Ready or Not (The Love Game Book 4)

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “Ransom, this is Benjamin, Oliver, and Grace. Kids, this is Ransom. He’s going to watch the dogs.”

  I smiled as I waved hello. They were all cute as hell. Oliver looked to be the youngest at probably about five. Grace was maybe seven and Benjamin a couple of years older than her.

  “Now for the rest of the brood. That one”—Harry pointed at a black-and-white dog—“is Jetson. He’s half border collie, half hound as far as the vet can figure. Don’t throw a ball around him unless you’re prepared to throw it for hours.” He pointed to a yellow Lab and said, “That’s Bamm-Bamm. Anything on level with his tail will be knocked over, so be wary. And that,” he said, his tone growing harder, “unholy creature is Taz. He’s a mutt, but we think there’s some boxer in there. Maybe a little shepherd. All I know is he’s totally insane, and I never should’ve let my family talk me into rescuing another puppy, but here we are.”

  As Harry spoke, Taz began running in circles by my feet as if he could lure me in by creating some kind of cyclone.

  “I assume you were into cartoons when you were younger?” With names like Jetson, Bamm-Bamm, and Taz, what else could be the case?

  Harry chuckled. “Justin was.”

  “Justin was what?” a voice asked from down the hall.

  I looked up to see a tall, thin guy with shaggy blond hair walking toward us. Harry opened his arms, and the man, who I felt safe in assuming was Justin, walked into them and buried his face in Harry’s neck. The kids all joined in the hug, and while it was a beautiful thing to witness, I felt like I was intruding. Crouching down, I began playing with the dogs to give them a moment.

  “Sorry,” Justin said, and I looked up to see that he’d pulled back but stayed close enough for Harry to keep an arm around him.

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” Harry said before pressing a soft kiss to Justin’s temple.

  I stared at the adorable family unit in front of me and felt a pang of want. Even with Melissa and Matt, I’d never felt as part of something as everyone in Harry’s family clearly did. They were like intricate puzzle pieces that snapped together perfectly. I’d always felt a bit jagged, like I didn’t fit in cleanly anywhere.

  Justin didn’t look how I’d expected. He almost had a surfer vibe about him, with his shaggy blond hair, tan skin, and slender build. But the connection was there in the way Justin leaned into Harry, knowing Harry would keep him on his feet.

  I stood and extended a hand. “I’m Ransom. It’s great to meet you.”

  Justin smiled, though it was a bit brittle. It reminded me of origami—like it could be easily twisted into something else.

  “Justin. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “All good things, I hope.”

  “Good enough to leave my precious babies with you. Thanks so much for doing this. It means so much to us.”

  “I’m happy to help.”

  Justin turned toward Harry. “I packed our bags, but do you want to run up and see if I missed anything while I show Ransom where everything is?”

  “Sounds good,” Harry said before pressing another soft kiss to Justin’s temple. “I’ll be right down.”

  Justin watched him go for a moment, his smile small but intimate. Then he turned to me and said, “Ready to watch the Unholy Trinity?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Chapter Twenty

  R A N S O M

  “Why are you out of breath?” Taylor asked as I struggled to hold my phone to my ear.

  “Because I’m walking Harry’s dogs.”

  There was a pause on the line before she asked, “And why are you doing that?”

  “Harry’s father-in-law had a heart attack yesterday. They needed someone to watch the dogs while they went to see him.”

  “And you became that someone how?”

  “You ask a lot of questions,” I groused, struggling to hold the leashes as the dogs pulled me down the street. Well, really only Taz pulled. The other two simply kept pace with him.

  I knew Harry had said he was a boxer mix, but I was fairly certain he was part hellhound too. Since Harry had left, the dog had chewed the laces of my left sneaker, stolen my bagel, and was well on his way to dislocating my arm. In short, Taz was a total asshole.

  “I have an inquisitive mind,” she replied nonchalantly.

  “Is that a nice way of saying you’re nosy?”

