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My answer made her happy, and my heart struggled to work past the sweet melancholy ache she brought out in me. If I was already falling in love with her dad, then Anya might have beaten him to the finish line.
I loved her serious questions. I loved her daredevil streak, even if my wrist throbbed in protest. I loved that she laid in the middle of a boxing ring singing at the top of her lungs.
“I went to sleep right away last night,” she told me in a serious tone.
“That’s … good.” My brow furrowed because it certainly seemed like she was telling me something important. “Is it usually hard for you to get to sleep?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes.”
Her eyes moved from my face down to the letters on my Wolves T-shirt. The worn black fabric wasn’t something I would’ve packed had I known anyone outside of Emmett would be privileged to see me in all my morning glory. There were holes in the hem. I’d ripped the arms off years earlier because I hated sleeves on my shirts when I worked out.
“What keeps you up, sweetheart?” I asked. As I watched her, it was impossible not to think about the nights I’d stared at the ceiling of my bedroom when I was younger.
“I don’t know. ” Her answer was honest and simply spoken, but still … it wedged something raw and vulnerable into my heart. “But I liked that Emmett was across the hall. I pretended he was my big brother.” Her eyes met mine again. “And you were downstairs. Daddy wasn’t alone either. I think it was easier to sleep because I was happy.”
It was almost impossible to swallow past whatever was lodged in my throat. I thought of what Aiden said the night before, about confusing her.
“Your daddy was very nice to let us stay because I was hurt,” I said gently.
Anya nodded. I found myself studying her more closely than I ever had.
I’d probably seen pictures of Aiden’s wife in the past, but if I had, there was no recollection of her face. Nor had I searched the house for her picture the night before, but I had no doubt there were images of her around the space where they lived.
Behind me, I felt him approach, his presence something akin to its own force field. Since I closed the door to take my bath, he hadn’t spoken a word to me.
He simply watched, studied me with a wariness that I hadn’t seen in him before, like I did him harm in some way that I didn’t understand.
Didn’t he know? I didn’t want to do any unseen damage. I’d love them so easily if he’d let me.
“Will you bring Emmett to play again sometime?” Anya asked, now fiddling with the edge of my braid. “You didn’t get to walk to the lake with us and see me skip rocks. I’m really good at it.”
Aiden came to stand next to the chair, and carefully, I glanced up, but his attention was on his daughter.
“We’ll talk about it later, okay, gingersnap?” he said.
She pouted. “You only say that when you don’t want to say no in front of people.”
I smothered a smile. “I’ll tell you what, Anya, maybe your dad can drop you off at Emmett’s house someday when I’m there.” I tapped her on the nose. “No climbing that tree, though.”
“Can I, daddysnap?” she asked, bouncing excitedly on my lap.
Aiden gave a slight nod. “Why don’t you hop off her lap? I think her brother is here.”
Logan’s SUV pulled into the driveway, and I caught sight of their identical worried expressions.
“Here we go,” I murmured.
“Mom looks pissed,” Emmett whispered.
I gave him a look when Aiden sighed.
Emmett glanced up at Aiden, voice serious. “I don’t know if you’re ready for this, Mr. Hennessy.”
Aiden’s eyebrows lowered. “For what?”
Paige threw open her door, and in a flurry of red hair and long legs and motherly affection, she filled the entire front yard with her presence.
Her hands ran over my hair, my shoulders, and then tilted my chin to the side. “Oh my gosh, Isabel, we are going straight to the hospital. What is the matter with you?”
