Page 40 of Peaks and Promises

The hollow space in my chest ached. There was a part of me that wanted that. Wanted the freedom of finally living in the truth. Even if it meant they all rejected me.

And regardless of how they felt about me, they wouldn’t reject Summer. My family—especially my mom—would help. My brother Josiah had rental houses, and they all had connections. It would probably take all of five minutes to find her a place to live and a job.

But damn it, I didn’t know if I could do it.

I went inside right as Summer came rushing out of the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, dripping wet. It wasn’t Nate’s presence that kept me from immediately fantasizing about licking all that water off her body. She was on the phone, and whoever she was talking to had her upset.

Holding the towel with one hand, she stopped and met my eyes. Hers were wide with fear.

Nate looked up from his toys on the coffee table. I gave him a reassuring nod.

“No, that’s not necessary. I’ll take care of it. But thank you so much for calling.” She ended the call and lowered her phone, and when she spoke again, her voice shook. “Can I talk to you in the other room?”

“Sure.” I glanced at Nate again and tipped my chin. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”

He nodded and went back to building.

I followed Summer into my bedroom. She dropped her phone on the bed and readjusted her grip on the towel.

“I heard my phone and had the strongest feeling something was wrong. So I got out and answered.” She met my eyes. “It was Nate’s school. Axel was just there. He told them he’s Nate’s dad and needed to pick him up early for an appointment.”

My hackles went up, but I kept my voice even. “What did the school tell him?”

“There isn’t a father listed on Nate’s paperwork, so they were suspicious. Plus, Nate’s not there, and Axel obviously didn’t know that, which was another red flag. They told him Nate wasn’t at school and called me after he left.”

“Well, shit.”

“He’s going to take him, Reese. I can’t watch over him every second of every day.” Her voice became increasingly frantic with each word. “I have to get another job, and he’ll have school. And even if Axel leaves town today, he’ll be back. Next time I might not know he’s here until it’s too late.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.”

“How? And what happens when you have to go to South America or something? Some archaeologist is going to need you to do security, and then what? You can’t spend the next eight years being my son’s bodyguard.”

Her towel started to slip, and it was very hard to keep my eyes up. The last thing I wanted to do was objectify her in the middle of a crisis. But damn it, she was gorgeous.

And still dripping wet.

Averting my eyes, I cleared my throat. She got the message and adjusted the towel.

“I should put some clothes on. Can you turn around?”

“I’ll wait out—”

“It’s fine, it’ll only take a second.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I turned. In the absence of sight, my ears took over. I could hear every movement of the towel as she rubbed it over her wet skin and lifted it to dry her hair. She stepped into her underwear and slid them up her legs. Fastened her bra.

The woman had no idea what she was doing to me.

“Okay, I’m dressed.”

I let out a long breath and turned to face her. She wore a loose tank top and leggings, but that was no less tempting.

Focus.

“I have an idea,” I said. “But I don’t know if you’re going to like it.”

“What?”