He wondered if that would become a permanent thing or not.
Steph seemed to be trying. But she was always good in short spurts.
Thoughts about Steph only made him mad, so he focused on the woman who deserved his undivided attention. And all he wanted to do was crawl up on that bed with Trinity and Emmy and hold the both of them in his arms, even if his mind conjured ten other things he’d like to do with Trinity in a bed—not in this room.
Trinity rose and sat on the edge of the mattress. “It turned out great, Jon. I’m so glad the store was able to get the furniture to you so fast.”
“Me too.”
“And you got the letters at the craft store.”
“They spell EMMY. Daddy and I are going to paint them and put them up over my bed.”
“Awesome!” Trinity touched her fingertip to Emmy’s nose, making her giggle.
Jon smiled at both of them. “Once the room is painted, everything will be perfect for her.”
“Daddy says we’re getting horses.”
Trinity looked surprised and properly excited to suit Emmy. “Really?”
“I want to teach her to ride as soon as the stables are repaired and ready.”
“Did you already buy the horses?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. It’s on my list. Along with three dozen other things I need to do.”
She gave him a tell-me-about-it nod. “I’ll have my brother Tate call you. He knows everything about horses. I bet he knows who has a couple for sale that will be good for trail riding and safe for her.”
“Really? That would be fantastic and save me a lot of time.”
“It’s no trouble.” Trinity always seemed to have a solution, never a complaint.
He liked that about her. He liked a lot of things about her.
Jon pulled his phone out of his back pocket, tapped his way to his contact list, and handed it to her. “Put his number in there. I’ll call him as soon as I’m ready.”
“I’ll let him know to expect your call.” She checked her watch. “I can’t stay much longer.”
“Your family dinner, right?” He wished she didn’t have to go.
She seemed surprised he remembered. “Yeah. I think Declan and Skye have finally set a date for their wedding. I hope it’s soon because Adria looks like she’s about to pop and Liz is pregnant, too. I’m sure the happy couple wants everyone to be there, so they better hurry up.”
“Wow. Your family is getting bigger by the day.” He and her brother Drake were only a year apart. Drake was married with twins on the way. Declan was a year younger than him and also getting married. Jon had his little girl, but he hadn’t found love.
Steph—He cut off all the bad thoughts he had about her. She wasn’t the one.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t find someone to share his life with. So far, he really enjoyed spending time with Trinity. So much so, he wanted to spend a lot more time with her.
“I can’t believe it. All my brothers married.” Her bright smile made her even lovelier.
“You look happy for them.”
“I am. They each found the one person who will have their back no matter how hard things get. They’ve all been tested in one way or another and come through it stronger individually and as a couple. I have no doubt they are all in it for the long haul.”
Emmy leaned over Trinity’s back and traced her finger along the scar running down the side of her face at her temple. “Owie. How’d you get that?”
Jon stepped toward the bed to take his daughter’s hand away. “Emmy, it’s not polite to ask things like that.” Though he’d wondered about the scar and how she’d gotten it.
Trinity waved him off, then turned to Emmy. “A very bad man wanted to hurt my brother and his wife. He hit me really hard and left that owie.” A darkness clouded Trinity’s eyes.
Emmy stared intently at Trinity. “Were you scared?”
“Yes, I was.” She brushed her shaking hand along the side of Emmy’s face, her eyes filled with the fear she tried to hide. She stood abruptly, said, “I have to go,” then rushed past him.
He spun and went after her, catching her just before she bolted out the door. He held her arm and felt the tremble rippling through her whole body. “Hey, I’m sorry she upset you.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” The words quickly tumbled out of her mouth.
He sank his fingers into her hair at the side of her head and brushed his thumb over the fading scar. “I can see and feel you’re not okay.”
Her gaze fell to his chest. “It comes back sometimes. I can’t control it. The fear . . . it just overwhelms me.”
It finally dawned on him what had nagged at the back of his mind about the way they met in the driveway when she helped his dad. “The night we met. You thought I meant to hurt you.”
She pointed at her head. “It gets mixed up in there sometimes. The past. The present. Is it real or just my imagination?”
“Or a flashback,” he suggested, reality hitting him like a punch to the chest. It took a moment for the trauma she was dealing with to really settle in his mind. “What happened to you?” He really wanted to know. He wanted to understand her better.
He wanted to chase away the nightmare for good so she never felt this way again.
“Um, I can’t talk about it. It . . . it makes things worse. I thought things were getting better, but then that night with your dad . . . you came out of the dark . . . I try really hard to stay grounded in the here and now. I know he can’t hurt me ever again. Still . . .”
“Okay. I get it.” He wished she’d confide in him and trust him enough to share. But this thing between them, although it felt so strong, it was new.
The pain looked raw in her. She needed time.
He’d give it to her.
“If you really want to know what happened, you can find the story online. Just look up my brother Tate. Most of the story is about what happened between his wife, Liz, and her stalker ex, Clint. I was just one more person he hurt.”
“To get to your brother and his wife,” he finished for her. She didn’t feel like what happened to her mattered compared to whatever happened to them, and he didn’t think that was right.
It did matter. Her fear and anxiety were as real as anything.
“Liz wasn’t his wife yet, but yeah.” She pulled free of his light hold. “I need to go.” She said the words but didn’t back away.
He tried to pull her back another way. “We’re still on for breakfast tomorrow morning, right?”
“Yeah. Sure.” She tried to distance herself now that she’d opened up to him. She didn’t need to.
He had no intention of letting her go because of some perceived weakness she thought she had because she was still processing and dealing with what happened to her. “Trinity, whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re dealing with, it’s not going to stop me from wanting to see you.”
Her gaze fell to his chest again. “I hope not,” she whispered.
He heard Emmy in her room playing tea party with her stuffed friends, so he had no reason not to pull Trinity close until her body touched his and her face was a breath away. “Nothing could stop me from doing this one more time.” He kissed her softly, letting her know he was there and not going anywhere. She leaned into him, her hands sliding along his ribs and up his back. She went up on her toes, taking the kiss deeper, sliding her tongue along his, and setting him on fire.