Chapter 26

A week later,nothing had happened.

No sign of Les.

No sign of danger.

And they were all getting restless.

Lucas leaned on his kitchen counter, watching Maddie play with Jacob"s daughter Annie while Jacob and Huck talked about Jacob"s rescued horses. The bond between them was amazing. There were very few people Jacob could tolerate, but miraculously, Maddie and Huck fell into that zone.

Not too long ago, Jacob had been fully alone except for his horses, and the times he was able to handle being around his siblings. And now, he had a full family, because Huck had taken on the role of Jacob"s dad and Annie"s grandpa.

It was wonderful and amazing…but at the same time, Lucas felt like there wasn"t a place for him. Maddie was discovering her new family, and she"d kept Lucas at a distance for the last week.

Ever since Lucas had told her he loved her, she"d been distant.

Lucas didn"t regret saying it.

He knew she"d needed to hear it. And he"d needed to say it. And he"d known there was a chance it would push her away.

But knowing it might happen hadn"t fully prepared him for experiencing it.

"Hey, Lucas."

He looked over his shoulder to see Bella walking into the kitchen. His home had become a gathering place for the Harts during the last week, everyone wanting to meet Maddie and her dad, welcoming her to the family. It was surreal, and he was amazed at how well Maddie and her dad fit.

Well, they fit everyone except him. Even her dad kept him at a distance.

What the hell was going on? "Hi, Bella."

She was wearing a green "Bella"s Kitchen" tee shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. She gave him a look, then propped her hip against the fridge. "You look lonely over here."

"Do I?"

"Yep." She pulled up a bar stool and sat down. "Maddie"s nice."

"Yeah."

"Where is she sleeping?"

He didn"t bother to lie. There were no secrets in his family. "Guest room."

"How do you feel about that?"

He glanced over at his sister. "Not thrilled," he said honestly.

Bella laughed then. "You"re just like Jacob. You men come on too strong and scare your women." She leaned on the counter and watched the gathering in the family room. "Have you really looked at her, Lucas? I mean, really looked at her?"

Lucas frowned and studied Maddie. "Yeah." But he was guessing he was missing something important.

"What do you see?" Bella asked as she helped herself to some of the nuts he had out on the counter for snacking.

"I see a strong, courageous woman full of love, resilience, and laughter," Lucas said. He didn"t add that she was beautiful, compelling, and lit up every room she entered.

Bella tossed a nut in the air and caught it in her mouth. "Do you see a woman who wants to be small? Hidden? Stifled?"

"Hell, no."

"Then why do you have her stuffed in your house on our ranch, when her amazing flower store that"s just coming to life is being neglected?"

Lucas looked sharply at his sister. "So she doesn"t get kidnapped or attacked."

"It"s been a week, Lucas. No one has seen or heard anything from Les. What if no one ever comes for her? How long until you set her free?"

"She is free?—"

"Is she? You tossed her in a private jet and whisked her off to Oregon, without even giving her a chance to pack a toothbrush. She"s awesome, but she has this great, wonderful life in Boston. You can"t use the danger as an excuse to lock her up in the world you wish she lived in."

Lucas stared at Bella. "I"m not doing that."

Bella smiled gently. "You"re doing exactly that, dear brother. Since when do the Harts hide from danger? We don"t. We go into it. We decide what life we want to live, and then we do it."

"Yeah, but?—"

"She"s the daughter of an FBI agent. She knows how to defend herself and shoot. She"s as good as I am, but you"re sitting around disempowering her. Don"t you see her anxiety? You think putting her in a safe house is going to help that? Do you?"

Lucas clenched his jaw as Bella"s words sank in. Was she right?

His sister put her hand on his arm. "Lucas, I know you love Maddie. I can see it in your face. She is part of our family, and I"m sure she"ll come visit, but she belongs in Boston. You have to let her go back. And then you have to figure out what"s important to you."

Agony seemed to settle in his gut. "I can"t leave our family."

