Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NASH
W hen I’d gotten Lottie settled, I’d found Julie asleep in the chair. “Julie,” I whispered as I shook her shoulder. She stirred and frowned at me. “Go home. I can sit with Fallon.”
“No, I can’t leave her. What if she…” Her voice trailed off, and I knew where her head was going.
“I won’t let her go and right now she won’t get far. Go home, get some rest. I have a feeling that everyone will be required to pitch in and work together here for a while.”
“Thanks, son.” She patted my arm and moved to walk past me. “Phil is looking into her ex. I’ll have him send you any information he finds.” We walked to the door, and I held her coat as she put it on. I knew more about this fucker than I could let on right now. I’d made a promise to Fallon not to tell anyone I’d known where she was, but things were different now .
“Take my truck. It’s in the shop, and it will be warm. I’ll go get it for you.” The chilly night air hit me before I finished slipping on my jacket and walked to the shop and got my truck. What was I thinking when I offered to take care of Fallon? Or the girls? I didn’t know the first thing about babies or toddlers. It must have been the lack of sleep, or the wanting to be close to her after this long.
When I pulled up to the main house, Julie met me at the truck. “You’re a good man, Nash.” She patted my face before rounding the waiting vehicle. She wouldn’t think I’m a good man if she knew I’d known where Fallon was all this time, or that I’d seen her three years ago.
Turning the lights off in the kitchen, I picked Josie up off the couch and carried her to bed, gently placing her next to Fallon. Lottie was still asleep in her cradle and I sat in the rocking chair beside the bed. Propping my feet up on the bed, I grabbed the blanket that was discarded on the floor.
As I closed my eyes, this felt oddly right.
Lottie’s cry woke me up with a start, and I jolted upright. I’d forgotten where I was as my heart hammered in my chest. Fallon placed her hand on my leg, and I looked over at her. “You snore,” she grumbled .
“I do not.” I argued back as I got up from the chair and picked Lottie up.
“What time is it?” Fallon asked as she stretched.
“A little after six,” I said, glancing at my watch. “I suppose you need to feed this little lady.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, I handed Lottie to Fallon.
“I’m sure that’s why she’s squawking.” Her hair was wild and all over the place, she was relaxed and even the bruising around her eye didn’t look as bad, but it still made my blood boil to see it. I wanted to dare that fucker to set foot on this ranch. I’d do to him exactly what he’d done to her and more. She looked small in that enormous bed and my heart ached that I couldn’t protect her all these years.
“I’ll give you some space.”
“Nash,” she said as I reached the door. Turning, I watched her smile. “Thank you for being here.” She lowered her gaze to Lottie. but let her eyes flit back to me for a split second.
“Anything for you Toots, you know that.” Leaving the room, I walked into the kitchen where Kipp was already sitting with two cups of coffee.
“Thank you for staying with her. I didn’t realize Mom had left.” He pointed at the coffee as I sat at the table.
“I figured your mom would need to be around to help and she looked exhausted.” Shrugging, I lifted the cup and took a slow stop of the steaming hot liquid .
“So what are we doing about this fucker?” Kipp said as he leaned his elbows on the table.
“I’ve already talked to Phil, and he’s going to get on it. Knowing him, he probably started already.” I didn’t want to out him and Julie, so I tried to keep it vague. “I’ll go to Kentucky and handle it.” It had been a while since I’d messed someone up, but I was more than willing to brush up on my skills.
“We need to bring Griff, Ryder and Linc in on this. There’s so much more to lose now than when we had no ties. If we take things into our own hands, it will have to be precise and without a trace.” His voice lowered, and I knew everything he’d just said.
“Let’s wait to hear from Phil and then we can make a plan.” We couldn’t go off half cocked anymore even though I think we all would agree the swifter this happened, the happier we’d all be.
Josie walked into the kitchen, and our discussion abruptly stopped. She wandered right to me and climbed up onto my knee. “Good morning, little one,” I said as she burrowed into my chest.
“Mornin’,” she mumbled, her little voice still full of sleep. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Wait, how does this work? I’m the actual uncle and she adores you? This doesn’t seem fair.” Kipp huffed as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.
“What can I say? She’s got good taste in uncles.” I laughed.
“You don’t even like kids.” He complained .
I shook my head as I reached for my cup. “No, that’s not true. I like Cooper.”
“You have to like him, he’s mine,” Kipp grumbled.
“So by that logic, I have to like Fallon’s kids, too. So see, I like some kids.” I shrugged, looking down at Josie.
“I like you, Nas,” she said, grinning at me. I was a goner. In twelve hours, this little doll had me wrapped around her finger and I would do anything she asked me to.
“Well, don’t you three look cozy,” Nora said as she came into the room braiding her hair. “How was Fallon’s night?” She looked around the room for Julie.
“Nash sent Mom home, and he stayed with her all night.” Kipp was grumbling again. Nora poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to her man.
“Oh, quit being a bear. Did she do okay?” Nora asked as she looked over at me.
“She was dizzy when she was up. I think if Jake can get out here today, he should see her.” I didn’t even try to hide my concern. There wasn’t a reason to.
“He said he’d be out to check on her and he has no problem sending her to the hospital if she needs to go,” Nora whispered.
“I’m not going to a hospital. I’m fine.” Fallon grumbled as she slowly walked out of the hallway. “Does one of you want to help me?” She leaned against the door frame and I quickly set Josie on Nora’s lap and went to her.
“Come on, you should be in bed. ”
“Nope, get me to that table. I’m tired of lying down.”
“Fallon.”
“Nash.” She frowned up at me. There was no use fighting her, she would win.