Chapter 14
14
A feather-soft touch on her cheek woke Lenore up, and she blinked her eyes several times, trying to figure out where she was. Then as her eyes jerked wide open, she spied her sweet, little mini-me face staring down at her.
“Mommy! I didn't know you were here! You snuck in!”
Lenore's arms scrambled to release from the sheets and latch around Evie's small body. “Oh my God, baby! Oh, Evie, baby.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “I missed you so much.”
“Sisco told me he was going to bring you home, and he did!”
Laughing through her tears, she nodded. “Yes, he did, sweetie.” Pushing up to lean against the headboard, she pulled Evie onto her lap, tucking her as close as their bodies would fit together. She wanted to ask how she was but didn't want to bring up any memories that right now Lenore would rather Evie keep hidden if possible. Clearing her throat and wiping away the tears that escaped, she said, “Tell me about the kittens.”
Evie bounced as she squealed, bumping Lenore's chin. Laughing, she shifted to the side. “I think I'd better give you some room.”
“Oh, Mommy, there are three. One is black with a little white spot on its neck. And then one is spotty. Well, it's orange and black and brown, but kind of all mixed like my finger painting. And the other one is orange with a white face. Bert said they didn't have names, but I could name them if I wanted.”
“Bert?” The names from last night had run together, and she couldn’t remember which face belonged to Bert.
“He's nice. He took me to the barn with Mary and showed me the kittens. We played, and then they took me out to a field where I got to pet a horse's nose.”
More grateful than she could express, Lenore battled the tears again, thinking of Sisco's friends and coworkers entertaining Evie so that she was not only cared for but could put the morning's events behind her and rest assured that her mom was coming home. Her mind wanted to drift once again to the what-ifs , but Sisco’s words from the previous night came back. He's right—there's no need to go down the path of what-ifs.
“Well, maybe I can see the kittens and the horse's nose, too.”
“I know you can. Bert and Mary said that when you got back, we could do that.”
Struck with their confidence that she would be returning, she smiled. “I also see they bought you some pajamas?—”
Evie jumped up and stuck out her little girl belly. “Yes! I got unicorn pajamas!” She dove to her knees on the bed and grabbed her toy. “And they got me a new stuffie!”
“Did you tell them thank you?”
Evie's nose wrinkled. “Yes, Mommy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I remembered.”
“Well, good. I'm glad all the excitement didn't make you lose your good manners,” she laughed, touching Evie’s nose with her finger.
“I'm hungry.”
“Let's head to the bathroom and get cleaned up, and then we'll go see if Miss Vivian will let us have some breakfast before we need to go home.”
“We can't go home now. You have to see the kittens and the horse.”
“Okay, we'll make sure to see them before we leave.”
“And, I have to see Sisco. He told me he was going to bring you home, and he did, but I haven't seen him.”
“I’m sure he'll be around, sweetheart, but he has work to do?—”
“Knock, knock.”
At the sound of someone rapping on the doorframe, Lenore looked over to see Sisco, leaning against the opening, a smile on his face. Before she could say anything, Evie jumped to her feet on the bed and bounced several times as though she was on a trampoline. With her arms in the air, she shouted, “Sisco! Sisco! You brought Mommy home! And now we can go to the barn!”
Lenore couldn't help but laugh, even as she tried to get Evie to stop jumping on the bed. Looking at Sisco, their eyes locked, she said, “I guess I should be pleased that she mentioned me before the kittens and horse. It seems she had a very exciting day yesterday.”
He was now grinning widely, and Evie was waving her arms, beckoning him, but he remained in the doorway. Realizing he was waiting on her, she lifted her hand and motioned for him to come in. “You've seen me at my worst, so I don't suppose how I look first thing in the morning with my ratty hair will bother you. Come on in before this girl jumps off the bed.”
In truth, she wished she didn't look like such a mess, but she could not keep her eyes off him as he sauntered into the room. His hair was wet, and he looked as though he'd simply run his hands through the short hair on top. When he smiled, his white teeth were a stark contrast to the dark, trimmed beard.
