Page 21 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHASE

My gaze is locked on Shadow, who’s trotting slowly in front of me, her tail swishing from one side to the other. We’ve been out for a while, just walking aimlessly through the woods, all the way to the pond that’s on the Santiago property and back.

Shadow stops at a tree, sniffing around intently, when suddenly her ears perk up.

In the blink of an eye, she dashes away, her legs eating up the distance.

I just shake my head. It wouldn’t be the first time she went to chase a rabbit or a squirrel, but it was generally when we were deeper in the woods.

Then I hear it. The sound is so soft, it takes me a moment to register it, until I come closer to the cottage and spot them.

Kyle is lying sprawled on the ground, giggling, with Shadow above him, licking his face. I just stand there in between the trees and watch them. Kyle’s fingers are stuck in the dog’s fur, rubbing her back, which only makes Shadow lick him harder.

“Okay, okay, I missed you, too, but you have to stop. You’re tickling me.”

This time, when he pushes her back, Shadow plops her ass down, but her tail doesn’t stop working. Kyle sits up and pats her on the head. “Good girl. You wanna play?”

His question earns him a happy bark. Kyle looks around himself and crouches down. When he turns around, I can see a smaller version of the football in his hand. Shadow stands up, clearly excited, so he throws her the ball.

It flies through the air in a perfect spiral, and Shadow goes into a sprint. She jumps up and grabs it.

Show-off.

There is a blinding smile on Kyle’s face as Shadow brings him back the ball. He pats her on the head before taking it and tossing it again.

I expect her to take it to Kyle, but this time she runs to me instead, and makes a circle, her head nudging me forward. Kyle turns around, his smile falling when he sees me.

I am totally busted.

“You did this on purpose,” I mutter to my meddling dog as I bend down. I tug the ball from her mouth and toss it for her once again. Shadow rushes after it, but Kyle’s gaze stays locked on me, quietly assessing.

I shift my weight from one foot to the other. I’m not sure what is it about this kid that has a hold on me. It seems I can distance myself from everybody but him.

And his mother.

I can definitely not distance myself from Rose nearly enough. As a matter of fact, the more I try to distance myself from her, the more life seems to be throwing us together.

“I have a feeling that you keep saving me.”

I can still see a mix of trepidation and hurt on her face before I shoved her hand away and walked out on them, swearing I wouldn’t come back. And yet, here I am once again.

As if he can read my thoughts, Kyle lifts his chin up a notch. “Are you going to leave again?”

Although he’s trying to keep a straight face, there is no missing the hurt hiding beneath the strong facade. I have to admire his straightforwardness and resilience.

“No.”

Shadow comes to him, letting the ball drop and nudging his clenched hand. She can probably sense that he’s upset and wants to give him some comfort.

“I was looking for you, but you weren’t home. I thought we were friends.”

Cursing under my breath, I rub my hand over my face and move closer. “I’m sorry for disappearing like that. I— I had some things to take care of.”

“What things? You weren’t working in your backyard.”

Shit. This kid is too smart for his own good.

“I was working at the animal shelter.”

At least that one was true. The past few days, I was at the shelter way more than usual, trying to focus all my attention on training Duke, and if I wasn’t there, I was searching for that runaway Belgian Malinois—any excuse I could find to put some much-needed distance between us.

That gets his attention. “You work at an animal shelter?”

“Yes.”

Kyle crouches down and grabs a ball to toss to Shadow.

I shift my gaze to the cottage, taking in the space.

The back door is open, but Rose is nowhere in sight.

Not that she really needs to be here to watch over him, still, something doesn’t seem quite right; I just can’t figure out what has the back of my neck prickling at attention.

“What kind of animals are there?”

I glance down at him. “Mostly dogs. Some cats.”

Kyle thinks about it and nods. “I want a dog, but my dad doesn’t let me get it.”

“Dogs are a lot of work,” I say diplomatically. The last thing I need is to get in the middle of this.

He puffs out his chest. “I can do it.”

Shadow stops in front of Kyle, the two of them fighting over the ball, when a soft sound draws my attention.

I tilt my head to my good side, so I can try to pinpoint where it came from or what it was.

For a while, there is nothing, and I think I imagined it, when I hear it again—the voices.

