Page 33 of Unbound

Walker’s blue eyes move over my face. “For what?”

He doesn’t ask the question as if he’s clueless over what I could be sorry for. He asks it in a way that makes me think he needs me to narrow down the options.

“For taking the position knowing I wasn’t going to stay.” My eyes drop to the front of his shirt, fingers moving to toy with the ribbed neckline. “I wasn’t trying to be an asshole, I just…” I stop short of offering a reason for why I came here. Not because I don’t have one—I have plenty—but because the specific reason I almost give him is one I never plan to admit.

“Don’t apologize yet, grandma.” I look up to find Walker smirking at me. “Because you’re still employed, and I fully expect you to show up for work every day.”

11

Walker

“What?” Sybil seems shocked. “But how am I going to figure out what happened to our parents if I’m working in a warehouse all day?”

“You’re a smart woman. I’m pretty sure you can figure it out.” Hopefully not too quickly though, because I’m doing my damndest to keep her out of trouble.

Having Sybil under my roof will go a long way toward accomplishing that, but if she keeps doing what she’s been doing, there’s a good chance even being on the Bradshaw property won’t save her. That’s why I’ve got to keep her in my sight and under my thumb. The only way I can do that is if I take her to work with me every day.

The arrangement will not only keep Sybil from getting into shit she shouldn’t be in, it’ll help me stay focused. Because I’m not sure I’d be able to do my job knowing she’s sitting alone all day, doing everything possible to get herself killed. That if someone decided to risk taking her out, I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time.

I’m starting to understand why Tucker brought Ruth and Birdie to work with him every day. Not that I think for a second my story will end like his did. Sybil is gorgeous, funny, and outgoing. I’m not delusional enough to believe she’d ever want a man like me.

I am delusional enough to imagine it though. To wonder— just a little—what it might be like if she didn’t think I was controlling and bossy and overbearing. To hope maybe that image on her computer screen really was for reasons besides identification. To fantasize about how it would feel to hold her close as more than just an attempt to get her the sleep she desperately needs.

“But what if I am the reason that guy shot up your parking lot?” Her hands fist in the front of my shirt. “If they send someone else, and having me there puts everyone who works for you at risk?”

She’s got a fucking point. One I need to consider.

“That’s why no one’s going to know you’re there.” The plan isn’t fully fleshed out, but I’m sure I can sneak Sybil inside the building. We have plenty of overhead doors in the warehouse. I can drive her straight in. It’ll take Toby’s team under an hour to tint my windows dark enough no one will know who’s inside.

The only hiccup is keeping her hidden from the rest of the staff.

I wish I didn’t have to do it. Wish I could trust the people who work for me the way I trust my family. But I don’t. Twice already it’s been shown I can’t, and there’s no way I’m going to risk adding a third.

“That’s a lot of effort when it would be so much easier for me to just stay here.” Sybil presses her lips together, flattening the plush line of her mouth before making an offer she’s given before. “Unless you think it’s better if I go somewhere else.”

“You’re not going anywhere else.” Just the thought of her venturing out on her own turns my stomach.

Sybil’s eyes search my face for a second before she gives me a small nod. “If you change your mind, just tell me. I know I’ve royally fucked up your whole life, and I don’t want to keep making it worse.”

Is that what she’s done? Fucked up my life?

It doesn’t seem that way. For the first time in longer than I can remember I’m not sitting here alone waiting for the hours to pass me by. I have someone to cook for. Someone to take care of. Someone to talk to.

Someone I could have napped with if she would settle the fuck down for five minutes.

“You didn’t fuck up my life.” The credit for that goes to grief, trauma, and a bad attitude. “I like having you here.”

Sybil’s brows lift in surprise. Then a slow smile blooms across her face. “I’ll remind you that you said that, because I’m pretty sure you’re going to regret it.”

I’m pretty sure I am too, but not in the way she thinks.

Sybil won’t be staying in Willow Bend when all this is over. She’s going to go back to her life and I’m going to go back to being alone. Cooking for just myself. Counting the minutes as they pass by. Sitting in silence, pretending that’s how I like it.

“I guess we’ll find out.” I take a deep breath and force myself away from her. “I assume you want to start going through those documents?”

The smile on her face holds as she rocks up on her hot pink painted toes, looking excited as hell by the opportunity. “You assume correctly.”

I know she’s technically looking for the truth of what happened to her father, but part of me hopes she might discover at least a little about my mother’s death in the process. I don’t know if I’m as convinced they’re connected as she is, but the process of untangling the facts might shed some light on that fateful day.