The car door flew open and a tall figure jumped out, sshing through the puddles until he reached Reese. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight.
Reese blinked, about to say thank you, but the words caught in her throat when she realized who it was.
Rain ran down Sebastian''s hair and dripped into his cor. His face was tight with worry, his eyes darting over her, checking for any sign of injury.
Once he was sure she was okay, he finally let out a shaky breath. "You''re safe. I''m here."
Reese pushed herself out of his arms, shock written all over her face. "Why are you here?"
Sebastian took Annie from her, cradling the little girl against his chest with one arm and steadying Reese with the other. He had to shout over the storm, "Your car has a tracker and an emergency alert system."
"I got a notification that your engine shut off. I figured something was wrong, so I followed the GPS."
He nced at Reese, worried she''d take it the wrong way. "It''s for safety. All the family cars have it," he exined quickly.
He''d just been keeping an extra eye on herstely, that was all.
Sebastian shifted Annie carefully in his arms and reached for Reese''s hand. "Come on, let''s get in the car first."
Reese yanked her hand away, wiping the cold rain from her forehead. Her voice was t. "I can walk by myself."
She thought about grabbing Annie back, but when she saw Sebastian''s broad back blocking out the rain, she stopped.
Annie was curled up against Sebastian, her tiny hands fisting his shirt, her little face still pale with fear.
Sebastian noticed and hugged her a little closer. "You''re okay. I''ve got you."
Reese tried to smile at Annie. "It''s alright, honey. Don''t be scared. Just hold on tight, okay?"
Whatever was going on between her and Sebastian was their business. There was no way she''d let Annie get caught up in it.
The rain wasing down so hard it felt like the sky was splitting open.
Suddenly, Reese''s foot slipped. She almost went down, but before Sebastian could reach her, she caught herself, pushing up from the ground. Her palm stung where something sharp had sliced her, and blood trickled down her wrist.
Sebastian called out, "Give me your hand. I''ll guide you."
Reese didn''t look at him. She clenched her jaw, fighting the pain. "Just hold Annie. If anything happens to her, that''s on you."
Sebastian saw the stubborn set of her jaw and knew there was no arguing with her now.
He hugged Annie tighter and started toward the car, ncing over his shoulder at Reese every few steps.
Reese avoided his eyes, but sometimes she couldn''t help sneaking a look at him.
Watching Sebastian holding Annie like that made her feel a hundred things at once.
She''d always thought Sebastian
didn''t like Matthew, and by
extension, probably didn''t care much
for Annie either. She
never
imagined he would protect her like
this.
There''d been so many times over the past seven years when Reese had wished Sebastian would step up for her. He never had. Now when they were about to split up, he finally did
It was just ridiculous.
Reese wiped the rain off her face and let out a short, bitterugh.
They made it to the car, stumbling a little. Brady hurried over with an umbre and pulled the door open.
Sebastian set Annie inside first, then carefully helped Reese in after her.
Once they were all in, Brady handed them towels to dry off.
Sebastian nced at her SUV, stuck
in a pool of water, and told Bradmet
"Take Mrs. Ratcliff home first. F have someone get her car
s?novels
He turned to Reese, his voice gentle. "Is there anything you need from the car
right away? I can have someone bring it to you."
Reese stared out the window. "No. I''m fine."
"And for the record, I''m not Mr. Ratcliff anymore. I''m—"
She hesitated, the words sticking. Calling herself his wife just didn''t fit anymore.