see how Sidonie is with you and Desi. I’d like Summer to spend time with her baby sister. There’s plenty for you to do in Elko. And if you feel as if you need to be back in Shasta, two days over the weekend is easier for me than five during the week.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” she says, and I sense she wants someone to tell her what to do. “Desi might not want to be away from her dog for so long.”
Frowning, I sit back and study Lana. “Do you not want to spend so much time with us?”
Lana’s expression falls, and she instantly looks as if I’ve kicked her in the heart. “I missed you all week.”
Losing my frown, I reach over and take her hand. “I want you, Lana. I like having you in my house. I feel good knowing my daughter is upstairs. I think we’d all be happier if you were here more. Like I said, I’d have you move in completely if you were willing, but I understand you might not be there. Shasta is your home. It’s where your family lives. I get that, but I want you here.”
“What about your sisters?”
“What about them?”
“I didn’t think they liked me.”
“They’re not the people you’ll be living with. Me and the girls are the only ones who matter. Summer is playing her cool-kid shit for now, but Sidonie is fucking nuts about you. She might even be crazier over Desi. You’re not blind. You know Sidonie has trouble with people. The way she’s warmed up to you and Desi is something my baby has trouble doing.”
Leaning back, I add, “I don’t know if I’d give you up even if the girls weren’t on board, to be fucking honest. I don’t feel about women like I feel about you. This is bigger than you giving me a kid. I want you in my life. So if the girls weren’t okay with that, I’d find a way to make them okay with it. But they are, so I certainly don’t give a shit if my sisters are fans.”
Lana studies my face while hers goes frustratingly emotionless.
“You think it’s too soon,” I say when she gets stuck with that expression.
“No. Max and River happened fast. I just wasn’t expecting you to act this way. I kept telling myself to play things cool. Now I don’t know how to react.”
“Just do what you feel.”
Lana stands up and steps closer to me. Then her lips are on mine. Her fingers sink into my hair as my hands wrap around her waist. Once she’s on my lap, I hold her close and decide I’m keeping Lana.
My history with Shasta isn’t connected to her. I can distrust the town and the Reapers without losing Lana. I’m ready to be all-in with this woman.
The smile she gives me is something I want to see for the rest of my life. Lana can take her time getting used to Elko and me. I’ll be as patient as she needs, but I already see my honey when I look in her eyes.
LANA
I could love Bronco. I’ve felt that certainty in my gut since he stopped me in the middle of the lap dance and just held my gaze. It was as if he saw me in a way no one ever had. Then he gave me a soft smile, and I felt accepted completely. That’s why I was willing to break the rules and hook up with him in my SUV. Bronco owned my heart right then, and I was ready to beg for any scrap of attention afterward.
Now I’m waking up in his beautiful house, in his comfy bed, next to his sexy body, and I have an entire day to exist in his life. I haven’t gone swimming in years. There was a pool at the last trailer park. After a while, though, it was always dirty, and I stopped taking Desi there.
Now my baby dances around in her sunset gradient one-piece as Sidonie spins in her pink rainbow suit. I cover them with sunscreen while Bronco holds Carina and takes calls.
“Daddy’s working,” Sidonie says and strokes the braid in my hair. “He is the boss of all the club.”
“Your daddy is smart,” I say, giving her freckled nose a little extra sunscreen. “Now, Sidonie, I want you to remember how Desi is still learning to swim. She hasn’t been in a pool since she was five or six. Be patient,