“I scrounged around for loose change. I searched her drawers, the couch cushions, all that. Got sixty cents for my trouble. So I searched the neighborhood. I checked near cars and front steps and along the road to the gas station. I ended up with a few dollars. It wasn’t enough for a whole pizza, but I could buy something to eat. Ahotdog probably would have been more filling, but gas station hotdogs are disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose at me, her lips tipped up in a genuine smile. “Anyway, it was my birthday. I wanted something yummy. So I bought my favorite candy and a Diet Coke because the regular Coke wasn’t on sale.”
“Lennon,” I rasped. My chest hurt. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
She frowned at me. “No. Don’t do that. This isn’t a sob story, okay? When I’m feeling down about something, I have Skittles and Diet Coke because it reminds me of my twelfth birthday and it makes me feel better. It’s agoodmemory, Jeremiah.”
“How? Your mother—” Anger choked the words in my throat. I hated that Lennon had been treated as disposable by the person who should have loved her the most.
“Because I proved I didn’t need anyone else. I could take care of myself. And I do. Maybe not in a way you approve of, but I’m happy and healthy.” She made a silly face and popped another handful of Skittles in her mouth. “That stalker thing isn’t my fault, you know. You can’t hold me responsible for him. But I’m going to figure it out and I’m going to fix it. I promise.”
“Lennon. I approve of you. I more than approve of you.” How could she doubt that? “You’re smart and so fucking strong. So fucking beautiful.”
She stared at me in surprise. Then her gaze faltered and dipped to my cone. “Eat your ice cream, Jeremiah.”
I kept looking at her, waiting for her to give me her eyes again. She didn’t. My girl was a coward about the strangest things. I shook my head. “I’ve never known anyone as scared of compliments as you are.”
“I’m notscared. I just don’t believe them.”
I cocked my head, genuinely perplexed. “How’s that? You’re the most confident woman I’ve ever met.”
“Well, sure. My taste is impeccable.” She smirked as she tilted her soda to her lips. “Ithink I’m great. But I find it impossible to believe that anyone else does.”
I hated everyone who had given her a reason to doubt me. Her mother was at the top of that list.
But I was going to rectify that. Before Lennon Graves left Mercy River Ranch, she would know down to her bones exactly how wonderful I found her.
“You know I’m going to have to do something about Holly, right?” Lennon sounded almost apologetic. “It’s part of that whole taking care of myself thing. If I let it slide, how will I ever trust myself again?”
Oh, fuck. “I need you to listen to me very carefully, honey. Leave Holly alone.”
“I know, I know. You were a team of some kind of special forces.” She flicked her wrist. “Holly’s not going to actuallykillme?—”
“Holly wasn’t special forces,” I interrupted. “She was a contractor assigned to a special forces team. She didjobs that—never mind. Just trust me on this, okay? She has different rules.”
She gave my thigh a reassuring pat. “I know you’re worried. You think I’m punching above my weight class?—”
“I don’t think that,” I interrupted. “Holly has trained skills, but you’re creative. It’s like watching two super powers with nuclear weapons duke it out. I’m scared one of you will hit that red button and vaporize us all.”
27
LENNON
“Cheersto the end of a shitastic day.” Emma raised her plastic cup of sauvignon blanc.
I tapped my cup to hers and drank even though my day had been pretty lovely, actually. On the other hand, with my postcard stalker on the loose, maybe every day was a teeny tiny bit shitty. Although it was hard to complain when having a stalker meant I got to curl up with a warm cowboy every night.
A cowboy who still refused to put his virgin dick in me.
Maybe I had something to complain about, after all.
Emma had gathered the three of us—Tamilee, Cecily, and me—to decompress over a glass of wine so she could go home to Blair in agood mood. We’d set up lawn chairs in the horse pasture to enjoy the view. Sunset wasn’t for another few hours—June days were long and bright in Wyoming—but the mellow evening light cast everything in a warm golden glow. Mountains and horses nibbling on pasture stretched out before us. Behind us, my favorite cowboy was practicing roping in the ring.
It was tempting to turn my chair around and watch.
“Are you going to tell us what Liam did to piss you off?” Tamilee asked.
“How do you know it was something Liam did?”
Tamilee raised her eyebrows. “Mmhmm.”
