Page 4 of Love Me Like You Do

“What do you mean?”

“As I mentioned, there’s no known family. Lindsay’s father passed away five years ago, and her mother lives in a senior care facility. Darren has no one that we’re aware of.”

He shifted uncomfortably, afraid to voice the words taking form in his mind. But he had to do it. “So, where are the girls now?”

“In a temporary foster home.”

“And where will they…” He swallowed. “Wind up?”

“They’ll go into the system.”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.Darren had terrible stories of foster care. Horrifying. “They’ll be together, though, right? Sisters go together?”

“I really can’t say what will happen. It’s always harder to place siblings.”

“But you’ll try, right? You’ll try to keep them together?”

“It’s not up to this law firm. I’m just the administrator of the will. Without guardians, they’ll be handed over to Wyoming’s Department of Child Services.”

No.Panic mixed with dread, creating a volatile brew. Darren would hate that. “I wish I could help, but I live in Boston.” He gripped the back of his neck. “I play eighty-two games a year. How would it even work?”

He was used to battling two-hundred-pound walls of muscle and blocking one-hundred-mile-per-hour shots. He’d done extreme sports his entire life. He knew how to keep a sharp focus and clear mind. If he didn’t, he’d be dead. But at that moment, his mind was crashing.

Caught between two absolutes, Cole closed his eyes, sealing himself inside the throbbing pain in his head. How could he let Darren’s kids go into the system?

But at the same time…

He didn’t know much outside of hockey, but he did know one thing for sure.

He was the worst thing for those girls. “I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”

ChapterTwo

“Are you kidding me?”Hailey Casselton stomped her boots in the freezing cold foyer of her Brooklyn apartment building. With her wool glove caught between her teeth, she jiggled the lock of her mailbox, but her fingers were too stiff to turn the key. Setting her messenger bag down, she cupped her hand and blew, warming it. Finally, she regained some flexibility and got it open, pulled the envelopes and catalogs out, and then headed up to her fifth-floor walk-up.

The scent of grilled meat wafted out of Mr. Nozu’s apartment, the kids were shouting and running wild in the Posners’ place, and Lynn’s rebellious cat had gotten out again. He sat facing the door, waiting to be let in.

Hailey gently twisted the knob, and the kitty rushed in. She closed it and continued up one more flight. Letting herself into her tiny studio, she could’ve sworn she got a whiff of her mom’s patchouli scent.Is she here?With Christmas less than two weeks away, it would make sense. They always spent the holidays together.

Yep.She spotted her tattered suitcase in the corner.

As she dropped the mail on the counter, she noticed an official-looking envelope from a law firm.Huh, that’s weird. Am I in trouble?She noted the Calamity, Wyoming return address, a town she’d lived in for most of her senior year in high school.

She could never think about that place without remembering the fuckwad who’d ruined her experience. Cocky, privileged, larger-than-life Cole Montgomery. Just because his dad was the star ofClan Wars, one of the longest-running movie franchises in history, he thought he could impress everyone with his private jets and limos.

Okay, you’re rich. Cool.

So what?

He could never just do normal things—like have a basic conversation.

What a douche.

Before she opened the letter, she headed to the closet to hang her parka…and found the door gaping open. Her entire collection was gone.

Shock froze her in place. Had her mom taken it?I mean, yes. Obviously.

But why?