And right now, warning sirens were blaring in his head. "What's going on?"
Penny tipped her head toward the hall. "Put her to bed and I'll tell you. God knows she won't."
That about summed it up.
While Penny didn't have a problem calling on him for help or letting him know what was going on with the legal tape they were cutting through to make Penny's stay with Lys permanent, her big sister adamantly refused to involve him.
"All right. Why don't you grab us both a drink while I put Lys in bed? I'll meet you in the living room."
"Okay." Penny headed to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Don't get distracted when you get her clothes off," as she went.
He grinned. The girl might only be fourteen, but she was worldly beyond her years. And wise. She'd seen through him quicker than her sister—shit, Lys still hadn't seen through him and she'd known him a lot longer than Penny. It had taken a week for Penny to work out he was in love with Lys. Her sister on the other hand was still clueless in spite of everything he did to show her how he felt.
It seemed subtlety wasn't getting him what he wanted when it came to Alyssa. Maybe he should take Penny's advice and just tell her how he felt. Fuck knew he had nothing to lose at this point. Lys wanted to keep their relationship strictly in the friend zone except they'd moved over into a different zone in the ten months before Penny arrived.
Who was he kidding? He'd moved into the love zone within minutes of meeting Alyssa Drummond.
As he maneuvered his way into her bedroom and laid her on the bed, he pondered those early days working at Mercy-Life. The first glimpse of Alyssa had driven through him like a sucker punch to the gut. He'd never felt anything like it. Neverknownsomething so completely before in his life.
Even his desire to be a pilot, to master every aircraft that allowed him to soar high in the sky, hadn't been as bone deep and certain as his need to get closer to Lys. It was as though he'd been waiting his whole life for her to arrive. The second he'd laid eyes on her, his whole body had relaxed while his heart had threatened to beat right out of his chest.
He shook his head and removed Lys's dress, leaving her in her underwear. He'd love nothing more than to strip and climb beneath the covers with her, but he wasn't stupid enough to do it.
Nope, not stupid. He needed a plan, a strategy that would break down Lys's walls and prove he was here for her. Would always be here for her.
Tucking her beneath the covers he made a mental note to grab a glass of water and some pain meds to put on her bedside table before he left. He glanced out into the hall. If he left.
He had no idea what was going on and Penny had him rattled. He knew there had been some glitches in their attempt to get Alyssa made permanent guardian. Not that Lys had told him that. Penny had divulged most of the info he had during one of their many lunches. She'd also given him the information that meant he could help them without Lys knowing.
He'd managed to put her in contact with a housekeeper-slash-babysitter and when Penny had mentioned Lys was looking for a bigger house, he'd worked it so she could get what she needed at a price she could afford.
They were moving into their new house next week. A house big enough for her and her sister as well as Mrs. A, the woman who watched Penny when Lys had an overnight shift.
He sighed. He was tired of being kept out of the loop. Tired of having to sneak around behind Lys's back to help. He understood why she kept him at arm's length except that didn't make it any easier for him to accept.
He wanted to be part of Alyssa's life, of Penny's life.
He wanted it to betheirlife.
He wanted...
Fuck! He just wanted.
And he was done being patient about getting what he wanted.
When Alyssa woke in the morning they were going to talk and he wasn't going to let her brush him aside this time. She'd let him in if he had to bash down a couple of barriers to get there.
But first, he needed to find out what Penny wanted to tell him. With any luck it might give him the answers he needed, the solution to moving out of this weird limbo Lys had put them in when her sister had shown up.
Making his way to the kitchen, he grabbed water and pain meds and took them back to Lys's room before he got distracted with whatever Penny told him. She was still out cold and didn't look as though she would be stirring anytime soon. He checked she was covered again then left the room.
The quicker he found out what was worrying Penny, the quicker he could come up with that plan.
"Hey." He moved to where Penny sat on the couch and took a seat beside her. "What's up?"
"The lawyer called last week."
"Okay." He wasn't sure why that should be an issue. Their lawyer seemed to call every other day. "And?"
