I needed two hands to count the similarities between the Eden men. And the same was true for Lyla and her mother and sisters.
As twins, Lyla and Talia had the same shape to their face, nose and mouth. Cormac’s twins had been almost impossible to tell apart for most people. It had taken me months to know which was Hadley or Elsie. But even though Lyla and Talia had the same features, I’d know Lyla anywhere.
Talia’s eyes were blue, but not Lyla’s blue.
And when it came to kindred spirits and personalities, Lyla was very much like Anne.
“How about I repaint the bathroom for you this weekend?” Lyla asked. “We could pick out a pretty gray or forest green.”
“No.” Anne sighed. “You’re busy. I’ll do it. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll just make you all suffer with the baby-poop yellow.”
“Speaking of baby poop.” Memphis stood with the baby in her arm. “Be right back.”
She bent and kissed Knox’s forehead, then ducked out of the room.
“Okay, cowboy.” Griffin picked up a ball of Hudson’s Play-Doh and put it in its yellow container. “Time for us to go home and get in the tub, then head to bed.”
“No.” Hudson’s mouth turned down at the corners, then he crumpled, falling forward as he began to cry.
“Oh, my son.” Winn was out of her chair in a flash, picking up Hudson for a hug.
He wrapped his legs around her waist and his small arms around her shoulders, like she was his saving angel. She probably was. Though Winn would likely still make her son take a bath.
“Let’s go home.” She kissed Hudson’s cheek, then carried him with her as she moved to collect the diaper bag.
The rest of us stood, clearing plates and glasses to the kitchen.
Talia and Foster were the first to take off, followed closely by Jasper and Eloise. Then Knox and Memphis loaded up their boys and headed home. Mateo waved goodbye as he climbed into his truck, heading to the cabin where he lived in the mountains.
Griffin and Winn didn’t have a long drive to their house on the ranch, so they stuck around the longest to say goodbye.
“Good to see you, Vance,” Winn said as we stood beside the door.
“You too.” Before dinner, I’d had a lot of respect for Winslow Eden as a cop. After dinner, that respect had only grown, seeing her as a wife and mother, loyal and loving.
As far as I could tell, she was the only person who knew about my situation in Coeur d’Alene. The clusterfuck that was my job. The shooting. That she’d let that stay between us, well . . . I didn’t have much to offer her as thanks, but if she ever needed a favor, I’d move mountains to make it happen.
“Glad you could make it out.” Griffin shook my hand, then pulled Lyla into a hug, kissing the top of her hair. “Mom said there were a few things in the shop that need fixing. The paper towel holder in the bathroom and your office door isn’t closing quite right. Dad and I are going to come in tomorrow and take a look.”
“It’s nothing major,” Lyla said.
“Then it won’t take us long.” He let her go, then opened the door, ushering his family outside, leaving me and Lyla with her parents.
“Thank you for having me.” I took Harrison’s outstretched hand, then bent to kiss Anne’s cheek. “Dinner was delicious.”
“It was so wonderful meeting you.” Anne smiled to me, then her daughter. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.” Lyla hugged her parents. “Bye, Dad.”
“See you tomorrow, sweetheart.” Harrison held the door open for us, standing in the threshold as we crossed his porch. Then with a wave, he disappeared inside with his wife.
The air smelled like snow. It was coming, sooner rather than later. But I drew in a long breath, catching the scent of hay and animals and earth. A man could live a damn good life smelling that combination every day. I envied the Edens who called this home.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cowboy,” I told Lyla.
Lyla laughed as we walked down the porch stairs. “You did?”
“Yeah. Ten-year-old me would be in heaven right now.”
Though thirty-four-year-old me was close to heaven at the moment too.
Stars coated the onyx sky. The moon cast a silver hue across the jagged mountains in the distance. And while it was a breathtaking night, its beauty paled in comparison to the woman at my side.
“Come on.” Lyla snagged my hand, interlacing our fingers, then tugged me away from where we’d parked my truck.
I wasn’t sure where she was leading me, but I fell in step beside her, keeping her hand in mine as we crossed the open gravel lot beside Anne and Harrison’s house.