As she sat up in bed further, she reached out to pull Evie back but wasn't in time to keep her daughter from launching off the edge of the bed straight toward Sisco. Lenore gasped, but she should've known that he’d catch Evie easily, offering her a hug before setting her gently onto the floor.
Glancing down to make sure she was appropriate, Lenore realized the shirt she'd been given to wear after coming out of her shower last evening was a Go Navy long-sleeved T-shirt. It was paired with leggings that she assumed came from Vivian or Mary. She climbed out of the bed and debated whether she should make the bed or go ahead and take the sheets off.
Turning around, she caught Sisco, staring at her and couldn't decipher his expression. Feeling self-conscious, she smoothed the front of her wrinkled shirt and battled the urge to try to do the same with her hair.
His gaze jumped to her eyes, and as though coming out of a trance, he said, “That shirt looks great on you.”
“Vivian loaned it to me. I assume it belonged to Logan since you mentioned he was a SEAL with you.”
He approached and reached behind her, asking, “May I?”
She wasn't sure what he was asking for, but nodded, nonetheless. His hand snaked behind her neck, underneath her hair, and he slightly pulled out the neckline in the back. Leaning to the side, he chuckled before he stepped back.
He was so close she had to lean her head back to hold his gaze while Evie bounced around the room. “I'm afraid to ask what you found.”
“That's my shirt.”
Blinking, she tilted her head to the side. “Sorry? Your shirt?”
Grinning, he nodded. “We all have some clothes that we leave in the compound in case we need to leave suddenly on a mission and don't have enough time to return to our homes and pack. She must've gotten it from there.”
“Why would she do that?”
He dipped his head, rubbing his fingers through his beard. “My guess is that she knew that I… well, let's just say that I felt a proprietary friendship about you and Evie when I told them about you yesterday. She saw the way I went out of here ready to do anything to get you back safely. I guess she wanted you to have a part of me to watch over you last night.”
Warmth spread throughout her body, something she hadn't felt since talking to him in the chapel yesterday. With that thought, she shook her head. “How can it be that we just met yesterday? Not even a full twenty-four hours ago?”
He stepped closer and, with his knuckle under her chin, lifted her head. “I don't know. But I'm not going to question it. Sometimes, things just feel right.” Then he shook his head. “At least that's what I'm told. Believe me, I've never felt that before.”
“I haven't either. Not even… well, you know.”
“Mommy! Sisco! I want to go to the barn!”
She and Sisco separated, both looking down at the excitable little girl. With her hands on her hips, Lenore said, “First things first. We need to pull the sheets off the bed to wash them before we leave. We need to see if we could have some breakfast so that you can get more good food in you. We need to get cleaned up and in clothes. And then, we can go see the kittens and the horse before we go home.”
Evie made a mad dash into the bathroom, closing the door with more force than necessary. Turning back to Sisco, Lenore shook her head. “Is it bad that I don’t want to make sure she behaves right now? I just want her to be an excited, energetic little girl.”
He stepped closer again with Evie out of the room leaned down to place his lips on her forehead, and mumbled, “Not at all. She's perfect. So are you.”
“Don't bet on it. I'm as human as the next person.”
“Okay, then you're close to perfect.”
She laughed and realized how good it felt to have lightheartedness flow through her. “I need to get in there and make sure she's brushing her teeth, but before I go, let me ask if you can take us back to our house today. I have no idea where my car is. I'm sure it's still at the hospital?—”
“One of the Keepers has taken it to your house, so it's waiting for you. And no one will be taking you home except me. I hope that's okay.”
Smiling, she said, “That's more than okay.”
“Mommy!” came the excited shout from inside the bathroom.
“I'll be out in a little bit,” she said to him before she grabbed the clean clothes for her. She waved slightly toward Sisco as she disappeared behind the bathroom door.
Two hours later, Lenore sat on an upturned bucket in the barn, cradling the black kitten in her lap. Evie and Sisco sat on the floor with the tabby and orange kittens climbing over them, Evie’s giggles ringing out. Despite the open space with other people milling around, with Sisco’s back leaned against her bucket seat, the intimacy of the moment was palpable—something she realized she'd never had with William.
