Page 70 of 27 Kisses

It wasn’t her sneaking out that caused me to panic. It was not knowing where she was or if she was safe. I fold my arms and wait it out.

“Then, can you believe it? He told everyone what I’d done. Threw it back in my face any chance he got.”

What the hell? She watches me, but I’m so shocked that I can’t even speak. Jane looks between us, her head tilted.

“Isn’t that right, Da?”

“No. It isn’t,” I say through gritted teeth.

“No. It isn’t,” she agrees. “None of that happened.” She takes an orange from the bowl of fruit and rolls it in her hand. “He told me he couldn’t trust me anymore and that I’d need to earn that trust back. I was upset at the time. But Da never brought it up again. If I wanted to do something, he’d remind me I was still grounded, and even after I wasn’t grounded, he told me he was still working on trusting me.”

“You made a mistake, lass. I wasn’t going to keep punishing you—” And then I get it. “This isn’t the same thing, Lanie. Jane hurt a lot of people. You’re too young to understand.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Maybe not.” Biting her lip and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she stares at the floor. “I’m worried about you, Da. You’ve been sad. And carrying around your wedding ring.” She looks at me. “And I’m worried about Uncle Garrett.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” I don’t know that at all. I want to give him space, but I’m also itching to call him. To make sure he’s okay.

“He loves you.”

No point in denying it now. “He does.”

“And you love him.” She says it as if it’s a fact. As if she knows.

Panic roils in my stomach. I try to keep my voice steady. “He’s family.”

She rolls her eyes. “When he was upset at the diner the other day, you took care of him. Made sure he was okay.”

What’s she getting at? “He’s family,” I say again, and I’m not lying. But it feels like I am.

Lanie glances away, and a blush appears on her cheeks. “I was worried. So I followed you.”

I swallow my nerves. “I was just helping him calm down.”

“By kissing him?” She turns to Jane. “There was a lot of kissing.”

Jane snorts, and I glare at her.

“That wasn’t—” The hurt look in her eyes stops me. “Fine.” I swallow. “I love him.”

When I glance at Lanie, she’s smiling, and I feel like a decade’s worth of pressure is gone. “No shit.”

I can’t even yell at her for cussing. Jane grins, and I shake my head, the smile sneaking out before I can stop it.

“So let’s go get your man,” Lanie says, holding up the keys to the van. “I’ll drive.”

Chuckling, I grab the keys out of her hand. “That’s not happening, lass.” I brace myself as we walk into the living room. I don’t need to answer questions or?—

“Christy, thank God.” Ramon rushes over to me.

I stare at my cook. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry. Mamá was—” He cuts off and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I had to leave.” He hesitates and glances at Isaac. “Is Mr. Bishop okay?”

“Really?” I grumble. “You called Ramon?”

“What? No,” Isaac says.

Ramon’s eyes crinkle. “No one called me. But the storm is picking up, and on my way here, I saw his Lexus in the ditch— Are you okay?”