“The fuck?” I run my fingers through my beard, brain spinning. “What the hell are you gonna do for work? You love private security.”
Like me, Griffin saved up a hell of a lot of his money over the years. But a nasty divorce left him with the farm he fought tooth and nail to keep and not much else. She got the vehicles, half the savings, and a monthly check big enough to make him cry. He needs the job.
He studies me with that long, assessing look of his—the one that always makes me feel like I’m under a microscope. “Do you love it?”
“Yeah,” I answer automatically, but the word feels wrong in my mouth. “Truth is, JP’s company is a mess of politics and power trips. I wanted to quit long before all this.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“You and Wilder,” I admit. “Didn’t wanna leave you behind.” Then I frown. “Why are we talking about me? I already quit.”
Griff shrugs. “I needed to know if you still cared about the work. Protecting people. Makin’ a difference. Just without all the red tape and ego bullshit. If the scale was smaller, would you still want it?”
“I can’t leave town, Griff.” My voice drops, rough with the weight of truth. “Not now. Not when I’m this close to bringing Aurora home.”
“You’re gonna make one hell of a dad, man,” he murmurs, grinning. “Damn proud of you.”
My throat tightens.
He lets me sit with it for a beat, then gestures down Oak Street toward the block where a couple of the bigger buildings sit empty, “What if you didn’t have to leave?”
I glance where he’s looking, then shove my hands in my pockets.
Haven’t thought much about what comes next—haven’t had time to. These last few weeks without Aurora wrecked me. After spending every day with her, not seeing her feels like losing her before she’s even mine.
I’d do just about anything to bring that little girl home, but that doesn’t mean I’m not terrified about what’s to come.
Most nights, I don’t sleep.
When I do, the nightmares come—some from my time overseas, but most about her.
My brain fills in the blanks I’ll never know—how the accident happened, what it looked like, what she remembers. Sometimes, it’s me behind the wheel. Sometimes, she gets hurt because I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with a car seat. I wake up drenched in sweat, heart pounding, terrified I’ll fail her.
Then I remember why I’m doing this.
The way she curled into me. How her little hand fit in mine like it was always meant to be there. The trust in her eyes, and the bond we built, in just a handful of days.
I’m one of the last people who can tell her who her mama was. Who can keep her tethered to where she came from—even if all I’ve got are the rose-tinted memories of a kid in love.
“I don’t want to miss anything,” I admit, voice low. “Not her first steps. Not the dumb little things like tantrums or bedtime books, or brushing her teeth. Wanna be there for all of it. Wanna be the one who makes sure she doesn’t feel even a second of what she’s lost when she’s already lost everything.”
I swallow hard, chest tight, and rub at the ache. “All I want is for her to know love. Not the ghost of her parents. Not the outline of the man who’s supposed to be standing in their place. I want to be there. Really there. As much as I can be.”
Just like my dad was for me, for my whole family.
Griffin nods slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “Good. Because I’m opening a private security firm right here in Heart Springs.”
I blink. “You’re what?”
“Want you and Wilder to do it with me.”
Shock rolls through me again—but this time, excitement follows. I grin, shaking my head in disbelief. “Alright, man. I’m in.”
Now he’s the one to gape. “Just like that?”
“Not sure there’s much need for security in Summit.” I shrug and start walking again. “But if it gets you both here, and keeps us all sane, I’ll do whatever you want.”
Griffin barks a laugh and opens his mouth to reply, but I cut him off with a glare.
