Page 57 of Make Me Trust Again
An icy chill runs down my spine at his words, the dread settling in the pit of my stomach. He wants to take Kyle away from me? Hell to the no.
This time, I finally pull my wrist out of his grasp. My skin burns, and I can see the angry red marks he left on my flesh. Later, I know I’ll feel them, but right now, I’m too pissed to care.
I jab my finger into his chest. “You bring my son into this, and I’ll let everybody know exactly what happened.” There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep my son safe and happy. Even from his own father. “Don’t test me, John.”
His jaw clenches at my words, and I swear I can see the fumes coming out of his ears as his voice drops lower. He grabs my hand to stop me from jabbing my finger into his chest one more time. “Is that a threat?”
He stands taller, trying to scare me by looming over me, but I square my shoulders. I will not cower back. Not when my son’s future was on the line.
“No, that’s a promise. I’m trying to be nice, but if you threaten to take my son away from me, the son you’ve been pushing away since the day he was born, I’m done.”
Something flashes in John’s eyes, his molars grinding together. My stomach rolls uncomfortably, but I refuse to back down. I’m done playing his games. Done letting him push me around.
“Is there a problem?”
Although the question is spoken softly, there is no missing the underlying threat in it.
My heart kicks up a notch at the familiar voice. Slowly, I shift my gaze to the side, meeting Chase’s hazel eyes.
And he looks pissed.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHASE
My gaze is locked on Shadow, who’s trotting slowly in front of me, her tail swishing from one side to the other. We’ve been out for a while, just walking aimlessly through the woods, all the way to the pond that’s on the Santiago property and back.
Shadow stops at a tree, sniffing around intently, when suddenly her ears perk up. In the blink of an eye, she dashes away, her legs eating up the distance. I just shake my head. It wouldn’t be the first time she went to chase a rabbit or a squirrel, but it was generally when we were deeper in the woods.
Then I hear it. The sound is so soft, it takes me a moment to register it, until I come closer to the cottage and spot them.
Kyle is lying sprawled on the ground, giggling, with Shadow above him, licking his face. I just stand there in between the trees and watch them. Kyle’s fingers are stuck in the dog’s fur, rubbing her back, which only makes Shadow lick him harder.
“Okay, okay, I missed you, too, but you have to stop. You’re tickling me.”
This time, when he pushes her back, Shadow plops her ass down, but her tail doesn’t stop working. Kyle sits up and pats her on the head. “Good girl. You wanna play?”
His question earns him a happy bark. Kyle looks around himself and crouches down. When he turns around, I can see a smaller version of the football in his hand. Shadow stands up, clearly excited, so he throws her the ball.
It flies through the air in a perfect spiral, and Shadow goes into a sprint. She jumps up and grabs it.
Show-off.
There is a blinding smile on Kyle’s face as Shadow brings him back the ball. He pats her on the head before taking it and tossing it again.
I expect her to take it to Kyle, but this time she runs to me instead, and makes a circle, her head nudging me forward. Kyle turns around, his smile falling when he sees me.
I am totally busted.
“You did this on purpose,” I mutter to my meddling dog as I bend down. I tug the ball from her mouth and toss it for her once again. Shadow rushes after it, but Kyle’s gaze stays locked on me, quietly assessing.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other. I’m not sure what is it about this kid that has a hold on me. It seems I can distance myself from everybody but him.
And his mother.
I can definitely not distance myself from Rose nearly enough. As a matter of fact, the more I try to distance myself from her, the more life seems to be throwing us together.
“I have a feeling that you keep saving me.”
