Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Miles
Icouldn’t believe Higgins showed up while Winter was here. What the hell had the man been thinking? Why the hell had he come here asking for help with a case?
He knew I didn’t do that anymore, and he knew exactly why.
My entire body stiffened as my heart ached when flashes of dirty blonde hair and sad brown eyes flashed behind my mind’s eye, and the ache in my chest grew deeper.
God, I missed Laney. So fucking much.
Every time I thought about her—the kid I’d fostered five years ago; the kid who’d been killed—the hurt and grief were intense, but even more so, the guilt ate at me like a fucking acid burn.
Her sweet laugh, the one I’d only just started to hear on a regular basis before the shit hit the fan, rang in my ears, and I almost wished I could erase the memory from my brain because it was too painful.
But at the same time, I didn’t want to forget a single thing about the teenager I’d wanted to adopt, the daughter I’d never had.
I missed her profusely, and seeing Higgins tonight opened that wound, tore out all the tiny stitches I’d been sewing around it, in the blink of an eye.
That wound would never fully heal, but it’d gone from a gut-deep, burning, bleeding-out mess to something with more of an ache that I could live with.
A constant ache I never forgot, but one that didn’t crumble me like it had in the beginning.
And then he showed up and ruined it all.
This… this was why I’d pulled away. Seeing him was too difficult.
My brain felt like it was spiraling out of control.
I’d lost the one family I’d tried to build—the only true family I’d ever had—five years ago.
And now, here was Winter, trying to date me, trying to build something with me.
What if I lost him too?
I didn’t think I could handle it.
I couldn’t… couldn’t take another loss. I’d never survive it.
If I got any closer to Winter, and something happened, I… I’d be lost out to sea without an anchor.
“Shhh, shh, shh,” Winter suddenly said, pulling me tighter into his arms, locking me there in a strong embrace. “I’ve got you, Miles. I’m right here.”
I hated that he’d noticed I wasn’t asleep, hated that he was seeing me like this. Hated that he’d finally see the broken man I was.
He kissed my temple, and the sweet gesture brought fresh tears to my eyes. “You’re safe, sweetheart.” He kissed me there again, then nuzzled into my hair. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it. All that’d do was make me a sobbing mess, and despite the fact I was scared of getting any closer to him, I didn’t want to scare Winter away. I was lucky he was still here after everything, especially after last night’s visitor.
“Okay, but I’m here if and when you want to, alright?”
I nodded, unable to use my voice.
“Come here.” He somehow managed to pull me even closer, and I found myself nuzzling into his chest and gripping onto his back like he was the lifeline I needed—he was.
Winter was everything, and I could only hope he’d be patient with me because talking about all that happened five years ago wasn’t going to be easy.
“Shhhh. I’ve got you, sugar butt. I’ve got you.”
I snorted. And regardless of everything else, in that moment, I believed him.
Waking up in Winter’s arms was one of the best feelings in the entire world.
I basked in the glow for a few minutes, snuggling in and loving how he held me tight.
But then everything rushed back to me.
Higgins. Winter finding out I used to be a detective. Win being hurt I hadn’t told him yet.
The memories of Laney.
I shuddered and buried my face in his chest again, doing my best to push all those thoughts away.
Right now, I just needed to focus on the novelty of being in someone’s arms, of waking up without so much noise in my head, of being with Winter even for a few minutes before he had to rush home to get ready for work.
A wet tongue slurped across my foot, making me startle so badly that I woke everyone else in the bed. Whoops.
I wasn’t used to sharing a bed with a giant dog, and I definitely wasn’t used to doggie kisses. And eww, on my foot of all places. That’ll teach me to stick my feet out of the bottom of the blankets.
Odin was above my head, but he just rubbed against my hair, then went right back to sleep. Nothing and no one could interrupt my little one-eyed, orange prince’s beauty sleep, that was for sure.
Peeking up at the headboard, I found Sola staring down at me, but she didn’t seem to mind remaining there, watching over all of us.
“Mm.” Winter grunted and squeezed me tight, then pressed a kiss to my forehead—I was really starting to like all these forehead kisses. “I like waking up with you in my arms.” His voice was raspy and sexy with sleep.
My entire body sagged in relief. He wasn’t mad. He didn’t hate me. Comforting me last night wasn’t a fluke or him being nice because he’d known I was upset.
He liked being here.
In bed.
With me.
Maybe taking a chance on Winter Alexander Montgomery was worth it?
Could I… could I really have something with him?
The thought of never seeing Winter again made my insides sour, and I knew right then that no matter how scary the thought of him walking away was, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be the one to push him away.
Being like this, having the comfort of another person, was too precious for me to screw up.
“I like it too,” I mumbled, sounding half-asleep myself.
With another squeeze and forehead kiss, he let out a sigh. “I wish it wasn’t a weekday so we could stay like this all day, but I’m going to have to get up soon.”
I let out a sigh of my own. I wasn’t ready to face the day, but the day didn’t care. “I know. I wish you could stay.”
“Me too. But as long as you were serious last night, I’ll be back for dinner.”
I nodded against him. “I was definitely serious.”
“Then I’ll be here.”
“With Goliath, right?” I wanted to make sure he knew his dog was always invited over as well. He was so well-behaved, and Odin and Sola loved him.
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Yeah, I would like that.”
“He’s welcome here anytime.”
“Thanks.”
Clearing my throat, I leaned back to look him in the eyes. “You are as well.”
