Page 13 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge (Rescue Ridge #5)

A loud bang shocked Owen out of a light sleep. He sat bolt upright and scanned the room to find Luca barreling toward him with the toy truck in his hands. Two more steps and the kid would have body-slammed into the couch, the truck into Owen’s face.

Scooping Luca up, Owen glanced at the clock on the wall. Six-thirteen. He’d overslept by almost two hours. To be fair, he hadn’t gotten much sleep. He’d tossed and turned thinking about the kiss they’d shared.

“Play truck?” Luca asked.

It would be impossible to say no when those big, hopeful eyes stared up at him.

“You start, and I’ll be right back,” he said, needing a quick trip to the bathroom to brush his teeth and throw some cold water in his face. He fired off a couple of pushups and then headed down the hallway, glancing back in time to see Luca face down, attempting a pushup.

Damn. The kid was adorable.

Owen doubled down on his resolve to keep Evie safe until the threat was behind bars. All thoughts that the hiker could have been random in the woods disintegrated after finding the boot print outside the window last night.

After taking care of business in the bathroom, Owen moved to the kitchen. Coffee. He needed caffeine.

“I’ll be right with you, buddy,” he said to Luca. The kid was happily crashing his trucks into each other, blissfully unaware of any looming threat. Speaking of which, Owen checked out the windows while he waited for coffee to brew. All was calm outside.

Walking past Luca, he bent down and patted the kid on top of the head.

Luca beamed up at him, causing a different kind of knot to form in his chest and something that felt a whole lot like longing.

Had he underestimated the pull toward fatherhood by having surgery too early?

At the time, his mind had been made up. There had been no questions about whether or not he’d been doing the right thing.

Why change his mind now?

Surely, it took more than a cute kid to break down what had felt like an irreversible, ironclad decision.

The doctor had warned Owen that his mind might change over time.

He’d tried to convince Owen to wait. However, Owen had a stubborn streak a mile long, much like Evie’s, and he especially didn’t like being told what to do.

After pouring a cup of coffee and taking a sip, Owen did as promised and joined Luca on the floor. The kid’s smile was ear-to-ear.

“You have big muscles,” Luca said, admiring Owen’s forearms.

Owen laughed. “Just like you,” he said. “And yours will only get bigger as you get older.”

Those words made the kid’s whole face light up.

“My daddy had big muscles,” Luca said.

Owen glanced up at the picture of a man in uniform holding what had to be Luca as a baby, considering the full head of curly black hair that was so much like his father’s.

“He lives with angels now,” Luca supplied, focused on banging the trucks together, nonchalant like this was just a fact and not a crushing emotional blow.

For Owen, it was like a bomb went off in the center of his chest. He knew what it was like to grow up without a parent.

He’d all too often wished it had been Beaumont who’d disappeared and then died instead of Owen’s mother.

He rarely let himself go there, wondering what she’d been like or how his life would have been different if she’d stuck around long enough for him to get to know her.

Would it explain some of his quirks? Had she had the same stubborn streak? The same laugh?

Owen would never know.

An ear-piercing wail broke into the moment.

“That’s loud,” Luca observed.

“Yes, it is.” Owen popped to his feet. He had no idea what to do with Olivia, but he wanted to give Evie a chance to sleep at least until Travis stopped by in person for statements and an update. “I’ll be right back.”

The kid had a set of lungs on her. No one could argue that. In the room, she stood up, held onto the bars of her crib, and screamed bloody murder.

“Hey, hey,” he said to her, not wanting to surprise or cause her to panic.

The sight of him did just that. She wound so tight that when she unleashed the howl, she physically shook.

“Can I do something? Hold you?” he asked, feeling way too out of his element.

As he approached, she sat down and scooted away from him like he was running toward her with an ax in his hand. Damn. The decision to go to the Snip Doc didn’t seem so off base after all, now that he was alone in the room with a crying baby.

Helpless didn’t begin to describe how he felt, standing there. Should he flip the light on? Would that freak the kid out even more?

“I’m here to help you,” he said over the screams.