"Leaving in what way?" Bella gave him a skeptical look. "Tatum goes on tour, and Brody goes with her. They"re gone a lot, but that doesn"t make them any less connected. We have two private jets, Lucas. The world is tiny for us." She sighed. "I look at Maddie sitting in your house, trapped in your living room, and it makes me realize that I"ve been doing that too. We"ve all made ourselves small living here, Lucas."

He stared at her. "You want to move away?"

"No. But I want to grow. I want to be more than simply running my restaurant for the dude ranch guests."

Lucas turned to look at her, completely surprised by what he was hearing from his sister. "What do you want to do?"

She shrugged. "I don"t know. All I"ve ever thought of is being with you guys, and staying here in this oasis we"ve created. But at what cost? I don"t have anxiety, but is that because I sit here in my safe little spot and never have to deal with anything?" She raised her brows. "The only men I know are my brothers, and my only friends are my family. I want more than that. Maddie already has it, and you"re taking it from her because you love her and don"t want to have to make a hard choice."

Lucas looked again at Maddie. Her face was full of laughter and joy as she played with Annie. She radiated life and joy. That was why he"d been so riveted by her in the first place. But her friends were amazing, and her store was fantastic. "You think she wants to go back?"

"Ask her. Give her the chance. Tell her you"ll go with her to make sure that everything is safe. But offer her the chance." Bella put her hand on Lucas"s shoulder. "What would you do if you weren"t taking care of all of us, Lucas? Have you ever thought of that?"

"Maddie asked me that," he admitted.

Bella raised her brows. "What did you say?"

"I didn"t have an answer."

She nodded. "I don"t either, but I want to find one. Maybe you need to find one, too."

He ground his jaw. "I like being on the ranch."

"Me, too. But we can be that and more." Bella looked at her phone. "I gotta go. Talk to Maddie, Lucas. If you have any chance with her, you must set her free. You can"t keep her caged forever, especially when there"s no visible danger." She kissed his cheek, waved at the gang in his family room, then headed out the door, leaving him to stew in the bomb she"d dropped.

Lucas leaned on the counter, his jaw tense, as he mulled over Bella"s comments.

He didn"t want Maddie to go home.

He was afraid he"d lose her.

He"d offered her his family, in hopes that would be enough.

But Bella was right. He couldn't trap Maddie here. He had to let her be the woman who he"d fallen in love with.

Even if he lost her.

It wasafter midnight by the time the house was quiet, and Huck had gone to sleep in the downstairs bedroom. He"d insisted on being downstairs so he could be the first line of defense if there was an intruder, not caring that the house was impenetrable.

Maddie was in her room upstairs, at the far end of the hall from Lucas"s suite.

She"d never invited him to her bedroom, saying that she couldn't do that with her dad there.

So, he invited himself.

Restlessly, Lucas walked over to her door and tapped on it. "Maddie? You up?"

"Yes, come on in."

He opened the door, and Violet thumped her tail at him, not lifting her head from Maddie"s legs.

Maddie was under the covers, curled up on her side, the comforter tucked up to her chin, clearly almost asleep.

Lucas sat down next to her on the bed, careful not to touch her, even though he wanted to. He cleared his throat. "It"s been over a week."

She nodded. "I know."

"Les has gone underground again. We can"t find him."

She sighed, and lightly punched the pillow. "What do we do, Lucas? I can"t stay here forever. What if he got run over by a kid on a skateboard and died? What if we wait forever, and he never comes?"

Fuck. Bella had been right. "You"re correct." He let out his breath. "If you want to go back home, I"ll go with you. I can"t promise it"s safe, though."

She sat up, excitement dancing in her eyes. "Yes. I want to go back home. Piper just texted that she has a new bride for me, and asked when I was coming back. Hang on." She pulled out her phone and quickly texted. "When will I be back? Tomorrow? Can we leave in the morning? My dad"s leg is healing. He"ll come too."

