Page 35 of Hitched

“What did you say?”

“I just told him that I’m working on you. Told him I’m sending you flowers.” He winks.

I snort a laugh. “Cute.”

He takes my hand and brings me to him. He holds me tight and kisses the top of my head. “All is well with Gretchen?”

“I’m worried about her, Caleb. I don’t know her from Adam, but that woman has a lot on her shoulders.”

He buries his head into my neck, thinking about what I’ve said. “I want to bring her to the states, where I can look after her better, but she won’t come.”

“It’s because of her sponsors, Caleb. She leaves Scotland, she leaves them, too.”

“I know. She’s told me as much. But I can’t do much more for her from here. Not without my family finding out.”

“They’ll find out more if you bring her to the states, Caleb.”

He sighs, still holding me close. “I thought of that, too, lass.”

“What about telling them about her? What if you said that Peg is yours? Do you think that would make a difference?”

He chuckles mirthlessly. “Da would see right through that. He’d demand a paternity test and then he’d crucify me for lying.”

“Jesus Christ, Caleb. He wouldn’t take your word for it?”

“One thing you don’t know about my da, Laney. He’s no fool. He knows about things before they happen. He’s not going to take this lightly.”

“It’s not like she’s vying to take your fortune, Caleb. I don’t see why your da would react so badly.”

“I told you, Laney. My da would see this as a betrayal. He does not like charity. He finds out I’ve been funding a former drug addict’s bills and supporting her daughter, he’ll forbid me to continue. He may even disown me. It’s not worth the risk, Laney. If I want to keep helping her I’ve got to do it in secret, just as I have been.”

“But if your da is so ahead of everything, how do you know that he isn’t already aware?”

He lifts his head. “You’ve seen my cock yourself, Laney. It’s still intact. I can guarantee he doesn’t know about her.” His face is set. He’s serious.

“But the bairn?” I ask softly. “He wouldn’t care about that?”

“Not unless she’s our kin, no.”

He searches my eyes, combing his fingers through my hair. I can’t bear to see that look of despair in his eyes.

“What if I bring her, Caleb? What if I take care of her? She took very well to me. Both of them did.”

He rubs his nose on mine. He’s so tender I could melt in his arms. It feels so nice. So comforting. So fulfilling. His hold on me is perfect. “My family would accept that I’m helping another. I could get her a place and make sure that Peg has a good school to go to next year.”

“I…I can’t ask you to do that, Laney. Those girls have been my responsibility for the last three and a half years. They’re a part of me now. While I appreciate what you’re offering, I want to help them, and I don’t want to burden you with that.”

“We could do it together, Caleb. That way you can still be a part of this. And until this murder case goes down, you’ve got enough to sort out. Plus, if immigration finds out that she’s in the care of someone being questioned in a murder investigation, I’m not sure how that would go down. I’d hate for anything to happen to them.”

He swallows. He searches my eyes, but there is the ghost of a smile on his face. “I think I’m going to need much nicer flowers.”

Chapter 11

Caleb

I rush over to Laney’s after the Ford boys drop me off. I’m so excited I lift her up in the air, and she squeals. “What’s this?” She laughs.

I kiss her lips playfully, fast and loud. “I’m free. Me and the Ford boys got called to the cop station this afternoon. None of us are suspects. I can go to Scotland!”

---