Until You (The Redemption, #1)(10)

Back down the stairs to grab my phone. But who am I going to call here? The sheriff? It’s not like we know anyone here yet I can call to ask if they know where the girls are.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Think, Crew.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Fucking think.

I slam my hand against the timer and turn the oven off without pulling the frozen—now cooked—lasagna from its rack.

Then I hear them. Footsteps on the front stairs. Footsteps I know by heart. There’s a split second where all the horrible things that have been flashing through my mind are wiped away by one of their muted laughs. I’m reminded of the reason I chose to take this time here. I wanted the girls to be able to roam and explore without fearing their every move. I wanted people to know them and them to know people in a place where the sense of community was valued.

I didn’t want to have to worry every single time they were out of my sight.

I guess I blew that theory out of the water with my panic, huh?

Then again, I’ve been around the block more times than I care to count and know the places that seem safer have their own issues.

They open the door before I can get to them. “Where in the hell have you been?” I scold while at the same time wanting to pull them near and hold them tight. “You disappeared without a word and—”

“I’m sorry. That was my fault.”

I startle at the unfamiliar voice and then stop in my tracks when the girls step apart, and I’m left face to face with a stranger standing in my doorway.

An absolutely gorgeous stranger at that.

While she’s not much taller than my girls, she’s most definitely all woman. Her leggings and tank top, while seemingly casual, are anything but in the way they cling to the curves of her slender but toned body.

She doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on her face, and hell if she’s even prettier for it. Her auburn hair is casually piled on top of her head and dark brown eyes meet mine that hold equal parts curiosity and warmth. Her full lips are a subtle pink that tug on parts of me that shouldn’t be tugged on in all honesty, especially in the presence of my girls.

She’s a stranger and yet seems familiar somehow.

She extends the bottle of wine she’s holding, a tentative smile on her lips. “Hi. I’m Tennyson—Tenny, really. I come bearing house-warming gifts.”

The quick shake of my head is to partly clear the sudden stupor I find myself in. This is Uncle Ian’s tenant?

“Sorry. Yes. Where are my manners?” I take the bottle she’s offered and extend my other hand. “Crew Madden. Nice to finally meet you. And thank you for the wine. That’s kind of you.”

The handshake is over, but my eyes are darting warnings to Paige and Addy, asking what the hell is going on here.

“It’s the least I can do.” She shifts on her feet, sensing something is off here. “My cat, Hani. He escaped. The girls found him in the barn and were nice enough to return him to me.”

“The barn?” I ask with raised eyebrows, turning to them.

“We know,” Addy says, ever the diplomat, “but we heard him meowing and thought maybe he was hurt on all the things you’re afraid we’ll get hurt on, so there was no other option than to rescue him.” The pair of smiles flashed my way are so sugary sweet it’s a wonder they don’t get cavities from it.

I ignore their attempt at using Tenny’s presence to mitigate any trouble they might be in for disobeying my orders. I’ll address that later. But the knowing glances the girls keep exchanging tell me there’s definitely more going on here than meets the eye.

“Please. Come in,” I say to Tenny as I step back and make room. “We’re still unpacking some of our stuff and packing up some of Ian’s things to send to his new place in Florida, so please, excuse the mess.”

And it is a mess.

“You haven’t had much time to settle in,” Tenny says, taking a timid step inside. “It looks way better than my place did—I mean your place that’s my place—when I was at this point.”

“And your place that’s my place . . . everything is fine there?” I ask, the notes she left Ian suddenly forefront in my mind.

Her laughter fills the house, the sound making my stomach feel odd. “We’ll get to that after dinner,” she says.

“After dinner?”

“Yes,” Paige says, stepping in front of me, her eyes pleading. “Dinner. Remember you invited Miss Tenny over for dinner tonight?”

My eyebrows narrow and shoulders tighten. “How could I forget?”

An awkward silence falls between the four of us momentarily, and it has Tenny taking a step back into the still open doorway.

“Thanks for your help with Hani, girls, but I just remembered . . . that I—uh—have something—”

“No!” Paige says, grabbing Tenny’s hand and pulling on it. The reaction surprises me. “You can’t go. You said you’d have dinner with us.”

“Pretty please,” Addy piles on, begging like they used to do when they were little and really wanted something.

The question is, what is it that they want here?

I meet Tenny’s eyes and smile. “Please. Stay,” I say, trying to convince myself I’m asking her out of obligation rather than because she’s more than easy on the eyes. “Make yourself at home while I open the wine. Would you like a glass?”