Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(60)

“Do the brown cows make chocolate milk?” Hadley randomly asks.

“Uhh, no.”

“Really because hippopotamuses have pink milk, which is weird. I wonder if it’s strawberry flavored. I used to like strawberries, but one time, I ate too many and got sick.”

These stories might have seemed stupid before, but now, I want to know everything. I’ve worked really fucking hard not to look at Hadley any differently or hug her too tightly. All I want to do is tell her the truth, pull her close, and promise her the world.

I want to make up for the time we’ve lost, which isn’t possible.

“Yeah, I love strawberries.”

“I could love them again,” she says quickly.

I smile. I really love this kid. “What else don’t you like?”

“Ducks.”

My head whips around to stare at her. “Ducks?”

She nods. “Sydney said that we both have anatidaephobia. It’s a big word, I know.”

Sydney is in on this? Great. “And what exactly did Sydney say?”

“Well, she asked me if I liked ducks, and I said, they’re okay but they have weird eyes. And she agreed and told me that you don’t like ducks either, which means I decided that ducks really are dumb. When I told Sydney, she said that you have anatidaephobia. I looked it up, and decided we both have it because I don’t like when they look at me and neither do you. We have a lot in common.”

I’m not sure whether I should laugh or drive to Sydney’s house and leave a hundred fake spiders in her bed and see who laughs then. But then I look at my daughter, who looks like our hatred of ducks has solidified her place in my world, and I don’t care.

“We really do.”

Her beaming smile grows brighter. “Do you know what else I’m afraid of?”

“No, what?”

“The Tooth Fairy.”

I chuckle. “Really?”

“She’s so creepy! Who comes into your room when you’re sleeping and takes teeth? If I could be anything cool, it wouldn’t be that. I’d probably want to be Santa Clause because he gives presents and makes people happy. I like to make people happy. Do I make you happy, Connor?”

I put my wrench down and move to sit beside her, grabbing us each our water bottles that Ellie makes us before we come out to the barn to work. “You definitely make me happy, Squirt. Finding you up in that tree house was the best thing that happened to me in a long time.”

“Really?” Her green eyes brighten.

“Really.”

“I love you!” she says and then wraps her arms around me, leaving me stunned.

I wrap my arm around her and pull her tight, not caring about the rules I’ve created. “I love you too, kid. I love you too.”





Chapter Twenty-Seven


Ellie





“Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask as I come back into the living room.

I just got Hadley to sleep and am doing anything I can to stop my mind from going to what happened today. I’m exhausted, on edge, and need a distraction.

“Yup, I already have it ready to go.”

“You picked it already?”

He nods. “I sure did.”

“I’m worried.”

“As you should be, Angel, but since you asked me for a date tonight, it’s only fair I get to pick.”

I’m not sure about his logic, but I’m willing to give him this win because I don’t have the energy to fight. “Then I get to pick the snacks.”

Connor eats healthy for the most part. His breakfast and lunches are all about macros and some other term, and his idea of a good snack is carrots or peppers. I’m feeling Oreos and milk are needed tonight.

There’s mirth dancing in his eyes, as though he can read my mind and knows he’s in trouble. “I’m not sure I want to take that compromise.”

“What can I do to persuade you?”

“You could kiss me.”

I move closer, standing in front of where he’s sitting on the edge of the couch. I like this position over him. “I think I could oblige.”

I lean down, my hair creating a curtain around us, and while Connor may have asked me to kiss him, it’s him who takes over when our lips touch. His hand slips into my hair, holding me where he wants me, but I want to be closer to him, so I push him back against the couch and straddle him.

The look of surprise in his eyes causes me to grin, but it doesn’t last long because I need his kiss.

I want to be lost in his touch, warmth, and affection.

His arms snake around my back, and I kiss him with everything I am. Our tongues move together, my fingers run through his hair, and I grind down on him. I don’t know if it’s everything that happened today that has me so desperate for him, but I want to forget it all. I want the world to fade away in the way that only Connor can do for me.

“Easy, Angel,” he murmurs as I kiss him again.

“I need you.”

He holds my face in his hands, studying me. “I’m right here.”

Guilt assaults me because it’s not right to use him this way. I had no plans to tell him I went to see Kevin. I didn’t plan to tell anyone, but he deserves the truth, no matter what.