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“Seriously, Caleb, you need to be there,” Ryder urged. “These people are important to me. Important to Ezra.”
“And you remember what happened the last time I let you convince me into going out.” It wasn’t even a question.
“Yeah, you got your girl back. You’re welcome.” The cocky bastard reached over and patted my cheek.
I grunted.
Chuckling, he stood. “Come on. Thought we were going for lunch. I need a beer.”
My phone pinged, and I dug it out as I pushed to my feet, heart lurching just seeing her name.
Paisley
Hey, my best friend is having a party for her son on Saturday. I’d really like to take Evelyn, and I’d really like you to come, too. Pretty please? I’ll even put a cherry on top if you want me to.
Reckless Angel, bursting into my world and jumbling everything. Reason and sight. My jaw clenched before I typed out the response.
Me
I think that could be arranged. Cherry required.
Ryder smirked where he looked at the message from over my shoulder. “That’s what I thought.”
THIRTY-THREE
CALEB
“That’s Dakota’s restaurant—Time River Market & Café. She lives right behind it in this cute house, but it’s way too small for the party, so that’s why it’s going to be at her mom’s house. Have you eaten there yet? It’s seriously delicious. She took that baby from a total diner dive and made it something extra special. The kind of special only Dakota can do. It’s closed today, obviously, since everyone is going to be at Kayden’s party.”
Paisley chattered on from the front passenger seat, filling me and Evelyn in on every detail of this small town and the people who made it up, while my insides coiled into intricate knots of agitation.
Unsure of why I’d agreed to this.
How I’d thought it would be a good idea.
“Do you think we can get to go there and eat sometime really soon?” Evelyn asked from the backseat. “You know how much I love the delicious foods, and we don’t have a lot of that at our house except for eggs.”
Our house.
It struck me.
A stake to my consciousness.
One that got shoved in deeper when Paisley shot me a coy grin before she shifted to look back at Evelyn. Feigning offense, she touched her chest with her fingertips. “Are you accusing me of being a bad cook?”
“No way, I didn’t even mean it that you’re bad. I only mean that you’re not good.” It was completely serious and sincere.
A chuckle rolled up my throat.
Paisley gasped. “I’m not good?”
“You should really stick with horses,” Evelyn told her as if she were giving her financial advice.
“Well, that’s a good thing since cooking isn’t part of my job description. I was just doing it out of the kindness of my heart.”
“That’s because that’s one of your good parts,” Evelyn slurred in her little voice. “I really like your heart.”
Affection pulsed through the cab, pouring so distinctly out of Paisley I felt it slam into me.
Bounding and reverberating.
Saturating the space.
Taking over the air.
Paisley blinked rapidly, her eyes moist, and fuck, I didn’t know how to process it. What this meant. How this woman had come in and changed everything.
“I like your heart, too, Evie-Love,” she whispered, her voice soggy.
She shifted back around. “Oh, crap, make the next right.”
The next right was about two feet away, and I had to ram on my brakes to make the turn.
Paisley giggled. “Oops.”
I sent her a glare.
Little Riot, driving me wild.
I made the turn off Manchester and onto another tree-lined street.
The quaint neighborhood was similar to where Paisley’s grandfather lived, though here, the houses were larger, fronted by elevated wood porches and perfectly manicured lawns.
The trees were enormous, clamoring for the sky, their soaring branches shading the yards and giving respite from the warmth of the summer day.
“Are we going to be at the party right now?” Excitement erupted from Evelyn, and she bounced in her car seat, trying to get a better look.
My chest tightened as I glanced at the woman who sat smiling next to me. Knowing this was right. That this was what Evelyn needed. To become a part of something that she’d lost.
A family.
I mean, fuck, I didn’t even know what she’d been taken away from. If she’d had friends. If Kimberly had carved out a community for them.
Paisley smiled back.
That fall of white hair was curled in soft, fat waves. She wore a dress for the first time since I’d met her, white with pink flowers, thin spaghetti straps showing off her bare shoulders and the expanse of her chest. The neckline dipped down just enough to hint at the swell of her tits, so fucking sexy it made my mouth water.
But it was what was under it that made me truly thankful.
Thankful she was here.
Making this impact on Evelyn’s life.
I’d made mistakes every step of the way, but Paisley Dae was not one of them.
