Page 29 of Beautifully Broken Redemption

Walker let out a low whistle. “Fiancé?”

Hell. This would be the tricky part. “That’s right.”

He looked between Cain and me. “As much as I want the full story on that one, I think it’s best if I’m in the dark. Fill me in with the official line when you’re ready. And call if you need anything. Hopefully, those two won’t be back.”

God, I hoped so. But the fact that they’d mentioned a hotel in town gave me pause. “Thanks, Walker.”

He saluted and headed for the front doors, walking out into the summer sunshine. Cain cleared his throat. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

I focused on him. Cain had become more than a business partner over the past two years. He was a friend. And our histories meant that he should understand exactly why I was doing this. “John Foley hit Justin just before they moved to Sutter Lake.”

A muscle in Cain’s jaw ticked. “Reported?”

“No.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.” I flexed my fingers and then cracked my knuckles, trying to relieve some of the phantom pressure there. “Wouldn’t you do anything to save those kids from that?”

Cain was quiet for a moment. “I hope you know what you’re doing. That’s giving up a chunk of your life for something you might not even be able to pull off.”

But I didn’t see it that way. The only things I would be giving up were lonely evenings and a ghostly quiet house. It wouldn’t be a sacrifice to have Anna, Justin, and Lyla there. And I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I could do something to help and simply didn’t. “Failing at this isn’t an option, Cain.”

“Then let’s make sure you don’t fail.”

11

Anna

I pushed openthe door to the cottage, Kennedy on my heels. I’d done the fastest power walk I could manage from Hope House. I knew if I ran, people would worry there was an emergency, so I’d opted for an almost comical walk instead. But there was no hint of laughter inside me. Only a desperate need to lay eyes on Justin and Lyla.

Justin was pacing the living area but froze mid-step at the sound of the door, then whirled around. “What is it? What happened?”

I took in a shaky breath. I’d promised I wouldn’t lie to them. But I didn’t want to scare them unnecessarily, either. I looked over to where Kristin sat on the couch with Lyla, clearly playing some sort of game on her phone. “Thank you so much for bringing them over here.”

She pushed to her feet, giving me a kind but concerned smile. “Anytime.” She squeezed my arm as she made her way to the door. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as the door shut, Justin asked again. “What happened?”

“Your grandparents are in town.”

Lyla’s eyes went wide. “We don’t have to go with them, do we? I don’t want to.”

I crossed to the couch, sinking down onto it and pulling her into a hug. “No. They can’t take you anywhere.”

“Not yet,” Justin muttered. I looked at him, and he shrugged. “I looked some stuff up on my tablet last night.”

Kennedy cleared her throat. “How about I make everyone a snack while you guys talk?”

“Thanks, Kenz.” It wasn’t like she wouldn’t be able to hear everything we said from the kitchen, but it gave some semblance of privacy. “Come here, Jus.”

He moved slowly and opted for a tufted footstool instead of sitting next to me and Lyla on the couch. “I read that the judge will ask us who we want to go with. We’ll say you. Right, Lyla?”

She bobbed her head up and down, holding onto me tighter. “We want to be with you.”

“I want you guys with me, too.” I took a deep breath. “How would you feel if we went to live with Mason?”

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