“Go to sleep now.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his palm on her stomach.
She was safe, Livie was safe and peace and contentment settled inside her. “Thank you for this, for being here,” she whispered. For making her feel safe.
“There’s no place I’d rather be than here.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the nape of her neck in response.
She smiled. He’d said that before, and she liked hearing it. The steady rise and fall of his chest against her back was a comforting rhythm, lulling her to sleep.
When she awoke, it was to find Livie in bed with her and Cooper gone. How had she slept through Livie joining her and Cooper leaving? That had been the best sleep she’d had in a long time, and she was tempted to go right back to sleep. What time was it? She glanced at the clock on the night table. Whoa, it was 9:17.
She slipped out of bed. She’d get Livie up after she got dressed. She slipped on a sundress and sandals, then made a quick trip to the bathroom. Where was Cooper? She heard his voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Whom was he talking to?
“We have company, so you’re going to need to behave,” he said. “You’re going to love Livie, and she’s going to love you.”
No one answered him. Curious, Kendall followed the sound of his voice, finding him in the kitchen, but she didn’t see anyone else. “Who were you talking to?”
His gaze had been on the floor, and the kitchen island kept her from seeing what he was looking at. He lifted his eyes to hers and smiled. “Good morning.”
“I can’t believe I slept so late. Why didn’t you wake me up?” She walked around the island, stopping when she saw the trembling dog glued to Cooper’s leg. Because of its multicolored fur, it was the oddest-looking creature she’d ever seen. It wasn’ta pretty dog except for the big, soft brown eyes. Those were pretty. “This must be Ruby.”
“Yes, Gray dropped her off this morning. She’s shy, but once she learns that you won’t hurt her, she’ll be your friend.”
“Ah, sweet girl, do I scare you?” She dropped to her knees a few feet away from Ruby, then glanced up at Cooper. “Was she mistreated?”
“I don’t know her story, but from the way she reacts to sudden movements, I’m sure she was. There was a chain around her neck, and she was dragging about three feet of it when she jumped into my car. Shortly after, a man with mean eyes came looking for her. I hid her and brought her home with me.”
“You poor girl.” Kendall held out her hand and Ruby stretched her nose to sniff her fingers. “I hope you know how lucky you are to have found Cooper.” She looked up at him and smiled. “From the way she’s glued to you, I think she does know.”
“Ready for some coffee?” he said.
“Yes, please.”
Livie ran into the kitchen. “Mommy, I lost you.”
“You’ll never lose me. You ready for breakfast?”
“I’m hungry.” Her eyes grew wide. “Doggie!”
Kendall pulled her back when she headed for the dog. “Easy, okay? This is Ruby, and she’s shy. We have to be gentle with her. Here, I’ll show you. Hold your hand out like this.” She showed Livie how to let Ruby smell her fingers.
“Well, look at that,” Cooper said.
Ruby was licking Livie’s hand, something she’d not done to Kendall. Ruby inched closer to Livie, then rolled over on her back.
Cooper chuckled. “She wants you to rub her belly.” He lifted his gaze to Kendall. “It seems she likes children. She loves playing with Gray’s son, Tyler.”
She stood, leaving Ruby and Livie to make friends. “How old is Tyler?”
“Six, almost seven, I think. He’s a good kid, and he’ll be nice to Livie. We’ll head over there after breakfast. If Livie’s okay with it, we’ll leave her with Harlow and Tyler while we go to my office. Gray and Liam want to sit down with us and debrief.”
She glanced down at Livie, who was now stretched out next to Ruby. “Are you sure she’ll be safe there?”
“Absolutely. Harlow will keep her in the house, and they have a first-rate alarm system. We won’t be at the office long, but Livie would be bored if we take her there with us. She can take Ruby with her.”
“Okay. If Ruby’s there, too, I’m sure Livie won’t have a problem with staying with them.”
“Great. Let’s eat so we can head over.”
Too fascinated with her new friends Ruby and Tyler, Livie hadn’t glanced back once when Kendall left with Cooper. Kendall had liked Harlow, Grayson’s wife, a lot, and their home on the beach was beautiful. She hadn’t wanted to leave herself.