“It will be,” I said again, being more honest.
My problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how I felt; it was that I couldn’t act on my feelings.
Against all odds, I’d fallen for the raven haired beauty with the deep blue eyes. Her quiet strength. Her dedication to her grandmother. Her determination to smile through her pain.
She carried a lot on her young shoulders, and more than anything I wanted to ease her burden.
To hold her. To love her. To make her smile and to see her relax.
The bathroom door opened, and Mrs. Novak ambled out and down the last few steps into the kitchen.
When she finally looked up, she gasped and clutched her proverbial pearls.
“Good morning, Mrs. Novak.”
“Good morning, Austin. You gave me quite a fright.”
“Sorry, ma’am.”
“Now, now, none of that, ma’am stuff. I told you to call me Sue.”
“Can I pour you a cup of coffee, Sue?” Gibson asked, laying the charm on thick.
“That’s be nice, Ryan. Thank you.”
“Cream and sugar?” he asked.
“Just cream, I’m sweet enough.”
Holy shit, is Nina’s grandmother flirting with G? Gibson was a good-looking guy, women loved his devilish grin and caramel skin, and he knew how to turn on the charm, but still.
Gibson served her before offering to make breakfast.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Nina to wake up?”
“We thought we’d let her sleep in and have breakfast ready for her.”
“You boys are too sweet. I’d love pancakes with chocolate chips.”
Sue offered to help, but G refused, so she told him where he could find everything he needed.
We took the opportunity to learn more about Sue and Nina’s parents while Gibson made pancakes and I prepped eggs and vegetables for a scramble. I had a sneaky feeling Nina would have a fit if she woke up and all we’d fed her grandmother was chocolate chip pancakes.
We didn’t learn any additional facts about the Novaks, but Sue reminded us that Nina had grown up in a loving home and her parents had provided for her the best they could despite nothaving a lot of money. Sue’s face lit up when she told us how much she loved babysitting Nina.
Not once did she mention Nina’s adoption.
They loved her as their own.
I wanted to learn more, but Nina walked down the hall, rubbing the back of her shoulder where Rogers had inserted the tracker.
I glanced at the microwave clock.Six-twenty-three.
My hand moved to rub the spot where I’d also been injected, but I caught myself in time and waved to Nina instead. “Good morning, Nina. Did you sleep well?”
“I had the weirdest dream.” She looked at her grandmother and forced a smile. “But it faded away...” her voice drifted off.
Let me guess, three guys came into your room and shoved a needle into your arm and a device into the back of your shoulder.
