Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
SLOANE
What a difference a month could make, I thought to myself as I hummed along to music on my phone and readied myself for parents’ evening at the school.
Arro and Mac had fixed up the cottage on insurance money.
Apparently, all the Adair family had pitched in to put our home to rights, including Arran and his girlfriend Eredine.
Eredine worked as a yoga instructor on the estate but we hadn’t had the opportunity to spend much time together.
That two people, who didn’t know us well, would pitch in to help put our home back together, reminded me there was good in the world.
That what happened to us wouldn’t change me for the worse.
Callie and I moved back in a week after Nathan’s attack.
They’d been overly generous and replaced the smashed TV with an even nicer one, and snuck in a KitchenAid mixer and other little bits and pieces we didn’t have before.
This was on top of the hugely discounted rent they charged for the cottage.
I honestly didn’t know what I’d done to deserve such kind people around me, but I’d never take them for granted.
Strangely, however, both Callie and I missed Aria, and if I hadn’t been mistaken, she’d been sad to see us go too.
She hugged me extra hard the day we moved out of her family home, and I decided then not to let the genuine friendship that had sparked between us fade.
Yes, she was my boss, but she was also a really good human whom I worried was lonely.
I’d already invited her to have dinner with me and Callie next Sunday, since that seemed to be her quietest day on the estate.
I took time with my hair and makeup, even though it was only parents’ evening.
It was one of only a few occasions lately where I’d gone anywhere other than grocery shopping or delivering bakery orders.
Callie and I had been invited to family dinner with the Adairs twice since the attack, but otherwise, I hadn’t really had the opportunity to make myself feel pretty.
Callie was with Lewis, and Arro and Mac were watching them so Regan and Thane could attend parents’ evening too.
Lewis loved his aunt and uncle so much, he’d asked if he could sleep over with them.
They’d said yes and invited Callie to the sleepover.
It would be her first since she was taken by Nathan, and while I was nervous about it, I also wanted her to have normality again.
Plus, Mac Galbraith was as tall and built as Walker, and a badass martial artist, too, so I was reassured, knowing he could protect my kid.
I didn’t know how they were going to manage watching two preadolescents along with their baby girl, but they offered, so …
Another offer had come from Walker. To drive me to the school.
Walker had insisted on escorting me everywhere until Nathan was extradited.
Considering extradition could take months, if not years, it sounded ludicrous that Walker intended to guard me until then, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue with him.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk with him, period.
He hadn’t touched me since the day of the attack.
He’d barely spoken to me. In the mornings, he collected us and talked to Callie, his gaze assessing her with every conversation.
After the trauma of being kidnapped by her father, the police had referred the case to social services, and they recommended Callie speak with a psychologist. I’d been all for it because Callie had been so subdued afterward.
It was the psychologist’s opinion that my daughter should attend some therapy sessions because she was carrying a lot of guilt over me being taken by her father.
We talked about it instead, me and Callie.
I assured her from the bottom of my heart that she had nothing to feel guilty about and that it had all turned out all right in the end.
Perhaps I was wrong to put the decision in her hands, but I had a smart, thoughtful, mature kid.
I asked her if she wanted to continue talking to a therapist, and she said no.
I didn’t want to put her through a process she didn’t want after she’d already gone through so much.
We’d revisit the idea if I felt she was withdrawing again, but over the last week, I’d noticed a marked difference in her.
Callie was laughing, teasing, fighting with Lewis, and doing all the things that made her happy.
I was keeping an eye on her, and I was impatient to hear what her teacher observed when Callie was in class.
As for me, I’d come out of the whole thing feeling empowered.
That might sound crazy to some. But I had won.
Nathan had terrorized me for years, and I’d gotten the better of him not once, but twice.
I wasn’t afraid for myself anymore, but I was still afraid for Callie.
If the cottage made a sound during the night, I had to get up and check Callie was okay.
Then I’d check the locks and windows before I could fall back asleep.
That happened more times than I cared to admit, but I think that was normal.
