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“Right. So we have to assume that someone—either Sarah or Melony—was planning on moving in and staying for a while. But only with Rylan. Why would she split them up?”
“Hm.” Xander pressed his lips against my shoulder, not in a kiss, but like he was ruminating. “Well, might be that she decided two babies would be too much for her. Might be that she didn’t have a choice.”
“You think someone else took him from her?”
“Could be,” Xander said. “You remember what Samuel said there at the cabin, right before they were born? One for Evergreen and Carter’s Creek, one for Portersmith. With the FBI being booted off investigating the East Coast packs, someone’s certainly hiding something up there. Maybe that’s still his plan.”
“If Samuel has Ryder…” I shuddered. It was too horrible to even think about. I didn’t want that man anywhere near my sons. I didn’t want him anywhere near anyone.
“It’s hard to say for sure. Not until we get some answers out of Sarah tomorrow.” Xander paused, but I could sense he wanted to say more. I waited for him to speak again. Several long moments later, he did. “My dear old grandad wanted you out of that deal, too, I recall. And not just to look at. Fucker.”
My shudder was a slight tremor this time. I inched back, pressing my body deeper into Xander’s embrace. I feared for myself far less than I feared for Ryder. For as long as I stayed close to Xander, I’d be safe.
I wished I could reach through dimensions, across time and space, and pull Ryder back into my arms as well.
“Are you going to be okay tomorrow?” Sarah was the only thread we had to connect us with Melony now. If being shouted at by Xander once had wrecked her so badly, a repeat could be disastrous.
I trusted him, but I also knew how hard it was to keep your temper when someone you loved was on the line.
“I’ll try to keep my cool, but I don’t know,” he finally breathed. “If she gives us what we need—if she can cooperate—then I’ll manage. I’ll have to.”
“And if not?”
“Then, I hope Denny moves faster than I do.”
Chapter13
Xander
Nothing beat a hotel breakfast. Something about the sight of those plexiglass pastry cases and silver chafing dishes, the rows of cereal dispensers displaying their sugar-coated, multicolored wares in fat plastic tubes, the mini fridge of yogurts and individual servings of milk—it just did it for me. I couldn’t even pretend it was the quality of the food.
I’d grown up in a house with three siblings. Kingston, Dylan, and I had the appetites you’d expect from growing boys, and Macy was an alpha through and through. She’d certainly held her own. Mealtimes had always been a mad scramble to fill our plates and choke down food as fast as possible. There’d never been any leftovers. Anything in front of us, we devoured. But on the rare occasions that we’d go out to a hotel, we could always count on being able to eat as much as we wanted at the buffets. Even now, they hearkened to some mix of nostalgia and hedonism in me.
Plus, I could heap up plates for both me and Felicity, then carry them back to the room without anyone trying to stop me. All I had to do was juggle them as I pushed the button for the elevator and ignore the sign that said it wasn’t allowed.
Back in the room, we ate on the floor with Rylan between us, wriggling on his tummy. It wasn’t exactly an idyllic picnic scene, but to me it meant the world.
Halfway there, I kept reminding myself. If we found one, we could find them both.
I tossed the plates in the trash and showered while Felicity fed Rylan. With a towel around my waist, water still slicking down my chest, I lingered in the doorway of the bathroom and watched them.
A fragile, teasing smile curled on her lips as she finally glanced up and caught me staring. “What are you looking at?”
Nothing, I almost said, embarrassed, but stopped myself.
That wasn’t true at all.
“I’m lookin’ at my family, Cheeks.” I went to her, gripping her arms and bending down. We hadn’t done enough kissing lately. Hadn’t done enough of anything.
I pressed a long, hard kiss to her mouth. She tasted like orange juice, citrusy and sweet. As she kissed me back, it struck me how badly I wanted to keep on kissing her. Every moment with her was too precious, too addictive. Having Rylan with us had only heightened that sensation. Once we had Ryder back as well, it would only get better still.
It hurt to think of how much time we’d lost, but the promise of all the time we had left ahead of us only excited me. I yearned for it, needed it like I needed water and air.
All the time in the world would never be enough.
* * *
“You gonna manage yourself today?” Denny asked once we pulled out of the Country Donuts parking lot. I had a dozen glazed donuts on my lap, plus three massive Kolaches that Denny referred to as cheese hawgs. All were meant as peace offerings and thank you carbs for Sarah, Rabbit, and Beauty out at the ranch.
