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“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you, even if I wish I didn’t have to, but I just need to peek at Zander first,” he told me.
I didn’t press him right then for why because it was easy to see his nerves were frazzled and he needed to set his mind at ease.
Once he got a look at his son, he let out a big breath of air and then he led me back down the hall to the couch.
He pulled me down next to him leaving no space between us. I felt heat radiate from his thigh and yet even with the warmth I shivered at the lust-filled sensation his closeness brought on. He turned his torso a little so he could look at me and I did the same. When he dropped my hand, that’s when I realized he held a piece of paper in the one that had been free.
The lust was gone and dread took its place. It sat like a greasy hamburger in the pit of my stomach and I felt sick. We’d had such a good day and it had changed after he’d gone to get Zander’s gifts out of his truck.
I nodded to the paper in his hand. “What do you have there? Is it the reason you left earlier?” Everything inside me said it was and that I wasn’t going to like what was on it.
Rowan tilted his head back and took a deep breath, then brought his gaze to mine. “Yes. It was on my truck window when I first went out there to bring stuff in. I want you to know before you read it, that I’m so damn sorry that anything that has to do with me would bring problems to you and Zander.” A small tick of his jaw told me he was fighting to keep his emotions in check. “But I promise I will not let anything happen to either of you.”
With reluctance shining in his eyes, he handed me the paper.
It didn’t have much on it, but the small amount that was there had my blood running cold. It was clear it was meant for Rowan, but whoever put it on his truck must have been watching us to know that we were in his life and they could get to him by taking aim at my son and me.
“Why?” I dropped the paper and it fluttered to the floor. “Who would do this?”
“I don’t know, but me and the guys are sure as hell going to find out. After talking tonight, the only thing we can think of is that it is tied to one of the projects I’ve worked on recently.” He rubbed his hands over his face and I could see the stress of the situation was getting to him. “Everyone is meeting tomorrow to see if Braxton got the footage from the cameras in the parking lot.”
“Someone had followed us, Rowan!” My blood pressure was rising and I felt a little frantic. “Whoever it is knows where we live. So what else do they know?”
“That’s what the guys and I will figure out. Take a deep breath. I am right here.”
Another thought crossed my mind and I shook my head, confused. “How did he get through the gate?”
“That I don’t know either, but I have to think he walked in when someone opened it, or something. We’ll figure this out, Brin. I didn’t want to show you and scare you, but I need you to be aware so you watch your surroundings and never get caught off guard.”
I took the much-needed breath that Rowan had just asked me to take and my body relaxed a little. “Thank you.”
He looked at me perplexed. “Why are you thanking me? This is all my fault.”
I took his hand in mine. “Rowan, you’re just doing your job, if that is what this is. You can’t control what other people do. I was thanking you for not shutting me out and letting me know.”
He glanced down at our joined hands and sighed.
“You were always so understanding when we were growing up, but after the way I fucked up, I have to say I am surprised you’re being that way with me now.” His head came back up and his eyes seemed to search mine to see if I was telling the truth.
When his body sagged a touch and the storm in his irises vanished a fraction, I knew he could see I was being honest.
He brought the hand I was holding to his chest and my skin burned with the urge to run my palm up and down his solid muscles. His heart was thumping rapidly and he said something so unexpected. “Go out with me?”
“What?” I squeaked, caught completely off guard.
“Brin, I want to take you on a date. One that is long overdue and I should have done back in high school.”
God, how many times had I wanted him to ask me that very thing? But how could I risk getting my heart trampled on like a stampeding herd of bulls?
“What if—”
He cut me off. “I know you must have a bunch of what ifs. But what if it wasn’t our time back then and now it is.” His other hand ran up and down the top of his jeans that covered his powerful thigh. Rowan looked uneasy and he was usually so sure of himself. “What if you were made for me and this is our second chance? Say yes? At least this once, then we can see where this goes.”
At my hesitation he said more.
“No matter what, I swear we’ll always take care of Zander together. You’ll never have to do it alone again. Seeing you again and finding out about my son has made me look at things differently, Brin. I was an idiot before. All our lives actually, but I’m here now.”
