31. Emery
THIRTY-ONE
EMERY
“I fink this is a very good idea.” Maci sang it as she kicked her feet from where she was buckled in her new car seat in the back.
I inhaled a shaky breath.
No, I thought it was a very horrible, bad idea. Especially after what had happened between me and Kane in the middle of the night. Well, what seemed to be happening between us every night. This connection deepening with each moment that passed.
He’d stayed with me the entire night. Until the dawn had broken, and I’d felt the soft brush of his fingertips along my cheek before he’d quietly slipped from my bed.
Then I’d spent the entire day locked behind my bedroom door pretending to work on plans to take over my sister’s store when I returned to Wisconsin in a vain effort to protect myself, then tried to come up with a million reasons why I couldn’t come with them tonight, only to land on the one reason why I had to.
Maci.
Maci who was meeting people who were supposed to become her family .
No chance would I hide while something so momentous was occurring in her life.
So, here I was, sitting in the front passenger seat of a shiny, very expensive red SUV that had been sitting in one of the bays of the detached garage at his house.
Kane in the driver’s seat beside me. Wearing jeans and a black tee that did far too good a job of showing off the strength that bristled underneath.
The man slung back with a tattooed arm stretched out, one hand on the wheel and one of those ridiculously attractive grins playing all over his mouth as he glanced in the rearview mirror at Maci.
“Well, I think it’s going to be, too. They can’t wait to meet you.”
“Because they really wanna know your bestest friend?”
One of those smoldering glances was cast at me before it flicked up to the rearview mirror then back to the road. “That’s right, they do. My whole family is super close.”
“Well, me and my mommy and my auntie and my grammy and even my grampa Ted are like this!” Maci crossed all her little fingers together, twisting her wrist in an awkward gesture as she tried to demonstrate just how close we were.
My spirit moaned, though in it was a twining of sweetness, this affection for the little girl so stark.
“That close, huh?” Kane enthused, though I could feel the deep affection in his voice, too. The thickness as he came to a stop at a red light in the middle of town as we headed to River Tayte’s house.
A man I had been told wasn’t actually his brother but rather his friend, though Kane had said he considered every single person we’d meet today his family.
The only true blood relative he had here was the little girl in the back seat.
That weight pressed heavily on my chest.
We needed to tell her soon, but that confession seemed locked in my throat, waiting for the right time, all while I wasn’t sure there would ever be the right time .
But I could feel it stirring in Kane beside me.
His need to claim it .
To tell her what she really meant to him.
The light turned green, and he accelerated down Culberry, the main street that cut through Moonlit Ridge.
We passed by the hotel where we’d been staying, then my stomach twisted as I caught a glimpse of the entrance of Twisted Moon Tavern, and that twisting devolved into a fist of greed when Kane peered over at me.
I swore I could see exactly what he was imagining in the depths of those magic eyes.
Me propped on his desk with his head between my thighs.
Thighs I was currently pressing together to try to quell the unbidden need he conjured in me.
I inhaled a shaky breath, prying my attention from his and turning it out the passenger window, praying he couldn’t read me the way I was sure I was reading him.
Completely useless considering the rough scrape of a chuckle he emitted.
The road curved to the left where it came to a T at a road called Vista View.
In an instant, awe tightened my chest.
It was definitely a view. So gorgeous you had to wonder how a place like this existed.
The large lake was set out in front of us, stretching far in either direction.
High mountains peaked at its backdrop, tips jutting into the bluest sky where they surrounded the lake on all sides. The sun was ablaze as it slowly sank toward them, its arms sending glittering rays tumbling across the placid surface of the water.
A dense forest hugged the water’s edge, homes and cabins tucked beneath their sanctuary.
“Look it, we found the lake again!” Maci screeched.
Low amusement rolled out of Kane as he made a right onto the road. “That lake is huge. You’re pretty much going to find it wherever you go in this town.”
Kane pointed through the windshield at a large building that sat on the far side of the lake .
“That right there is The Sanctuary, the motel Theo owns. He’s on the farthest northern side. But then Otto and Cash, who you haven’t met yet, have a view of the lake on those mountains way back there.”
He hooked his thumb toward the back window.
Maci squirmed in her car seat, frustrated she was pinned by the straps. “I can’t even see it.”
