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“I don’t want to stay here by myself,” she said.
“Okay,” he confirmed. “To the store we go.” And then he stopped. “When we get back, we’ll fill Buster in. He’ll be sleeping in the bunkhouse.”
“Buster still works for your family ranch?” she asked.
“That’s right,” he confirmed. He was also thinking it would be good to have another set of eyes around. Someone who could keep an eye out for danger. There were no security alarms in his parents’ home, so all they had to work with would be door locks. He was seeing how easily the bastard targeting Reese was able to move through the hospital. It wasn’t exactly reassuring how stealthy this guy could be.
“I’d love to see him and say hello,” she said. And then she seemed to think better of it. “Unless he doesn’t want to see me again.”
“He’ll be happy you turned up,” he said. He held back the part about how many times Buster had asked when Reese was coming around again, or if Darren had called her to let her know how he felt before she got mixed up with his uncle.
Darren had been stubborn back then, digging his heels in. Some might say little had changed, but he would argue differently. Now that the girls were here, he’d learned to relax and cut back on his stubborn side. Especially as they started having ideas of their own, like when they wanted to be held and when they wanted to walk. It seemed the minute they learned they could move across the room without his help, they’d decided to do things on their own. Was it a sign of what was to come in the future? Probably. As much as he wanted to bring up strong young ladies, a piece of his heart would always want them to need their daddy.
By the time Darren drove them to the store and back, another hour had passed. Reese napped on the way. When he pulled up next to the farmhouse where he’d grown up, he parked the SUV and then touched her arm.
“Hey, we’re here,” he said quietly.
“Home?” Reese asked in a sleepy voice that tugged at his heart. Letting that voice penetrate the walls he’d built around his heart to survive would be just plain foolish of him. Determined not to make the same mistake twice, he shelved his emotions.
“We’re at the farmhouse,” he said, thinking how weird it was going to be to call this place home. Then again, he was warming up to the idea of his children growing up here. Being around their grandmother and grandfather’s things was the next best thing to being around them.
“Okay,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Right. Are you going to see Buster?”
“I’ll have him swing by,” he said. “Looks like you need your rest.”
“I’m good,” she promised.
“You’ve been through a lot, Reese,” he reasoned. “You’re tired and need sleep. I’ll be right here.”
“But Tandra was the most recent and she might be out there in danger,” she argued. “What if we can save her?”
Darren looked at Reese. “I’ll make calls. It will be faster to do it that way, anyway. We won’t lose time driving around.”
Reese looked like she was about to put up an argument.
“I have this throwaway and I’ll find numbers from the internet,” he said. There was a desktop computer in the office that he could use.
She nodded.
He exited the driver’s side and moved around the front of the SUV, then opened the door for her and helped her out.
“This place brings back a lot of memories,” she said with a small smile.
“Sure does,” he agreed. This was also the place where his heart had been shattered to bits, but he was certain she wasn’t talking about that particular memory.
Bringing her here might be a mistake but he was short on options. Making those calls might bring answers.
Chapter Sixteen
Reese walked inside the house on her own, but her legs felt like they were made of rubber bands instead of bone. “I can’t wait to get out of these clothes. Is there anything else I can wear?”
Darren nodded. He’d become quiet and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind. Being back in this house with him brought back a flood of memories. They were good. They reminded her of why she’d fallen for Darren. Maybe that was the reason he looked so grim. Maybe he didn’t want any of those memories.
Darren excused himself and returned holding out what looked like a complete outfit. “You left these here once when we fell into the pond.”
“I wondered where these warm-ups went,” she said. “These were my favorites.” Thank the stars for the small miracle of a sports bra and underwear with the offering.
“You always kept them in your backpack on Fridays for when you came over and then we fell into that stagnant water out on the property, so we threw them into the washer and forgot about them,” he said.
