Page 36 of Shattered Promise

I can’t help it; I grin. “He remembers you.”

She doesn’t look at me, but her mouth curves into a small, private smile as she stands up.

“Thirsty?” I gesture toward the glasses of iced tea lemonade.

“Sure.”

She snags one of the glasses, and I know I should tell her I already drank out of that one, but I don’t. Instead, I watch as her pink glossy lips rest against the rim of the glass, almost exactly where my mouth was not even five minutes ago. It feels like some kind of fucked-up six-degrees-of-separation kiss, and my dick twitches at the thought.

I shut that shit down,hard. I’m not a goddamn animal. I can be normal about this. I can be totally platonic with the woman who’s occupied too many of my waking thoughts over decades.

She looks to the side, and her bruise stares at me with its own accusation. It looks a little better today. Still dark and angry, but the edges are a little softer. It still makes me want to put my fist through drywall.

“Thanks for coming,” I practically grunt out.

“I couldn’t let him suffer,” she teases, taking another drink. Her gaze settles on Theo again. “Does he have a swing? You can’t do it for too long, because then you’ll have a whole different problem on your hands. But it might help for those desperate days,” she says, and only glances up at me after she says it, like she’s not sure she’s allowed to ask.

God, I’ve fucking missed her.

“Nah, we tried it once when he was little, but he didn’t like it. He likes the glider in his room though.”

“So, what’s your plan?” she asks, setting the glass on the table and looking at Theo while she talks to me. “You can’t just keep sacrificing your own sleep to the nap gods forever.”

I shrug. “I figure I’ll sleep when he’s in college.”

Out of nowhere, Theo lunges for her. She laughs as she catches him against her chest. A real one, bright and unguarded. And fuck me, am I getting turned on by her laugh?

“Is this okay?” She looks at me as she cradles my son against her chest. It looks like he’s hugging her, his face tucked into the crook of her neck, underneath that curtain of hair.

I watch them for a second too long and feel something shift behind my ribs—something slow and stupid and warm.

I have to clear my throat twice before I can respond. “I’ve got some work to do,” I say suddenly, pushing to my feet. “Mind watching him for a bit?”

Her brows lift. “Oh, uh,sure?”

I don’t wait for more. I know she’s more than capable, and I’m only a hundred feet away if she needs me.

I’m already stepping off the porch, boots thudding heavy on the stairs, like distance might steady something in me. Or maybe I don’t trust myself to stay still with her this close.

“What do I do if he falls asleep again?” she calls after me.

“Put him in his crib,” I shout back. “Or hold him. Whatever you want.”

“And if he won’t nap?”

“I’ve got faith in you, Trouble,” I say over my shoulder. The old nickname rolls off my tongue all too easy.

I stretch my neck and crack my knuckles, any attempt to shake the affect she has one me loose as I walk to the barn.

She’s Beau’s sister, I remind myself.She shouldn’t be in a cabin alone. Theo likes her, and he’s got that sleep regression thing happening. That’s all this is.

I’m not falling for her. Not now. Not ever. And sure as hell not again.

So why does this feel like surrender?

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