Page 152 of Make Me Trust Again
Then do something about it.
My legs are moving before I can think too much about it, pushing through the narrow pathway until the cottage comes into view. I step out of the woods just as Rose opens the back door, dressed in her PJs. Her confused expression meets mine, but then it drops down as Shadow brushes past her and into the house.
“What—”
“She’s been worried,” I explain as I move closer.
Rose turns to me, a small smile appearing on her face for a split second before it disappears again. “She and I both. Give me a moment.”
She walks inside and goes to the door that leads to Kyle’s bedroom. She crouches down and pets Shadow on the head, her mouth moving as she tells her something I can’t decipher before cracking the door open enough so the dog can slip inside. She leaves the door slightly open before she returns to me.
“How is he?” I ask, my hand cupping her cheek.
Rose leans into my touch, letting out a soft sigh. “Quiet. I tried asking him what happened at his dad’s, but he didn’t want to talk about it, so I let it go. He just now fell asleep.” She worries on her lower lip. “Am I doing the right thing? Should I have insisted he talk to me?”
“You’re doing the best you can.”
Rose shakes her head. “It doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough. He’s hurting, and I don’t know how to help him. It was easier when he was a baby. He would cry, so I would hold him or feed him or change him, and he’d be happy. But the older he gets, the more independent he is, the more it feels like he’s holding his thoughts and feelings in, and I can’t do anything to take his pain away.”
Tears gather in her eyelids, making her eyes glisten in the dim light. Cursing slightly, I grab her face in my hands and press my lips against the top of her head. “You were there for him, that’s all that matters, sweetheart. He’ll come to talk to you when he’s ready.”
Letting my palms slide down her body, I take her hand in mine and pull her toward the swing. Sitting down, I tug her into my lap. “How areyoufeeling?”
Her jaw clenches, some of that fire returning. “I’m so pissed off! When Kyle didn’t want to say anything, I tried calling John.”
Something sour burns the back of my throat, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t want Rose anywhere close to her ex. It’s irrational. They have a child together, of course, they’ll need to keep in touch for Kyle’s sake; however, the idea of her calling him makes my blood boil, and it takes everything in me to keep my voice casual. “You did?”
“Yes! I wanted to know what happened over there this weekend, but the asshole that he is sent me to voicemail. Or hell, maybe it was Lucy. I wouldn’t be surprised. They’re both a piece of work. I can’t say I’m surprised they ended up together; they deserve each other.”
My heart does this weird little flip inside my chest at her words. She’s clearly fired up about the whole situation. There’s a deep line etched between her brows as she continues to talk, but I can’t keep up because of the ringing in my ears.
Finally, she must see it because she tilts her head, her gaze zeroing in on me as she runs her fingers through her hair. “What?”
“So, you’re not upset by it?”
“Upset?” Rose’s brows furrow. “Why would I be upset? She can have him for all I care. Now, if she was to try something with?—”
Rose’s eyes widen as she bites into her lower lip, stopping whatever she wanted to say as the color creeps up her neck.
I slip my finger under her chin, tugging her lip out of her grasp. “Try something with?” I quirk my brow, my voice coming out raspy.
My question hangs in the air as the seconds tick by, that sizzling tension burning between us.
“Nothing. Forget it.” Rose shakes her head quickly and starts to get to her feet. “Do you want to drink something?—”
I grab her hand and hold her in place. “Try something with what?”
I don’t know why I’m being so insistent when she clearly isn’t comfortable telling me this, but I can’t let it go. I need to know what she wanted to say.
She squeezes her eyes like she’s in pain. “You, dammit!” Her curled fist connects with my chest. “All I could think about was her trying to flirt with you, and how I’d probably claw her eyes out. She can have John, but she doesn’t get to have you.”
Her words echo in the silent night, her chest rising and falling as she stares at me, her lips slightly parted. I lift my hand, cradling her cheek as I rasp out, “She doesn’t have me. She could never have me. Nobody could.”
Rose blinks, her fingers spreading over my chest. “You mean it?”
“She’s not you.”
“Chase…” Those delicate fingers slide over my collarbone and onto my nape, sending tingles running down my spine.