“That’s because it’s too big to see all at once unless we’re way up high on one of those mountains, but I’m thinking you and I should spend some time exploring all of it.”
“On a boat?!” Elation streamed out of her.
Kane chuckled with a nod. “If that’s the way you want to do it, we sure can.”
“I never been on a boat.”
“Sounds like we’re going to have to fix that then.”
One second later, Kane turned on his blinker and made another right into what appeared to be a secluded neighborhood.
My pulse sped an erratic beat.
Why did this have to be so uncomfortable? Make my stomach churn with a nausea I couldn’t shake?
These were the people who would replace me. People who would get to be a part of Maci’s day to day.
It both hurt and filled me with hope.
Lush trees towered above us, the thick, dense branches stretched out over the road and into the yards, shielding the massive homes that rested beneath their guard.
Kane made an almost immediate left onto a driveway that led down to a two-story house made of dark woods and stone and was fronted by a gorgeous wraparound porch.
There were a couple of motorcycles parked out front, and Kane came to a stop behind them.
“Is this it?” Maci peeped.
“Yep, this is it,” Kane said as he shut off the engine.
I was pretty sure the thud of my heart was deafening when he did.
What were these people going to be like?
I mean, look at Kane .
Okay, strike that.
Clearly, I liked looking at him a little too much.
But seriously, there was something there. An undercurrent. Danger rippling through his aura, verified by the innuendos that fell from his mouth.
Not to mention Theo. The pure menace that radiated from him.
Is that what they would all be like? Was I bringing Maci into some kind of horrible situation where she’d witness horrible things or was this a positive, these men who would gather around her and protect her with everything they had?
Nerves scattered, and I nearly came out of my skin when a hot hand suddenly landed on the top of my bare thigh, fingers digging into the flesh that was exposed by my shorts.
Kane leaned across the console, his voice rough as he murmured, “Don’t spin out, Little Warrior. Pretty sure they’re going to love you, too.”
“My only concern is Maci and how they’re going to treat her,” I rasped low.
Accept her.
Be positive influences for her.
Love her.
Emerald eyes twinkled. A softness subduing the stark. “These are the best people you’re ever going to meet.”
“Hurry it up, slowpokes. I gotta meet my new best friend,” Maci shouted, and Kane whisked away from me, stealing my breath as he went, my lungs bottoming out as he tossed open the door, climbed out, and went to Maci’s side.
The door swung open, and he unbuckled her and swung her up and into the air as he pulled her out. Maci howled with laughter, one second before she was on her feet and her hand was wrapped up in his.
He led her to the front of the car, that penetrating gaze on me as he waited.
Blowing out a sigh, I forced myself to unlatch my door and get out .
Warmth skimmed the air, and I could hear the faint trickling of laughter and voices coming from the backyard.
“Right this way,” Kane said with a gesture of his hand.
The same hand that he settled on the small of my back as I passed him.
A shiver tripped down my spine, and I faltered a step.
God, he was really trying to do me in.
Maci trotted along at his other side, their hands swinging between them, the child rambling away in her excitement.
“Do you fink he likes dolls? Because I got a lot of dolls. But I got books, too, and some games. I bet he really likes games.”
I finally managed to draw in a breath when Kane pulled his hand away when we got to the door.
He didn’t knock. He just pressed down on the latch and pushed it open, and he stepped aside to usher us in.
I took a tentative step into the great room of a modern house.
A huge kitchen sat off to the left, and an open living space was out in the middle that overlooked the yard beyond.
A curved staircase was to the right, along with a hallway that ran down that side of the house.
It seemed everyone was outside, and Kane guided us forward again, heading for the glass double doors that led to the porch.
The second he opened it, the chatter of voices clipped off, and a slew of eyes darted in our direction.
Nerves rocketed through me, and I found I couldn’t move.
Apparently, that was wholly unnecessary since Maci was enough action for all of us, bouncing out and smacking her hands over her head in time with her hops.
“Hi, everyone! I heard you wanna meet me real bad. My name is Maci!”
My heart locked.
Pained and overjoyed.
The little boy who’d been playing with a soccer ball out on the lawn turned around, his wavy blond hair blowing in the breeze, his blue eyes wide with his own excitement when he saw Maci standing there .