Page 56 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“I do.” I had overdue responsibilities waiting for me at home. “But I’ll be back.”

Thea stiffened.

The water was cold on my toes, my skin practically white beneath the surface, but not nearly as icy as the shoulder at my side.

What could I say that would convince Thea I’d be back? That I wouldn’t abandon Charlie? Or her?

Nothing.

My words wouldn’t mean anything to Thea. I’d have to prove it. I’d crush Thea’s doubts by coming back and showing her that Charlie was a priority.

“I’ll be back, Thea.” I inched closer, brushing my jeans against hers. “I promise.”

With the hand between us, I held out my pinky. She looked at it for a minute before curling her own around mine. The moment we touched, a shiver rolled down her spine. The heat between us flared, thawing her a bit.

She’d been trying to keep her distance and block me out, but her body betrayed her silence.

Thea said so much without words. She could make the best fuck off face I’d ever seen. When she was behind the bar, she held her shoulders and walked with a surety that made her the most powerful person in the room. But it was her softer movements, the subtle ones that most people missed, that made me want to pull her into my arms and hold her tight.

I loved the way her neck would tilt to the right whenever she talked about Charlie or Hazel. She’d take a long breath whenever I was close because she liked my cologne. I loved the times when I’d catch her studying me and she wouldn’t look away.

Like now, with our pinkies locked. She held my gaze without wavering.

Soon she’d see.

I wasn’t just coming back for Charlie, but for her too.

Thea stirred feelings deeper than I’d ever had for another woman, and we’d only been together for a week. I’d prove to them both that I was a new constant. They’d see that I was the missing piece to their family.

Then maybe one day soon, we could actually be a family. I could sweep them both away from here and build them the life of their dreams.

He’d left.

I’d known it would happen, but that hadn’t made it any easier.

Logan had come here and made us fall in love with him—just a little—and then he’d left.

It had been two weeks since he’d sat with me on the dock and promised to return. It had taken all fourteen days for Charlie to finally get back to herself again.

As I’d expected, the day Logan had flown to New York had been the hardest. She’d been sad and quiet all day, basically sequestering herself to her room. She hadn’t even wanted to play in her fort.

I’d known that day would be rough.

What I hadn’t expected was for her sullen attitude and sad eyes to last so long. She did okay during the day, but every evening, after Logan would call, she’d get this lost look on her face that not even her favorite bedtime stories could erase.

She missed him. And like me, she feared he wouldn’t keep his promise and be here for her birthday.

My childhood had been full of disappointment. I didn’t want that for Charlie. I didn’t want her to know that people let you down more often than not and that counting on others was usually pointless.

She didn’t need to learn those lessons quite yet. I wanted her to grow up happy and face life’s hard truths when she was older. When she was more equipped to handle heartbreak.

“That’s a serious look on your face.”

I looked over my shoulder at Hazel as she stepped out onto the porch. “Just thinking.”

“About Logan?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “He missed his phone call with her tonight.”