The smile he flashed me was brilliant, and before I could stop him, he pressed a closed-mouthed kiss to my lips.
I grunted in horror because I didn’t want him to smell my morning breath—and I certainly didn’t want to smell his—and he just laughed as he leaned back.
Winter stared into my eyes with a soft smile playing on his lips as he traced my cheek, forehead, and chin with his fingertips. The light touch felt good, and my eyes slipped closed before I could stop them.
He kept up the light touches for a long time before he whispered, “I really need to get up. I want to get there a little early so I can talk to my boss.”
My eyes flew open. “For your two-weeks’ notice?”
He nodded. “You still sure about that?”
I was surprised he kept asking me. Why in the world wouldn’t I be sure about hiring him? He was not only an amazing person, but a good worker, a hard worker. Of course I wanted him to work with me. “Absolutely.”
He nodded, looking serious, so I pulled a Winter and pecked his lips quickly. I couldn’t believe I was risking it without brushing my teeth yet, but the move made his grin come back, so I couldn’t regret it.
“I’ll get a contract together today so you can look it over at dinner.”
“Sounds perfect.” He kissed my lips, then my cheek, then my forehead before slowly climbing out of bed.
He stretched his arms over his head, and I couldn’t help but stare at the sliver of skin showing under his rising shirt. Mm. He was so yummy.
Winter suddenly bent over at the waist, elbows on the bed so his face was close to mine, grinning like an idiot. “Were you checking me out, sir?”
I snorted. “Obviously.”
He barked a laugh, winked, and straightened. “Good to know. I’ll see you later. Text me when you know what time you want me to come over.”
“I will. Let me know how it goes with your boss.”
He groaned. “Yeah… I’ll text you in a bit. Fingers crossed he doesn’t scream at me.”
I cringed. “Does your boss do that?”
He shrugged, heading for the door. “Sometimes. No big deal.”
I didn’t think it was no big deal. No one should be screaming at their employees, but I didn’t say that out loud.
Goliath climbed up the bed to lick my face, making me laugh as I petted him. “Ewww!! You were licking my feet a minute ago!”
“He licked mine too.”
My nose wrinkled in horror. “Oh my god! Eeeewwwwwwwwww!!! That’s disgusting!!”
Winter laughed. “Are my feet really that bad?”
“Yes! All feet are gross!”
He continued to laugh but patted his leg. “Come on, boy. You can maul him later tonight. Let’s go for a walk.”
At the word walk, Goliath’s ears perked up, and then he leapt off the bed, looking like some kind of frenzied deer, tumbled across the floor, found his footing, and then took off for the stairs, making me chuckle.
Winter gave me a wink before he followed after the hyper dog.
Odin yawned and stretched above my head, then just tucked himself back into a little ball, not caring one bit about the chaos that’d just happened. I gave him a pat, stretched, and reached up to scratch Sola’s neck, then finally pulled myself out of bed as well.
As much as I wanted to take the day off after the very busy and gnome-filled weekend we’d had, I had clients counting on me today.
So… it was time to get ready for work.
After I was through with my morning rituals and was fresh out of the shower and dressed for the day, I headed downstairs to find something for breakfast. Sola rode on my shoulder while Odin rubbed all over my legs, almost tripping me and murdering me on my staircase—as usual.
I was pretty sure that was the job of most cats. And probably dogs too.
The try-to-murder-your-humans-then-look-at-them-with-innocent-and-cute-eyes club.
Seriously, their cuteness could get them out of any trouble.
I finally reached the bottom with all my limbs intact, but froze when I glanced toward the front door.
Right there, on the little table, was a manila envelope.
The manila envelope.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I walked over to it and snatched it up. Leaving it there wasn’t going to do me any favors because now that I saw it, I couldn’t help but wonder what was inside.
Before I could open it, Odin let out a loud pathetic-sounding meow, and I glanced down at him. He was clearly telling me to hurry my ass up because he needed to be fed. Right now.
I bent to pet him, then walked into the kitchen to prepare food for Odin and Sola.
I got them fed and watered quickly. Sola stood on her perch in the living room where her food bowl was. I needed to get another perch for the dining room. And one for the kitchen. She needed to have somewhere to land in every room so she was comfortable in our home.
Hm. Maybe I could look online for a variety of perches. I was pretty sure I’d already bought the two biggest ones from the local pet store. I supposed I could call them and see if they’d ordered more.
That was a later me problem.
Somehow, even after all the animal food prep, I still had the damn folder tucked under my arm. Apparently, I was doing this thing.
But first, cereal.
I opened my pantry, grabbed my favorite cereal from the very top shelf, and froze when I went to shut it.
With a sigh, I grabbed the bag of large marshmallows, frowning at it as I shut the pantry door with my foot and held the bag over the trash can.
Damn. It was open, which meant the marshmallows were probably hard as rocks by now, and I didn’t want to risk eating them since I definitely hadn’t opened this package yet.
As I dropped it in the trash, I couldn’t help but wonder how it’d been opened. Maybe it was like that when I got it, and I hadn’t noticed it. Crap, now I kinda wanted a marshmallow. Boo. Maybe I could pick some up after work or something.
With a shrug, I grabbed a bowl, a spoon, and the milk, then sat at the dining table with my loot.
I quickly fixed my cereal, then opened the envelope, pulling a manila folder out with a sigh.
Okay.
I was doing this.
I was going to help Higgins with a case.
My heart was in my throat, but I opened the folder anyway.