Page 23 of Shadows of You

“Excuses, excuses,” Wren singsonged. “Single parents date every day.”

I released Grae’s hand, my palms starting to sweat. “I’m not interested in dating, okay?”

Worry crept into Maddie’s expression. “Aspen. Is everything—?”

“Mama, look!” Cady called, spinning around in some sort of pirouette.

Thank God for tiny children.

“That was beautiful, Katydid.”

She beamed, running toward me and launching herself onto my lap.

I caught her with a laugh. “Having fun?”

“The bestest best time. I love Hartley dinner.”

Grae smiled at my girl. “I’m so glad because you’re part of the family now.”

Her eyes went wide, then glassy with unshed tears. “Really?” she whispered.

Grae sent me a slightly panicked look at Cady’s unexpected emotion. “Of course. We love you like crazy.”

Cady blinked away the tears before they could fall. “I love you, too.”

Charlie crossed to us, flopping onto the couch next to Wren. “When we get married, it’ll be all official,” he announced matter-of-factly.

Wren’s lips twitched, and she drilled a finger into his side. “You gonna beat me down the aisle?”

Charlie grinned. “You guys are takingforever.”

Maddie snorted. “You’re ruthless, Charlie.”

He shrugged. “I just tell the truth.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Kerry called from the other side of the house.

“Finally!” Charlie yelled, jumping off the couch and grabbing Cady’s hand.

They ran ahead of us as we rose and followed. Maddie fell into step beside me, getting close. “You know I’m always here if you need to talk, right?”

My throat burned. I’d almost told her so many times. The words swirled on the tip of my tongue. But I couldn’t set them free. Didn’t want to bring her into my mess. Couldn’t risk that telling her would mean telling everyone in this house. The only way to keep a secret was if I was the only one holding it.

I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

Disappointment flickered in her expression, and I felt like the worst of the worst. Maddie had shared the hardest parts of her past with me, and I refused to do the same. I shoved down the self-hatred and released her hand.

“Find a seat anywhere,” Kerry called.

“You can sit next to me, Ms. Barlow,” Drew called, shooting me a wink.

I couldn’t hold in my laughter as Lawson ruffled his son’s hair.

“Dial it back a notch, Casanova,” he muttered.

“Here,” Grae offered, pulling out the chair next to hers.

I was grateful for the offer until I lowered myself to the wooden seat and met fathomless dark blue eyes across the table. Eyes that searched deeper than any others I’d ever encountered. As if they could discover all my secrets without even trying.

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