  “Yes. So?”

  I had to think back to what she’d asked me for a second. “Oh, I had just gotten to Safe Haven when Harry told me what happened. His husband called while we were standing there and said their normal dog sitter wasn’t available, so I offered. It’s no big deal.”

  “Ransom, Ransom, Ransom.”

  “What?” I asked, my tone a little defensive.

  “That heart of yours is too damn big for your own good.”

  I snorted. “Only you could make a big heart sound like a syphilis diagnosis.”

  “Have experience with those, have you?” she teased. “Don’t you have class today? Can you leave the dogs?”

  “Justin said if I took them for a long walk in the morning, they should be good for most of the day. I’ll just have to pop home to let them out again before I head to Safe Haven.”

  “Okay, well, if you need me to let them out, I can. The benefit of online classes is I can do them from anywhere that has Wi-Fi.”

  A slight flutter resonated in my chest at her offer. Even though I’d met a lot of great people in my life, I’d also met a lot of shitty ones. And being around some of the worst humanity had to offer made me appreciate when someone offered to help me, no strings attached. It made me feel…special, important. The prospect of being special to Taylor made my body light up.

  I cleared my throat so I didn’t sound like the sappy fool I was. “I think I’ll be okay, but if something comes up, you’ll be my first call.”

  “’Kay.”

  ’Kay was a pretty standard conversation ender, but I didn’t want to hang up with her yet. I was pathetic and not nearly as ashamed of that fact as I should’ve been.

  “Working at the Peter Pan trafficking ring later?” It was Friday, so I assumed she was.

  A surprised laugh erupted from her. “What?”

  I smiled. “That weird place that looks like where Peter Pan took all those kidnapped boys.”

  “Neverland?”

  “Is that what it’s called?”

  “It’s what Peter Pan’s island is called. The bar is called the Treehouse.”

  “It’s a weird concept for a bar.”

  “Why?” She seemed amused, which gave me the confidence to keep going down this strange, and in some ways dark, line of thinking.

  “Because it looks like a place kids would hang out.”

  “Maybe that’s its appeal. People can revisit their childhood while partaking in the perks of adulthood.”

  “Sounds…Freudian.”

  A laugh burst out of her. “In what way?”

  “Wasn’t he all about regressing to being a kid again when things happen that we don’t like?”

  “Not sure. I’m not up on my Freud.”

  “What kind of criminologist are you going to be if you don’t know about Freud?” I asked in mock outrage.

  She laughed. “A bad one, I guess. Especially since I plan to be a lawyer.”

  Bantering with her was my favorite thing. I felt as though I could live off it. That said, I didn’t want her to think I hadn’t been paying attention.

  “I knew that.”

  “I know you did.” Her tone was soft and affectionate, and God, I wanted to kiss her again. If I could’ve crawled through the phone, I would’ve.

  Instead, I let the moment drop like the punk bitch I was. “I’m almost back to Harry’s. I need to get these monsters settled and get to class. But I’ll see you later, right?”

  “Yup. You won’t be able to miss me. I’ll be the one surrounded by little girls and arts and crafts materials.”

&nb
sp; A laugh burst out of me at the image I could picture perfectly. The girls had definitely adopted Taylor as their craft buddy. She was a good sport about it too, often sitting there for hours making whatever the hell and talking about boys, unreasonable parents, demanding teachers, and whatever mean girl had flown into their orbit that day.

  “See you then,” I said.

  “See ya,” Taylor replied before ending the call.

  I stuck my phone back into my pocket and moved their leashes to my free hand, though a sudden jerk from Taz had me almost lose my grip on it.

  “Taz, my man, pardon my language, but what the fuck? There’s nothing even over there,” I said as I cast a glance in the direction he was pulling. “I think your dads need to look into getting you on some CBD.”

  He barked, which I took as wholehearted support for my idea. And to punctuate his point, he gave another hard tug.

