I slowly slid my fingers from her heat and licked them clean.
Aspen jerked upright. “You did not.”
My lips twitched. “My favorite flavor.”
Her jaw dropped, and she hopped to her feet, pulling me up and tugging me toward the door.
“Where are we going?”
Aspen shot me a grin over her shoulder. “You had your fun, it’s only fair I get mine. And my bathroom has great insulation.”
41
ASPEN
Cady bounced up and down in her booster seat. “They’re going to bring bugs and snakes and lizards and all sorts of things.”
I fought a shiver at the word snake but tried to hide it. Cady loved all living things, and I didn’t want to change that for her.
“What do you think will be your favorite?” Roan asked from the driver’s seat as he turned into the elementary school parking lot.
“Hmm,” Cady said thoughtfully.
My gaze slid to my phone again. I’d gotten the alert two minutes into the drive, and my stomach had been in knots ever since. Steven and Tyson’s podcast had a new episode.
I worried the inside of my cheek as I stared at the title they’d given it. Who’s Lying Now?
“Lizard!” Cady shouted, breaking into my thoughts. “But I heard he’s gonna bring a dragon.”
My brows lifted at that. “A dragon?”
Cady and Charlie had been beyond excited for The Bug Guy to visit their classroom, but dragons seemed extreme.
Roan chuckled. “I bet he has a bearded dragon.”
I turned to glance at him. “That sounds dangerous.”
“No, they actually make great pets,” Roan informed me.
“Maybe we’ll get one of those next, Mama. I want a dragon.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose where a headache was building. “I think we’ve got a full house right now, Katydid.”
“We’ll see,” she singsonged.
Roan just laughed harder.
“Stop it,” I whisper-hissed.
He pulled to a stop in the pickup line and bent to kiss me. “You’d never say no to an animal in need.”
Cady giggled. “Don’t do that in front of Charlie. He doesn’t like kissing.”
Roan grunted. “It’s a good thing. If that changes, you let me know.”
“Okay, Mr. Grizz,” Cady said, unbuckling her straps.
I jumped out of the truck and helped her down, then bent to give her a quick squeeze. “Love you. Have the best day.”
She smacked a kiss on my cheek. “You, too, Mama!”
Then she was gone, running for the doors of the school.
I watched her go for a moment before turning back to the truck. How long did we have before I had to tell her the truth about her father? How long until she would be aware of all the articles and podcasts and Dateline specials?
I opened the door and climbed inside. Roan watched me as I buckled my seat belt and then pulled away from the curb, not saying a word. But instead of heading straight to The Brew, he pulled to the side of the street in front of a gallery that hadn’t yet opened.
“What’s wrong?”
I stared at my hands in my lap. “New podcast episode.”
Roan cursed. He unbuckled my belt and pulled me closer to him. “You don’t have to pay any attention to that noise.”
“Cady will hear it all one day. That’s what I hate the most.”
He sighed. “We’ll be there to help her through it when the time comes.”
My heart rate ratcheted up. We. God, I wanted that. Nothing felt like too much with Roan by my side. Somehow, his gruffness soothed the worst of any situation.
“Are you going to listen to it?” he asked softly.
“Probably,” I admitted. It was like a car wreck I couldn’t turn away from. One I needed to shield Cady from however I could.
Roan plucked the phone from my lap. “Then we listen together.”
He tapped a few buttons on the screen, and the now-familiar intro music began to play.
“Welcome to Twisted Lies, The True John Carrington Story. I’m Steven.”
“And I’m Tyson.”
“Today, we’ve got a special guest joining us,” Steven said. “A reporter who has covered this case from the beginning, Oren Randal.”
My stomach dropped, and Roan slid his hand into mine, weaving our fingers together.
“Welcome, Oren,” Tyson greeted. “It’s great to have someone who’s been with this case in real time.”
“It’s a pleasure to be here,” Oren said. “We need people like you keeping this case in the forefront because I don’t think we have the right person behind bars.”