Page 19 of Branded Souls (Ember Hollow Romance #3)

Skye

I flopped onto the couch, letting out a long breath. Closing my eyes, I tried to let my muscles relax. Emersyn had recently left, and I was soaking up the few minutes of solitude I’d have before Fox showed up. He was already on his way, and apparently had something important to talk to me about.

It had been a long day working on the documentary.

Part of me was more interested in learning about the Shadow Stalker than ever before, but my brain had been going full speed for days, toiling with so many unanswered questions and terrifying possibilities that were intensely personal. I was exhausted.

My work had always felt like a lifeline. Something I could hold onto and focus on when my life was falling apart. It was what I needed at times when I felt so lost.

Now, I was damn tired.

I fisted my hands, wincing at the pain that shot through it.

I opened my eyes and glanced down at my bandaged palm.

The image of Fox bandaging me up last night surfaced in my mind.

I tried not to linger on the vision of his half-naked chest, the mural of tattoos he wouldn’t talk about.

The sight of his bruised and scabbed knuckles.

My teeth sank into my lower lip. It would take a lot to get used to sleeping with Fox under the same roof.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text.

I’m here… Don’t freak out.

I frowned at the message from Fox. I was in the middle of typing a reply, when a knock came on the door and a key turned in the lock. Fox popped his head in, looking slightly disheveled.

I cut him a suspicious glare. “Why would I freak out?”

He winced. “Look, it’s not my fault. I didn’t tell her what was going on.”

My heart rate kicked up as I jumped to my feet.

A muffled female voice drifted in from outside, but I couldn’t hear clearly.

Fox entered the house, holding the door open behind him.

I froze, every muscle in my body locked up as Raleigh Ramsey sauntered inside, a large picnic basket in the crook of her arm.

She was almost exactly as I remembered, except for the streaks of gray in her hair and the extra fine lines.

She smiled brightly the moment she saw me. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected, but it wasn’t this.

“Skye.” Her voice hitched a little on my name. “It’s so good to see you.”

She walked directly into the small kitchen and set the picnic basket on the counter.

My eyes darted to Fox, wide with panic.

He met my gaze, nervous but also reassuring. With a small shrug, he seemed to say, What do you want me to do ?

“I decided I needed to bring you both dinner tonight.” She took out multiple lidded dishes from the picnic basket and placed them on the counter.

She turned the oven on, barely missing a beat. “It’s some baked tortellini with garlic bread and broccoli. I hope that sounds nice. We just have to warm it up a bit first.”

Fox stepped closer to me as his mother put the food in the oven to warm. The scent of garlic and butter wafted toward me as she popped off the lids of the dishes. My stomach clenched. I was starving, but the sensation barely registered beneath my shock.

“She heard Graham and August talking about you at the house earlier today,” Fox muttered under his breath. “She insisted she follow me here with dinner.”

I believed him. I gave him a curt nod as Raleigh shut the oven and turned around, wiping her hands on her jeans and adjusting her sage-green top. That warm smile I remembered all too well graced her face.

I gaped at her without saying a word, and that smile lowered a little.

“I heard you were in town,” she said softly. “Well, I heard rumors that you were in town, but I had figured if they were true, my son would have told me about it.” She rolled her eyes before stepping closer.

My heart raced beneath my ribs, and it took all my strength not to back away. Shame and guilt swirled inside me, coiling around my vital organs and squeezing until I almost couldn’t breathe. How could she say that after everything I had done?

A lump rose in my throat, and I swallowed hard against it. I sensed Fox shifting at my side, and he mumbled something about showering before dinner was ready. I resisted the urge to grab for him, to beg him to not leave me alone with my unmitigated guilt and the woman who I’d betrayed.

When I heard the bathroom door snick closed, Raleigh pulled in a deep breath.

“Oh, sweet girl,” she said softly.

She stepped even closer and before I had time to react, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in tight. I tensed. Her warmth and soft floral scent surrounded me. Her embrace felt like a mother’s—secure and utterly pure.

Something cracked inside me. A wall I had built long ago to keep my sadness and guilt away developed one sharp fissure right down the middle, and I melted into Raleigh’s embrace.

I circled my arms around her waist, clinging to her as tears welled. Raleigh rubbed a hand up and down my back.

“I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked.

Raleigh shushed me. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

I buried my face in her chest, shaking my head. “I do. I have so much to be sorry for.”