Lucas grinned as he watched Maddie put plans in place for her store and her dad, happy to see her fired up. Bella had been absolutely correct. "You want me to come with you? I can just send you in the jet. Dylan could send some guys."

She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "You don"t want to come?"

"I want to come, but Bella informed me that I was stifling you." He paused. "It"s your life, Maddie. I don"t need to be a part of it."

She bit her lip. "You don"t need to come. I mean, that"s fine. You have stuff to do, right?" Her chin went up, and she pulled her shoulders back. "I"ve already been enough of a burden. So, yeah, you know, my dad and I can fly commercial. We don"t need your jet?—"

He caught her wrist as she started to turn away. "Maddie."

"It"s fine." She looked down. "I"m tired."

"I meant it when I said I love you."

She still didn"t look up. "You don"t need to mean it. You can take it back."

"Hell, Maddie, I don"t want to take it back!"

She finally looked at him. "Then why haven"t you talked to me all week? It"s like this wall between us."

"Me?" He stared at her, then started to laugh. "Hell, Maddie, I thought you were putting up the wall. I was trying to give you space. I thought I freaked you out when I said I loved you."

Her mouth opened and shut, then she sighed. "You did freak me out," she admitted. "But it wasn"t just that. It was a lot with Jacob and his family and my dad. I just—" She paused. "I don"t know. I didn"t know what to say to you. I didn"t know?—"

He leaned over and took her hand. "You don"t need to say anything. You owe me nothing."

She stared at their entwined hands. "I don"t think," she said slowly, "I can be the woman you want."

He hated that she felt that way. "How so?"

"This." She gestured to the house. "Your family. This ranch. I love being here. I love your family. I do. But it"s not my home. My home is in Boston. I really tried this week to see if I could live here, move here, be who you need me to be, but I can"t."

He was stunned. She had been thinking that all week? Hell. "I didn"t expect you would feel any differently than you do," he said, forcing himself to speak the truth that had been weighing on him, especially since his conversation with Bella.

She raised her brows. "You didn"t?"

"No. Your friends are amazing, and your passion for your store is clear." He paused. "I would like to go back to Boston with you, to protect you, but also…see what it"s like for me. The way you did it this week."

She stared at him. "Really?"

"Really." He paused. "I can"t make any promises, Maddie, other than that I love you. That won"t change, but I am firmly planted here."

She sighed. "I know. I think…I think that"s why I tried to keep my distance this week. I don"t want my heart shattered again."

Hell. He took her hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I don"t want to hurt you." He"d do whatever it took not to. "Want me to stay here?"

She took a breath. "If we have a chance, I would always regret not trying. I"d like you to come, but…" She paused. "I have to protect myself."

"I get it. We"ll take it slow."

She nodded. "All right."

He didn"t move. "I"ll leave then. We"ll depart in the morning."

"Great." She kept holding onto his hands. "Lucas?"

"Yeah."

"Stay here with me? Not to have sex. Just to be together." She looked at him, her gorgeous eyes searching his. "To hold each other?"

"Hell, yeah." He didn"t hesitate. He crawled right onto the bed, dropped down beside her, and pulled her against him.

She sighed and snuggled against him. "I missed this."

"Me, too."

She laughed. "We"ve never spent the night together. How could I have missed it?"

"Because we haven"t been touching much this week." He pressed his face to her hair, breathing her in. "I love touching you."

She wiggled more tightly against him. "Why does it feel so good?"

"Because we fit." He wrapped his leg over her hip, trying to get closer. Her body was so warm, and his entire soul seemed to settle. In all his time with his family, he"d never felt the way he felt in this moment.

His family was his everything, but Maddie filled a space in his soul that he hadn"t realized was empty.

He closed his eyes. He"d spent his childhood empty, scared, angry, alone, which was why he treasured his family so much. How did Maddie fit into his world? How did he fit into hers?

He had no idea how this story could do anything but break his heart into a thousand pieces, because no matter what he chose, he would be giving up part of his soul.