Lillith laughed. “So dramatic.”
Nikki’s eyes widened. “And how else would I get any attention around here? Seems everyone has all their attention trained somewhere else.” Her widened eyes slid back to me, all a meaningful tease.
I dropped the peck of a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you. Next time we get together, I’ll make you dinner. How’s that sound? I need all the practice I can get if I’m going to make the restaurant a success.”
Her eyes rolled back in her head. “Girl, don’t tease me. Tomorrow? I’ll be at your house at seven.”
I chuckled. “It’s a date.” I shifted my gaze to Lillith. “Are you in?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Have fun.”
I hopped into the front seat of Rex’s truck.
He threaded our fingers together, clutched them tight on the seat between us.
It felt like a claim.
A statement.
I peeked back at Frankie and down to our hands, before I looked up at his gorgeous face, mouthing the words, “Is this fine?”
He squeezed my hand tighter. Like I was his and he was mine.
“This is more than fine, Rynna.”
Joy.
I’d never known the full truth of it.
Not until then.
* * *
We’d swung by my house, and I’d pulled on a swimsuit, sliding on a pair of shorts and a tank over it, and changed into more appropriate shoes.
Twenty-minutes later, Rex’s truck jostled on the dirt road that was nothing more than a worn path carved by the vehicles that traveled the winding road. It curved as it climbed deeper into the forest that lined the lake, which was tucked at the base of the mountain on the outskirts of town.
I’d thought I was prepared. That it didn’t matter anymore. That I could keep them at bay. But memories kept breaking loose the deeper we trekked into the forest. The closer we got, the harder the betrayal churned my stomach.
The louder the phantom laughter became. Even eleven years later, I could hear Janel’s words floating through the forest.
“You’re such a fool. Did you really think he wanted you?”
I swallowed back the tingle of tears that burned my throat and threatened my eyes. It was a long time ago, and I wasn’t that same girl who’d run barefoot through these trees. Sobbing. Hurting in a way she’d never known existed until she’d been taught the harsh realities of this world in the cruelest of ways.
None of that mattered.
Not now.
Not with Rex running his thumb over the back of my hand, Frankie belting out the silliest song I’d ever heard from the backseat, and my little puppy secure on my lap.
“Sorry this is so far off the beaten path. Frankie and I kind of like the place to ourselves when we come to the lake, don’t we, Frankie Leigh?”
“Yup! We gots our own secret spot that no one knows about. Juss for us.”
Rex tossed me a small wink.
My heart, already filled too full, gave an extra wayward beat.
God, he was gorgeous with the sun shining through his opened window. Rays of light speared through the leaves of the trees, sending bright flashes of light against his face as we wound through the thicket. The longer pieces of his dark blond hair were lit up like a blaze of white fire, the hard curve of his jaw and scruff defined by the glowing outline, those earthy eyes a perfect match to the trees.
“Here we go,” he said. He pulled to a stop where the path came to a dead end. We climbed out, and I helped Frankie down while Rex grabbed the cooler from the bed of the truck. I kept ahold of Milo’s leash and Frankie’s hand as we followed him down a narrow trail.
Lush bushes and towering trees lined the twisty path. A gentle breeze rustled through, dragging with it a fragrant bough of wildflowers and leaves and earth.
In the distance, a trickle from a stream cascading down from the mountain could be heard, and birds chirped overhead.
Tranquility and peace.
I inhaled, breathing all of it in, struck with the memory of why I’d always loved this place so much.
Two minutes later, the trees opened up in front of us, revealing the lake.
A glassy expanse of blue.
Calm.
Craggy rocks made up the low cliffs the area was well known for, and the trail weaved down around them, guiding us to a secluded cove and beach.
Awe stoked that fire that continued to grow in my spirit.
“This is gorgeous.”
I’d almost forgotten the draw of this place. The stark beauty that gave Gingham Lakes its name.
