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“I don’t think—”
“I think that’s a good idea.” I cut off Paisley’s refusal, the words coming off my tongue without permission.
Reckless.
Insane the way this girl made me because I knew better than going after something I couldn’t have.
A distraction like her was not something I could afford right then.
Not ever.
Because I refused to drag someone else into the sordid corruption of my world. But somehow, I didn’t know how to let her go right then, either.
Not when it was clear Evelyn needed her.
Needed this light in her life, the woman filling in the places that had gone dim.
SIXTEEN
PAISLEY
What the heck did I think I was doing, agreeing to this? But I didn’t know how to disappoint the little girl who acted like I was her first friend ever coming over to play. Not a chance.
So I agreed, getting Mazzy settled back into her stall then taking Evelyn’s hand and starting up the dirt path that led to the ranch house in the distance.
Okay, mansion. We should really just call a spade a spade.
On another front, I was ignoring that advice entirely since I would never, ever admit that agreeing to stay had anything to do with the way Caleb Greyson had made me feel this morning.
Nothing to do with the way he’d interacted with Evelyn after what he’d admitted Friday night. Like he was trying even though he was scared.
There were so many questions spinning through my mind it wasn’t even funny.
Like why was he scared? Why didn’t he think he could love this adorable little girl when it was already so obvious that he did? Why had they come here? Why hadn’t Ryder spoken about them before?
Not to mention, Caleb and Evelyn’s interactions were so…odd. As if they were just getting to know each other, and I had to wonder if her spending time with him was brand-new.
Was her living here with him only a summer thing? Had he just gotten visitation for the first time? Where was her mother? Were they still together? And why the hell did the thought of that make my stomach sink to the bottom of a stinky pit?
I didn’t know anything, but I was burning to. I wanted to ask. Dig deep. Discover who he was. Because there was something about him that compelled me to look closer.
Beyond that gorgeous, hardened exterior that did something stupid to my brain.
I was attracted to him.
At least I could admit that.
Why, I still wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t exactly proven that he was a good guy. Hell, he was likely a bad guy.
I could sense the danger that lurked beneath that suit. Could feel the sins oozing from his consciousness. Could see the demons in his eyes.
But somehow, I knew there was something deeper beneath it. Something that made him desperate to do what was right for this child—so desperate that he’d insisted on taking me home and caring for me.
Intensity radiated from him and covered me in a shroud of his severity as we walked to the house.
The closer we got to it, the more details I could make out. It was this rambling three-story estate. A little stuffy and prim for my taste.
And he called my Maybe a monstrosity.
I was seriously not impressed by things, and I wasn’t the type to feel out of place, even when the place I was heading wasn’t exactly in my typical domain. Somehow, I was still feeling all buzzy and anxious as Evelyn dragged me up the seven steps that led to the columned front porch, the wood stained dark to match the stones that made up the walls.
“This is where I live now, Ms. Dae.” Evelyn peeked back at me as she led me toward the enormous double doors. “It’s really big, and I got my own room, but it’s on the second floor, and I’ll show you after lunch, but it’s already twelve o’clock, so we need to hurry and eat.”
Right.
Gotta keep to that schedule.
I fought the desire to look back and scowl at Mr. Greyson. It was freaking summer, and she was five.
“We’d better get a move on, then.”
I finally gave into the need to peer back at him as Evelyn was pushing open the door.
Oxygen whooshed from my lungs, the man stealing the air.
I was a fool for giving it to him.
So gloriously rough and sharp, the man a knife that could shear me through.
“Right this way,” Evelyn said, bouncing on her toes as she tugged at my hand, pulling me out of the trance.
We entered through the massive double doors, and we landed in a foyer that was as large as my grandparents’ living room.
The ceiling rode up the full three stories, and a huge staircase sat on the far side, the wooden railings thick and carved in a delicate design of leaves. The staircase widened the higher it got before it gave way to the second-floor landing.
