Page 29 of The Cold Ride

“Great job.” I high-fived her. “I’m really impressed.”

“Thanks. This summer I’m trying out for club soccer. Mom says if I work really hard and practice, I might get a spot on the team. But it’s okay if I don’t too.”

“She’s right. I could show you some things to help you if you’d like. Just some techniques I learned when I played in high school that made all the difference. And there are some exercises you can do to help you get stronger. It’s just some basic body movements that, if you work on, will make a difference in your performance on the field.”

“That sounds amazing. Thanks, Dad!” She tossed her arms around me. I didn’t know if I would ever get used to the joy that suffused my being every time she called me Dad.

I hugged her back. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Now get on inside and study for that test. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Okay. Thanks, guys,” she said with a small wave and headed inside.

And then I glanced at them. Lucas and Aiden had smiles on their faces. But Wyatt appeared pensive. A small frown marred his brow.

“Spit it out, Wyatt. What’s churning in that brain of yours?”

Wyatt sighed with a wince. “Dude, you’re not going to like it. We have to leave by Sunday if we’re going to make the last three stops in time. I sat down and calculated the mileage and travel time.”

“What about Ben?” We’d left him back in South Carolina with Moira Kelly. He was helping her out with a stalking issue.

“He messaged me that we should head to the next stop without him. From what I’m gathering, he’s not going to make the rest of the trip.”

Fuck. We were supposed to do this together. But life was intervening and pulling us away one at a time.

I stared at them with my heart aching because I knew, and I think they did too, what my response would be. “I can’t leave. I’m sorry. I know we’re supposed to deliver all the letters together. But I can’t leave Amelia just yet. We’re just getting to know each other, and I need more time with her. I think I’m going to stay until I have to report back to base.”

“Or Rory? You’re not ready to leave her either,” Wyatt surmised.

When it came to Rory, my feelings were a quagmire. I didn’t know what to think or feel about her. Not after the kiss we shared the other night. Nor the progress we’d made toward mending fences. And whether Rory and I wound up together wasn’t the point. I wanted us to be co-parents. To do that successfully, we had to mend the rift between us. But I nodded in agreement because he was right. “Or Rory.”

Wyatt glanced at the house with a calculating look in his eyes. “You know, this would be a great place to retire. It’s going to need a lot of upkeep over the years. The yard has a lot of potential.”

“You think I’m going to go from challenging life-and-death situations to running an inn? I don’t know the first thing about it.” But I understood what he was getting at. Because I’d looked at the yard and saw the possibilities.

“No, you don’t, but she does. And that woman has plans for this place. It’s up to you if you want to be part of those plans.”

“She hid my daughter from me for nine years,” I argued, unable to keep my anger from my voice. It was a bone of contention I couldn’t seem to get past.

“That’s true. And you have every right to be pissed.” Lucas clapped me on the shoulder.

Wyatt said, “She did. But she’s not begrudging you any time with her. In fact, she’s been overly generous.”

And she had cried desolate, guilt-ridden tears the other night. She knew it had been wrong and was trying to atone. I just needed time to work through my anger. But I didn’t know what things would look like once I did. Could we start over? This time from a place of honesty with clear intentions on both sides. “I don’t know if that’s the right direction. Honestly, I’m making it up as I go along because I don’t know what to do.”

I knew what I wanted. And it was a terrifying prospect opening that door again. Because ten years ago, I thought she was it for me, only to have the rug yanked out from under my feet.

“You want to know what I see?” Wyatt asked with that calm demeanor of his. It didn’t matter where we were; he never faltered. It drove me bug fuck half the time.

“What the hell, why not? Lay it on me.”

“You’ve got a ready-made family inside that inn. One any man would count themselves fortunate to have. They’re waiting for the right man to step up. You need to decide if that’s going to be you. And if it’s not you, then you need to be prepared for the day another man will step into that role.”

The thought of any man raising Amelia, or being with Rory, brought all my demons rushing hell bent to the surface. And those fuckers were foaming at the mouth to claw their way through my life. “Rory lied about being married when we first hooked up. How can I trust anything where she’s concerned?”

Lucas and Aiden just shook their head. Wyatt rolled his eyes. “And here I thought you were smarter than that. If I’m understanding the timeline correctly, she divorced Evan shortly after you two hooked up. Don’t you think that means something? Because I sure as shit think it does. I remember Evan talking about how much he fucked up with Rory after he got the divorce papers. Don’t you?”

I sucked in a breath at the memory. It had been the night before we were being deployed. We went to a local bar not far off base, and Evan had been crying into his beer over how much he’d fucked things up. I remember how much I’d wanted to shout that they were the perfect pair, cheating on each other and making other people believe they were available when it was all lies.

I’d been in my own personal hell that night. So terribly jealous of Evan because he hadn’t known what a prize he had. But it still didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t. “It could mean nothing.”

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