Frankie jumped up and down at my side, yanking at my hand to lead me closer to the water. “It’s our super special secret place. And nows you know! You can’t tell any ones! Promise?”
Releasing her hand, I ruffled my fingers through the unruly mess of hair on her head. “I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone you and your daddy’s secret.”
She grinned up at me, flashing me a row of tiny teeth and so much belief. “It’s your secret now, too, silly. Right, Daddy?”
She looked to Rex for confirmation. He was setting the cooler down beside the small ring of rocks that had been made for a fire.
He looked over at me.
Meaningfully.
Powerfully.
“Yeah, Frankie Leigh. Now it’s Rynna’s secret, too.”
A shiver rocked me. A different kind than the flood of old memories that had threatened to dim this day.
This was a river of hope.
He was letting me in. Letting me be a part of them.
I looked down at Frankie, who was still grinning at me. “This is exactly the kind of secret I like to keep.” I said it to her, but I think I was making that promise to Rex. A promise that I wanted more. That like I’d told him outside their house the other night, I wanted this.
Them.
Us.
That I would protect it just as fiercely as he protected Frankie.
Milo barked his tiny bark, jumping all around, chasing after a butterfly that flitted by.
“Can we go swimmin’?” Frankie asked. She pranced over to her dad, wearing that hot pink tutu over a one-piece bathing suit. The little girl so adorable she caused that secret place to ache.
I guessed maybe I held secrets close, too.
“What do you say we eat first, and then we’ll go? Rynna might like to take a hike to our super, super special place.”
“Our secret, secret place?” she whispered through barely contained excitement.
He nodded.
Her attention whipped over to me, the child dancing back my direction. “You wanna, Rynna? You wanna go to the super, super special place? Daddy said we could!”
His expression was tender when he tore his gaze from me and turned it on his daughter, a smile fluttering around his full, full lips.
I wondered if he had the first clue the kind of father he was. Amazing, wonderful, and kind.
“I’d be honored to go to your super, super special place,” I told her, and Frankie did a twirl, spinning me up tighter. My heart winding up in the fibers of this sweet child. Knitting and weaving and uniting.
I could feel it.
The impact of Rex’s daughter becoming a permanent part of me. “Let’s go!”
“Give me just a second to get things organized, Sweet Pea,” Rex said, tossing a few sticks into the ring of rocks.
I walked over and knelt down beside him. “Anything I can do to help?”
A smirk pulled at the corner of his sexy mouth, voice a rough, muted whisper. “Could you do me a favor and lean in closer?”
I was confused before I followed his line of sight to where my shirt was drooped open, cleavage on full display.
I smacked his shoulder. “Rex.” I chuckled beneath my breath.
He laughed from his belly and into the air. It bounded against the cliffs.
Ricocheting back.
Boom after boom that rocked my heart.
* * *
“This way.” Frankie raced ahead of me, hauling me along, her excitement infectious. There was no stopping the permanent smile on my face.
We followed an even narrower, isolated trail than the one we’d taken to get to their picnic spot. Sunlight poured in through the super high trees that towered over us, their trunks slender and their bark gray. Dense branches covered us overhead and soft dirt padded our feet.
We hiked higher, my legs burning from the exertion as we climbed. Five minutes later, we shifted course, the trail guiding us back around to where there was a break in the forest.
My breath caught.
A thundering roar filled my ears, and a cooling spray brushed my skin. We stood on an overhang of rocks that jutted over the lake. Just to the right of us was a rushing waterfall fed from a stream running from the mountain.
It poured over the cliffs and pounded into the lake twenty feet below. Farther away, the cliffs rose in height, fifty or sixty feet high, three more rivulets cascading over the side.
“Whats you fink?” Hope framed Frankie’s features when she grinned up at me.
“I think this might be the most beautiful spot I’ve ever seen.”
“Me, too! You fink Milo likes it? I fink he does. Look at him sniffin’.”
