“It might be safer to stay like this for a while even though we’re on the highway now.”
“Let me know if you change your mind,” he said.
“Okay.” She thought about what he said about Kit. “I highly doubt my father would care if I lived or died. It’s too bad not every parent is like Kit, protective even when their kids make huge mistakes.”
“She’s special,” he agreed. “Do you think you’ll reconnect with your father at some point?”
“Why? So he can remind me how much I disappointed him? Or tell me again that I’m not his daughter? That one stung at eighteen.”
Blaize was quiet for a long moment. Based on the wrinkle across his forehead, he was deep in thought. “I would have liked the chance to tell Cormac what a disappointment he was to his face and how much it damaged us growing up. Now? I’ll never get the chance.”
“I thought you were going to tell me to try to reconcile with my father,” she said. His words resonated.
“What would be the point of that?” he asked. The question was rhetorical. “It’s far better to be able to reconcile with yourself. Does that make any sense?”
“Actually, yes. It does. A whole lot of sense, actually.” When this ordeal was over, could she reach out? Tell her father how she really felt about the way he’d treated her for wanting to live her own life?
Could she open up to Blaize, too? Risk losing him and Rue?
Chapter Twenty-One
The call came when they were twenty minutes away from the hospital. A nurse had agreed to help get Rue strapped into her car seat safely for the ride home since she held certification as a car seat safety tech. The amount of relief in Raiden’s voice when Blaize said they would arrive home at close to the same time was almost comical.
“Did you hear that?” he asked Carys.
She laughed, and he’d be damned if it wasn’t the most musical sound. Now that he was determined to keep Rue, would Carys bolt at the first opportunity?
His problems were mounting. The last thing he needed to think about was Carys leaving. Or the kisses they’d shared, which had been the highlight of his year, possibly his life.
How was that for being dramatic?
Blaize chuckled. Too much stress had him on the edge, imagining that his heart would shatter when she walked out.
Didn’t everyone leave?
Whoa!Did he really believe that? Or was it just his mind searching for reasons to counter what his heart so plainly saw…that Carys was special.
“How could I miss it? Your poor brother is in way over his head and knows it. At least Rue was quiet this time. I felt even worse for him when she was crying.” Carys stilled in the back seat. She’d stayed put the whole ride.
Did he have the same feelings for him or was he latching onto something that wasn’t there? His mind was clear. He knewwhat he wanted. And then the universe laughed and threw every possible obstacle in his way.
When he thought about it on a practical level, how was he supposed to save a ranch, take care of Kit, and bring up a baby? Adding a relationship on top seemed impossible.
He was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to convince his brothers that saving the ranch was a good idea. If they refused to move back and pitch in, he would have to figure out a way to do it all himself.
Easy-peasy.
Blaize almost laughed out loud. Was he losing his mind?
Probably.
He parked at the house. Carys exited the car before he did.
“I need to make a work call,” she said, walking away. “Do you mind?”
“Stick close enough to see me, just in case.”
She gave a quick nod and walked out of earshot. Was she calling her boss? He didn’t like the idea of her getting into trouble because of him. If he’d lied about being Rue’s father from the get-go, they wouldn’t be in this mess.
