head. “Just having you hold me helps,” I whispered.
His lips brushed over my temple. “You said you’re hungry?” I nodded. “I ordered your favorites. The pizza has pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, and green olives. There’s honey barbecue wings, breadsticks, and I got that brownie-cookie thing you like.”
Even though my stomach grumbled again, I only snuggled closer to him. “I’ll eat in a minute. For the moment, I just want to sit right here and be sad a little longer.”
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
Twelve
River
By noon the next day, I was tired of lying around doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself and longing for what I’d lost.
I’d promised Maverick I wouldn’t go to school, but I hadn’t said anything about work. While he snored away in our bed, I showered and got ready for the day. But when I grabbed my things to head out the door, I realized I had no way of getting to work on my own.
Dad hadn’t dropped my car off yet like he’d said he would, and I wasn’t going to go ask him for it. I had some savings, and I could put a down payment on a vehicle if I needed to. I didn’t want anything from my father, especially if he was going to be an asshole about Maverick.
But he’d said he was going to let me have the car the day before. Muttering a curse under my breath, I grabbed my cell phone and realized I hadn’t turned it back on. As soon as it lit up, I saw a text from my mom telling me to call her because she needed to talk to me ASAP.
Frowning, I hit connect without hesitating.
“Where are you?” she demanded, sounding out of breath.
“At Maverick’s,” I told her. “Kind of hard for me to go anywhere right now without a car.”
“He still hasn’t dropped it off?” she growled. “I’m going to kill him when I get home.”
“It’s fine,” I tried to soothe. “I’ll just buy my own car. I have savings, and the money Grandpa Hank put in my trust fund will be mine soon.”
“You’re keeping the car we bought for you,” she argued. “Stop trying to be all adult and shut up for a second, little girl.”
Her tone was full of sass, and I found myself fighting a grin. “Okay. What’s up?”
“I think Delaney might have traveled up this way. I don’t know if she’s looking for me, or if she’s just running scared from that motherfucker—” She broke off abruptly and inhaled sharply. “I’ve never wanted to put a bullet in someone more than this guy, River.”
The quaver in her voice had me sitting up straighter. My mom wasn’t a crier. I could count the times I’d seen her shed a tear on one hand with fingers to spare. That she was fighting tears now told me just how frayed her emotions were over the need to find her niece.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom,” I promised. “We’ll find her.”
“I told you I don’t want you pulled into this. Tony is dangerous. He’s already got men out looking for Delaney.”
I rolled my eyes, thankful she couldn’t see me. “Fine. You will find her. You and Aunt Raven,” I amended.
“I know I’ll find her. I just hope I can do so before Tony does.” She blew out a frustrated sigh. “All right, enough of my pity party. Colt said you weren’t feeling well. Is it that stomach bug going around?”
My hand automatically went to my belly. “Not really,” I whispered, fighting the quaver in my own voice now.
The silence that filled my ear was loud as she tried to decipher what that meant. “Okay, little girl. I’m going to need more information than that,” she muttered after a moment. “Did you have a bug or not?”
“Mom,” I whispered, blinking back tears. “I…”
“River, baby, what’s wrong?” she whispered back.
“I…” I clenched my eyes closed. “I had a miscarriage.”
“Ah, honey. I’m so sorry.” There was more than a quaver in her voice now. I heard her sniffling, and when she spoke again, her voice was just as choked as mine. “I…I had a miscarriage before we got pregnant with you, so I know you’re hurting right now, my baby.”
“I-I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not something we talk about.” I heard her blow her nose. “It took a lot out of me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to try for another baby because I was