Page 13 of Take My Kiss
“He didn’t wanna be a parent, so I never put him on her birth certificate. He left before she was born. Haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
I truly know how to pick ’em.Which is why up until last year, I hadn’t been with a man.
Sheriff Wagner nods, jotting everything down. “Just in case, write down their names and their last known addresses.” He hands me his pad. “I’ll get someone to check ’em out so we can mark ’em off the list.”
“Sure.” I take his pen when he holds it out.
When I give it back, he reads it before pocketing it. “I’ll have Wendy email you the incident report for your records. When you have it, send me your temp address, and I’ll get a deputy to stake out the area if it’s local.”
“Will do.”
I lead him to the door after he says he has everything he needs. The rest of the ranch hands follow, eager to get back to bed since they wake up early, but at least they’re informed now and can be on the lookout.
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Please be safe, okay?”
I nod once.
Once he’s gone, I check on Raven and the kids.
“We gotta leave, but I dunno where we’re gonna go.”
“You can stay with Mattie and me. Get a couple air mattresses and we can have a slumber party!”
I chuckle at her attempt to cheer me up. “I’m not puttin’ y’all in danger too. It wouldn’t be safe. Plus, Sasha would hate the extra kids.”
Mattie’s grumpy old dog isn’t a fan of little ones.
“Nah, she’d be fine.”
“Wilder’s gonna figure somethin’ out for us. I just hate having to uproot the kids again. Not sure I’ll even feel safe when we can return.”
“They’re gonna find who’s doin’ this. I can feel it.”
“Let’s hope so…” Or we’ll be on the run until they do.
I manage to get a couple hours of sleep before Wilder returns in the morning with Delilah and coffee.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come last night. The twins were havin’ their own little party in their rooms. I don’t think anyone on this ranch got any sleep.”
Their kids are nine months old, so they’re waking up twice as often to feed and change them, which makes me feel worse about taking Wilder away.
“Oh, stop it. I feel guilty callin’ as late as I did.”
“Nah, never worry when it comes to your safety.” Delilah hugs me. “But I’m here now to help y’all pack. The twins are at daycare, so we can drive y’all up there.”
“Wait, where?” I glance between her and Wilder.
“Willow Branch Mountain,” he replies, and my heart sinks. “My cousin has room for three and said ya can stay at the resort for as long as y’all need.”
Oh God,no.
I’m too chicken shit to ask which cousin, but knowing my bad luck, it’ll be the one I don’t want to face.
“That far? Are you sure that’s necessary? What ’bout my job?”
“We’re gonna give you paid vacation, so don’t stress ’bout that. I talked with the sheriff this mornin’, and we’re gonna use your car as bait to see if we can catch him followin’ it or parkin’ nearby. Maybe get a picture of him or at least his license plates.”
