Page 35 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

Something startled her awake; it took a minute to orient herself. In her own bed in the dark, with Kye tucked against her, she breathed out. The horror of the day hit hard, forcing her upright.

Kye mumbled in protest.

What was the last thing she remembered? Falling asleep in JD’s arms after putting Kye in his bed. It was dark. Dark! Sky was out there somewhere and—

“Ow, Daddy, stop it!”

No! It couldn’t—was that—

Inhaling fast, she scrambled off the bed on her hands and knees and bolted for the bedroom door. Grabbing the frame, she swung herself into the hallway in the direction of the voice and stopped dead. Sky stood in the lit bathroom, her daddy kneeling behind her, trying to brush her hair.

“Momma, Daddy makes it hurt,” Sky said, like nothing had happened.

“Oh, my baby,” she said and rushed forward, falling to her knees and snatching her daughter into her arms. “Oh, sweetie, my baby, are you hurt?”

Searching Sky for wounds, she squeezed her limbs and explored her hairline.

“Daddy’s hurting my hair,” Sky said, pushing her away to turn and take the comb from JD. “Momma’s better.”

“Guess Mommy’s the pro,” JD said, dropping to the side to sit on the floor. “Go on, Momma.”

“JD, what… how…”

“Comb her hair,” JD said, nodding at their daughter.

“I…”

At a loss, she did as suggested, crawling around Sky to run the comb through her hair. The tears didn’t register until JD reached over to swipe them from her cheeks.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “She’s okay.”

“What happened?” she asked in a rushed whisper. “I don’t understand what—”

JD rose on his knees, cupping Sky’s head to pull her to him for a kiss. “Go climb into Mommy’s bed,” he said, stroking their daughter’s hair. “Don’t wake Kye up.”

Sky kissed each of them and dashed off to do as her father said.

“JD,” she gasped the moment Sky darted into her bedroom.

He clutched her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“It was Gabby.” Her mouth fell open. “I don’t even know how to tell you I’m sorry.

I can’t even… Stone’s men found an image of her hand, she was wearing a ring…

one I gave her incidentally, which is how I recognized it.

She had Sky in her hotel suite… Sky doesn’t even realize anything happened.

Gabby told her they were just waiting for me to go pick her up.

She didn’t hurt her. They watched movies and ate room service, completely oblivious to all the… I’m sorry.”

“I don’t—”

“I told Gabby how important my children are to me, that she would never understand or be a part of my family,” he said. Hadn’t she had a similar conversation with Baxter? “She’s so spoiled and entitled that she can’t grasp the gravity of what the hell she did to us.”

“JD, I—”

“I’m sorry, Rylee,” he said, kissing her hand again.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea she was capable of something like this.

I… I know it’s no consolation, but she wasn’t acting in malice.

She’s clueless about the world. Used to getting her own way.

She wanted to prove to me that she could care for my children and, in her warped mind…

it doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s in a jail cell and our children are safe.

” Picking up both of her hands, he kissed each one, then let them rest in his lap. “If you want me to leave—”

“This wasn’t your fault.” Still in shock, she stole her hand out of his to clasp his face.

“Would you have exiled me if Baxter was responsible?” He shook his head.

“She’s a crazy maniac, and I want her punished to the full extent of the law.

Don’t ask me to cut her any slack, this is our baby, anything could have happened to her.

I won’t forgive this. You and I will have a problem if you’re going to ask me to forgive—”

“I don’t forgive her, and I wouldn’t ask you to either.”

Drawing in a cleansing breath, there was a lot to deal with. They’d have to talk to the kids about crazy people and to the cops about the felonious abductress. But it was late and right then, in her home, she had something they’d feared lost.

Climbing to her feet, she pulled JD up with her. “Get ready for bed then come kiss the kids.”

She ran her thumb across his cheek again and left him in the bathroom. The kitchen was a mess, but she didn’t care, chores would wait this time.

After checking the front door was locked, she went to her room to quickly change.