The words are hushed, too soft for me to decipher, but then I hear something else.

A wince. Shadow hears it, too, because her ears perk up, body stilling.

I turn to Kyle. “Why don’t you try working with Shadow? See if she will listen to any of your commands.”

Kyle’s brows pull together. “Are you leaving?”

I shake my head. “I think I heard something, so I’ll go and check it out. Maybe it’s my sister. I’ll be back soon.” I give Shadow a pointed look. “Stay with Kyle.”

Shadow whines, clearly unhappy with the turn of events, but when Kyle places his hand on her, she sits down next to him.

“Good girl. Listen to Kyle.” I lift my gaze to the boy. “You’ve got her?”

“I’ve got her.”

With one final look at Shadow, I turn around and walk around the cottage.

There are some new flowers planted around the house that weren’t there before.

As I turn the corner, I see two figures standing on the porch.

Rose’s lips move as she talks quietly, her finger jabbing the man in his chest when his hand wraps around her wrist, and he pulls her to him.

The guy from the café.

Her ex.

My fingers curl into a fist by my side as I move closer; their words are still muffled murmurs, too low for me to hear.

Neither of them notices me; they’re too lost in whatever they’re fighting about. He stands taller, looming over her, anger and hostility radiating off of him in waves, and now I’ve had enough.

“Is there a problem?”

Both of them turn in my direction at the sound of my voice. Rose’s eyes are wide, face pale. Her asshole of an ex just narrows his gaze on me, clearly annoyed that I’ve interrupted them.

Tough luck, buddy.

He gives me a once-over, the vein in his forehead pulsing as he grinds his molars.

“I’m just talking to my wife ,” John growls at the same time Rose says, “He was just leaving.”

John turns around, his knuckles turning white as the grip he has on her hand tightens. “We… done ta?—”

He’s muttering under his breath, and with his back to me, it’s hard to figure out his words. Not that I need to hear him to know he’s pissed.

“I think the lady was clear.”

John lets her hand drop as he spins on his heels and points his finger at me.

“This is none of your concern, Williams, so why don’t you go back to the hole you crawled out of?” His cheeks are red as he spits out, glaring at me.

I cross my arms over my chest, not scared in the slightest by his threats.

“Considering you’re on my property, I’d beg to differ.

Now get the hell off my land before I call the sheriff and report you for trespassing.

” I let my voice drop, so only he can hear me.

“And tell him something about how you’re treating the mother of your child. ”

His nostrils flare as he works his jaw. A part of me wants him to snap, so I can have a reason to punch his pompous face. We just stare at one another. Unblinking. Unmoving. The seconds tick by slowly, and the soft buzzing in my eardrums intensifies as I hold his gaze.

He’s the first to look away. He spins on his heels and says something to Rose before he turns around to leave.

Or he would, if I didn’t check him with my shoulder.

He sucks in a breath as I tilt my head to the side.

Now that we’re standing toe to toe, I am the one looming over him by a few inches, and he knows it.

John glares at me, doing nothing to hide the disgust on his face at seeing my scars all close and personal. Fucking asshole.

“You put your hands on her like that again, and I’ll break every single one of your fucking fingers.” I lean closer to him and whisper softly, “Now get the hell off my property, and don’t dare come back here without being invited.”

His teeth grind together before he spits. “Fuck you.”

With that, he stomps away. I watch as he slides into his truck and slams the door shut with a loud bang before starting the engine. He reverses so quickly, the gravel flies from the movement as he drives off.

Only when I’m sure he’s gone do I turn around to look at the woman standing on the porch.

There is a distant expression on Rose’s face as she watches down the gravel road where the car was only seconds ago.

She shakes her head, her lips pressing together as she turns around, her eyes landing on mine.

Her throat bobs as she swallows and forces out a smile. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize he?—”

“Don’t you dare apologize for him.”

Rose’s eyes flare in surprise at my harsh tone. “How can I not? Not only did he come here uninvited, but he was also extremely rude.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “None of which you signed up for.”

Her face twists in pain as she lets her hand drop. The fingers of her other hand wrap around her wrist, rubbing gently.

“What’s wrong?” My eyes narrow at her, my feet moving before I can think twice about it. In two steps, I’m standing in front of her.

“Oh, it’s noth?—”