“Oh,” he said, looking up at me. “Do you want to have kids?”

Mary’s hope had been for Turner to see we weren’t compatible. And now I wondered if she was right. I hadn’t thought much about making a family. It was something that had been so expected of me, once I was free of this place, I hadn’t given that much thought.

Would I want to bring up my kids the same way I’d been? Did I even want the responsibility of it?

I raised my arms to lift my nephew so I could place a gentle kiss on his forehead. It was probably the last time I’d get to hold him the way Mary was acting. I didn’t want to be around her. As I lowered him, he cooed. It wasn’t that loud, but a mother’s instinct was apparently powerful.

Mary came back in a rush. With the door to the office open, I saw her return. “He’s probably hungry.”

Then she proceeded to unbutton her shirt. Turner looked away. Likely not comfortable with seeing my sister’s naked breast. As a kid, it was just a way of life. As an adult, she was my sister baring her breast to the world, too weird for me.

“We should go and give you privacy,” I stated, getting to my feet.

Turner did the same with his gaze anywhere but at her. My guess was that Mary wouldn’t have minded one bit if Turner saw her. I headed out the door and drew in a heavy breath once outside.

The kids were sitting picnic style on the small front lawn eating lunch and talking. Turner took my hand. “Want to go for a walk?”

The need for air and distance from Mary filled me. I nodded.

Eighteen

Kalen

The news wasn’t good.

“What are you going to do?” Griffin asked.

I’d never left my son for more than a day since he was born. But what we’d learned in the last few hours chilled my bones. Someone was after Bailey.

Griffin had gotten a lead on her after placing a call to the car rental company she’d used. He flirted with the woman and talked her into giving up some information. She’d even laughed and admitted that someone else had called asking similar questions.

“I have to go,” I said.

I thought about the meetings I would miss, but none of that mattered. I was certain she was in danger because of me. The community she’d grown up in wasn’t equipped to handle the possible threat headed their way, according to Griffin.

“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I need you to stay here and protect my son.”

Because someone wanted to destroy me, and I wasn’t sure to what lengths they were willing to go.

“Or you could stay here with yer wee bairn, and I could go? You’ve already said the lass is cross with yer.”

“No,” I said definitively.

For that point I was firm. The need to protect her was primal, something I didn’t quite understand. What I did know was that I wouldn’t be able to think clearly until I knew she was safe with my own eyes.

“I should be back in a day,” I said.

Once I found her, she would see reason and come back with me where I could make sure she was protected.

“How are you getting there?”

With single-minded focus, I began to plan. How my father would feel about me rearranging my schedule was the least of my worries.

Nineteen

Walking down the center aisle of the road wasn’t a problem, considering cars weren’t allowed in the community unless there was an emergency. Something that never happened in the years I’d lived here.

We hadn’t gone far before he ducked us into the tree line.

“I heard you and Vi this morning,” I said.

Turner stopped in his tracks and faced me. “What happened between her and me was a mistake.”

“And what happened exactly?” Although I may not have been privy to most of the details of his life after me, somehow, I felt like I deserved this bit of truth, seeing that she was my sister.

“You have to understand, losing you was like losing my life. She was there. And in a moment of weakness, I gave in. She’d been so close. I can’t even remember how it happened. But I got lost in her eyes, and it was as if you were there. And I kissed her. But as soon as it happened, I knew it wasn’t you.”

“Does she know that?”

He shook his head. “She knows that I couldn’t do it. But I never told her it was you I was seeing. I didn’t think that was the right thing to say. Kissing her had been shitty enough.”

Curious, I asked, “And Margaret?” Although we’d talked about it before, I thought there may have been more to that story.

He stepped closer; his eyes darkened with desire. “Margaret made her idea of us together known. She was persistent. I’d broken up with my girlfriend at school and was back at home. I wasn’t in the mood for any girl. Then you showed up. She was convenient. And I used her. I felt like a total douche after. But I wanted you to hurt as much as I did.”

Tags: Terri E. Laine King Maker Billionaire Romance
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