I lingered in her arms a moment longer before I pulled back. She held onto my hands. I hadn’t let any tears go, but they swam in my vision, distorting the look of concern and pity on her face.

“Come on.” She pulled me toward the couch.

I let her lead me, and we both sat on the cushions.

“You don’t—” I stammered, not sure what I wanted to say. “You don’t have to forgive me.”

Raleigh frowned, her brows pulling together in sharp disapproval. “You’re right.”

The words pierced my heart like a knife .

“I don’t have to forgive you.” She let go of one of my hands and smoothed down my hair. “I don’t have to forgive you because there’s nothing to forgive.”

I inhaled a shaky breath. Memories of Raleigh and what it was like being welcomed into her home flooded me. I shook my head. I was both embarrassed at my overreaction to her presence, and overwhelmed by the ache her absence had left inside me. An ache I had been ignoring for so long.

“I left,” I choked out. “I didn’t even tell you goodbye.”

Raleigh pushed back her shoulders. “You had been through something incredibly traumatic, Skye. If you had to leave, even without saying goodbye, then that’s what you had to do. I don’t hold it against you.” She dipped her chin. “And I’ve never thought any less of you.”

That fissure in my wall of emotions widened. I leaned forward and wrapped her in my arms again.

I never thought I’d hear those words from her. I didn’t believe I deserved them.

“Thank you,” I breathed, unable to say anything else.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” she whispered back.

I held her a beat before letting go. A smile graced her lips, and I returned it with a small one.

Raleigh had always made me feel like I could be better than I was. She was always encouraging in any aspect of her children’s lives. Even though I wasn’t hers, she never treated me any differently.

My eyes caught on the bathroom door as I heard the shower sputter on.

Something like sadness crossed over Raleigh’s face when she noticed where I was staring .

“I think that he hates me,” I murmured.

She patted the top of my knee. “He’s been through a lot. We all have. But Fox is… sensitive. I know he doesn’t like to show it, but that heart of his is a big one.”

I nodded, part of me crumpling inside because I was the one who broke it.

“He doesn’t need to like me.” I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to convince her, or myself. “Not after what I did.”

“Give him time, honey,” Raleigh said.

I wasn’t sure what I was giving him time for. Fox didn’t owe me anything.

I tore my stare from the bathroom door and back to Raleigh.

“I didn’t mean for this trip to turn out like this,” I admitted. “I was planning on doing my work and leaving. I never expected to take so much of his time.”

A tender smile touched her lips. “I know you didn’t ask him to do this.”

There was something in the tone of her voice that I couldn’t quite place.

“He’s a grown man,” she continued. “He does what he needs to do. And you’re a grown woman. If you don’t want him here…” She shrugged. “You can always kick him out.”

“We’ve been through that.” I rolled my eyes. “Pretty sure he blackmailed me into letting him stay.”

She grinned. “My Fox might have a big heart, but he is stubborn. Most of my kids are…they get it from their father.” She winked.

A beat of silence passed, and she looked away for a moment. Her mouth pinched like she was stopping herself from saying something .

“Fox mentioned that you didn’t want to see me.”

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to pick at my nail beds. “It’s not that I didn’t want to see you—”

Raleigh put up a hand to stop me. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I’m sure being back here has been overwhelming for you.” She paused, then added, “I wanted to ask you something.”

My brow furrowed. “What did you want to ask?”

“You don’t have to accept.” Raleigh hesitated. “But I would love it—and would be honored—if you would come to the house for family dinner on Sunday night.”

My chest tightened.

They still had family dinner.

Back when we were in high school, most of the boys were still in the house. But Roman—the oldest—had moved out and Graham was in college. Every Sunday night, Raleigh made sure to gather her family for dinner.

I had always been welcome and it was the highlight of my week—sitting around Raleigh and Warner’s table, listening to the family chatter and eating a full, delicious meal.

But so much was different now.

I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to visit the Ramsey home.

But…seeing Raleigh awakened the ache in me. Although I was scared to face the rest of the family, part of me longed to see them.

I stared at Raleigh, who waited patiently for my answer.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for a Ramsey family dinner. I didn’t know how they’d receive me now—or how it would feel to sit at that table without the one person who used to light up the entire room. Thea. The baby of the Ramsey family, and the heart of their home .

Without even thinking, I started picking nervously.

But as I gazed into Raleigh’s eyes, she seemed so reassuring. So certain. And the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her again.

I nodded before thinking more about it. “I would love to come to family dinner.”