Rocky Ground

by Kaylea Cross

  Had he caused that? Or had something or someone else caused it? Maybe he’d started it, and someone else had finished it.

  It hadn’t been easy to sit there and face her after all this time. He knew she hated his guts, and he didn’t blame her. From all appearances and from what his lawyer had dug up on her, she seemed like a good mother. What had she told Ella about him? Had she poisoned their daughter against him over the years? He would find out the answer to that soon enough.

  He left the restaurant deep in thought, and frustrated. While he hadn’t expected Tiana to be more than civil, deep down he’d hoped they could move past everything and at least try to have a cordial relationship from now on, for Ella’s sake. But she wasn’t even giving him a chance to show that he’d changed.

  He was more than okay with paying Tiana all the support he owed to her. His music career was finally starting to take off and he’d always felt like a deadbeat not paying any kind of support.

  The sun had completely disappeared behind an impenetrable blanket of slate-gray clouds when he walked outside. He’d become so used to SoCal’s dry, warm climate, he felt downright chilly in just his suit jacket as he walked to his rental car.

  Parked two rows over, he spotted the manila envelope stuck beneath one of the windshield wipers. It had his name on the front.

  Frowning, he pulled it free and glanced around. Had Tiana left it for him? Some kind of legal threat?

  Once behind the wheel he pulled it open to check the contents. Ella Fitzgerald was written on top of the first page, followed by a list of paragraphs.

  He pulled the papers out, confused. But the moment he began scanning the contents, he knew it hadn’t been Tiana.

  What he read stunned him.

  Background information about Tiana and Ella. Various incidents over the past few years that she must have gone to great lengths to hide, because his lawyer hadn’t mentioned any of it. What the hell? Was any of this true?

  He kept reading, his alarm growing.

  A gasp shot out of his mouth when he got to the bottom of the first page. “Child molester?” he blurted and flipped the page, horror bursting through him as he kept reading. Tiana had allowed Ella to be alone with a sexual predator for long periods of time? The asshole had jerked off in front of her? “What the hell…?”

  Ella’s been through a lot already in her short life.

  Tiana had said that. Surely to Christ she hadn’t meant this?

  It was unbelievable. He glanced around again, shaken. Who had left this for him? No friend of Tiana’s, so they must have followed him.

  That concern paled in comparison to the envelope’s contents. All this time he’d thought Tiana had been a wonderful mother to their daughter. Now he wasn’t so sure. Is that partially why Tiana had been so defensive earlier? Was she afraid he’d known all of this and would try to take legal action against her?

  Jesus. If what he’d just read was true, if Ella was in danger living with her mother, then maybe she was better off—safer—with him.

  He tucked the papers away and set the envelope on the seat, beyond disturbed. He would send everything to his lawyer as soon as he got back to the hotel, see if they could find out if any of this was true.

  Evan hoped it was all lies. But if it wasn’t, he might have to take action to protect Ella. If he subsequently decided to pursue custody at any point, he now might have the ammo he needed to make it happen.

  Chapter Six

  Tiana left the hospital the following night after completing a session with an elderly patient recovering from a debilitating stroke. On her way to the parking lot she checked her phone and found a message from Lizzie.

  We’re at Beckett and Sierra’s with a litter of orphaned kittens. Ella in her glory. Walter, not so much.

  Tiana chuckled and walked to her car parked out back. Poor Walter. And poor her, because now Ella would be all over her in her ceaseless campaign to get a pet. She’d wanted a dog originally, but Tiana would bet that her daughter would settle for a kitten as of today.

  On my way, she sent back, looking forward to getting home and spending time with her two favorite people.

  The constant rain that seemed to have gone on forever this spring had finally stopped. Warm sunshine shone down between gaps in the clearing cloud cover, glinting off the newly emerging green leaves in the trees overhead. Birdsong filled the air.