I laughed. “I’m sure Milo loves it. How could he not?”
She tugged at his leash, taking him from my hold. She took off with him down another trail that wound down closer to the lake.
“Be careful, Frankie Leigh,” Rex warned, that voice hitting me from behind. “Stay up here away from the water.”
“’kay, Daddy. I knows all the rules. You don’t have to keep tellin’ me. Sheesh.”
I laughed again. But the sound was stolen when I shifted to look over my shoulder to where Rex stood.
He was watching me.
That gaze piercing.
Penetrating.
Hungry.
He slowly edged forward, shards of loosened rock crunching beneath his boots. Power radiated from each predatory step.
Chills flashed across my flesh when he edged up behind me, erupting like a storm, a current of electricity. His callused palms just grazed the surface of my arms from the caps of my shoulders gliding all the way down to my hands.
He laced our fingers together, wound his arms around my waist, and pulled my back against his chest. His hold possessive where he had our hands fisted at my shaking belly.
Leaning down, he planted a soft kiss at the side of my jaw, right over my pulse point that thrummed like the wild, before he released a contented breath and hooked his chin over my shoulder.
Bliss.
It was the first time he’d pulled me into a full embrace out in the open.
Where Frankie could see.
Frankie blushed through a giggle. “You two a huggin’? Grammy said Daddy gots it bad. You gots it bad, Daddy?”
He told his mom about me?
“Guess I do, Frankie Leigh.” His voice was gruff when he inclined his mouth to my ear. “Daddy gots it so bad.”
Shivers rolled.
Wave after wave.
“Come here,” he said. He guided me down to sit on the rocks and situated me between his legs so we could still keep an eye on Frankie. Then his arms were back around me, his nose in my hair. Frankie and Milo played, running around, darting from each other, tumbling on the soft earth beneath the trees.
“Thank you for asking me to come with you two. It means a lot to me.”
I chanced peeking back at him, my head rocking against the thunder beating from his chest.
“Don’t think you have the first idea what it means to me that you’re here, Rynna.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
Tender.
So tender it sent a tumble of emotion spiraling through my body. They crashed through me like the river that rushed just in the distance.
“I’ve never done this before,” he admitted.
“Bring someone out here with you and Frankie?”
One small nod, but it seemed a lifetime’s admission. “Yeah. Not even my mom.”
“Because it’s your secret.” It was almost a tease. All except for the affection packed in it.
Those eyes slid to Frankie, who tossed a stick for Milo, before he returned his attention to me. “Yeah, it’s our secret. Something shared just between Frankie and me. Because she’s my life.” He hesitated. “Want you to be a part of that now, Rynna.”
My life.
Everything pressed down. So much joy. “I want that, too,” I barely forced out around the emotion that clogged my lungs.
He threaded our fingers together on both hands, hugging me closer, our fists solid where my heart hammered at the confines of my chest. I could feel him gulp for air, the heavy bob of his thick, strong throat. His words were gravel. “Did you ever dream of it? Want it? Being a mother? Because it’s a lot, Rynna, what I’m asking of you. I understand that, and I don’t want to push you into something you’re not ready for.”
I slowly shifted, the hard rocks cutting into my knees, his piercing eyes spearing the rest of the way into me.
Hope and fear radiated back.
“Always, Rex. I always wanted to be a mother. To have a family. And it might have looked different in my mind. But this . . .” I glanced back at Frankie. “You and Frankie are the most wonderful things to ever come into my life. No. I didn’t expect you. Not at all. But now that I have you? I’m not letting either of you go.”
Almost frantic, Rex pulled me into his arms, his face pressed to my neck. “Fuck, Rynna. How’s it possible you make me feel this way?”
A scream jolted us out of our bubble. Our heads whipped around to see the last second of Frankie tripping, her toe caught on an exposed root. She flew forward, her little body tumbling down a rocky incline that sloped down on the far side of where she’d been playing.