“It’s okay, Olivia. I’m here.” Evie’s voice probably shouldn’t wash over him the way it did. Soft, soothing, it was better than birds in the springtime.

He held his hands up, palms out, in surrender as he slowly backed away from the crib. “I was just trying to help.”

In the next second, Evie was beside him, smelling better than anyone had a right to at this hour of the morning.

The tension from last night’s kiss thickly sat between them.

He added it to the list of things he wanted to talk to her about once this ordeal was over and they could sit down.

This situation called for more than a passing comment.

And he hoped she could tell him what he’d done wrong years ago so he wouldn’t repeat the mistake.

If he was settling in at the ranch and she was going to be living this close, he’d like to rekindle their friendship.

First, though, they needed to figure out why the hiker seemed fixated on her and how far he would go.

“It’s much appreciated,” she said as she picked up Olivia, who hiccup-cried into her aunt’s shoulder where she’d buried her face. “If it makes you feel any better, Luca doesn’t respond to me in the same way he does to you.”

“He’s a good kid.”

“More so when you’re in the room.” Evie flashed a smile. Her cheeks flushed, making her even more beautiful. Why hadn’t he noticed how stunning she’d been in high school? Maybe he’d been afraid to let himself go there.

Evie moved Olivia to a diaper changing station and got to work.

“It’s easy to entertain him,” he said, shrugging. “All I have to do is sit on the floor and play trucks.”

“I didn’t think of it,” she said. “The first couple of days after his mother…well…you know what happened. Anyway, he was stoic. Wouldn’t speak a word. He didn’t cry at first. Olivia, on the other hand, is made of tears. She drips water almost constantly.”

Luca appeared at the doorway. “Are you coming back?”

“Yes.” Owen didn’t mind hanging out with Luca.

In fact, he much preferred being with the older boy to young Olivia.

Kids in diapers weren’t his strong suit.

He glanced over at Evie and tried not to let the maternal image of her hit him too hard.

“As soon as she gets old enough to rough-house, she’ll change her mind about me. ”

Evie’s laugh broke through some of the tension. It was as close to the old days as they’d gotten so far.

“I’ll let Travis know the house is up and running,” he said.

The smile on Evie’s face faded as reality struck. The hiker had followed her home. He wouldn’t likely disappear. The man might be waiting for Owen to leave. “And I’ll order a few security supplies, like cameras and recording equipment.”

“Where will you get those?”

“Come on, Evie. This is Saddle Junction. Granted, it’s not Dallas. We can’t have delivery in two hours. We’ll drive into town and pick them up instead. We can take the kids in for some ice cream if that’s allowed.”

“Yes!” The enthusiasm in Luca’s voice said there was only one right answer to the question.

Evie laughed. “If I can give them Popsicles before dinner, a little ice cream won’t hurt. Just FYI, Ms. Bart stops by every day around noon. She brings dinner for the kids. Apparently, my cooking isn’t good enough.”

“Do you want her to stop?” Because he could make it stop.

“Not yet.” She finished wrapping up Olivia’s bottom before snapping a few snaps and then picking her up. The kiddo had a pacifier in her mouth and had stopped bawling. “In her own way, she’s dealing with the loss of my sister and trying to be a constant for the kids. I can’t fault her for that.”

He didn’t like the way Ms. Bart treated Evie, and he had half a mind to tell the old biddy to back off. Would it help or make matters worse?

Evie knew she shouldn’t turn in time to watch Owen leave the room, but she did anyway.

He’d always had a nice backside. She was only appreciating the work of a master sculptor.

The tension between them was a physical presence, no doubt amplified by the kiss they’d shared last night, and didn’t talk about this morning.

With the kids underfoot, she had no idea when she could tackle the topic.

She wanted to tell Owen that what had happened wasn’t a big deal.

At least, she wanted that to be the truth.

She remembered reading about the seven-year rule of friendships from one of those online teen magazines a few days before the split.

The article had stated that having a friendship lasting seven years gave it an almost guaranteed chance of lasting a lifetime.

She’d read about friendships like theirs being called a rare gem.

The knowledge had freaked her out more than it comforted her.

