They both knew she wouldn’t. She never asked for anything, and he was beginning to see how much he’d neglected this place and her. Guilt punched him. Regret stabbed him in the chest. He might have reason to hate Cormac, but Blaize should have checked on his own grandmother more.
He was here now. He would do better.
Before he got the phone back to his ear, the loud baby cries overrode the thunder cracking outside.
“Carys?”
“You’ll have to speak up,” she said. “I can barely hear you.”
“Should I come to you, or how should we do this?” He had no idea how any of this worked and couldn’t be more outside his comfort zone. This baby might not belong to him, but offering a hand was the right thing to do. Call it residual guilt for not being able to save his own wife. He’d never felt more helpless during her long illness. This, he could do.
A voice in the back of his head said,You were of no use then, and you’ll be pointless now.Choosing to ignore it and the knot tightening in his chest, he said, “I’m ready to do what I can to help.”
“What? I’m sorry—I can’t hear you.”
He practically had to shout the words a second time.
“Send me your address,” she said. “I’ll come to you.”
He agreed and then ended the call.
Kit clucked her tongue. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Funny story.” He poured a cup of coffee and joined her at the table after texting the address to the ranch. “A person I’ve never heard of before put my name down on a birth certificate.”
“What?” Kit’s eyes saucers.
“I know. Strange, isn’t it?” A crack of thunder rumbled in the distance. The storm was intensifying. So much for grilling outside.
“And you’re sure you’ve never met the woman?”
“Not to my knowledge.” He took a sip of coffee. “And I sure as hell didn’t sleep around. Not with everything going on with…”
Blaize clamped his mouth shut.
Kit reached across the table and patted his hand. Her frail, bony fingers were small by comparison. “Of course, you don’t owe me any explanations.” She caught his gaze. “You know that, right?”
He nodded.
“I just wish you would talk about what happened with someone. Doesn’t have to be me.”
Rain battered the roof. A drip sounded behind him.
He bit back a curse as he pushed up to standing. “I’ll keep that in mind. Right now, I need to fix a leak before we need swimsuits to be in this old house.”
She opened her mouth to speak before clamping it shut again. “I’ll get a bucket.”
RAIN POUNDED THEfront windshield to the point where the windshield wipers were essentially just decorations. Carys white-knuckled the steering wheel. The car ride seemed to upset the baby this time. Thunder boomed and lightning streaked the sky. Almost-black clouds rolled across the velvet canopy. No stars were out.
This was a bad omen.
Winds kicked up, shaking the sedan. Debris flew across the road in the form of branches and trash. An actual trash can slammed into the hood of her sedan, then bounced off.We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.
The thought of a tornado ripping through the streets was enough to fry her last nerve. She was closer to the ranch than her home, so it made the most sense to keep going. Winds howled louder than the baby’s cries.
This was not good. So not good.
I choose to be strong.She repeated the mantra that had gotten her through a few very rough years when she was younger, including surviving an overbearing father after her mother died.
