“You repay me by loving them the way they deserve to be loved,” she says simply, snapping the top of the lighter closed and pushing me from the room.
When I come back from my walk in the woods, she’s gone. I stand in the middle of the room, spinning in a circle, knowing my life is about to change.
Jesse is not someone who makes promises she can’t keep.
I spend the rest of the evening saying goodbye to everything I’ve built here. I’m not sure how she’s going to get me to leave. Perhaps she’ll just kidnap me and force me out. Bill told me his daughter had more courage in her pinky finger than all of his men combined. She’s not afraid to do what it takes.
She loves fiercely.
She loves Raffe … I saw it in her eyes.
She’d give her life for him.
It’s the one thing we have in common.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dan
We drive by Jenny’s place slowly.
“Her rod isn’t here,” Dirk says, pulling up to a gate.
“That doesn’t mean shit,” Raffe responds, getting out. He starts picking the lock. “Remind me to have Jackson make me a copy of the key to this damn thing. I need to be able to get a vehicle in here. Fuck!”
He’s getting frustrated, and I can’t blame the man. His other half is on the other side of a locked gate. If I were him, I’d be driving my truck right through the damn thing.
“I knew Jenny was trying to get rid of me. I should never have left,” he continues.
Thank god the lock clicks open without too much of a fight. The man is about to lose his fool head.
The three of us remain quiet as we head up the dark path. When a small cabin comes into view, I pause. I’m about to meet Jenny. The woman responsible for bringing me my angel.
Raffe peeks in through the window before knocking on the door. “The lights are on,” he notes.
Like that matters. My house was completely dark, and the two of them didn’t hesitate to knock my door down.
A woman chuckles softly.
The three of us turn to find her standing behind us, a double-barreled shotgun draped across her arms. She stares at Raffe for a moment before turning her attention to me. “Big Dan?”
“I would think that would be obvious,” Dirk says dryly.
The pretty lady in front of me has to be none other than Jenny. She smiles wide, and instantly I feel a connection. This woman gave Lily the courage to run away from her father. I owe her my life.
She rushes forward and dumps the shotgun in Raffe’s hands before wrapping her arms around me … or at least trying to. “Thank you for loving her the right way,” she says, crying into my shirt.
I look at Raffe, and he shrugs. He’s no fucking help. I pat her on the back awkwardly. “You’re welcome.”
Dirk rolls his eyes at me. Fuck him. I don’t know what to say. “Okay. Okay,” he interrupts impatiently. “You can hug on the big guy all you want …afteryou tell us where my wife is.”
She steps away as if I suddenly caught fire. “You mean you’re not here to drag me away?”
The three of us exchange a look. Dirk arches a brow. “Why would we do that?”
Her lips curl between her teeth for a moment, and then she pushes past us. “I’ve been such a terrible host. Won’t you come in? I just baked a fresh berry pie.”
Sounds good to me.
