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She nodded against my chest.
“I’m handling Irish’s things. They will all be stored for you when you’re ready to go through them. Her car is being brought here, outstanding bills have been paid, her lease has been closed, and the money she had in the bank is being transferred to a savings account in your name. I don’t want you to worry about anything.”
Another sob shook her body, and I tightened my hold on her. I had never felt so fucking helpless in my life. I couldn’t fix this, and I was saying the wrong damn things. I hadn’t meant to make her cry. I had been trying to ease her mind.
“Thank you,” she choked out.
“You’re welcome,” I told her, afraid I’d say the wrong thing if I said more.
She sniffled, then let my shirt go as she stepped back from me. Her wet lashes were spiky as she stared up at me. “I’ll go through my stuff and get changed. Do I keep them in boxes? Or am I supposed to put them somewhere?”
“The room is yours. Closet, dresser—it’s all empty. Unpack, rest, do what you feel like doing. Don’t push yourself. No one expects anything from you. We just want you to be safe and comfortable.”
She wiped at her tears and nodded. “Okay,” she whispered.
“I’m going to be downstairs in the office. I have business to handle, but if you need me, come get me.” I paused, realizing I was doing it again. Making her my responsibility. “Or Trinity. You can always get her if you need something.”
Another nod.
Turning, I left her in the room, closing the door behind me.
Kye was in the hallway, waiting on me. He saw my face and winced. “She’s not doing so good, huh?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Poor kid,” he muttered.
I was going to let him continue to think of her as a kid. Maybe he’d get that in his head before he actually laid eyes on her. The one night he had seen her, it was dark; he’d been too far away, and I’d blocked his view. I had referred to her as young and left it at that.
“Yeah,” I agreed and headed for the stairs. “Poor kid.”
Ten
Aspen
Unpacking my things took me most of the afternoon. Trinity brought me up a chicken salad sandwich and grapes for lunch. She sat and talked with me for a few minutes before leaving me to finish my task. Being alone helped. I hadn’t been given time to process everything. It had all happened so quickly.
Once I finished and broke down all the boxes to take downstairs, I was tired, so I lay down. When my eyes opened again, the sun was low in the sky, and I knew I had been asleep for a couple of hours. I hoped no one had needed me or come to the door and thought I was ignoring them. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.
Standing, I picked up the T-shirt and sweatpants that belonged to Levi. I needed to return them to him. Although the shirt smelled like him, and I was reluctant to let it go. I liked having something that smelled like him.
Opening the door, I stepped out into the hallway, seeing Levi’s door was open. I peeked inside, but he wasn’t there. I quickly placed the items on his bed, then left his room to go back to mine and get the boxes.
When I reached the stairs, I heard voices somewhere in the house. The door at the bottom of the stairs to the right opened, startling me. I dropped two of the flat boxes, and they tumbled the rest of the way down.
“Shit, I’ll get those. You don’t have to carry them,” an unfamiliar male voice said.
I looked over the top of the stack of boxes still in my hands to see a blond guy I’d not seen before coming toward me.
“Here, give those to me.” He took the load in my hands away and then gave me a crooked grin.
My eyes went to the tattoos on his arms, and there was even one on his hand.
When my gaze lifted to meet his eyes, I noticed he wasn’t looking at my face, but rather scanning my body. It made me feel self-conscious, and I wrapped my arms around my waist.
His eyes darted back to my face. “So, you’re Aspen?” he asked.
I nodded my head.
