“Hi, Daddy,” she said, so close to managing her precious grin.
I ran my thumb over her squished-up brow, my voice so low. “Hey, Sweet Pea. How are you feeling?”
“My’s froat hurts.”
Anger pulsed, but I tucked it down.
“I know, baby. Uncle Kale is working on fixing you up so you’re good as new. Better than new. You just need to get lots of rest, okay?”
She barely nodded, her brown eyes wide in the muted light. I hated that I saw fear in them. That she’d been subjected to evil and greed. I kept brushing my thumb over her brow, letting her know I was there, that I wasn’t going anywhere.
Finally, she broke the silence, her words the barest whisper. “Daddy, I gots a secret.”
My heart fisted, threatened to fail, terrified of what she might say. Of what she might have experienced during the short time Janel had her.
Couldn’t stomach it, and honestly, I was a little worried about what I might do. What I already wanted to do. But I held all that back, because my daughter was the most important thing, not the rage boiling inside me. “What, baby? You can tell Daddy anything.”
She hesitated, like what she was going to say might get her into trouble. “I wants Rynna to be my mommy. Nots Janel.”
I choked over a quieted laugh, blinking at my sweet girl and wondering how I’d managed to get so lucky.
Edging forward, I pressed a kiss to her temple before I pulled back to meet those wide, trusting eyes. “How about we don’t keep it a secret? I say we tell the whole world.”
I’d been terrified of falling in love. Of losing someone else. Knowing there was no place inside me left to lose. Those vacancies went too deep.
But Rynna.
She filled them. Saved my world and gave me back my heart.
Rynna.
Fucking Rynna.
Little Thief.
43
Rynna
The door creaked open. I rolled my head that direction and tried to keep the tears out of my eyes when I found who was standing there. But I couldn’t. They escaped, hot rivers streaking down my face.
“Hey . . . you’re awake.” His voice was a murmur, cautious and low. Still, the magnitude of him hit me like a flashflood. Overpowering. Overwhelming.
“Frankie?” Her name felt like fire where it grated from my raw, blistered throat.
Fear and anxiety and hope.
The second I’d awoken, I’d begged the nurse for an update, for her to tell me that she was okay, for any news.
Because the last thing I remembered was Rex standing over the two of us while I’d held on to Frankie.
Instead of an answer, she’d promised me she would let them know I was awake so someone could come talk to me.
For a beat, he stared at me, his lip trembling while that powerful gaze bore into me. Then he smiled. This slow, amazed, adoring smile. “Because of you, Rynna. Because of you, Frankie’s going to be just fine.”
More tears fell. But these were pure, unbridled relief. I released them as if I were pouring them into the heavens. Gratitude for the prayers I’d been granted.
Rex angled the rest of the way into the room, footsteps eating up the floor, the bed shifting when he gingerly eased down at my side. He brushed back the matted hair stuck to my forehead, voice cracking when he repeated, “She’s okay . . . because of you.”
All the turmoil I’d held back suddenly came spilling out.
“I should have told you from the beginning. If I had, this never would have happened. I’m so sorry.”
Rex gave a harsh shake of his head, big hand cupping my cheek. “Don’t you dare apologize, Rynna. I could accuse myself since I should have known the whole time Janel was no good. That only a fool wouldn’t have known she’d been stealing from me from day one. Our relationship, our daughter, nothing but a ploy for her to get close to me. To gain access to my accounts so she and Aaron could embed themselves deeper into my life.”
His hold tightened on my face. “But all the blame? It’s on them. What they did to both of us is on them. They’re the ones who are guilty, and they’re going to be paying for it for the rest of their lives.”
“Did they catch them?” My voice quivered.
He gave a slight nod. “Twenty miles out of town. Cargo area loaded down with cash that most definitely didn’t belong to them. Apparently, there was a tape, too, one that implicated Janel in the original embezzlement charges that Aaron went down for.”
