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“Child protection services want to visit to ascertain the health and welfare of your child?”
“Coretta must have . . .” She gulped in a breath and started to cry. “Oh, Adam . . .”
The next second she flung herself against his chest and started to sob. He didn’t know where to put his hands, what to say, or what to do. He awkwardly patted her back.
“It’s okay. They’ll take one look at you and Roman together and know someone was pulling some first-class bullshit.”
She cried even harder and somehow, despite himself, his hand slowly rose to curve around her skull, his fingers threading through her hair as he breathed her in. How long had it been since he’d held someone like this? Comforted someone? Wanted to make everything better for them?
He leaned in closer, his lips brushing the top of her hair like she was giving him life, one arm now anchored around her waist, holding her from knee to shoulder. She fitted perfectly against him, her head just reaching his shoulder; her face was buried in the crook of his neck like she belonged there.
Which she most certainly did not.
He gently eased back, aware that he didn’t want to, and forced his hard-earned common sense to reassert itself.
“Sorry.” She moved away, too, making him immediately want her right back where she’d been. “You’re probably sick and tired of me crying all over you.”
“Nope.”
He watched her wipe her tears and blow her nose, saw her superhuman effort to regain control of herself, and admired her so much.
“I can’t let Roman see me like this.” She blew her nose again. “Is he getting ready for bed?”
“Yeah, he’s already tucked himself in,” Adam said. “I told him you’d be in to see him in a moment.”
Her attempt at a smile tore at his heart. “Maybe he’ll be too sleepy to notice I’ve been crying. I’ll go and check up on him.”
She went out, leaving Adam alone and wondering what to do next. He should leave. If he stayed, he’d be opening himself up to her, making her think she could depend on him, and that wasn’t fair. He wasn’t good with emotions anymore. They made him feel inadequate.
He had his hand on the front door latch when she returned and caught him trying to escape. He turned to face her, wondering if he looked as guilty as he felt.
“Let me know what happens with CPS, okay?”
“I will.” She’d wrapped one arm around her waist as if she was physically holding herself together. “I’m glad I spoke to Nate. At least we have an off icial record of everything Coretta’s been doing to us.”
“Yeah.” He gestured at the table where her cell phone sat. “Call me if you need anything. I really mean it.” He hesitated. “If Roman wants to come up to the ranch, I’d be happy to take him off your hands for a day.”
“Thank you.” Her gaze fastened on the letter and she visibly swallowed. “I’m sure everything’s going to be just fine.”
He nodded, and went down the stairs, deliberately concentrating on his steps rather than the fact that for the first time in over a decade he’d reacted to a woman, that his body was waking up, and that he didn’t seem to have any control over anything anymore.
When he reached the safety of his truck he sat for a while in the gathering darkness, trying to get a handle on how he felt before he went home. The thought that anyone would target Lizzie as a bad mother was appalling. He’d known her all his life, and she was one of the kindest, most genuine people he’d ever met.
He gripped the top of the steering wheel with both hands and rested his chin on them. If Louisa were still alive she’d have made sure Adam was right there supporting Lizzie, who had no one else in town to help her. But what would Louisa make of him suddenly thinking about Lizzie at all? And he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and not just in a protective way....
Adam turned on the ignition and put on his seat belt. Things were changing way too fast for him. His little sister was contemplating marriage, and his mom was coming back after skipping out on them all those years ago. It wasn’t surprising he was feeling unsettled. Maybe he should focus on one thing at a time. Help Lizzie with Roman and any potential fallout from Coretta’s report to CPS. He was one hundred percent certain that Louisa would have no issue with that.
