“Do I get a kiss?” Dylan puckered up, and the little girl leaned in and kissed him. He handed her to Piper. There was no expression on his face; he was once again the man who had arrived in Ryker Falls.

“Thanks, bud, for everything you did.” Joe shook his hand.

“No worries. Joe, you got a minute?”

“Sure.” Her cousin walked with Dylan back to the driver side of his car.

Piper let her family take her inside. She didn’t want to watch him drive away from her, because for the first time in her life she’d found a man who maybe one day she could have built a life with. A man who did not feel for her what she felt for him.

Chapter 24

Four days after Dylan dropped Grace and Piper at her place, he still hadn’t made any plans to leave Ryker Falls. His father was finally healing and should be home next week, but his mother had come down with something. It was both debilitating and painful, and started with nosebleeds, then bruising and convulsions. She’d been admitted to hospital and thankfully had stabilized. The doctors were doing tests but that would take time. For now she was home, but weak and bedridden. He couldn’t leave when she was like that. Especially if she didn’t recover before Dad was due to come home.

He’d taken a long leave from work, and the plan had been to do some traveling, which he still would hopefully get around to.

Dylan was now sitting on his bed, back against the wall, trying to think about anything but Piper and Grace.

He’d checked on his mother earlier, and she was sleeping. Pale, she was struggling to shake whatever the hell it was that was laying her low.

Pulling out his phone, he looked again at the picture he’d taken of Grace the morning he’d woken to her crying. She was giving him a sweet smile. He needed to delete it. What weirdo had a picture on his phone of a child he had no connection to?

He’d done some tough things in his lifetime, dealt with people he’d rather forget, but nothing had left a lasting effect on him like leaving Piper and Grace that day.

Even though she’d been surrounded by her family, he’d felt like he was deserting both of them. Letting them down in some way. It wasn’t a rational feeling, because he had no rights to either of them, and didn’t want any, but four days later his thoughts were consumed with the pair. Was Grace sleeping? Was Piper sleeping? Who was helping her in the middle of the night?