Tone laced with the significance, Rex continued carefully, “The video was from right before Janel left and was recorded at Pepper’s, Rynna . . . in the back office. Both she and Aaron were there.”
His statement hovered in the room. Permeating. Seeping into my consciousness.
Realization settled slow. “My gramma knew,” I finally said.
He nodded. “Yeah, I think she did. Now that I got a few more details, everything makes sense. The fact your grandma was right there the day Janel was driving away, shaken up, supporting me with the blow of both Janel leaving and finding Missy on the street. I think your grandma might have scared her away, probably why Janel came back after she heard she passed.”
Sorrow bloomed, weaving through that hollow space, the loss of my gramma a wound I was sure would never go away. But in it was something sweet and tender and gentle. Knowing. Just like my gramma had always been.
Rex’s jaw ticked. “I just . . . I’m not even sure I want to know what happened that day. Leading up to that moment. And even though it destroyed me at the time, the only thing I’m doing right now is thanking your grandma for everything she did. For protecting my daughter. I might not know exactly what happened, but after Janel tried to take Frankie tonight? Pretty sure I would have lost my daughter a long time ago if it wasn’t for your grandma.”
Adoration pulled at the corner of his mouth. “All the Dayne women, saving my little girl. Both coming into our lives exactly when we needed you.”
And that spot inside? It glowed. Warmth and light.
A soft smile fluttered at my mouth, and I shifted, ignoring the pain that burned hot on my left arm. “Maybe my gramma knew it all along, Rex. Maybe she knew it was supposed to be us. Maybe that’s why she was so insistent I come back here. She had a way of seeing things long before they happened.”
He smoothed his hand over the side of my head. Comforting. Soothing. I wanted to fall into his touch. Forever disappear. “You think she knew you were meant for me?”
My smile was timid, and I gave a slight nod. “Gramma always said we’d just know. That it’d be magic when it happened. Maybe she felt that magic long before either of us could.”
“It is magic, Rynna. Frankie’s here. You’re here. We’re together. And that’s all that matters.”
As soon as he said it, he winced, and a hard gush of air left his lungs. “I’m so sorry, Rynna. About the restaurant. So goddamned sorry.”
Reaching up, I wrapped a hand around his wrist, brought his palm to my mouth and kissed him there before I tugged it flat against my beating heart. “I would have given up anything to save her, Rex. Anything. The restaurant. My heart. My life.”
I clutched him a little tighter. “And I thought I was going to. I thought both of our lives were slipping away. And then you were there. Saving me. Saving Frankie.”
His expression tightened, almost grim in its emphasis. “Maybe that’s what being a family is all about. I’ve always been terrified of losing Frankie. Knowing I would never survive that kind of loss. When it became a possibility—losing either of you—I would have sacrificed everything. Anything. Sold my soul. Lost my life. And you . . . you, Little Thief . . .”
Thumb brushing across my cheek, his head angled to the side. Those sage eyes speared me, finding their way to my soul.
“You saved my daughter, Rynna.” He blinked at me, as if he were struggling for the right thing to say. “I knew the moment I met you that you were different. I fought it and fought it while you just continued
to fight for me. To fight for us. But every time our paths crossed, I knew my life changed a little more. Truth is, I was terrified to take the chance. But like you said, it’s all about taking the right ones.”
He edged in, so close that our noses brushed and his breaths became mine. “You and Frankie? You were the best chances I ever took. And I was terrified both times. But if something doesn’t scare you? Maybe it’s not important enough. You are my life. You and Frankie are what it means to be a family. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
My heart went wild, flailing against its boundaries.
He dipped in and pressed his lips to mine. So sweet. Before he pulled back, pinning me with that mesmerizing stare. “I love you, Rynna Dayne. I love you so much, and I’m not ever going to let you go.”
Love. Love. Love.
It surged and spread and flowed. Filling every crevice. Every void. And my heart. I think maybe it did manage to split in two. Held in the hands of two people. Two people who’d become my center. My focus. Etching themselves into my being.
