Page 60 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

Knox was quiet for a few moments, the circling of his talented fingers never stopping. “Yesterday, I told you about the hardest part of my life. I told you about my first-worst day. I told you about the woman who destroyed me. I’m not asking you to tell me about Drake’s father. But I’m promising you that if you want to give me that trust, I won’t betray it.”

When I opened my eyes, his piercing gaze was waiting. He was so gorgeous it almost hurt to look at him. I wanted to tell him about Oliver. If there was anyone who would take care with my secrets, it was Knox.

But . . .

I stayed quiet.

“You want to stand on your own. I get that, honey.” His fingers shifted away from my temples to thread into my ponytail. “Standing on your own doesn’t mean you have to be alone. There’s a difference.”

“But Drake—”

“Don’t use him as an excuse because you’re scared. You wanting me doesn’t mean Drake has to suffer.”

He was so . . . right. So damn right.

Knox’s hands fell away, returning to his sides. “Figure out what you want. You know where to find me.”

And then he was gone, striding out of the room, leaving behind only his words.

What did I want? Did it even matter? I couldn’t afford dreams for myself.

And Knox . . . he was a dream.

The rest of my day was spent cleaning alone

with Knox’s words to keep me company. It wasn’t a best day. But it wasn’t a worst either. The weight of the day sat heavy on my shoulders as I trudged to my car and drove to the daycare center.

I walked into the nursery, desperately wanting to hold my son, but as I scanned the room, I saw no Jill. And no Drake.

“Um, hi. Where’s Drake?” I asked the woman changing a baby. It was the same girl from this morning, young like Jill, with strawberry-blond hair.

“Oh, he’s not here.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Jill had to run a quick errand and she took him along.”

“Excuse me?” What. The. Fuck.

“She just lives next door.” The woman pointed to the wall. “She’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay,” I clipped and plucked his diaper bag from his hook. Then I waited, arms crossed over my chest, foot tapping on the floor as I counted the seconds ticking by on the wall clock.

Three minutes and forty-one seconds later, the back door opened and Jill came inside with Drake on her hip. Her smile faltered for a moment when she spotted me.

I crossed the room and took Drake out of her arms. “Hey, baby.”

He started crying, like he did every day, and reached for Jill.

Like she had done to me this morning, I twisted and pulled him out of her reach when she tried to touch his hand.

“I’d prefer it if Drake wasn’t taken out of this building.” I walked him to his car seat and put him in, working the straps as fast as my fingers would move.

“Oh, okay,” Jill said. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. We were just next door.”

I didn’t trust myself to speak another word, so as Drake fussed, I clicked his buckle, looped the diaper bag over my shoulder and walked out the door.

The moment his seat was clicked into its base and I slid behind the wheel, my phone rang.