Both the kids were in the middle of her bed, beneath the covers. Carefully lifting them, she slid in beside them, kissing each and stroking their beautiful faces.

“How they doing?”

Glancing up, JD leaned against her doorframe.

“It’s been a long day,” she said. “They’re out already.”

“We’ll have to talk to them. About walking off with people.”

She nodded. “I thought the same thing. We can’t make it seem like we’re mad though, I don’t want to scare her.”

“I think Kye got a bigger fright than she did,” JD said. “We’ll make bacon for breakfast, that will mellow him out.”

Sliding an arm over both of them, such warmth and relief couldn’t be underrated. “They’re so precious, JD. Thank you for bringing her back to me.”

“I promised you I would. She belongs in her mother’s arms.”

Bowing, she brushed Sky’s hair from her forehead to kiss her. “And her daddy’s too. You saved her, JD. You put our family back together.”

“It wouldn’t have been fractured if it wasn’t for my insane ex,” he said. “I am sorry, babe.”

“Would you stop apologizing.” Kye muttered something in his sleep, so she caressed his face. “There, sweetpea. Mommy and Daddy are here, you’re safe.”

“Get some sleep,” JD said and boosted himself off the doorframe.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m tired, babe,” he said. “And we don’t want to disturb them.”

Raising her arm from beneath the covers, she held a hand toward him. “None of us should be alone tonight,” she said. “Get in on the other side of Kye, they need us… We can squish.”

His glaring surprise was almost funny, but he didn’t hesitate.

Entering, he closed the door and came over to slip into her bed behind Kye.

After dropping the covers, he kissed each of the kids and settled down, reaching over the top of them to rest a hand on her jaw, stroking his thumb up and down her cheekbone.

“Thank you.”

“I wouldn’t cast you out tonight.” She smiled. “Kye was right, we have to squish.”

“No one I’d rather squish with.”

“Get some sleep, Daddy,” she said, taking his hand from her face, keeping it in hers when she slid her arm back under the covers to rest their twined hands between the kids.

“We’re going to keep them safe, Siren. Whatever it takes.”

She closed her eyes and pulled them closer together. “We’re all safe now. All safe.”

After the stress of the day, they could do with some rest; she had a feeling they’d all sleep sound. They’d come so close to her worst nightmare. JD saved the day by saving their baby.

The trauma would probably hit them hard tomorrow, but all she could feel then was relief. They were together, and right now, she couldn’t be more grateful for her children, and for their father too.

***

After their discussion at breakfast, she spent a long time washing and drying her daughter’s hair while JD spoke to the cops. When Sky was dressed, she ran to her brother’s bedroom where Kye and JD were playing the cartoon game. She stopped in Kye’s doorway.

With no regard for blocking the screen, Sky came to a screeching halt in front of the two males seated on the end of Kye’s bed.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Sky shrieked. “Look my butterflies.” Turning her head side to side, she showed the slides in her hair that she’d gotten for her birthday yesterday. “They sparkly.”

“They are, Little Sproutette. I love them.”

Kye blew a raspberry and she laughed, just pleased to be breathing normality. Both kids looked at her like she was crazy.

“Sorry,” she said and cleared her throat, doing a bad job of blanking her face. “Kye, don’t mock your sister.”

Chastising him was the expected course. Once she’d fulfilled that presumption, and routine was maintained, they went back to their lives. Ducking down, Sky went into the loop of her father’s arms and faced the screen, blinking at the controller in his hand.

“What’s this?” Sky asked and pressed a button on JD’s controller. “This one.”

Rylee coughed. JD glanced up, to the screen and back at her, she side nodded.

“Here, Sproutette, you play.” Still pressing buttons even as he handed the controller off to Sky, he lifted a leg over their daughter’s head to join her backing into the hall.

“Daddy!” Kye called.

“Back in a minute, Sprout,” he said, putting his hands to her hips as she reversed out of the kids’ earshot while keeping them in view. “You okay, Siren? What do you need?”

