“Drop it, Raven.”

My words come out harsher than I wanted and I instantly regret them.

“Okay,” she whispers before I can apologize. “But promise me you’ll be careful. I need you here, not behind bars or...or worse.”

“I promise. You’re stuck with me, doll. Get used to it.”

She turns her face into my chest and takes a deep breath.

“Little puppy.”

I get a soft giggle from her. I already miss her laugh. You really don’t know the value of something until it’s gone. She was a bright light and instead of illuminating my world, I dragged her into the darkness. I need to make this right. I need my sun back.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll fix it.”

“I know,” she says in a soft voice. “I know you will.”

I kiss the top of her head and hold her close. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to fix it, though, and that’s my problem. How can I come up with a plan when I don’t even know what I’m dealing with?

There’s a knock at the door and I carefully leave the bed to answer it. When I open it, I see the boy – Chris. He’s holding a bunch of flowers with a balloon. His jaw twitches and he squares his shoulders. Good for him.

“I’m here to see Raven,” he states.

I simply nod and move aside so he can enter. He goes straight to the bed and takes her hand. I want to tell him to get his hands off her, but I bite my tongue. I don’t want to upset Raven.

“How are you doing, beautiful?”

I bite my tongue again.

“I’m okay,” she answers.

“You think we could talk without him hovering over my shoulder?”

Okay, this kid is seriously pushing my boundaries. He’s lucky I even let him see her. Raven shoots me a pleading look, so I take a deep breath and calm down. “I’ll go talk to the doctor about your release.”

“Thanks.”

I head out to find her doctor but spot her mother at the nurse’s station, so I head there instead. There’s a man with her who I assume is her husband, and a little girl clutching at her skirt.

“Mrs. Marchand?”

“Oh, Mr. Hunter.” She turns to me and offers her hand. “This is my husband, Daniel.”

Daniel gives me an appraising look as he shakes my hand. I’d love to see what he would have done if I was wearing my colors. He’d probably grab his wife and kid and run for the hills.

“You can call me Gage,” I tell him.

“Gage.”

I almost laugh at him trying to sound tough. I’ve never met a woman’s parents before, but I figure her father would have done the same thing.

“Is Raven awake?”

“Yes, she is.” I turn back to her mother. “A friend is with her now.”

“I was hoping she’d be up to meeting Daniel and Dani.”

I look down at the little girl and she hides her face behind her mom’s legs.

“Hi, there,” I say in a soft voice. She peeks out and I see her mom’s eyes. Raven’s eyes. I crouch to her level and extend my hand. “I’m Gage, Raven’s friend.”

At the mention of her sister’s name, she steps out from behind her mother and takes my hand.

“You know my sister?”

“Yeah, I do. You wanna go see her?”

“Yes, please.” She nods excitedly, and I chuckle at her enthusiasm.

“Tell you what. I’ll go tell her you’re here and then come back and get you, okay?”

“Okay.”

Her mother mouths a thank you as I stand, and I nod in acknowledgement. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mr. Gage?” Dani’s little voice stops me and I turn back to her. She waves me toward her, so I return to my crouching position. Placing her lips at my ear, she whispers, “Do you think she’ll like me?”

I stare into her eyes and all I can see is Raven looking back at me. She had the same apprehensive expression when she asked that very question about her mother. This is one meeting I know Raven will have no reservations about. “She’s going to love you.”

She gives me a wide smile I have to return when I see that two of her teeth are missing. Utter cuteness. Yeah, Raven’s going to fall in love with this little girl.

***Raven***

Gage re-enters the room and Chris immediately goes rigid. After he finished playing the blame game, we actually had a pretty nice visit. He told me the girls didn’t come with him because he asked for some alone time with me, but they’d come by later. Hopefully, Gage can get me out of here today so I can see them at home. Then again, where is home? I’m definitely not going back to Lonnie’s place. Gage said he’s taking me home with him. Does he mean the clubhouse, or his house? Doesn’t matter. I just need to get out of here.

I give Chris’ hand a gentle squeeze. Rising from where he’s perched on the edge of my bed, he shoves his hands in his pockets. He sneers at Gage, who, frankly, isn’t paying him any attention. His gaze is locked on me.

“You good?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“There are some people here to see you.”

“Laurelyn?”

“Yeah. You up for it?”

“I guess.” I nod. “Dani?”

I admit, I’m excited to meet her. I have a little sister. One I can be a better sibling to than Lonnie was to me. That is, if Laurelyn doesn’t disappear again.

“She’s here,” Gage replies.

“I’ll go,” Chris says. “Call me if you get out today. If not, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Okay. Thanks for coming.”

He kisses my forehead and leaves, giving Gage a wide berth. Gage approaches me with a raised brow. I think he’s going to give me shit about Chris, but he doesn’t.

“You ready?”

“Yeah,” I answer. “I am.”

“I’ll go get ‘em.”

I chew on my thumbnail nervously as I wait for him to return. Will she like me? Will this be the only time I get to see her? Laurelyn is one thing, but this is different. Dani is an innocent bystander in all this. I don’t think I could handle having one more person ripped from my life.

He comes back in, holding a little girl’s hand. No, not just any little girl – my sister. She’s a miniature of Laurelyn, down to the way she’s dressed, like a proper young lady. She stares at me, wide-eyed, clutching tightly to a teddy bear. When they reach the side of the bed, Gage picks her up so she’s at eye level.

“Hi,” I choke out as tears gather in my eyes.

“Hi. Are you my big sister?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Mommy told me you were in an accident,” she says as she extends the teddy bear to me. “I brought this for you. His name is Teddy. He’s my favorite and always makes me feel better.”

I take the bear from her and hug it to my chest. “Thank you. I feel better already.”

“You’re welcome. May I give you a hug?”

Proper young lady. Whatever they’re teaching this little girl, she’s obviously learning.

“I’d like that.”

Gage places her on the bed carefully, and her gaze sweeps over me in an obvious attempt to see how she can hug me without hurting me. Finally, she wraps her little arms around my neck. I return her hug with my good arm, breathing in her scent.

“I’ve always wanted a big sister.”

“And I’ve always wanted a little sister. I’m glad it’s you.”

She pulls back from our embrace and gives me a hopeful stare. “Will you come and live with us?”

I glance at Gage, unsure what to say. I don’t want to hurt her feelings within the first five minutes of meeting her.

“I live here, sweetheart...but you can visit me anytime you like.”

Apparently content with my answer, she starts chattering away, telling me about her school, teachers, friends...everything about her little six-year-old world. I smile and nod, interjecting whenever I can. She’s so cute with her little toothless grin. Gage and I both laugh when she starts talking about a boy in her class who wants to be her boyfriend, but ‘he’s too immature’.

She leans forward, cupping her hand to hide her lips from Gage, and whispers, “Is Mr. Gage your boyfriend?”

“Yes, he is.”

“I like him,” she says with a wink. “He’s cute.” She sits upright, giggling as she casts shy glances his way.