Page 19 of Tormented Hearts

Sinead watched it all with a tightness in her throat she hadn’t expected. This child wasn’t treated like an interruption. She wasn’t shooed away from the adults or pushed to the edges. She was loved so openly by everyone in the room that it seemed to soften the rough edges of the entire lodge.

Rhae followed her gaze. “She’s basically the ranch’s emotional support pet, except I gave birth to her.”

A laugh slipped out of Sinead before she could stop it. Then she felt a prickle on the back of her neck. She looked up to see Hawk had entered, and his presence seemed to shift the air in the hall.

He stood there in dark clothes and his cowboy hat, shoulders broad enough to block part of the light streaming through the entrance.

His gaze locked on her.

Each step he took toward her carried the same command she’d seen on the mountain. As he neared, she saw a tendon in the crease of his jaw tick.

One of the vets approached from the other direction, eyes on Navy. “Hey, little bit—”

“She’s busy,” Hawk cut across him.

The man stopped in his tracks, confusion creasing his brow. “Navy?”

Hawk didn’t look away from Sinead.

“Brandon, it’s fine,” Willow jumped in to say. “Navy, can you say hello to your friend Brandon?”

The guy glanced between them, obviously picking up the strange pulse in the air. He lifted a hand to wave at Navy. “I’ll see you later.”

Navy waved the last blueberry from her muffin at him before popping it in her mouth. “Bye!”

Sinead centered her stare on Hawk. “Are you like this with all your clients?”

“Nope. You’re the first.” Rhae sipped her water, entirely too pleased with herself.

Hawk held out a hand. “We need to go back to the ridge.”

The warmth left her body.

Navy shifted on her lap, and Sinead tightened her arm around the child for one last second before slipping out from under her.

She rose, wiping crumbs from her shirt. “Did your guys find out something?”

“Not yet.” Hawk’s gaze moved over her face as if he was trying to spot something she was withholding. “We sent a team out to search for any abandoned vehicles. They’ll sweep the area while we dig.”

Dig.

Her heart squeezed hard.

She faced him. “You’re taking me back to the site?”

He nodded.

The thing her father had sent her to find was still out there, buried. Only now those men died trying to stop her from finding it.

She turned to the ladies and Navy. “It was lovely having dinner with you.”

Willow darted a look at Hawk and back to Sinead. “I’m glad you got to meet so many of the vets too.”

A low noise, a rumble of a growl, emitted from Hawk. That tic was back in his jaw, but he said nothing.

“Bye, Navy.”

Navy waved. “Next time bring a lollipop!”