Mounting Rex Gunner’s walls had seemed impossible. Those towering obstacles insurmountable.
Impenetrable and impossible.
But my gramma had always told me that life was just one long string of possibilities.
That chances were worth taking.
And this man and his baby girl? They were worth every single one.
The Epilogues
Epilogue One – Rex Gunner
“Are your eyes closed?” I asked, unable to keep from peeking over at her. At the incredible woman who rode in the front seat of my truck.
Just looking at her had every inch of me tightening.
In need.
In want.
In this mad kind of love.
She was beautiful.
So damned beautiful she was hard to look at. Rynna was the kind of beauty that shined and blinded and radiated. Inside and out. Flush with goodness and grace. That body still my greatest temptation.
Though, I had zero qualms about giving in.
“Yes. And you put this blindfold on me.” Rynna pointed at the strip of purple fabric, like I wasn’t already well aware it was there.
I suppressed a chuckle while she continued her little rant.
“Seriously, I’m not sure what you think I’m going to see because it’s pitch black in here.” Rynna almost whined, all of it done behind the most brilliant smile, the girl biting at her lip, totally failing at trying to keep her excitement contained. “And I’m pretty sure you’ve been driving in circles, trying to throw me off. Or get me sick. There’s that.”
But she was grinning so wide that I knew she was loving this every bit as much as me.
“Hold tight, baby. Your surprise is right around the corner.”
I eased the truck into a parking spot and killed the engine. I leaned across the cab, enjoying the way she inhaled sharply when I got close to her face, the way a shiver rolled down her spine when I leaned around her and gently untied the purple silk fabric from her eyes.
Slowly, I eased it back. The girl blinked, reoriented herself, needing time to grab on to her senses. Nothing made me happier than the fact when she did, she was looking directly at me.
I’d become her focal point. Just the same as she’d become mine.
“Hey,” she murmured, her expression soft.
“Hi, beautiful.” For a few seconds, we floated on the moment, just loving being together. Then I grinned and angled my head, urging her attention out the windshield.
She laughed. Laughed loud before she looked back at me like I’d lost my mind.
Truth was, the only thing I’d lost was my heart.
“You brought me to Pepper’s? After I was here all day, slaving away? Tell me we aren’t here for me to bake you a pie.” Every word that fell from her mouth was playful, filled with a tease.
A chuckle rumbled free. “Wouldn’t dream of it, baby. Come on.” I unlatched the door, hopped out, and jogged around to her side. I was already there, helping her down when she opened her door. I threaded our fingers, brought her hand to my lips, brushed them across her knuckles. “Tonight’s all about me taking care of you.”
Six months had passed since the fire.
This day could have been somber.
But no.
Rynna and I? We were celebrating.
I led her across the sidewalk to the door, and she giggled, struggling to keep up with my long strides in her heels. I was quick to insert my key, unlock it. I pulled it open a fraction and stood in the middle of it, turning around to face the girl who’d changed everything.
The one who’d knocked free all the bitter, broken pieces of my heart and found what was hiding underneath.
“This building, Rynna . . . this building has come to mean so much. That fire—” My throat grew thick and moisture gathered in Rynna’s eyes, her gaze so intent as she stared back at me. “You and I, we almost lost everything in that fire. This building. Your dreams. Frankie. Each other.” Each word that fell from my mouth came more intense with each one that passed.
That energy lapped, blazing to life. Inciting that never-ending desire.
“But from those ashes rose the greatest hope. My greatest joy.”
I’d never thought I’d truly love a woman again after I’d lost Sydney. But Rynna changed all of that. Rekindled places in me I’d thought had gone forever dormant. Even though I hadn’t told Ollie yet, I would. I was no longer afraid of him hating me, I was just worried that I’d bring him more pain.
But Rynna and I had also learned that keeping those kind of secrets only hurt us more in the end.
I gathered both her hands in mine, pulling her inside, quick to lock the door behind us.
