Stephanie Ambler, now Smith, posted pictures regularly on her account. A quick flip before the app told him he needed tolog in to continue revealed she had three children. The oldest one had a pimply face and looked to be in his early teens. Two daughters, twins, who looked to be a couple years younger than their brother rounded out the family.
While there, he looked up the names he’d overheard Carys provide to the sheriff. No James Gray in the immediate area that he could find. Since Blaize didn’t do social media, he couldn’t exactly label anyone else who didn’t a serial killer. The only app he’d used was for dating. It had been the way he met his wife.
Next he checked Ethan Hutchins. A few names came up, none in this area. Same for Gabe York.
He closed the app.
Glancing over at the spot where he and Carys had shared a kiss so laced with promise and pleasure brought back the memory of it—a memory that set the bar for all future kisses.
Guilt stabbed him. The same pang he felt every time he laughed or thought about moving on with life after Lynn’s death. Getting a handle on the ranch might be just the win he needed. He could use a new lease on life.
Blaize started out of the room, made it halfway across before he froze. Was he allowed to leave the baby alone in a room?
Taking her into the living room might wake her up. She was sleeping so peacefully. He didn’t want to do anything to disturb her peace. He also needed a shower and at least a few hours of sleep. Watching over Lynn, he’d gotten used to running on five hours if he could close his eyes for twenty minutes here and there.
Since he wasn’t sure he could leave the baby and he didn’t want to call for Kit, he sat down at the table. Head in hands, he shut his eyes. The image of the kiss was burned into the backs of his lids.
More of that inconvenient need welled up.
Carys was intelligent and caring. Her beauty was beyond anything he’d witnessed before, inside and out. She had a way of looking at him that stripped him bare.
On a practical level, she was probably a decade younger and just getting started in her career. Having a family most likely wasn’t on her radar. He’d stopped considering having one when Lynn became sick. At thirty-five, he figured the window was closing since he didn’t see himself marrying again. It was all too hard. The vowfor better or worsemeant the world to him. When he gave his word, he didn’t take it back.
Even if a relationship could happen between him and Carys—and that was a bigif—they were in different places in life.
Damn, Wilde. You really went down a rabbit hole.Time to suck it up and get realistic. A kiss like the one they shared needed to be a one-off event. Period. Plus, she was already breaking too many rules as it was. He didn’t need to add to it or cost her job. He’d overstepped with the kiss. No matter how much he wanted it to happen again, it couldn’t.
EMBARRASSMENT STILL HEATEDCarys’s cheeks despite the long shower. Kit had laid out clean clothes in the guest bedroom, which were lifesavers. Never underestimate the power of light joggers and an oversized T-shirt when it came to comfort clothes. They were basically a cotton hug.
The kiss she shared—No! Asked for—still burned on her lips in the best possible way, like he’d marked her as his. The rejection afterward stung worse than falling onto a fire ant mound.
Carys needed to pluck up the courage to go back into the kitchen and check on Rue. She listened in case the baby needed her. Everything was quiet. Peaceful. Except for the chirps of crickets and other insects outside the window. The noise used tofreak her out when she’d first moved out of the city. Now? They were like a lullaby.
Going into the kitchen might mean facing Blaize again. So soon?
Carys had learned over the years to rip off the Band-Aid when faced with something that might be uncomfortable. Why was that suddenly a problem now?
Blaize.The man stirred foreign feelings—feelings that had her asking to kiss the father of her ward. How was that for professionalism? The worst part was that she couldn’t stop thinking about what it felt like when their mouths fused together. She’d never believed a relationship could complete her. She was already a fully formed human who didn’t need another half to feel whole. This thing between her and Blaize was something else, something deeper.
Giving herself a mental headshake to clear those thoughts, she headed toward the kitchen.
Kit had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Carys grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it on top of Kit, who instantly relaxed. The AC window unit in the living room was still on, in addition to a ceiling fan. Kit would end up sick at this rate.
Considering the lack of noise, she wondered if Blaize had gone to bed. Would he leave the kitchen light on? The baby unattended?
Rounding the corner, she stopped mid-step as her gaze landed on the image in front of her. Blaize had his arm extended over the table, his head resting on it, using it as a pillow. His eyes were closed, and his even breathing said he was asleep.
Rue was still in the carrier that he’d placed on the floor and scooted next to him. It was a shame Blaize didn’t believe he was the girl’s father. Between this scene and the longing she’d seen inhis eyes earlier when he’d looked at the baby, he was more than ready to be a father.
Instead, he’d lost a wife. Life played some seriously cruel jokes sometimes. She’d walked into plenty of houses with kids where the father figure was so checked out he could barely be forced to step away from the TV screen to meet with her. She was a basketball fan. She understood team loyalty. She also knew how easy it was to record a game and save it for later.
Having walked into dozens of families’ lives in her two years on the job, she’d seen the highest and the lowest forms of parenting. The worst of them neglected their children and provided filthy homes with just enough food to get by. The best of them provided loving, caring environments that allowed the children to find their passions and know they always had support.
What was that like?
Her father had become a tyrant and a warden. On some basic level, Carys realized he’d become overprotective after losing the love of his life. He’d overcorrected and become detached. Based on the few pictures she’d seen from before she was born, it was hard to believe he was the same person. Pain had an interesting effect on people. In her father’s case, it hardened him. His fear came out as anger. She knew that now.
Still, it was difficult to forgive him for all the damage he caused. It didn’t help matters that he hadn’t tried to reach out or make their relationship right. Once she walked out the door, he stuck to his threat of disowning her and cutting her off.