  Her mood lifted. Even with the constant weight of her troubles pressing on her, she’d made a conscious decision not to let them rule her life. Aunt Lizzie had taught her many valuable things over the years, but one of the most important lessons was this: She was responsible for her own happiness. No one else.

  It was true, and something Tiana had learned time and time again after every failed relationship ended. Whenever she became overwhelmed by the things life seemed to enjoy constantly throwing at her, one of the things that helped the most was stopping and taking note of everything she had to be thankful for. Counting her blessings centered her, reminded her what was truly important. And, without a doubt, the most incredible blessing of her life was Ella.

  On the drive home she geared up for the conversation she had to have with her daughter that night. There’d been no word yet from Brian’s lawyer about whether he was going to take the plea bargain or not. And if Ella didn’t object, she would meet with her father on Saturday morning with a court liaison present.

  If she wanted no part of it—and if she was honest, part of Tiana still didn’t want the meeting to happen—then Tiana would cancel and let the lawyers work it out, while Ella talked to a judge.

  A rainbow stretched across the cloud-strewn sky above the rolling ocean as she came into Crimson Point. More people were out enjoying the break in the weather, walking along the damp sand with their children or dogs. A few kites fluttered in the sky over the beach and birds zipped down to the water.

  Beckett and Sierra’s heritage Victorian home looked like something out of a magazine as she pulled up, the sunlight glinting off the windows in the multicolor-painted turret and the carefully tended garden bursting to life in vivid shades of green and chartreuse.

  Her mood dimmed a little when she saw Aidan’s SUV parked behind Beckett’s truck in the driveway, a fresh anxiety creeping in. While she didn’t dread seeing him exactly, the thought of apologizing to his face for the suspicious and borderline hostile way she’d treated him almost made her break out in hives.

  She drove home, parked in her driveway and walked back up the lane. The side door was unlocked but she tapped on the wooden frame of the screen door on the side porch before entering. Voices carried from the kitchen so she slipped off her shoes and headed through the cozy living room toward it.

  She found Beckett and Sierra in the kitchen mixing up what had to be kitten formula.

  They looked up when she neared the kitchen doorway. “Hey,” Sierra said in a hushed tone, a tired smile on her face. “Ella’s in the laundry room with Lizzie and Aidan. Poor mama cat was hit by a car last night. She left seven kittens behind, so it’s all hands on deck right now.”

  Aww. “I have it on good authority that Ella’s in her element. I’ll see if I can lend a hand.”

  “Sure. There are extra syringes and formula back there. They’ll show you what to do.”

  Ella’s whispered chatter reached her when she neared the laundry room door. She popped her head inside to find Lizzie feeding her own kitten, and Ella…

  Her heart tripped over itself when she took in the sight before her.

  Aidan held a tiny black and white kitten to his broad chest, cradling it there in his big hand while Ella carefully fed it with a syringe, a studious frown on her face. The half-smile on Aidan’s as he oversaw the operation was so full of easy affection it made her insides flutter.

  No. No fluttering.

  But could anyone blame her? Seeing such a big, powerful man cradling the helpless little thing against his broad chest made her smile. If more men knew how much women melted at
the sight of a guy taking care of an animal, the shelters would never be short of male volunteers.

  “Hi, you’re just in time,” Lizzie said.

  Ella and Aidan looked over, a big smile breaking over her daughter’s face. “We’re feeding kittens!”

  “I see that.” She met Aidan’s gaze, suffering another flutter at the pure male interest and appreciation in his expression. Seeing a good-looking man holding a kitten was adorable. Seeing Aidan cuddling one to his well-muscled chest to assist her daughter was something far more visceral.

  She pushed aside the tingle of alarm that thought brought and smiled at them. “They’re so tiny.”

  “They’re hungry wee things, but haven’t quite got the hang of the syringes yet,” he said, the lilting cadence of that sexy Scottish burr rolling over her like an invisible caress. Best accent ever.

  “Can I help?” she asked, willing her heart to resume its normal rhythm. He exerted a magnetic force on her even while she wanted to pull away.

