Page 31 of Forsaken Hearts
“Can I hold the flashlight again?”
“You don’t think I’m strong enough to carry my own gear?”
“Nope!”
Pope issued a quiet huff of amusement through his nose.
Summer stepped out onto the porch, and every calm thought in his head scattered like a unit taking incoming fire.
Hell. She wore jeans and a long-sleeved top now, her hair loose around her shoulders, and he felt every bit as off-balance as he had the first night she walked into his orbit at the Stockyard.
Ben darted toward her with both hands wrapped around the flashlight. “We got the spy cameras working!”
“Did you?” Amusement rang in her voice, and Pope couldn’t stop himself from stealing a look at her face to see it tinting her beautiful features.
“Yep. I helped.” Ben pointed the light right at Pope, blinding him.
Summer laughed and set a hand on the light, lowering it from his eyes. “Watch where you’re shining that, buddy.”
He blinked to clear the spots from his eyes but his mind worked over what she’d just called her son.Buddy. He’d called Ben that out of instinct, but now he wondered if he’d ever heard her say it.
The tender, motherly smile she gave her son vanished when she lifted her gaze to Pope. The look on her face wasn’t cold.
It was pained.
“Why don’t you go inside and eat your dinner? Your plate is on the table.”
He ran inside, yelling about aliens and surveillance footage, and Summer crossed the porch to Pope.
The closer she got, the harder his heart slammed against his ribs. After months apart, his body still reacted the same way.
She stopped close enough that he could smell her shampoo. Then she leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Please don’t do this.”
Pope went still.
“Don’t let him get attached to you.”
The words slammed even harder than his heart. For a beat, he just stared at her as understanding washed over him. She wasn’t being cruel by keeping her son away from him.
She wasn’t protecting herself either.
She was protecting Ben.
He sent a look over her head toward the house where the boy’s voice carried faintly through the screen door. Then his gaze landed on her again.
“I respect that.”
He got it—some men disappointed women they claimed to love, and fathers let down their kids. Summer carried the damage from both.
And right now, Pope wasn’t stable enough or worthy of her or anyone else.
Not yet.
Summer searched his face like she expected an argument. When he didn’t give her one, her shoulders loosened, while guilt and relief tangled in the depths of her eyes.
That hurt too.
