hearing anything, decided it must have been the moonlight casting shadows. Aiden walked into the kitchen, feeling like he had a massive hangover. Just yesterday, he’d woken up in this empty house, thinking his day would be like any other. Now…now his life was heading in an entirely different direction.
His plan was to keep working, stay alone, and build his ranch. No complications. Him being an absentee dad for all these years was a giant complication. But he would be a dad to that kid, even if it meant taking time away from work to get him settled. If it meant he needed to figure out how to be a dad and make up for all the time he’d lost. How to make his son trust him. He didn’t even know if that was possible this late in the game.
Aiden stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with Morris, who was currently sprawled across the counter, his oversize orange body stretched as long as possible, one of his legs dangling over the edge. He was clearly at home here, his bushy tail flicking up and down slowly as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Must be nice.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?” he asked, heading to the coffeemaker.
Morris lifted his head, clearly unimpressed, his gaze following Aiden as he moved across the kitchen. Aiden stood at the counter, staring out at the full moon lingering in the early-morning sky, where it swaddled the mountains in a hazy fog until it met the land. His land. Acres of property, which his dad had told him he’d never be able to afford. But he had, because he’d turned that bar around and made it ridiculously profitable.
There are people who are doctors, and there are people like us. You’re not smart like Logan, so get it out of your head and be grateful you don’t have to worry about college or any of that, because you’ll inherit this bar. I hope you’re not stupid enough to run it into the ground and ruin it like you ruined our family.
Aiden pushed that memory off, disturbed that his dad’s voice kept popping into his head. He’d been great at compartmentalizing, especially after his dad died. But now… Maybe the idea that he might be a father and had left his kid without a dad for over fifteen years made him realize his dad had been right about him—because Aiden had already ruined another family.
Or maybe it was hearing that Janie was studying to be a vet. That she’d taken in his kid and still managed to go to school, and Aiden had given up that dream. What was his excuse?
He stared out the window as the smell of coffee filled the kitchen. It wasn’t quite spring yet, the ground still hard and brown from the cold winter. They would probably be in for at least another snowstorm or two before they could count on warmer weather. But soon, winter would pass, would bleed into spring like it always did, exactly the same as every year—except this one might be completely different.
He poured himself a glass of water and downed half of it before setting it on the counter and opting for coffee. Morris yawned, stretched out his paw, and tipped over Aiden’s glass of water. Aiden caught it before it could hit the ground and shatter, but water splashed all over him. “What the hell, Morris?”
Morris just looked at him, nonplussed, and hopped off the counter. He’d done it on purpose. Even their cat didn’t like him.
Aiden tensed at the sound of someone whispering. He quietly left the kitchen and spotted Morris jumping on the couch and Janie sitting up. “Did I wake you?”
He heard a sigh, and then the table lamp turned on. Janie was sitting up, wrapped in a blanket, a tangle of gorgeous, shiny hair around her head. She snatched her glasses from the end table and put them on. “Couldn’t sleep, actually.”
Her gaze flickered over him, and then her face turned red. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt because he didn’t think he’d see anyone and he was used to being the only person in the house. His plan had been to take his coffee back to his room.
“I, uh, didn’t think you’d be awake. I’m just going to go grab a shirt. Coffee is brewing if you want some,” he said over his shoulder, heading back to his room, trying to brush off the strange sense of