Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(16)

How do I get myself into these messes?

“I guess I don’t.”

“See!” She perks up. “I can help. I’m a great helper. So, will you please ask Mommy if I’m allowed? She’ll say yes to you. Whenever a grown-up asks, other grown-ups can’t say no, it’s the rule. Did you know that one time I helped fix a fence? I did it all by myself. I’ll help you fix your barn too!”

This is such a bad idea. I know it, and yet, there’s this pull that’s telling me that I can see Ellie. Maybe I can find the flaw. Something that makes her less alluring. Something that will tell me that night wasn’t what I’d built it up to be in my mind.

If I can get that version of the story to change, then I might be able to stop playing it over and over again.

I’m lying to myself. My wanting to see her has nothing to do with needing to find a flaw in her. It’s just her. The woman who saved me that night when I felt at my lowest. I want to see her blue eyes staring back at me. I want to remember the way her long brown hair felt in my fingers. Does she still smell like vanilla?

I’m a fucking fool for this, but I can’t stop myself.

“Okay, but if she says no, you have to promise you’ll listen.”

Hadley squeals and wraps her arms around my middle. “Thank you, Connor. You’re the best friend anyone ever had.”

Oh, God, this kid is going to break my heart.





Chapter Seven


Ellie





“Mommy!” I hear Hadley yell from outside and leap to my feet.

Kevin is asleep, and if she wakes him, there is no telling what his mood will be. He came in about thirty minutes ago, exhausted and already angry. Somehow, I was able to get him to pass out, and there’s a reason people talk about letting sleeping dogs lie.

I rush out the door with my hands raised to stop her, and that’s when I see him. Connor Arrowood is wearing a pair of tight jeans and a gray shirt that clings to his skin. His hair is pushed over to the side like his hands just ran through it. And then there’s the scruff. It lines his jaw, making him look like sin and sex and everything I shouldn’t want.

He gives me a lazy smile as he moves toward me, holding Hadley’s hand.

“I found this cute kid at the barn and thought she belonged to you.”

My heart is racing, but I attempt to smile. “She sure does.”

“Mommy, Connor wants to ask you something.” She looks up at him with joy shining in her eyes.

Once again, I’m struck at the similarities between them, and my chest aches. Could Hadley biologically be his? If she is, would that change everything?

It would. We would have nothing tying us to Kevin, and maybe he wouldn’t search for us.

Or maybe it would make things worse.

He could fly off the handle and do God only knows what. If Hadley being his daughter is what is keeping her safe, I can’t allow myself to see things that may be figments of my imagination.

“You wanted to ask me something?” I say to Connor.

“Well, Hadley stopped by and wanted to know if it was okay if she hung out . . . I’m not really sure of the rules or if you’re comfortable with it. I’m fixing up the barn and then the house and then every other inch of the property for the next six months. Hadley was kind enough to offer to help make sure I don’t fall or break my arm without the ability to call for help.”

I know he says things, but my mind can’t process anything after the time he’s going to be here. “Six months?”

“That’s my sentence here on the farm,” Connor says with a huff. “In order to sell the place, each of my brothers and I have to live here.”

My stomach drops. Six months of him living next door. That’s a long time of trying to keep my mind from wandering, and six months of Hadley trying to become friends with him.

Six months of attempting to keep Kevin from seeing him.

I want to throw my hands in the air and scream in frustration.

If I have any hope of the last happening, I need to keep Hadley away from Connor. Not because of Kevin but because, if she forms an attachment to him, it will only hurt her when we have to run.

“Wow, that seems like a lot of work to do in six months and”—I look to my daughter—“you have a lot of homework and chores to do.”

“But . . .” Her lip quivers. “I like helping, and I promise I won’t be any trouble.”

“What the hell is going on out here?” Kevin’s deep voice booms as the front door flies open.

Dread fills me so fast I don’t have time to temper it. I turn quickly. “Baby, you’re awake?”

He looks at me, Hadley, and then to the man standing beside her. “Who are you?”

Hadley rushes forward. “This is Connor, Daddy. He lives next door.”

I close my eyes for a second and try to think. I need to get Connor to go before Kevin’s anger grows and I really pay for it. It’s too late to avoid his ire entirely, so minimizing it is my only chance.

Kevin’s eyes lift from Hadley back to Connor. “You’re one of the Arrowood brothers.”

“I am.” Connor’s voice is deeper than Kevin’s, and I swear the testosterone in the air is enough to make me choke. “I take it you’re Hadley’s father? It’s nice to meet you.”