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“Okay, I’ve got—”
I stop dead in my tracks. Mom is already out cold, the gentle rise and fall of her chest hitting something deep inside me.
“I love you, Mom,” I whisper, curling up on the end of the couch and tucking into the gooey ice cream while something plays on the TV. But I can barely concentrate, my head is too full of what-ifs and maybes.
Mom.
Her illness.
What her future holds.
Styx.
Ryder.
What my future holds.
After I’d left Ryder last night, his texts had been flirty and to the point. A promise of what he planned to do to me… at least, I thought they had. But today there has been nothing but radio silence. As if he slept on it, woke up and realized that I’m not worth the time or effort.
The thought hurts me more than it should. Because I was just using him.
Wasn’t I?
Except that kiss, God that kiss had been hot. It hadn’t felt awkward or weird, it had felt familiar and right.
Too damn right.
Ugh. I need to stop overanalyzing every little thing. I did that with Styx, and look where it got me.
Maybe that’s my problem. I give too much, too easily.
An hour passes and I’m all ice creamed out. Mom has barely moved, but at least she looks peaceful.
My cell phone pings and I pluck it up.
Diesel: How is she?
Kat: Still sleeping.
Diesel: Mrs. Graham is going to stop by and keep an eye on her.
Kat: Our neighbor?
Diesel: Yeah, you should be here with us.
Kat: It’s fine. I can stay and watch Mom.
At least here, I wouldn’t have to avoid running into Ryder.
Diesel: Too late. I already asked her to stop by. Mom will be fine, and it’ll do you good to spend time with River and Quinn.
Kat: Quinn’s there?
Quinn is River’s stepsister and Sadie Ray’s cousin. She and her boyfriend Crank recently lost their first baby. He was cut up about it, we all were. Being the overprotective alpha he was, he’d secreted Quinn away at their cabin for the last few weeks. Not that I blamed him.
Diesel: Yeah, she is. So see, you have to come.
A gentle knock at the front door draws my attention and I smile at my scheming brother, wondering if he’d been so eager to get me there if he knew what I’d been doing with Ryder yesterday.
