Page 45 of Guarded By the SEAL
“You were a kid, Teslyn. He killed your mother or had someone else do it, and he tried to do worse than that,” Wyatt’s eyes shot to Ivy, but he didn’t want to scare her. “He’s a dangerous man with a lot to lose, whether or not he brought you flowers.”
She crossed her arms. “Then give me a better idea.”
“You and Ivy stay here. Logan and I—”
“Not gonna happen,” she interrupted again. “Try again.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You know it isn’t safe for her to come with us.”
She put her index finger on her bottom lip. “If only we knew someone in St. Augustine who could babysit.”
He scowled, knowing she was referring to his father. “We’re not doing that, Tess. No way.”
“I think it works out perfectly. Ivy, grab your things, honey. We have one last little car trip to make.”
“Again?” the girl whined.
Wyatt shook his head and looked at the ceiling. “This is a bad idea.”
“This is a fabulous idea,” Teslyn said, taking him by the arm and tugging him toward the door. “My best one, yet.”
He planted his feet and met her stare with wary eyes. “And what if Pritchard doesn’t admit to anything? What if he calls the cops, and puts an end to this Bonnie and Clyde thing we’ve got going on?”
Ivy was watching their conversation intently. Teslyn turned to the girl and pointed her toward the door. “Wait for us in the hallway, sweetheart. We’ll be right there.”
Teslyn turned back to Wyatt. “When those dogs were after us and the police were closing in, and you were talking to me about dancing,” she touched his face tenderly. “You were trying to distract me, but all I could think about was the possibility that you or Ivy could be hurt.” She dropped her hand. “I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do, but I’m not going to keep running and put you two in jeopardy any longer. We’ll give this one last try, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll have to prove my innocence from the inside.”
He took her chin between his thumb and fisted fingers.
God, I love you.
The thought caught him off-guard. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t possibly. They’d only just met. What he was feeling was a combination of respect, protectiveness, and warm fuzzy feelings that would quickly fade with time.
He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “I’ll come visit you. I’ll bake a nail file into a loaf of bread.”
She swatted at his bicep and leaned back. “You ready?”
“For my father? Never.”
“How bad could he be?”
“Just wait and see.”
She led him out of the room. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER22
The hot Florida sun beat down on Wyatt’s head, his hand on the small of Teslyn’s back as he steered her and Ivy past a turquoise birdbath and onto the wide porch of his father’s Florida home. Ivy skipped up the porch steps behind them, Jett on a leash by her side.
Wyatt wasn’t sure what made him more uncomfortable—involving his father in this, or Teslyn’s plan to meet up with Pritchard face-to-face later this afternoon. Jax and Logan had joined them in St. Augustine, but Wyatt was still nervous about putting Teslyn firmly in harm’s way to catch a killer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any better ideas.
The door opened before he could knock. “Come on in,” said his father. J.R. Sorenson was a gruff man long before he’d been old, but now his exterior matched the rawness of his personality. He pushed the screen door open for them to enter, and Wyatt was afraid this had been a bad idea for more reasons than one. What if Ivy didn’t like the old codger? They wouldn’t be able to leave her here.
“I hope you don’t mind, Dad, but I brought my dog, Jett.”
J.R. bent down and scratched Jett behind the ears. “What a handsome fella.”
Ivy followed them inside, her chin down close to her chest as she looked uncertainly at J.R. The old man braced himself on his knees and got down to the girl’s level. “You must be Ivy. Do you like dolls?”
