Page 191 of Ransom

"But?"

"But I respected him too much to show it. He was dying, Blair. And all he could think about was making sure you were taken care of."

She's quiet for a long moment. "He always tried to protect me. Even when he was wrong about what I needed protection from."

"I know, baby." I stroke her hair, feeling her slight tremble. "He loved you more than anything. Maybe too much sometimes."

"I just..." Her voice catches. "I wish he'd trusted me to make my own choices."

"Me too." I tighten my arms around her. "But he was trying his best. And look at us now—we found our way back anyway."

She lifts her head, those grey eyes shining with unshed tears. "Yeah, we did."

I wipe a tear from her cheek with my thumb. "And I'm never letting you go again."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I seal it with a gentle kiss. "You're stuck with me, McKenna."

Blair traces her finger along my collarbone, her touch feather-light. "Do you think we would have found each other if Dad hadn't gone to see you?"

"Honestly?" I catch her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "I was already cracking."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd been fighting the urge to come back for years. I would've caved eventually, promise or no promise."

Her brow gets that adorable wrinkle. "Really?"

"Yeah. I used to look you up online sometimes. Not much came up though."

"I'm not surprised. My life is pretty simple." Her lips quirk. "At least it used to be. But I looked you up once too."

"You did?" My heart skips. "When?"

"About five years ago. There was this article about the Brash Brothers' latest acquisition. You were on the cover of some business magazine."

"And?"

She shrugs one shoulder. "It felt like reading about a stranger. Private jets, billion-dollar deals... seemed like we were living in completely different worlds. I wouldn't have come to find you back then. The life I saw in those articles... it felt so far from everything I am."

"But that's not really my life. I mean, yeah, I have money now. But most nights I was just hanging out with my brothers, playing video games or working on cars."

"You own a helicopter," she points out, grinning.

"Which I mostly use to avoid traffic." I cup her cheek. "Everything that matters about me—the stuff that made you love me back then—that's all still here."

"I know that now." She leans into my touch. "But back then, seeing those pictures of you in thousand-dollar suits..."

"They're actually closer to fifteen thousand dollars."

She stares at me, then behind her at the suit pants crumpled around my ankles, then back at me, and says the most Blair thing I've heard all week. "Honey, I love you so much. But money made you dumb."

56

RANSOM

"Baby, I just need to have a private word with Kade. Save me a seat?" Half the adults are already in lawn chairs in the cul-de-sac. The rest of them will show up soon.

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