Her ex-husband never wanted to indulge in any of the simple things that brought her or Evie happiness. No cozy movie nights with popcorn in the den— “it makes too much of a mess.” No vacations— “I don't want to take time off work to sit on a beach in the hot sun.” And certainly, no pets— “They smell and cost too much money to feed.”
Here she was, in borrowed clothes, sitting on a bucket in a barn that housed equipment instead of farm animals, yet Evie was overjoyed with the kittens and dogs that ran around. They’d taken a Jeep ride to what Sisco called the edge of Logan's property, arriving at a ranch with horses grazing in a field. The rancher welcomed Evie to pet the gentlest horse's nose. She'd wanted to ride the horse, but Lenore wasn't willing to risk Evie falling. Just when Evie started to pout, Sisco stepped in and swooped her up, balancing Evie on his shoulders as he pranced around, proclaiming to be better than any horse.
Evie had laughed with abandon, and Lenore could have sworn her heartbeat doubled as she stared at the two of them. “This is dangerous,” she’d whispered to no one but herself. “To fall for a man I've known for a day…” Okay, a man who made time seem to stand still with just a look… a man who protected my child and me… a man who cared for my child when I couldn't… a man who came to rescue me.
Lowering her gaze, she stared at the tiny black kitten sleeping in her lap. As her fingers trailed slowly over the soft furry ball, she realized it didn't matter if she'd only known Sisco for a day. She wasn't declaring love at first sight… but there was definitely a profound connection. Her grin widened as she also acknowledged that lust at first sight was very real.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked.
Her cheeks heated as she met his gaze. She bumped his shoulder with her knees. “Just thoughts.”
“Care to share?”
She looked at him as the black kitten woke, stretched, and launched toward his shoulder. His hair and beard were as black as the kitten, and Evie squealed. “You two are twins!”
He lowered his brow as he poked Evie in the tummy, then looked back at Lenore again. “I'm not sure how I feel about being twins with a cat.”
Glad for the distraction so he wasn't asking her to share her thoughts anymore, she laughed and plucked the cat from his shoulder. As much as she hated leaving, she knew they needed to return home. “Okay, sweet pea. It's time to say goodbye to the kittens. Sisco is driving us home.”
“Yay!” Evie shouted, then kissed each kitten, promising to see them again soon. Standing, she grabbed Sisco's hand as they started out of the barn.
“What’s that on the mountain?” Evie asked, pointing at the tower in the distance.
Lenore’s hand lifted to her forehead to shade her eyes as she cast her gaze upward.
“That’s a light tower,” Sisco replied. “And since I know you’re going to ask why it’s there, I’ll tell you. That tower isn’t used anymore, but it was built to shine lights at night so that airplanes flying over the mountains knew how high they needed to fly to be safe.”
“Do you remember the lighthouse we saw when we visited Florida?” Lenore asked. It was the one time she’d managed to get William to agree to take a vacation, but right before they left, he declared he needed to stay home for work. She and Evie had taken the trip without him, enjoying the beach and exploring the area.
“I remember! It was so tall!” Evie exclaimed. She looked up at Sisco. “I wanted to go to the top, but Mommy said I couldn’t.”
“That tower is like the lighthouse. While the lighthouse keeps the ships safe, the light tower kept?—”
“The planes safe!” Evie shouted, finishing his sentence.
“Smart girl,” he said, then swung her into his arms. He stopped and looked over his shoulder as Lenore followed. Holding out his free hand, she readily reached for it.
“That’s why you are called a Keeper, right?” she asked softly.
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “Smart girl.”
Laughing, she shoulder bumped him as the three of them walked back to the house, with Evie being carried by Sisco and Lenore's hand tucked in his. The sun shone on the trio, creating a shadow.
“Look!” Evie cried, pointing at the shadow on the ground. “There's a picture of us all together.”
Lenore swallowed deeply, realizing Evie had no sweet memories of being a trio with her father. Yet seeing the moving shadow of them with Sisco as part of a trio simply felt… right.