Page 66 of Sudden Summer

“Tell me what happened,” he said, his mouth pressed against the crown of my head.

I took a shaky breath and let the scent of his cologne calm my aching heart. His warmth wrapped around me, his size sheltering me. And the way his heart beat, calm and steady in his chest, reminded me that this man would always ground me and keep me safe, no matter who or what I was up against.

“I spoke to my mom. I know it was dumb, expecting her to care. But I just needed her to. For once, I needed her to hear that I was hurt…that I am hurting…and want to comfort me.”

“She’s the worst excuse for a mom.”

“Beau…”

“No. Don’t do that. Don’t come to her defense; she doesn’t deserve that. Not after all these years. She had you and Lainey, then backed out from the biggest responsibility in the world, leaving you to raise your sister so she could be self-serving. Is this it? Are you done with her?”

I nodded, unable to say the words. “I need to call my sister.”

His hand tightened on mine. “Do you think that’s a good idea right now? Lainey isn’t the most sensitive person…”

“It’ll be fine. She’s been done with our mom for a while. If anything, I think it’ll help. Besides, I wanted to see if I could help in a different way with her business. I have a little money set aside, I was thinking maybe she would be willing to drop some meals off at the ranch.”

“For us?”

“Maybe? It might be nice to have a meal or two a week, but I was also thinking of Lachlan. He’s stuck talking to all of us and never getting a reprieve. Maybe Lainey could get under his skin a little…push him in a way we can’t.”

“Oh, she definitely could. Lach isn’t her biggest fan, though.”

“But if she brought him out some homemade chicken alfredo, garlic bread…some chocolate breakfast muffins?”

“Yeah, he’d probably have to at least open the door to say hi.” Beau chuckled. “I love the way your mind works. Are you going to tell her what happened? At your house?”

My heart tumbled in my chest. If the guy who attacked me wasn’t random, he could know I have a sister. “Oh God, Beau. I didn’t even think…”

His brows pulled together. “What?”

“If the guy knows me…would he do something to Lainey?”

“Shit. Yeah, you better call her. Tell Greg to get off his lazy ass and actually keep an eye out for anything off.”

I nodded. “Would you mind…” My eyes drifted to the door.

“You want me to go inside?”

“I’m a little hungry.”

His mouth twitched. “Well, we can’t have that, can we? My girl’s hungry? Then she needs to eat. I’ll cook you up something before I head out to check on the guys. That sound okay?” Beau stood, leaning in for a kiss.

I closed the distance swiftly, then said, “That sounds perfect. Thank you.” As soon as the door shut, I swiped through my phone to bring up Lainey’s number.

It rang three times before my sister finally picked up the phone. “What do you want, Birdie?”

Perfect. I held my breath, reminding myself I was calling her to help. Clearly, she was feeling stressed, and I was her safe place. That’s why she spoke like that to me. I’d make it better. Whatever was bothering her, I’d make it okay. “Good morning to you, too. Everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “Greg and I are just disagreeing about something. Not a big deal. Why are you calling?”

Greg. I disliked him when Lainey was in high school—the first time they dated—and he turned out to be a huge ass. When they got back together a few years ago…No. I wasn’t happy. And Lainey wasn’t thrilled when I expressed my opinion on the matter, so now, I just kept my mouth shut.

But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to keep everything between us good. I would always be a safe place for her. “I just got off the phone with Mom, and⁠—“

“Oh my God! Birdie! You didn’t tell her I’m pregnant, did you?!”

“No, no. We didn’t talk about you. I just…I needed to hear her voice. I was hurt⁠—”