  I looked down at Jetson and Bamm-Bamm. “You guys just let him get away with this?” They had to trot like stallions just to keep up with their unruly brother. It was no way to enjoy a walk.

  “When we get home, they’re getting two treats and you’re only getting one,” I told Taz.

  He turned to look at me, and I could’ve sworn I saw a challenge in his eyes.

  Harry’s house came into view, and I nearly wept with relief. I was a sweaty mess. Thank God I’d been smart enough to take the dogs out before my shower. I’d get the boys a snack before getting them set up in the sun-room so I could get ready and get to school.

  Justin had explained that Jetson and Bamm-Bamm could be trusted to roam the house while no one was home, but Taz definitely could not. Since they—and by they, I was pretty sure he meant everyone except Harry—didn’t want to crate one dog while the others were free, they’d transformed their sun-room into a doggy oasis, with comfy beds and hardy toys. The room even had a Dutch door so the dogs could be contained when necessary but not cut off from the goings-on in the rest of the house.

  As we approached Harry’s house, Taz started to whine and pull harder—a feat I didn’t think was possible. I figured he was just happy to be home, but then I noticed a car in the driveway.

  Who could that be?

  Maybe the dog sitter had made time for them after all. We crossed the lawn, and that was when I saw an adult and a child standing on the porch.

  “Can I help you?” I asked.

  The woman whirled around and looked at me quizzically. “Ransom?”

  It took me a second to place her because I’d never seen her outside Safe Haven, and the change in geography took me a moment to overcome.

  “Taryn, hi.” Then I looked down beside her. “And Cinnabon! What are you guys doing here?”

  Taryn smiled. “I was wondering the same about you.”

  I held up my hands holding the dog leashes. “Helping out Harry with the dogs.”

  “Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “And where is Uncle Harry?”

  Uncle?

  “Justin’s dad had a heart attack. They all drove upstate to be with him.”

  Her hand flew to her chest. “Oh no, how horrible. I’ll have to call him and check in.”

  I watched as Cindy slid her hand into her mother’s, and Taryn jolted as if she’d forgotten the young girl was there.

  Taryn gave her daughter a small smile. “Guess we’re out of luck, baby girl.”

  Cindy didn’t smile back.

  “Did you need something?” I asked.

  “No, no, it’s no big deal. I was just going to ask Uncle Harry if he could watch Cindy for the weekend. A job opportunity came up, and I can’t really afford not to take it. But it’s okay, Cindy can stay with her grandmom.”

  The way Cindy whined and pulled on her mom’s hand told me that plan might not be okay with Cindy.

  “I don’t have any other choice,” Taryn told her.

  Cindy’s eyes welled with tears.

  “We’ll talk about it in the car, okay?” Taryn said to Cindy before turning back to me. “Good luck with the dogs. I’m sure I’ll see you next week when I pick up Cindy.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Taryn gave me a quick smile that seemed forced before leading a sad-looking Cindy off the porch.

  This whole situation was weird. Who just showed up randomly to see if an uncle could watch their kid? Wasn’t that a call-first kind of scenario? And what kind of job did Taryn do? And who was Cindy’s grandmother? Miss Hannigan from Annie?

  Those questions, combined with the gloomy way Cindy was walking to the car, were the only excuses I had for what came out of my mouth next.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  T A Y L O R

  I jogged from my bedroom to the living room, where I’d left my phone after talking to Ransom a while ago. I grabbed it off the table and looked down at it, a little worried at who I’d see was calling. But it was Ransom again.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey. Remember when you asked me if I needed help, and I said no?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve changed my mind. Or rather, my circumstances have drastically changed, resulting in me now needing help. Like a lot of help. And possibly an intervention, because seriously, who even winds up babysitting a pack of dogs and a little girl within the same twenty-four hours? A helping junkie, that’s who.”

  I tried to let Ransom’s words percolate in my mind for a second to see if they’d wind up making sense, but no dice.

