Seeing Kate snuggle that bear tightly caused an aggravating tear slip from my eye, but I quickly batted it away.
“Daddy?” Kate whispered. I hurriedly moved to her bedside and knelt next to her on the ground.
“Yeah, Kit Kat?”
“You aren’t going to leave are you?” she asked innocently.
“Never.”
“Cross your heart?” A huge yawn broke out with her last word.
“Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye,” I recited the old saying.
Her tired giggle made me smile. “Ew, Daddy. Don’t stick a needle in your eye.”
“Sleep, baby. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” I pulled her covers over her little body and kissed her forehead. The moment was surreal—I couldn’t believe I was actually tucking my daughter into bed tonight.
- SIX -
RAEGAN -
Lane sat on the floor and leaned up against the nightstand as Kate fell asleep holding his hand. I had to admit he was quite good with her. While he stared at her lovingly, I dug through my backpack on the dresser and lined up four different pill bottles. I really didn’t care what he thought about those, since he had already seen the huge bandage across my temple. The doctors had given me antibiotics, steroids, medication for my low blood pressure due to my injury, and also some pain meds that I hadn’t tried yet. I didn’t know if it was my injury that had made me lethargic all day or those medications, but I was ready to feel like a human again and not some walking slug.
I swallowed down the first three doses and stared longingly at the fourth. I twisted the top open, then decided against it and closed the bottle quickly. I had a burning ache on my forehead and was sure those little white pain pills would put me out of my misery. But I didn’t know how they would affect me and I felt like I needed to be on top of my game. Nothing could hinder me from taking care of Braden and Kate.
“Pain meds?” I heard Lane whisper. I nodded my head, but decided not to give him anything else. “If you need it, you should take them.”
“I’ll be fine.” I sat on the edge of the bed, unlaced and removed my shoes, and then stripped off my socks. I hated that I had to sleep in my jeans tonight, but I didn’t have any other clothes. If Lane was sticking around, there was no way in hell I was walking around in my panties.
“How does she have the bear?”
“They grabbed it with a few other nonessentials,” I whispered.
“Why does she call you Mama?” he asked. I knew it was coming, but that didn't mean I wanted to answer.
“She heard Braden call me that,” I answered simply.
“Did you try—” he started to ask.
“Of course. I tried for a very long time for her to call me Raegan. When she finally did, then Braden started calling me by first name. I couldn't have my own son not call me Mama. So I just let her. Years went by and it didn’t seem so bad. Now I realize…”
“I understand.” I wondered if he actually did, but at least he was letting the matter slide for now.
Lane stood up and pushed one arm above his head—his uninjured arm, I noticed. His entire body stretched out and I caught a glimpse of a very alluring line of muscles that extended below his waistband. He really was huge. Even when we were at the police station, Lane stood out among all of the officers. He was probably six foot, but it wasn’t his height that made him stand out. It was his body. Holy hell, his body had been sculpted into this gigantic masterpiece. I quickly turned from the tantalizing view.
When he walked away from the bed and scooped up his bag, I rushed to say, “Don’t make me stick a needle in your eye.”
He let out a deep chuckle that was way too sexy for my own good. Then I watched as he searched through his bag before setting some pill bottles of his own on top of the dresser close to mine.
“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.” He popped the top of his first bottle and let a few slide into his mouth. I watched the muscles in his throat bob up and down as he swallowed. He stared just like I had at the second one, but he ignored it as well.
“Pain meds?” I asked mockingly. He grunted in response and I smirked at the fact that we both didn’t seem to trust too easily. I knew I was too afraid of not being of sound mind around him and I wondered if he felt the same way.
He pulled a few supplies out of his bag and then to my chagrin, he tugged the back collar of his shirt over his head. My mouth blatantly hung open and there was no hope of it closing anytime soon. His body was unreal. Literally, it had to have been some kind of illusion, something straight out of my creative imagination.
The muscles in his back moved with a raw elegance that I had never thought possible for someone his size. They bulged and flexed with the movement of his good arm. The graceful line of his spine created the perfect symmetry for each side of his well-defined back. The line was a tease that disappeared into his shorts and I let my mind wander with thoughts of what his butt looked like. Probably perfect.
His skin was smooth and a blank canvas, all except for a little bit of script low on the back of his neck. I couldn’t make it out, but it looked like it fit perfectly, just resting above his shoulder blades.
He leaned toward the mirror over the chest of drawers and examined the area on top of his shoulder that was covered in white surgical tape and gauze. He began pulling back the tape and I watched the creases in his eyes as he winced. He moved to the other side and tried to pull the tape from there, but I could tell the movement from one arm pulled too much on the other, causing him a significant amount of pain.
I sighed and walked toward him. Scooping up all of his materials, I made my way to the adjoining room. If I was going to do it, I needed light and I didn’t want to disturb Kate and Braden. He stood there frozen, still leaning toward the mirror and watching me through it. I crossed through the double doors and a few beats later he shadowed behind me.
I pointed to the chair near the window and went to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I returned, I watched him effortlessly drag the chair in front of the mirror. He seated himself facing the glass, probably so he could watch me in the reflection.
“Don’t trust me?” I asked, repeating yet another one of his lines back to him.
“Should I trust you?” he asked gruffly.
If I could have, I would have dug my fingers so far into his shoulder he wouldn’t even consider saying something like that to me again. Instead, I kept it short and sweet. “I kept your daughter alive for four years. If that’s not trustworthy, I don’t know what is.”
A harsh breath rushed past his teeth and he closed his eyes, not willing to look at me any longer. Fine, I could deal with that. I grabbed the edges of the tape on his shoulder and quickly yanked it back. I was mindful of his injury, but I could really care less if the skin around it became a little sore.
“Agggh!!” he yelled, but it was muffled by the fact that he covered his mouth with his good arm. “Okay shit, I deserved that!”
“Please, stop insinuating that I’m a kidnapper,” I whispered. “I would never...” My eyes became glassy and I stifled the sob in my chest. “I would never put those children in danger. Never.” My last word came out as a harsh bite.
“Fine...” he grumbled, like a child who had just been reprimanded.
“Mr. Parker—”
“Please stop calling me that. I don’t pay you anymore and it’s just weird. Too formal. Besides, you’re not that much younger than me.”
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Twenty-eight. And you’re what… twenty-four?” he returned.