When we were out and about, I gripped tight to Callie’s hand, even though she was ten and past holding it.
I needed to feel her with me, to know Nathan had to get past me if he wanted to get to her.
I knew Nathan had been transferred from the hospital to prison last week.
But while he was in this world, I’d probably never stop feeling that fear.
Physically, I was much better. I’d suffered a few bumps and bruises from the car crash, including bruised ribs and shins, but they were almost gone, and my ribs felt a lot better.
A knock sounded on the cottage door, and I sighed heavily as I gave myself one last look.
I recently redid my hair, my makeup gave me a healthy glow, and I was wearing a new dress I’d splurged on since Callie and I had to buy new clothes after Nathan destroyed ours.
My bakery dream fund took a hit, but we needed clothes.
The dress was a fall-rust shade with tiny white leaves printed all over it.
It had a V-neck line that was just a tad daring, full sleeves that tightened at the wrist, a nipped-in waist, and a long, flowing skirt that hit the bottom of my calves.
I’d paired it with a pair of ankle boots and a slouchy wool coat.
Deciding I looked cute enough to face him, I left the room at his second impatient knock and hurried downstairs, yelling that I was coming.
When I opened the door, Walker stood on the other side looking grim-faced and brooding as ever.
To be honest, I’d been so distracted by Callie and how everything was affecting her, I hadn’t had a lot of time to think about the fact that Walker had put distance between us again.
However, the past week, with her improving so much, I’d been relieved enough to contemplate it. The man gave me whiplash.
I could only assume that four weeks of nothing but professionalism and sweetness toward my kid meant Walker Ironside was done with our casual sex arrangement.
He was only in our lives as part of some misguided notion he needed to make certain we were definitely safe.
Part of me wondered if he was upset with himself because he hadn’t been there when Nathan made his move.
That was crazy, though, and I’d tell him so if he ever bothered to let me in, to explain to me what was on his mind.
His eyes lowered down my body, and something like heat flickered there for a second before he turned away. “Time to go.”
The short drive to the school was excruciating.
It went something like this.
“How are you?” Me.
“Fine.” Walker.
“Do anything fun lately?” Again, me.
His reply was a grunt. That was it. Just a grunt. Like he was a freaking caveman.
I didn’t bother speaking after that and neither did he. Not even a grunt.
It hurt. More than I wanted it to. Which meant maybe it was a good thing it had ended between us.
I’d promised, after all, to walk away if my feelings developed into something more.
But I … it wasn’t like I was in love with Walker, right?
I liked him, and I enjoyed sex with him.
The hurt I felt was what any normal human being would feel when they’d been rejected.
“Wait there,” Walker commanded as we pulled into a parking space at the school. There were lots of other cars parked already.
I waited, feeling slightly impatient, as Walker rounded the hood to open my door. I got out with a murmured thanks and then strode toward the school before he could say another word.
Walker fell into step beside me, and his arm brushed mine.
Even though I could barely feel it through my coat, it was enough to make me move a little away from him.
If he noticed, he didn’t comment or react.
Once inside, we passed other parents, following the corridor toward Ellen Hunter’s classroom.
The school had bumped up the heating, and it was too hot.
I shrugged out of my coat, folding it over my arm as we neared the classroom where parents waited outside on tiny seats meant for children or stood against the wall.
I spotted Regan and Thane and hurried toward them like they were a lifeline.
“Walker’s not coming over?” Regan asked, frowning at him.
I glanced over my shoulder to see he’d taken up position against the wall opposite the classroom door and was glancing slowly left and right, taking in everything.
Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Lewis’s parents. “He’s in bodyguard mode.”
Regan smirked. “You don’t look happy about that.”
“He barely said a word the entire drive here. He even grunted at me.”
She shook with laughter while Thane asked dryly, “And we’re surprised by this? Walker isn’t known for being particularly loquacious.”
I shrugged, feeling that sting of hurt again. “He used to talk to me. Not lately, though.”