Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted 3)

She rolled her eyes. “Why are men so stubborn?”

“We’re not. Women just think we are.”

“Ha! That’s hogwash.”

“Hogwash, is it? That’s a term I haven’t heard in…forever.”

“Because you California Yankees don’t know the first thing about good Southern vernacular. Bless your heart.”

“I’ve heard that expression is the Southern woman’s equivalent of fuck you.”

Tessa gave him her most innocent smile.

He laughed. By the time they’d finished eating and cleaned the dishes, they had a plan of attack—even if it made Tessa nervous.

Thirty minutes later, she had packed up Hallie’s things, called the daycare, then put herself together. She wasn’t surprised that Zy had used the time to clean the rest of the kitchen.

Not long after that, Tessa said a tearful goodbye to Hallie. Seeing her baby in the older woman’s arms, looking both confused and near tears, had Tessa ready to forego giving the daycare a trial run, but Zy insisted she stay the course, at least long enough for errands, lunch, and groceries.

In her little SUV, Tessa broke down. This was her first time away from Hallie, and she wasn’t handling it well. Zy held her hand, cradled the head she laid on his shoulder, and promised her everything would be all right. The words could have felt like empty platitudes, but she knew he meant them. He was the kind of man who protected the weaker and moved mountains to right wrongs.

And if she wasn’t careful, she would get too used to having him in her life.

Tessa loved him being around, and not just because he helped her. Because he made her laugh, made her feel safe, and made her feel like a woman again.

Finally, she pulled back and dried her tears. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Hallie is lucky to have you. Not everyone has a mother who cares as much as you do.”

Before Tessa could ask what he meant, Zy started the car and pulled away. Tessa glanced back at the daycare one last time. The sooner she finished these errands, the sooner she would have her baby back.

They made quick work of the dry cleaners and the drugstore. She picked up a pair of shoes she’d scuffed from the repair shop and dropped off an online return at a nearby shipping location.

A fast-food salad followed, and Tessa had a difficult time eating for all her worry about Hallie. God, she was such a mess. How would she survive work next week? Or all the weeks after?

Finally, they grabbed some groceries so the kitchen would be stocked for the next few days. And as soon as all the bags were loaded into the car, she took her car keys from Zy’s grip, hopped in the driver’s seat, and peeled rubber back to the daycare.

“Two and a half hours is a good start,” she said, more to convince herself than anyone else.

“Not bad. Let’s see about making tomorrow’s visit longer.”

She winced. “I know I need to…”

“Just like I know you don’t want to, but it will make Monday easier.”

“Ugh. You’re right.”

Still, she was so happy when she got a cooing Hallie back in her arms.

After a quick trip home, the baby howled hungrily, so Zy agreed to put the groceries away while she fed Hallie. Tessa felt exhausted, more emotionally than physically. Zy perked her up by dragging the stroller out of the hall closet and suggesting they all go for a walk. Since it had done her a world of good yesterday, Tessa agreed.

After a few brisk turns around the block, she curled up with Hallie for a nap. While she did, Zy oversaw the repair of the siding when the workers came by, then made arrangements with the glass company to come out when the replacement window arrived on Saturday.

As afternoon wound down, they cooked dinner together. It felt intimately domestic and so terrifyingly normal.

After a mere two days, she’d gone from feeling like she was sharing her space with a stranger to dreading the moment he left. But if he stayed, she would only get attached. So would Hallie. It wasn’t smart for either of them.

“TV?” he asked once they’d done the dinner dishes together.

For Tessa, the noise box was more of a way to fill the silence than to pass the time, and she didn’t want to waste a moment she spent with him. “I doubt there’s anything good on. Why don’t we talk?”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. Something interesting. You and Trees are really tight. How did you two meet?”

A grin crossed his face. “In basic. We had this obstacle course to complete, which included rappelling down the fifty-foot Warrior Tower. Since Trees is so damn tall and his wingspan so wide, he had an advantage. Our first time as a class through the course, he handily beat everyone. So, being the competitive asshole I am, I told him I was going to beat him by the end of the class.”