Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Rough Riders #7)(58)

With a heavy heart, Cam climbed in his car. But a mile from Brandt’s place he had to pull over on the shoulder. He rested his forehead on the steering wheel and wept.


Domini recognized the leaden tread coming up the stairs. Cam. Not Nadia.


She frowned at the clock. Eleven-thirty. Nadia was never this late picking Anton up. She’d tried to call Nadia’s cell to tell her just to leave Anton over night, but Nadia didn’t pick up. Which was odd.


She released the deadbolt and opened the door for Cam. Without looking at him, she headed for the living room. The climb up the stairs took a lot out of him and he hated her looks of sympathy. “Anton is still here, so I—”


“Domini.”


The way he said her name, so seriously, so full of regret and sadness had her spinning toward him.


Her awareness jumped to full alert at the grief etched on Cam’s face.


“What happened?”


“There was an accident tonight. A bad accident.”


“And you were called to the scene?”


“I wasn’t first on scene, but everyone was called, including help from other counties.”


She touched his arm, wanting to appease him, not knowing if he’d welcome it. “Oh, Cam. I’m so sorry. That had to be rough.”


“Makes it rough when the victims are someone you know.”


Her stomach lurched. “Someone you knew? Who?”


“My cousin Luke, for one.”


“Oh my God. What can I do?”


Cam shuffled his feet. “Can we sit down? I’ve been on my feet half the damn night.”


“Sure.” Domini led him to the sofa. She wanted to snuggle up, smooth the frown lines from his brow and erase the haggard look from his eyes. But something about his posture made her keep her distance.


“I just left Luke’s wife, Jessie, with his brother, Brandt.” He shuddered. “It about tore me up to tell them. It was just so goddamn surreal. Like this is all happening to someone else.”


“You had to tell them?” Jessie’s sweet face flickered in Domini’s mind. The poor woman. What an awful thing to deal with.


“It’s part of my job.” He took her hands in his. “There’s no easy way to do this. So I’m just gonna say it flat out. Luke wasn’t the only victim tonight.”



And while all the scenarios raced in her head, she grieved. Nadia had been her friend, her roommate, the closest thing Domini had ever had to a sister. Now she was gone. Every single time she thought of that, she cried.


Soft knocking on the apartment door forced Domini to wipe her tears and get off the couch. She shot a look to her bedroom and listened, but the noise hadn’t disturbed Anton.


Domini opened the door to Skylar McKay. Nadia’s boss. Her eyes were swollen, her face was puffy. The second their gazes connected, more tears spilled from Skylar’s eyes.


“Come in,” Domini said. “Anton is sleeping in my bedroom.”


“How is he?” Skylar squeezed her eyes shut. “Stupid question. That poor sweet boy. We’re all just heartsick. I closed the plant for a couple days.”


Nadia had loved working at Sky Blue. She’d gotten close to the other employees after she’d divorced Rex. And because Sky Blue maintained onsite daycare, everyone knew Anton.


Skylar clasped Domini’s hands as she sat across from her. “What can I do?”


“I don’t know. I have no idea what to do first.”


“We should plan Nadia’s memorial service. The girls volunteered to clear out Nadia’s house and bring Anton’s stuff to you, including any paperwork. I doubt Nadia had a will and that brings me to my next question.” Skylar leaned forward. “What happens to him?”


“I don’t know. Nadia had no other family. I have no idea how the American system works, if Anton becomes a ward of the state or what.” Domini looked away, sickness churning in her belly as awful memories from that turbulent time in her life resurfaced. “Right after my parents died in the Ukraine, I was turned over to an orphanage.”


“Oh Domini. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”


“It’s not something I’m comfortable talking about. But you can understand why I don’t want him to end up in foster care. Ever. I’ll do whatever it takes to get custody of him, Skylar. I love him. I lived with him for two years. There is no one alive who knows that boy better than me. He needs me.”


“And I think you need him,” Skylar murmured. “That should work in your favor. But I do think you need to hire a lawyer.” She unearthed a stack of post-its from her purse and scrawled a number. “Call Ginger Paulson. You met her at Keely’s party. She’s done corporate legal work for me. Since she’s a single mom, my guess is she’d be a bulldog on this case.”


Domini tucked the note into her pocket. “Thank you. I think Ginger was Nadia’s divorce attorney.”


“Then she’d already have legal paperwork about Rex. It might speed things up.” Skylar glanced at her watch. “I have to run. I’m meeting Indy, AJ, Channing and Libby. We’re going over to see Jessie. Which is just another horrible situation.”