Could she be friends with Owen for the rest of her life?

Or would she forever want nothing more than to be buddies?

The joke was on her because being close to him, sharing secrets, without being in a relationship or, worse yet, watching him find the love of his life would have been the worst kind of torture.

The reality that she would live alone for the rest of her life had struck hard. Had she been dramatic about it? Yes. Teenagers weren’t exactly known for being chill.

She held Olivia to her chest with a self-satisfied smile. At least Liv, as she liked to call her, despite the fact Simone had playfully banned it, was warming up to Evie. Of course, the only other human option in the house was Owen. Much to Evie’s surprise and pleasure, Liv had chosen her aunt.

“I’ll get breakfast going,” she said after walking into the kitchen and making Liv a bottle.

A fresh cup of coffee sat on the counter, still warm.

“Is this for me?” she asked Owen, realizing she could get used to this treatment.

“One sugar,” he said. “Just how you like it.” A hesitation came. “Or, should I say how you used to like it?”

“Still do,” she confirmed. “Thank you.” Warmth circled through her chest at the realization he’d remembered the way she took her coffee.

One sugar. Raw. Simone kept packets in a clear container next to the coffee machine to entice Evie to visit.

She also kept Sour Patch Kid Gummy Bears for the same reason.

Evie frowned when she picked up the package and saw they’d expired a year ago.

Bad daughter. Bad sister. Bad aunt.

She could count on one hand the number of visits home in the years she’d lived in Dallas.

One hand. And two of those had been holidays.

Since co-workers at her job had young kids, she’d volunteered to work Christmas Eve every year so they could spend more time with their families.

The reality was that she’d used work as an excuse not to make the drive home.

Why visit when she left feeling awful after being quizzed about what kind of men she dated and why she never brought anyone home?

She’d been drilled over her non-church-going habits.

She’d been spread over hot coals for her choice not to sign up with a youth group, so she could find a good, religious husband.

Despite their flaws, Evie hadn’t hated her parents.

She hadn’t regarded them much at all. They’d given birth to her and kept her fed until she was old enough to fend for herself.

Eighteen. They’d done their best. Neither had ever said much about their childhoods.

Evie couldn’t imagine there had been much laughter.

Her parents had been serious people with permanent frown lines etched into their foreheads and brackets around their mouths.

Sounds of trucks smashing into each other in the adjacent room cut through her reverie.

“Oh no! You got me!” Owen rolled onto his back as Luca jumped to his feet.

The kid launched himself into the air. Owen caught Luca and then moved his arms up and down while making airplane noises.

Luca’s arms were spread, and he had the biggest smile on his face—a smile that stirred up maternal feelings Evie didn’t know existed.

Was this what maternal satisfaction felt like?

Liv was in her high chair, happily sucking down the contents of a bottle.

Both kids were happy for what felt like the first time since Evie had arrived.

Maybe she didn’t hate parenting so much as she hated feeling like she was failing at it.

Maybe parenting wouldn’t be all that bad.

With Owen. The tiny voice in her head had a nasty habit of stating truths she didn’t want to consider.

Was everything easier with Owen here? Yes.

Of course. Naturally, taking care of the kids was easier with a partner.

How many times had Simone mentioned wishing her husband had a normal job—one that allowed him to participate in parenting on a daily basis?

She’d always immediately followed up the remarks, stating how proud she was of him and that he was doing a job he cared about, keeping the babies safe in a different way.

Evie had felt bad for her sister before she’d known how difficult parenting could be. I’m sorry for all the times I let you down, Simone. Evie could have visited more, if only to keep her sister company.

She stood at the fridge, noticing a picture she hadn’t seen before.

Others crowded it out until barely a sliver was visible.

Lifting the magnet, she caught three pictures in her free hand.

The two on top were Luca and his father.

The one tucked behind them was of Evie’s parents, sitting on the sofa with one-year-old Luca in between them.

Their wide smiles caught Evie off guard.

Maybe she’d been wrong about her parents.

Maybe they had known how to laugh. Maybe there were other things she didn’t know about them.

Leave it to Simone to be the one to find a way to make them happy.