  “Sure, there are two more over there with Walter,” Ella told her, nodding toward the corner before going back to feeding her kitten.

  Tiana looked over and barely held in a laugh. Walter was lying flat on the rug in the corner, looking like someone had let the air out of him. His ears and tongue were spread out along the rug, one tiny black kitten burrowed into the side of his neck and an orange one trying to crawl up his head. He stayed perfectly still, only his eyes moving to look up at her.

  Save me, his expression said, yet he didn’t move a muscle.

  “Awww.” She grinned and pulled out her phone to take a picture before kneeling down to pet him. “You are such a good boy, Walter,” she whispered, stroking his back gently. She got a slight tail thump for her efforts.

  “He’s so good with the kittens,” Ella said behind her. “It’s like he knows they need him. He just lies there and lets them crawl all over him. Bravo Zulu, Walter.”

  “Bravo what?”

  “It means well done. It’s a Navy term,” she explained with a casual shrug.

  Tiana looked at Aidan, who was fighting a smile. “Your influence, I’m guessing?”

  His eyes sparkled. “Aye. Your wee lass catches on quick.”

  Okay, it was pretty damn cute. “Walter appears to be the perfect foster dad. They must miss their mama terribly.” Why was life so damn mean sometimes?

  “I know, it’s so sad. But they’ll be okay, because we’ll look after them.”

  Tiana shared a smile with Lizzie over the “we” comment and snuck some pictures of Ella while she worked. She may even have included Aidan in one or two of the shots as well. So she could send them to Lizzie after.

  Riiiight. Like you’re going to delete them after?

  She cleared her throat, unwilling to examine her motives. “Which one should I feed first?”

  “Either of them.”

  “Okay.” She bent and scooped up the orange one trying to summit Walter’s head. “Are you hungry, little man? Let’s fix that.” She got her own syringe and filled it with formula, then sat on the bench next to Lizzie and began feeding him, drop by drop. Most of it dribbled down his chin but some of it went down, and his tiny little mewls tore at her insides.

  “Aren’t they adorable, Mama?” Ella said.

  Oh yeah, she knew exactly where this was going. “So adorable they make my uterus ache.”

  She met Aidan’s gaze when he chuckled and couldn’t help smiling back, that telltale flutter low in her abdomen stirring its own warning. Now that she’d decided he wasn’t the enemy, he posed even more of a threat to her in some ways. The man was sexy as all hell, and he was interested. But he was leaving soon, so even if she hit her head and did a one-eighty where men were concerned, she still wouldn’t get involved with him.

  Once all the kittens were fed they fell asleep except for the black-and-white one Ella had fed. The pure joy on her daughter’s face as she played with it was beautiful to see. Her little girl had such a kind and loving heart in spite of everything she’d gone through. Tiana gave it thirty seconds after they left for Ella to start in on her about adopting one.

  “How about some coffee?” Beckett said from the doorway, hands in his pockets as he watched them all.

  “That sounds great,” Lizzie answered and stood, catching Tiana’s arm before she could follow Aidan out of the room. “He’s so good with her, Tia,” she whispered. “As in, unreal. Your radar’s definitely busted beyond repair, because that hot—and single, by the way, because I checked—hunk of a man is a genuinely nice guy who adores your daughter.” She gave Tiana a push. “Now go ask him for a walk and apologize.”

  “Jeez, will you give me a minute?” She’d planned to apologize and didn’t need any prompting.

  “No.” Another push. “You’ll thank me later. Take your coffee to go, or I’ll stay mad at you the rest of my visit.”

  It was an idle threat, but Tiana didn’t argue. So when she and Aidan both had a mug of coffee in hand, she approached him to ask softly, “Can we take a short walk?”

  He studied her in surprise for a second, then nodded. “Of course.”

  Outside the clouds had parted more, allowing floods of sunshine to come pouring through. It glimmered off the cresting waves below the cliff, the soothing rush of the ocean soft in the background. The views from the cliff were incredible. She and Ella loved looking for the orcas, humpbacks and grey whales that migrated along the coast.

