Page 37 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHASE

Shadow nudges me with her snout. Again . The third time in as many minutes.

“Fine,” I grumble as I push to my feet. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to come here in the first place?”

She just gives me an impatient look before she dashes for the woods.

I shake my head and follow after her. My body aches from overdoing it last night—this morning?

—the fuck if I know. The nightmare that woke me up was so bad, my whole body was shaking, and it took me a good twenty minutes to get my ass down to the gym.

Shadow doesn’t seem to be missing her sleep, that’s for sure.

She looks over her shoulder every so often to make sure I’m still behind her. I have no idea what’s with the sudden rush. Generally, she loves going out for walks to the lake, and I can barely get her to go home afterward, but not today.

And I know exactly why that is when, instead of going home, she beelines for the cottage.

“Seriously?” I run my hand over the stubble on my face, my shoulders feeling tense.

Shadow looks over her shoulder as if she wants to know what’s taking me so long, but I just stand glued to my spot.

I glance at the backyard, only to find it empty—relief and disappointment battle inside of me as I run my hand over my face.

A part of me wants to go after her; it would be a perfect excuse to get a glimpse of the woman I can’t get out of my head.

But I shouldn’t do that. I should leave her alone.

Even if she wasn’t still married to that tool of her ex, I have no business touching anybody, much less somebody like Rose Hathaway.

I don’t need to know all your secrets, Chase Williams, to see the man you are beneath them.

Her words ring in my head, that determined look on her face. The way her shoulders squared when she faced the woman at the mini golf course.

But that’s how people would always look at her if she was with me. With either pity or disgust. At this point, I’m used to it; I have to live with it for the rest of my life after all, but she doesn’t.

Then just leave. God knows you’re the best at that.

Grinding my jaw at the annoying voice at the back of my mind, I square my shoulders and turn around.

Shadow’s fine here; she’ll come back home when she’s ready.

I walk around the cottage, ready to head back home.

I should get some work done. There are a few final touches on the bathroom that need to be finished, and then I could maybe shift to the master bedroom.

Mom was living at home when I got back, but with how quickly she’s been declining, she won’t be coming home again.

Becky has her own place, and Matthew refuses to set foot in Bluebonnet.

Might as well toss all the shit out of our old rooms and shift my stuff to the master bedroom.

What’s the point? It’s not like you’ll sleep in it.

“Fucking asshole,” I mutter under my breath, hurrying up my step, only to come to a stop when I hear a low curse. But that’s not what draws my attention; it’s the name.

“ Dammit, John. ”

I spin on my heels, expecting to find the man in question here, but Rose is all alone.

She hangs up the phone and closes her eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, a deep line between her brows as she sucks in a long breath and pinches the bridge of her nose as if she’s trying to calm herself.

She tilts her head back, letting the air slowly out.

Her body is tense; her fingers curled around the device, squeezing it tightly to the point her knuckles have turned white.

She blinks her eyes open, pressing her lips in a thin line, but it’s not frustration, but resignation shining in her eyes that pulls me in.

Her pain calls to that broken part of me that wants to take it all away.

My feet move before I can think it through, eating the distance between us, and it isn’t until I step onto the porch that she finally looks up, tears glistening in her eyes.

“What. Happened?” I ask slowly, trying to hold back my frustration since it’s the last thing she needs right now.

My finger slips under her chin and lifts her face.

My mind is already coming up with ten different ways I can hurt her fucking ex while making it last long, so he can taste just a fraction of the pain he’s making Rose feel.

She blinks a few times, her throat bobbing as she swallows.

“He’s not coming.” Rose chuckles humorlessly and shakes her head.

“I don’t know why I was expecting anything else.

Once again, he has ditched Kyle without an explanation or a call; hell, I’d even take a freaking pigeon at this point.

He left me to deal with explaining to our son why his daddy can’t find the time for him or just keep his damn promises.

” Her eyes meet mine, and this time, there is no hiding the tears. “Who does that?”

Fucking hell.

“An asshole.”

“Well, he sure as hell is that,” she mutters, her lip wobbling.

Her teeth sink into her lower lip, her nostrils flaring as she sucks in another breath.

“It’s going to be okay.” I skim my finger over her cheek. Rose leans into my touch, letting out a long breath, as some of that fire burns in her irises.