The slant of his smile betrayed his hope for a repeat of yesterday’s request. Another source of guilt. In refusing her advances, he’d saved them and touched something within her.

“What time is your flight?” she asked, stroking his hands on her hips.

His smile quickly vanished to a frown. “My… what?”

“California,” she said. “You’re leaving today, aren’t you?”

Shaking his head, the furrow of his brow deepened. “No. No way. I’m staying with my family.”

“JD,” she murmured, trying to be gentle. “You should go.”

Searching her eyes, he tried to figure her out. “You said you wouldn’t exile me. Babe, I’m sorry for Gabby. I swear I had no idea she was even capable—”

“I’m not exiling you,” she said, brushing her thumb across his chin. “I want you to come back when you’re done with your business. We told the kids that everything was going back to normal and this is what normal is supposed to be. You said your security friend was going to set us up, right?”

“Stone,” he said and nodded. “He’s putting together three separate teams for you and the kids.”

“I don’t need a team.”

His expression stayed the same. “You’re getting a team. I’ve seen Stone with his wife, I know he understands how much I value keeping you safe.”

“We should get him something special,” she said. “To thank him for his help and for mobilizing so quickly. You said he had kids?”

“A son. His wife is pregnant with their daughter now.”

Pregnancy. Casting her mind back to that time in her life, she hadn’t acknowledged the challenge of carrying her babies. She’d thought only of the optimism and love she had for the children growing inside of her.

“I was so na?ve when I was pregnant,” she said. “I had no idea how helpless they could make me feel and how much I’d want to protect them. I wonder if his wife knows.”

“I don’t know the whole story, but before she was his wife, his best friend kidnapped her. That’s how I know Stone understands… We can get them something, anything you want, but I don’t know if it will ever be enough to repay him for ensuring my family’s safety.”

“Maybe something for the baby, to celebrate their family’s future,” she said and looped her arms around his neck. “That’s the only time we can keep them safe and with us every second, when they’re growing inside us.”

“Has this put you off having more?”

More? “We neglected them yesterday,” she said, dropping her arms and stepping away. “We got caught up in us and our babies suffered. I don’t know what’s happening between us or what will, but… if we hadn’t wanted to be alone, we’d have been with them.”

“They were with family,” he said. “What happened was no one’s fault, no one’s but Gabby.”

“I know,” she said, running her fingers through her hair.

“I know that intellectually, but I feel guilty. I feel guilty for wanting to be alone with you, for being selfish and enjoying being in your arms. We talked and agreed we couldn’t be together because it would lessen our effectiveness as parents.

We were right. Look what happened the minute we got caught up in each other. ”

“Babe, we were alone for a minute, maybe two. We didn’t run off, we were in shouting distance and were found when needed. This did not happen because we were together.”

“I’m tired,” she whispered. “I’m confused. I… It probably sounds stupid, but I… Am I being seduced by the idea of family? By the security you can offer us?” He just listened. “Not the money, the support you can give me… I want your support.”

“You have it.”

“So go to California, let me and the kids get back into our groove. If we still want to be together when you come back, we’ll talk about it without all the emotional stress poisoning the air.”

Moving to her, he pushed her back against the wall, crowding up close. “I wanted to be with you before we lost Sky. I know I’ll want to be with you in two weeks. And that’s it, Ry, the trip is only two weeks.”

Cupping his face, she tried to smile. “Then you shouldn’t mind taking some time to reflect and breathe… I told you, if we do this, it’s going to be difficult to avoid being serious from the get-go. I don’t want the kids to know until we’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

So much emotional energy had been expended in the last twenty-four hours. Snap decisions couldn’t be trusted. If they stayed in the same home, she feared the intensity of their attraction would compel them to act on impulse. Their track record on ignoring it spoke for itself.

All of them needed comfort and craved solidarity. The risk in that was insulating themselves, isolating themselves, becoming dependent on each other. That could damage the kids and wouldn’t be a secure foundation for a future.

This trip to California, the time apart, was just what they needed. Once he came back to them, with a clear head, they could figure out what came next for the family.