Dust flew. Before it’d even settled, Rex was on his feet, sprinting that direction, and I was right on his heels.
“Frankie,” he shouted, voice panicked.
Anxious energy stirred the air.
He bolted for her, taking the fastest route, straight over a slippery ridge of wet rocks. Water splashed beneath his shoes as he jumped from one large boulder to another then down to the dirt trail, at her side faster than I could process the entire scene.
“Frankie,” he shouted.
Two seconds later, I was there. My heart pitched and churned. Terrified, I peered over his shoulder where he dropped to his knees at her side.
Frankie was sprawled face down in the dirt, head just barely missing a sharp rock where she skidded to a stop.
“Oh God,” I whimpered.
And Rex.
Rex was shaking everywhere. Shock slammed his body. These visible, palpable ripples of horror that seized his body. He kept screaming, “Frankie!”
Agony.
It blistered from him, impaling me with each harsh breath he heaved from his lungs.
Uncontrollably, he shook, his hands a mess when he cautiously set them on her back. “Frankie Leigh, Oh God. Baby girl, are you okay? Tell me you’re okay.”
Frankie moaned, and my breath caught when she flopped over to stare up at the sky. My eyes rushed over her, searching for injuries, while Rex sat up on his knees with his hands rushing over her without touching, as if he were searching her for those same wounds but scared he might make it worse.
Frankie blinked toward the heavens, her voice raspy when she spoke. “Whoa. You see that, Daddy? That was the biggest fwip I ever did.”
Relief heaved from my lungs in an audible gush, adrenaline draining fast. I dropped to my knees just as Rex was gathering her in his arms.
Where I felt relief, Rex seemed to be in . . . shock.
Frenzied, he pulled her against him, hugging her tight, refusing to let her go.
I inched closer to them. Dread sank into my spirit when I glanced at Rex again. When I glimpsed his eyes.
Turmoil and fear and de
speration.
I wanted to reach out and touch him. Tell him it was okay. Promise him that Frankie was fine. Erase whatever had condemned him to this kind of torture. But he was hugging her to his chest, his jaw clenched so tightly I was sure he was fighting tears. Fighting whatever chaos raged inside him.
So instead, I turned my attention on Frankie. Gently, I reached out and brushed back the tangle of hair that had fallen across her eyes. A slick of mud covered her from her chin up the side of her face, but I didn’t see any blood.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Frankie?” My words were scratchy.
Frankie crooked her arm, showing off the flaming-red scrape on her elbow. The shallow wound was quickly filling with blood. “I fink a need a Band-Aid.”
Rex winced.
I looked back up the trail, realizing she couldn’t have rolled more than four feet. That she’d just tripped. Something little kids did all the time.
Taking a chance, I set a hand on Rex’s arm, hoping it would break through the terror that tremored through his body. Muscles twitching. Jaw clenching. “Hey . . . she’s okay. She’s okay. She didn’t fall far. It was just an accident. She’s okay. It’s okay.”
He didn’t respond. He just shifted and climbed to standing, keeping her cradled in his arms. His cautious movements seemed at complete odds with the intimidating power of his stance, with the almost vicious steps he took when he headed straight for the trail.
Unsure of what to do, I rushed and grabbed Milo’s leash where he’d scampered just off the trail. I followed close behind, surprised when Rex headed directly for his truck instead of going back to the picnic spot.
He loaded Frankie in her booster seat, peppering a bunch of kisses on her forehead and murmuring, “We’re going to get you checked out, baby girl. You’re fine. I promise, you’re fine.”
He said it as if he were trying to convince himself.
Still, he said absolutely nothing to me when I slid into the cab.
He turned over the engine. It roared to life. We rode in silence back in to town, tension wound tight as the truck jostled back over the crude path. He drove straight to the emergency room where we’d taken Frankie that night weeks ago.
Fight for Me: The Complete Collection Page 22
