insecurities, I fear I’m about to be disappointed by yet another man.
