Shadows of You (Lost & Found #4)(32)

She was a little empath, through and through, always sensing others’ emotions.

“Yeah, honey. I’m okay.” I wouldn’t lie and say I was good. I wasn’t. But I was okay. We were. And that would stay true.

I let out a long breath. “You know what we need?”

Cady released her hold on Chauncey. “What?”

“Cocoa smash.”

Her eyes went comically wide. “Before dinner?”

I laughed. “Sometimes, you need to treat yourself. But you have to promise me you’ll eat your veggies when it’s time.”

“I promise! I promise!” Cady started booty shaking across the living room toward the kitchen, singing as she went. “Cocoa smash. Cocoa smash. Cocoa smash.”

Warmth spread through me as I grabbed the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and the hot chocolate mix from the cupboard. I dished up ice cream and sprinkled a healthy dose of the powder on top.

“Extra on mine!” Cady begged.

I sprinkled a little more. “Go big or go home, right?”

“I always go big.”

I grinned. “I like your attitude.”

I smashed the ice cream and hot chocolate mix together, creating what almost looked like chocolatey soft serve. Then I handed a bowl to Cady. She took it gleefully. “Tell me the story again.”

Pain struck deep, but it was an agony I always welcomed. “Your mom always had the best ideas.”

Cady was curious about her mom but didn’t bring her up often. She knew Autumn was in heaven and looking over her, and that Autumn had given her all the best parts of herself. But she also knew that it wasn’t safe to tell others about her mother.

Cady smiled as she took a bite of her ice cream. “Maybe that’s where I get my good ideas from.”

“I bet so.” And it killed that Autumn wouldn’t get to see that in her daughter. “I’d had a bad day at school. Some kids were mean to me.” I left out that they’d been making fun of me because my clothes were too small and ragged. “I really wanted ice cream with chocolate syrup—it was my favorite—but we didn’t have any syrup. Your mom tore the kitchen apart looking.”

“But she couldn’t find any,” Cady supplied.

“Nope. There was none to be had. But she told me she was going to make me the most special dessert.”

Cady grinned, chocolate all over her teeth. “Cocoa smash.”

“She made up the name on the spot. Made it feel special. That was just the way your mom was. Could make the most normal day feel extraordinary.”

“I wish I knew her,” Cady whispered.

I slid into the seat next to her. “Me, too, Katydid. But she loved you so much. The amount of love she gave you in just a few months was more than most people get in a lifetime.”

Cady stirred her ice cream, now turning to soup. “I’m kinda lucky.”

I stared at the little girl I loved more than life, wondering what she meant.

“I get two of you. My mom and my mama.”

My chest felt shredded. “I’m so lucky I get to be your mama.”

I pulled her into my arms. “Heart explosion. I need to hug you.”

Cady giggled. “It’s too tight.”

“Sorry, I’ve got too much love to give, and it’s leaking out of my eyeballs.”

She squirmed free. “You gotta get control of that love stuff.”

I picked up my bowl of ice cream and took a bite. “Never.”

A knock sounded on the door.

I was instantly on my feet, crossing the space as my heart hammered. My fingers curled around my Taser as I peeked through the little window, bracing myself. The air left my lungs on a whoosh as I took in the figure on the other side. Unlocking the deadbolts and the knob, I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

Roan’s broad form ate up the space, and the intense energy surrounding him swept outward, cascading over my skin. “You got a couch I could stay on for a while?”





15





ROAN





Aspen’s jaw went slack. She had to open and close her mouth a few times before she could speak. “What?”

“Your couch. Gonna sleep on it for a while.”

She shook herself out of her stupor. “That’s not necessary.”

That muscle in my cheek ticked. “Think it might be. Those two haven’t left town yet.”

I’d done some digging after leaving Aspen’s and found out where they were staying. Took a little drive, and there was no packing up happening at their rental cabin. I would have to get Lawson involved for sure. But the idea of Aspen and Cady staying here alone in the meantime didn’t sit right.

“Mr. Grizz!” Cady yelled. “We’re having cocoa smash.”

I grimaced as I looked down at the contents of Aspen’s bowl. “What is that?”

She flushed. “It’s vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate powder.”

I winced. “You’re gonna go into a sugar coma before you finish.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.”

I simply grunted.

Aspen clutched her bowl tighter. “You don’t need to stay. We’re fine.”