Harry rolled his eyes. “Piss off. Yeah, you do. Who are you trying to convince? Yourself?” He snorted. “You aren’t fooling me, old man. It’s been six years since you saved my dumb butt by giving me a job, and I’ve never seen you act like this over a woman.”
“Likethis?I’m not like…anything.”
“How much denial are you in? Your eyes never leave Lola. And if they aren’t on her, they’re searching for her. I even saw your lips curl up once.” He raised his eyebrows with a challenging grin. “You know, just at the corners… As if you can actually smile or something.”
I grunted.
“YoulikeLola.”
“No.”
Harry huffed with frustration. “Yeah. You do. And I’ll bet you coffee for a month that you like Lolaa lot.” He paused, eyes on the sky, thinking something through. “I’ve seen tourists make those flirty eyes at you, but you never smile back. And people can whisper about you and Miss Ruthie all they want. I know nothing is going on between you two.” He grimaced. “Not likethat.”
“No, nothing like that.” I held back a laugh. I could imagine Ruth recoiling in horror if she ever heardthataccusation.
“So, keep standing there in denial, pretending it’s not different with Lola. Other people haven’t realised because you’re still grumpy as hell, but I know you.” A pained expression scrunched up his face. “At least… IthoughtI knew you.”
I shook my head. No one knew me. Not really. Not even Ruth.
Lola had pried open a tiny crack in my chest and burrowed inside. But I’d come too close to tipping over the edge. That night could have gone so much worse. I speared my fingers through my hair, took a deep breath, and flooded the chasm aching in my chest with more air. It didn’t help.
Harry sighed. “I just don’t get it. Why didn’t you stand up for her? How could you let Evan say those things? Man, it’sLola. She’s like… She’s…” Harry braced his hands on the railing and stared out over the valley. He was quiet for a long time. Just thinking. “You ever notice her, Aiden?” He turned back to me with a faint smile.“Reallynoticed her?”
I leant my hip against the railing next to him. “Yeah, kid,” I admitted in a low voice. “I have.” Right down to the tiny freckles dotted on her shoulder.
“You sure? Watch her again. Lola seems okay around you, but any other man looks in her direction, and she’s a nervous wreck. She won’t even look at ’em. She spooks like a roo if someone starts hollering in the coffee shop. Otherwise, she keeps herself curled up tight.” Harry’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Just like Mum.”
My eyes rounded. “No… That’s not…” Harry’s father was a bastard. He was gone before my time, but the rumours still lingered. That man beat his wife. His son. My father had been a hard man, not an ounce of compassion in him. Still, he’d probably been like puppies and cotton candy compared to Harry’s dad. “Lola’s not like your mum.”
“Mum’s been scared like that since Dad left. She still is some days. Most days, even.” Harry turned his gaze back to the valley. “Lola’s the same. Someone didn’t treat her good.”
My hand shot out and gripped the railing, my knuckles turning white. “But… Lola…”
But…what?
Lola was all sweetness, shy smiles, and loving touches, but Harry was right. Signs screamed everywhere. She’d landed in town with nothing except the clothes on her back and been over the moon about her first pay as if she’d never earned a dollar. She’d panicked over a tiny mess. When I’d held her on her pink sheets, she’d pleaded with me not to treat her rough, and after I’d abandoned her, she’d begged me to tell her what she’d done wrong because she’d probably always heard everything was her fault.
I slumped lower against the railing.
And what had I done? Kicked her in her soft, broken belly when she was already curled up on the ground with no one to protect her.
“But…she’s…” I choked on the knot lodged in my throat. “She’s…so…smart. She’s…a doctor.”
I was grasping for excuses. Why? In my other life—when I’d still been someone—how many call-outs had I attended? How many women had I seen beaten black and blue who’d lied and said they’d fallen? My chest tightened. Not my Lola. I needed to pretend some bastard had never put his hands on my shy girl with her too-big glasses. I needed to pretend I wasn’t likehim—whoeverhewas.
“Does that make a difference?” Harry asked. “Mum was whip-smart, too. Now look at her. She can’t work. She can’t leave the house some days. She never saw him coming.” His sigh was heavy. “Do you ever, though? Evil people hide in plain sight. They’re everywhere. Even the smartest person can’t always see the wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing.”
I couldn’t pretend anymore.
I was the wolf.
I wanted. I took. But Lola paid the price.
And she never saw me coming.
11
She Saw the Wild Mare Unleashed
