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He tugs the blankets higher and kisses my forehead.
I melt at the sweet gesture. He cares for me and my brothers. I didn’t know a man could be so nurturing. I didn’t know it could feel this good to be with someone who genuinely seems to care.
Grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt, I say, “Sleep next to me.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “Are you trying to steal my virtue, Miss Evie?”
Despite my headache, I can’t help smiling at him. “No virtue-stealing. Cross my heart.”
He climbs into the bed, careful not to jostle me as he settles over the blankets. He pulls me into his arms, and I snuggle deep into his embrace. My head is resting on his chest, and I can hear his heartbeat. It’s steady and strong, like the man himself.
For the first time in a long time, my body relaxes. I’m warm. I’m safe. I’m protected by this big man who is gently stroking my hair. Maybe it’s because I feel so safe with him, I open up, “Not long after my mom abandoned us, I moved in with my boyfriend, Spencer. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it would help the boys. I thought it would give them someone to look up to, you know? And I didn’t want to be alone. I figured…we’d be a family that way.”
“Where the hell is their dad or yours or somebody? Your mom didn’t make three babies on her own,” Greer points out, a hint of anger in his tone. I know him well enough now that I can guess he’s angry that no one has ever been there for us.
“I don’t know. There are no names on our birth certificates. I know we were probably random hookups, whoever was willing to give her drugs at the time,” I sigh. “I spent years hating the fact that I didn’t know. Then one day, I realized maybe it’s for the best. She wasn’t a good person. Who’s to say that any of us would have had a decent father?”
He doesn’t say anything, so I continue, “Spencer wasn’t a good man either. He took most of my money, spent his days getting drunk, and yelled a lot.”
Looking back, I can’t believe I stayed with him for years. I can’t believe that I didn’t see him for the asshole he was. In my desperation to have something good to give my brothers, I missed all the warning signs.
“Did he hurt the boys?”
“Not physically. He’d threaten them when I wasn’t around.” Guilt washes over me. It’s my job to protect them, and I didn’t do that. “Then there was a night…” My voice drifts and I’m quiet for several long minutes. I’ve never spoken about this to anyone.
He tightens his hold around me, the simple gesture grounding me. “I’d never judge you, Evie. Not you or the boys. Not about anything.”
“I didn’t usually ask him for anything, but I was stuck late at the restaurant where I waitressed. I asked him to pick up the boys from the afterschool program. When I got there, I realized he’d driven them home while he was under the influence.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Something in me just snapped. I got in his face and started yelling at him. He shoved me. I broke his nose. He broke my wrist. It was ugly,” I admit. “Then he kicked us out. It was his place, so we left with the clothes on our backs.”
“Fuck, he did that to you?”
I blow out a breath. “In a way, it was a relief. Being around him, I always had to be so careful what I said or did. He’d get mad over the slightest thing.”
“I hate that you and the boys had to live like that. It won’t be that way anymore. You have someone in your corner now. Someone that will look out for you and your brothers.”
His words warm me, making me feel hopeful. It’s more than what he says. It’s the way he’s been showing me he cares about us. “I’m beginning to see that.”
* * *
I wake up the next morning, feeling rested for the first time in weeks. I’m alone in the bed and I reach for Greer’s side. Part of me is afraid he’s a dream. That he’s a hot cowboy my mind conjured up because life has been tough.
But then the smell of bacon and eggs hits my nose. I hurry out of bed, realizing that I’m still in my clothes from last night. I haven’t heard the sounds of Chase and Parker. They’re usually early risers. I don’t feel the need to run interference between them and Greer, the way I did with Spencer.
Hurrying into the kitchen, I spot Greer at the stove. He turns, giving me one of his smiles. It’s more than just the way the lines of his face relax. I love the way his eyes soften with tenderness. It makes me feel special. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Where are the boys?” I blurt out. They’re my first priority. They’re always my first priority in every situation. No one else has ever taken care of them the way I have.
He points to the window. “Outside.”
I cross the kitchen to stare out the window. The boys are outside like Greer said. But they’re with two guys I don’t recognize.
“That’s Noah and Barrett, my brothers,” Greer explains.
There are two hay bales on sticks in the middle of the yard, and both of my brothers are twirling lassoes while the men gesture at the ropes. The boys are laughing, looking like carefree kids. “They’re teaching them to lasso.”