It was dark, all except for the hurricane lamp I’d placed on a blanket on the floor in the middle of the room. Beside it was a bucket, chilling our champagne. It was all set up right where all the new booths would be installed next week. This afternoon, me and my crew had raced in after Rynna left and hung pictures on the walls.
They were pictures I’d had enlarged, all in black and white, and set in giant frames.
They were images of Rynna’s grandmother in this place, serving her pies, baking in the back, working the register, and making customers smile where they sat at the counter. The old pictures had been in a box in Rynna’s bedroom closet, waiting to be reclaimed. To be given a voice.
Overwhelmed, Rynna looked around. Tears glided down her cheeks, glistening in the faint electric light that danced in the lamp.
“Rex,” she whispered, biting down on her lip, trying not to cry. “This is amazing.”
I pulled her a little farther into the room. “Nothing has made me happier than giving this building back to you, Rynna. There’s been no greater honor than resurrecting each brick. And I’ve never been prouder than being at your side while you’ve brought this place back to life.”
Another two steps, and her chest was heaving while my heart was running wild, blood a thunder in my veins. “Six months ago, we could have lost it all, and instead, we were given everything. We were given another chance.”
I blinked at her. Overcome by emotion. By feeling. “You came into our lives, Rynna, and you made everything better. I was filled with so much fear and hate, and you taught me how to love again. You showed my daughter what it is really like to be loved by a mother. You gave us a joy unlike anything we’ve ever known. I see you with her—”
I gulped around immensity of it. Rynna and my little girl. The way it felt when Frankie called her Mommy. The way Rynna adored her with all her soul.
I squeezed Rynna’s hands. “I see you with her, and every single thing in my world is right. Because you and Frankie, the two of you are my world. My entire world, and I don’t ever want to be without you.”
I dropped to a knee and shock jetted from Rynna’s mouth.
Tears came in a free fall, the wet streaks doing nothing but illuminating that gorgeous face.
&nb
sp; I pulled the ring from my pocket and held it up between us, my hand trembling while I offered this girl all of me. “Marry me, Rynna Dayne. I want to give you all my days. My heart and my life. Tell me, you’re always going to be mine.”
A tiny cry erupted from her, and she stood there staring down at me for the longest time, the smile lighting her mouth soft and soggy and so goddamned sweet. “And you . . . you gave me everything, Rex Gunner. My dreams. My hopes. A little girl to call my own. You and Frankie, you are the parts of me I hadn’t known I was missing. Both of you, you are my heart and my life. And I promise you, I will always be yours.”
Overcome by emotion, blinking back my own tears, I slid that ring on her finger, and Rynna dropped to her knees on the blanket in front of me. Those eyes searched me, flitting all over my face. “I knew today was a special day, and I’ve been saving you a surprise of my own.”
I cupped her face, tracing my thumb along the curve of her jaw. Just needing to touch her. “You’ve got a surprise for me, huh? Not sure I need anything but what you’ve already given me.”
Her eyes fluttered, and her head dropped, and she set both her hands on her belly. Then she peeked up at me with a timid smile, wearing eternity on her face.
My eternity.
My forever.
My second chance.
I pressed my hands over hers, hardly able to speak. “You telling me I’m lucky enough that you’re going to make me a daddy again, too?”
Quickly, she nodded. “I know, I know it’s soon, but you and I, we haven’t exactly been careful all this time . . . and . . . and . . . oh God, Rex, I’m so happy. This baby makes me so happy.”
She was rambling. Nervous. Excited.
Wondering how I’d react.
Crazy thing was, we’d never had this conversation, but all along I’d been taking that chance with her.
I dropped my forehead to hers, her hair wound through my fingers, our noses touching as I murmured, “Nothing could make me happier than growing this family with you. I’m so happy, Rynna. So goddamned happy. You’re my second chance, Rynna, and I’m not afraid of what this life will bring.”
Fight for Me: The Complete Collection Page 32