  She turned toward Aidan as he came down the steps. “Should we walk to the beach this time?”

  “Aye, if you like.” He shortened his strides to keep pace with her as they walked along the side of Beckett and Sierra’s property to a trail that wound down the cliff side to the beach.

  “I owe you an apology,” she told him without mincing words.

  He frowned slightly, being nice. “For?”

  “For being curt and…kind of hostile with you before.”

  “Ah. Apology accepted, then. But if I might ask—why the sudden change of heart? Was it the kittens?”

  She huffed a laugh and put aside her pride. “Well, they didn’t hurt your cause. Mostly I realized that I was misdirecting my anger at you, when really it should be aimed at myself.”

  He lowered his mug to stare at her, his expression curious. The sun gleamed on his short, dark auburn hair, bringing out fiery streaks of red. The scruff on his jaw and cheeks glinted with red-gold highlights. “And why’s that?”

  Tiana hesitated. She had her reasons—good ones, in her mind—but she didn’t like the idea of letting him see that much of her ugly past. “I had a…difficult upbringing when I was young. Long story short, I was only able to leave my family behind because Lizzie gave me a safe place to land.”

  “She seems like a good person.”

  “She’s the best. Anyway, I lived with her until I could support myself. Then I met Ella’s father, and that’s a whole other story.”

  He stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

  She took a bracing sip of coffee. “The hard truth is, I haven’t always made good decisions about relationships. Or men in general.” She glanced over, found him watching her with that quiet, steady stare. It was unnerving and comforting at the same time.

  “If it helps, I haven’t either,” he said after a few beats.

  That surprised her. He seemed so supremely confident in himself and everything he did. He’d have no shortage of female attention. “No? Do you mean the relationships, or men?”

  “Relationships,” he confirmed, the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.

  His lower lip was fuller than the top. Sexy and utterly kissable. She imagined sucking on it. Gliding her tongue across it and then slipping inside…

  “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” he said, jerking her from her thoughts.

  She covered her awkwardness with a soft laugh. “Maybe one day.” She cleared her throat, looked down at the waves as she and Aidan crested the top of the path and bega
n the descent down the hillside. “I’m guessing you heard what happened last summer with Ella?”

  “No.”

  She glanced at him in surprise, raising her eyebrows. “No?”

  He shook his head. “About what?”

  She was sure he would have heard from Beckett or Jase by now. Or maybe Noah.

  She pushed out a hard breath. “There was a guy I was dating. I thought he was perfect. Worse than that, I trusted him with Ella and left them alone together when I shouldn’t have.”

  “What happened?” he asked, frowning.

  Telling him made her squirm. “He tried to molest her.”

  Aidan stopped so fast it was like someone had nailed his boots to the ground. “What?” he rasped out, his tone low and dangerous.

  She only had the nerve to meet his eyes for a second before she lowered her gaze to study her sand-covered shoes, guilt writhing inside her. “Things had been building for a few weeks, but I didn’t see it. Didn’t notice how withdrawn she’d become, or clue in when she wanted to hang out at Beckett’s house after school rather than coming home when Brian was there.”

  “What did he do?” His tone and expression were ominous.

  “He broke into the bathroom when she was in the tub. Undid his pants and…” Her throat tightened. She cleared it, swallowed and forced herself to keep going. “Masturbated in front of her.”

  A low hiss came from between Aidan’s teeth, and when she found the courage to look up his expression had shifted from horror to absolute rage.

  “He threatened to hurt me if she told anyone,” she finished.

  “Jesus Christ,” he muttered, his jaw flexing as he shook his head.

  She nodded. “I had no idea anything was going on.” That’s the part she couldn’t forgive herself for. “Ella finally told Beckett and Sierra one night. Beckett went straight to my house to confront Brian. When I got home from work Brian was in the back of Noah’s cruiser with a busted nose. I couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. The worst part is, it was my fault.”