Chapter 14 - Rylie
Rylie
Iwoke slowly.
Not startled.
Not afraid.
That alone felt strange.
For a few disoriented seconds, I didn’t know where I was—only that I was warm, and that something solid and steady was beside me.
The firelight had dimmed to embers, casting a soft orange glow across the cabin walls.
The air smelled like cedar and smoke and something grounding I couldn’t quite name.
Then I realized.
Trigger.
My cheek was pressed against his shoulder, my head resting just below his collarbone. His arm was braced behind me, not wrapped around me, not holding—just there. A presence. A promise he hadn’t spoken out loud.
He hadn’t moved.
The realization tightened something in my chest.
I shifted slightly, careful not to wake him, but his body reacted instantly. Not jerking. Not panicking. Just… alert. His breathing changed. His muscles engaged.
His eyes opened.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
The softness in his voice surprised me more than anything else.
“I—” I swallowed, suddenly aware of how close we were. “I fell asleep.”
“I know.”
“And you stayed in the same spot.”
“Yes.”
There was no expectation in his tone. No unspoken claim. Just fact.
I pulled back slowly, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around myself again. The fire had burned low, but the cabin was still warm. Morning light filtered faintly through the windows, gray and early.
“How long?” I asked.
“Couple hours,” he said. “You slept.”
Like that mattered.
It did.
I brushed my hair back, trying to collect myself, when the satellite radio on the table crackled to life.
Trigger was on his feet before the sound fully registered, crossing the room and lifting it.
“Trigger,” Wolf’s voice came through—rough, tired, and threaded with something else.
Emotion.
Trigger straightened. “Go.”
There was a pause on the other end. A breath.
Then—
“She’s here,” Wolf said. “Nora’s okay. Baby’s okay.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my hands flying to my mouth.
Trigger didn’t speak. He just closed his eyes for half a second like the weight he’d been carrying finally shifted.
“A girl,” Wolf continued, his voice breaking just slightly. “Seven pounds even. Loud as hell. Looks like her mother. Thank God.”
A smile spread across Trigger’s face before he could stop it. Real. Unguarded.
“That’s good,” he said quietly. “That’s really good.”
“I wanted you to hear it from me,” Wolf said. “Nora asked about Rylie.”
My throat tightened.
Trigger glanced at me. “She’s here. She’s safe.”
There was relief in Wolf’s exhale. “Good. Keep her that way.”
“I will.”
Wolf hesitated. “Town’s still quiet. Too quiet. Thomas hasn’t shown again yet.”
Trigger’s smile faded, instinct sliding back into place. “He will.”
“I know.” A pause. Then, softer, “But today, at least for a minute… we’re going to hold on to this.”
Trigger nodded even though Wolf couldn’t see him. “You should.”
“Give Nora my congratulations,” I said. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Trigger looked at me again, something warm and steady in his eyes.
The radio clicked off.
Silence returned—but it felt different now.
I lowered my hands slowly, tears blurring my vision. “A baby,” I whispered. “She had her baby.”
Trigger nodded. “She did.”
I laughed softly, the sound breaking through emotion I hadn’t realized was backed up inside me. “Wolf’s a father.”
“He’s going to be a good one,” Trigger said without hesitation.
Something loosened in my chest.
Life was still happening. Even with fear crouched at the edges. Even with Thomas somewhere out there, watching and waiting.
I hugged the blanket tighter. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Of course.”
“For bringing me here,” I added. “For keeping me safe.”
He studied me for a long moment, like he was deciding something.
Then he said, simply, “You’re not a burden, Rylie.”
The words hit harder than any threat ever had.
I nodded, blinking fast. “I know.”
And for the first time in a long while…
I actually believed it.