  “You’re harder to follow than IKEA directions right now. Start at the beginning. What little girl? And what the hell’s a helping junkie?”

  “I came home from walking the dogs and found Taryn and Cindy on Harry’s doorstep. Turns out Harry is Taryn’s uncle, but he never told anyone because he pulled a lot of strings to get Cindy in the program and didn’t want anyone to accuse him of nepotism or whatever it is when it’s your niece. Anyway, she wanted Harry to watch Cindy so she could go work a blackjack table in Atlantic City this weekend. Guess there’s some convention and she’s a pretty good dealer—of cards, not drugs—and she could make a ton of money. She wanted Harry to watch Cindy, so she showed up on his doorstep, but I was there and it was me or the wicked grandmother, and God, Taylor, what am I gonna do all weekend with a seven-year-old?”

  He was breathing heavily after his word vomit, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t taken a breath, was having a panic attack, or both.

  “Okay, you made sense for a good part of that, but you started to lose me at the end. How did it go from Taryn wanting Harry to watch Cindy to you doing it?”

  “Because I offered.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I’m stupid,” he hissed, his voice low, making me wonder if Cindy had walked in the room.

  “You’re not stupid. Well, not for this.”

  “Shut up.”

  I laughed before continuing. “Where is Cindy now?”

  “Taryn took her to school.”

  I scrunched up my face. “Why wasn’t she in school to begin with?” I’d talked to Ransom a little after nine the first time. Cindy definitely should’ve already been at school by the time Taryn showed up on Harry’s doorstep.

  “I don’t know. I kinda think she thought it would be harder for Harry to say no if Cindy was there.”

  “That’s…very manipulative.”

  “I know. I don’t know whether to be impressed or concerned.”

  Considering Taryn was going to leave her kid with a virtual stranger, I thought concerned was more apt but kept that thought to myself.

  “Okay, so you’re taking her home after Safe Haven?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “What do you need from me?” My question was sincere. Ransom had been there when I’d needed him. I was more than happy to return the favor, even though the circumstances of this were bizarre as hell.

  He groaned. “I don’t know. I offered without thinking it through. Or thinking T
aryn would take me up on it. I mean, Cindy is super skittish around guys. The grandmother she was going to have to stay with must be a close personal friend of Hannibal Lecter for Taryn to choose to leave her with me instead of sending her there.”

  “So tell me more about this grandmother.” Who left a child with a guy named Ransom when there were other options?

  “Yeah, but Cindy looked really distraught about the possibility of staying there. It broke me.”

  I sighed, but the sound was affectionate. Sweet, silly, selfless Ransom.

  “I can come hang out with you guys for the weekend. I’m supposed to work tonight and tomorrow, but I could see if someone could take my shifts.”

  “No, don’t call out of work. I don’t want to interfere with your job. But maybe you could hang out with us for, like, every other second of the weekend?”

  I laughed at the undisguised hope in his voice. “I can do that. I’ll pack a bag for the weekend. I’m only working until midnight tonight, so I shouldn’t be totally useless tomorrow. And I’m a closing cocktail server Saturday, so I don’t have to go in until nine.”

  “Perfect,” he practically yelled, making me wince. “You’re the best. Seriously.”

  “I know.” I huffed a laugh when he clucked his tongue at me. “But, Ransom?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re going to have to tell Harry about this. Taryn shouldn’t have left Cindy with you like that. I get that you work at Safe Haven, but it was still irresponsible of her. I mean, I know you can be trusted, but…” I let the end of my sentence hang there, not exactly sure how much I should drag Taryn to the guy she’d entrusted with Cindy.

  “You’re right. But I’d like to wait until they get home at least. They have so much on their plate right now.”

  “That’s fine,” I quickly assured him. I wasn’t trying to stress anyone out. “Did she drop off everything Cindy needs?” I asked to change the subject.

  “Yeah, she had it in the car, so it’s all at Harry’s. I didn’t have a chance to look through what she packed, though. I had to leave for school.”