Three large buildings sat opposite their home—a barn, a shop and the stables. Lyla had pointed them out when we’d arrived earlier. The yard lights illuminated each of their fronts. Beyond them, past the fences and corrals, it was pitch black.
But when Lyla and I had come out before dinner, we’d made it before dark. It had given me the chance to see her family’s ranch. It was a magnificent setting, with meadows and untamed evergreen forests and mountain ranges in every direction.
Paradise.
“Want to meet our newest horse?” she asked, leading me to the stables.
“Sure.”
She let go of my hand to open a sliding door and step inside.
I joined her, squinting as she flipped on the lights. Then when my eyes adjusted, I took in the huge space, breathing in the scents of horses and leather and straw. A wide lane took up the center of the building. On each side was a row of stables.
She walked to a stall, peering over a gate.
I took the spot beside her. Inside the stall, a black colt stood with a white star on his head. His mother came over, nudging Lyla’s arm.
“Isn’t he cute?” Lyla petted the horse’s smooth, round cheek, then moved away, heading deeper into the building. She strolled past empty stalls, her pace unhurried. “My horse, Mercury, and most of the others are out in the pasture. But if you want to live out your childhood dreams, we could come back another day. Go riding.”
God, that sounded fun. I’d ridden a few times over the years, though never often. When I went out into the mountains, it was usually on foot. And as much as I’d love to spend a day with Lyla here, exploring the Eden ranch, that wasn’t why I was in Montana.
And time was running out.
Soon the mountains would be covered in snow, making any attempt to search for Cormac more difficult than it already was. If he’d planned to spend the winter in these mountains, then he’d gathered enough supplies to stay in whatever hole he’d dug for himself. He’d limit movement, hiding away until spring.
If he was even here.
“Maybe,” I told Lyla.
She heard the no and gave me a sad smile as we reached the far end of the stables.
“Hey.” I snagged her hand, missing it in my own. With a tug, I hauled her close. “Thanks for bringing me here tonight.”
“You’re welcome.” Her free hand slid up my chest, her index finger skimming each of the buttons on the Henley beneath my flannel jacket.
“I like your family. I like how loud they are.”
Her face softened. “I like it too.”
“I have a big family.” The words tumbled free before I could swallow them down.
Lyla’s gaze shot to mine. Maybe she expected me to pull away, to change the subject. Normally, I would.
Not tonight.
“Do you ever feel lost in the crowd?” I asked.
“Sometimes,” she whispered. “Is that how it is with your family?”
“Not lost. Just outside.”
Her hand came to my beard, stroking along my jaw with her knuckles. “Does your family know you’re here?”
“My dad does. My mother and I haven’t spoken for . . . a while.”
“Sorry.”
“Me too.”
There was more to explain. A story to tell. And goddamn it, I wanted to lay it on her. I wanted to unburden my heart again.
She had no idea how much it had helped, sharing my history with Cormac. Unloading it for the first time in years. Maybe it would help make sense of my family’s bullshit too if I told her about it. The way Lyla listened, the way she absorbed my every word, made it so tempting.
But we’d had such a good night. Maybe if there wasn’t an expiration date, maybe if the snow wasn’t coming, I’d give in.
Instead, I closed my other hand over hers, taking it away from my face and twisting it behind her back, pinning it just above her ass. Then I pressed in closer, holding her to me as I bent and took her mouth.
She opened for me instantly, and when I slid my tongue inside, stroking hers, the past disappeared. There was nothing but this woman and the sweet taste of her lips.
My cock swelled, my body craving hers.
Lyla whimpered as I pressed my arousal against her hip.
How many times did we have left? Five. Ten. It wasn’t enough. I already knew, no matter the number, it wouldn’t be enough. So I shuffled us toward the nearest surface, pressing Lyla against a wide, wooden beam.
I tore my mouth from hers, trailing it along her jaw to an earlobe. “Have you ever been fucked out here?”
“No,” she panted, reaching between us. Her palm pressed hard against my erection, earning a groan. “Vance.”