Chapter 84 Laney
Laney
Iwake before the sun.
Not because Emmy is crying.
Because I’m not alone.
For a moment I don’t remember where I am.
Then I feel the warmth behind me.
The solid arm around my waist.
The steady breathing of a man who sleeps like he’s still standing guard.
Saint.
My heart does that ridiculous, traitorous flip again.
I stay very still.
If I move…
This might disappear.
The room is quiet.
Safe.
The kind of quiet I forgot existed.
Emmy stirs softly in her bassinet.
Her tiny mouth puckers like she’s thinking through something important.
I smile before I can stop myself.
How did I get so lucky?
How did I get so terrified?
For months I told myself I didn’t need him.
That loving Saint Lawson would be like loving a wildfire.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Impossible to control.
But the truth?
I loved him the moment I saw him.
I just locked it away somewhere safe.
His arm tightens slightly around me in his sleep.
Like some part of him refuses to let go.
My throat burns.
I think about Mildred.
The flooded kitchen.
The message behind it.
I think about my mother.
About how she never got a second chance.
I press my hand gently over Saint’s.
He stayed.
He didn’t run when things got complicated.
He didn’t hesitate when he saw Emmy.
God help me…
I believe him.
Emmy fusses softly.
Before I can move, Saint is already sitting up.
“I got her,” he murmurs.
He lifts her from the bassinet like he’s done it a thousand times.
And suddenly I see something different.
Not the Ranger.
Not the protector.
A father.
He walks her slowly, whispering nonsense until she quiets.
“She’s hungry,” he says.
I take her and feed her while he sits beside me, one steady hand on my back.
No pressure.
No expectations.
Just there.
When she finishes, Saint changes her diaper and settles her back into the bassinet.
Then he stands there watching her like she’s the center of the universe.
“I never meant to keep her from you,” I whisper.
“I know.”
“I was scared.”
“I know that too.”
“I’m still scared.”
He nods.
“Me too.”
But he reaches for my hand anyway.
Our fingers lace together naturally.
Like they remember how.
And in that moment…
Something shifts.
I didn’t come back just for safety.
I came back because my heart was already here.
And this time…
I’m not running.