Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(46)

I love her.

I know it. I know that it’s also the absolute last thing she needs to hear from me.

She doesn’t need to hear that she is the only woman I want, and I will wait an eternity if that’s what it takes to earn her.

The hell she’s endured might take her that long to get over as well. But if I know Hadley is mine, I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold back.

I’ll want them both to be mine.

“I feel like the bastard knew all this . . .” I admit something that’s been on my mind.

“Dad?”

My father was a bastard, but him putting bullshit stipulations in his will wasn’t like him. Why did he care about us being here? What the hell did any of it matter if we kept it for two years or not? Unless he suspected as well. There’s a reason that he wanted us all to return here, and not just for some sort of nostalgic bullshit.

“Why else did he want us here?”

Sean goes quiet for a second and then snorts. “You know, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“Declan has unresolved issues with Syd. You love Devney and never grew a pair to tell her. I might have a daughter, and well, who knows what the fuck we’re going to uncover with Jacob.”

“I don’t love Devney.” He tries to sound convincing.

“Sure you don’t.”

“She’s getting married.”

“And she wouldn’t marry that idiot if she thought there was even a chance of having you. We both know it.”

Sean’s voice is low and full of frustration. “We also made a vow.”

We did, but we were kids then. Clearly, shit has changed. “Well, I might have a kid, and if that’s the case, the vow is no longer valid.”

Which is another thing I’m struggling with. My word to my brothers is everything, but I’m willing to endure their wrath if it means I can have her.





Chapter Twenty


Ellie





It’s late and I can’t sleep. I toss and turn in a large and empty bed, my mind going in a million directions. I’m in one of his brother’s old rooms while Connor is on the other side of the wall. The three of us have fallen into a strange routine over the last three weeks.

Each day, I take Hadley back to our house, do something menial, and try to spend a bit more time there than we spent the day before.

Today, she struggled more than usual. She was antsy and kept looking around. A book fell out of my bag, making a loud thwack noise and causing her to run out of the house. I don’t know how we’ll return to living here if she’s this fearful.

Then my thoughts move to how I don’t really seem to be in a rush to move back home either. Connor has been nothing but sweet and thoughtful. He’s always doing little things with Hadley or making sure I’m okay. Then there’s the way he looks at me, heat and want in his eyes that sends currents through my body. Just like the night we met, there’s chemistry that hasn’t ebbed.

I think about how, on the other side of the wall, he’s sleeping. What would it be like to go through his door instead of mine at the end of the day?

It’s a thought I shouldn’t be entertaining at all.

I huff and rise out of bed, tug on an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt and head out to the kitchen. Maybe moving around for a few minutes will help me settle and get some sleep.

I go to the fridge, grab the milk, and pour a glass. I stand there, hands on the counter, wondering how this is my life.

When I turn around, I nearly drop the milk when I see a profile of someone in the darkness standing in the doorway. Fear grips me so tightly I can’t draw breath. I open my mouth to scream, but the voice stops me.

“It’s just me,” Connor says quickly, hands up in the air. “You’re okay.”

“Jesus Christ, I almost had a heart attack.”



I thought it was Kevin waiting for me, watching me, ready to drag me back to my house and finish what he started.

Maybe Hadley isn’t the only one who is still not okay.

“Sorry, I heard something and came to check.” He steps into the room.

My heart is racing so fast that I clutch the milk jug, trying to catch my breath. “I was thirsty, and I thought I was quiet.”

He moves slowly until he’s standing in front of me and then gently pulls the milk from my clutches. “I hear everything, I blame it on years of being in the military and sleeping in half measures. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I wish I could say he doesn’t scare me, but in so many ways he does. He’s the man I find myself thinking of during the day. The guy my daughter wants to be around. And if I’m truly honest with myself, who I want to be with too.

I have never felt as connected to someone as I do with him. It’s as though the time we spent apart only had us growing closer together.

Which is crazy.

Can two people belong to one another without ever actually being together? Can you love someone without knowing them? I’ve always believed in soul mates, and standing here in front of him, I can’t deny that we’re something . . . more.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I say instead of responding to his declaration.

“Why not?”

Because I was lying in bed, wondering about you and why I can’t seem to leave.