“I hate him, Chase. I hate him more with each passing day. What does that make me?”

She expects my judgment, but I understand her better than she realizes.

“Human.” I rub away the sole tear that slipped from her steel control. “It makes you human.”

Leaning down, I press my mouth against the top of her head. Rose lets out a strangled sound, her forehead pressing against my chest, fingers gripping at the material of my shirt. I grip her neck and slide my other hand to the small of her back and just hold her.

There are no more tears, but her body is tense, anger radiating off of her in waves. Her fingers grip my shirt, tugging slightly.

“—fair.”

No, it isn’t fair, and I hate that for her. For Kyle. They deserve better than that.

“Let it all out, sweetheart. I’ve gotcha.”

Her curled fist connects to my pecs once, twice. I just continue running my hand over her back, up and down.

I’m not sure how long we stay like that, when she finally starts to pull away, but doesn’t let go, not completely. “I’m sorry, I?—”

“You don’t have to apologize,” I reassure her, rubbing at her stiff neck. “What do you need? There is a punching bag with your name on it in the barn if you want.”

“No, I can’t. I—” Rose shakes her head. “I have to tell Kyle, and then I have to call Becky. I was supposed to work today to keep busy while Kyle was away, but now…”

“Mom?”

I let my hands drop, my gaze lifting as Rose turns around. I’ve been so focused on her, I didn’t notice the front door opening.

Kyle is standing in the doorway with Shadow at his side, his face serious as he watches us. “He’s not coming.”

It’s not a question; that’s for damn sure.

If John O’Neil was here, I would gladly punch him in the face for putting that hollow expression on his son’s face. For making Rose cry.

“No, he’s not.” Rose shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Ky.”

I watch as he presses his lips together, trying so damn hard to keep a straight face. So much like his mother. He lowers his gaze and nods.

Rose goes to him and lifts his face so he can read her lips. “Hey, it’s fine. I’ll call Becky, and we can do something fun, just the two of us.”

Kyle pulls back. “We were supposed to go to the field. He said he’d play football with me.”

“We can do that.”

“It’s not the same.” Kyle shakes his head, his frustration and stubbornness evident in every hard line of his body. “Go to work. I want to be alone.”

There is a flash of hurt on Rose’s face, but she schools her features quickly. Kyle’s hurting, and he’s lashing out at the only person who’s still around.

He tries to walk away, but Rose wraps her fingers around his wrist and holds him back. “Well, you can’t stay home all by yourself, mister.”

Kyle lifts his hands to sign, but I’m faster.

“He can stay with me.”

The words slip out of my mouth before I can think them through properly, but now that they’re out in the open, there’s no going back.

Rose turns around to face me, her eyes wide. “What?”

I shift my attention from her to Kyle, who’s now watching me with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what’s happening.

“Kyle can stay with me if you have to go to work,” I repeat, slower this time. There is surprise on his face as the realization sinks in.

Rose shakes her head. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Not really.” I shrug, shifting my gaze to Kyle. “What do you say? Want to hang out with me?”

He lifts his shoulders, still pouting. “I guess.”

“Okay, go and grab what you need.”

Kyle nods and goes inside, Shadow at his heels.

Rose watches after him, a worried expression on her face. I press my hand against her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze.

“He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you; he’s hurting. Just give him time.”

“I guess so.” Sighing, she turns around to face me. “Thank you for doing this. I’d take him to my parents’, but they’re out of town and?—”

“It’s not a problem.”

She chuckles, but there is no real amusement in the sound. “You should be careful, Chase.”

I quirk my brow in a silent question.

She gives me a pointed look. “If you don’t want me to think of you as my savior, you should stop jumping in to save the day.”

Kyle tosses the ball to Shadow, a sullen expression still on his face. For a kid who usually talks my ear off, today, there’s just an eerie silence from him. His shoulders are squared, eyes fixed straight, and I can see his mind work, trying to process his feelings.

Pushing from the doorway, I sit down on the step next to him and wait. There’s no sense in rushing him because it’ll only bring more animosity.

He tosses a few more balls for Shadow before glancing at me. “What?”

“If you want, we can go and play ball.”

Kyle’s lips pressed in a straight line once again. “I don’t want to play football. It was?—”