Blinded by Beauty (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 8)

“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “We need to get someone to drive us to your house.”

“Hold on,” Chance said. “I’ve got an idea. Wouldn’t it be better for us to take Kaylyn to the Boys Ranch? Corey and Shane will be there along with the Stone brothers.”

“Good thinking, buddy.” Jaris continued to be amazed by Chance’s insights. “Let’s go talk to them about it now.”

* * * *

“Lights out, fellas.” Holding Annie’s lead, Chance stood next to Kaylyn.

He could hear all the boys settling down in their sleeping bags in the basement of the Stone’s ranch house. With Lunceford still on the loose, everyone had agreed that moving the boys out of the dorm and into the basement of the big house was the best plan to keep them safe.

Daniel, one of the older boys, said, “Good night, Miss Kaylyn. Mr. Chance.”

“Good night, boys.” Kaylyn was excellent with all the orphans, always patient and loving. “Close your eyes and go to sleep.”

They headed back up the stairs, leaving the door to the basement open.

“Night, Annie,” one of the little boys shouted.

Chance grinned, leading Kaylyn to the opposite side of the house to the guest bedroom that Belle and Amber had prepared.

Kaylyn squeezed his hand. “How long before Jaris’s shift ends?”

Jaris was pulling guard duty with Shane. Corey had suggested all the men rotate shifts every two hours, walking the perimeter around the property.

Chance punched the button on his watch.

The digital voice announced, “The time is 11:40 p.m.”

“Only twenty minutes, sweetheart.”

“When does your shift start?” she asked.

“At 2:00 a.m. with Emmett.”

“That works out perfectly.”

Chance realized what she meant by that. She wanted to talk. Maybe that would be a good thing, since she was obviously still shaken about the news of Jacob and Josh’s disappearance.

Sharing her does have at least one thing that appeals to me.

Whenever she needed comforting, he would have Jaris to help with that. But there were more things about the Destiny kind of relationship that intrigued him. Making love to her had also been surprisingly enjoyable, though awkward at first. Would it be awkward again? Maybe.

His mind spun with more pros and cons of it all.

Now isn’t the time to try to figure out if I can make what she’s asking of Jaris and me work for the long haul. Especially not with Jacob and Josh still missing.

Shane and Corey both had ROCs, so they were in constant communication with the sheriff and all the search parties. The bad news was there had been no sign of the two men yet.

“We’re here.” She opened the door and walked into the bedroom.

He and Annie followed behind.

Kaylyn started laughing.

“Down, Annie.” He turned toward Kaylyn. “What’s so funny, sweetheart?”

“Amber and Belle.” Her sweet giggles filled him with joy. “They are too much.”