“Oh, I can do that if you tell me where the bowls are.”
“No need. Why don’t you find some dry clothes to change into?” I nod toward her bags. “Do you have any thermals? You’ll need them overnight.”
With a single nod, she looks at the bags, frowns. “I do. But I don’t know which bag they’re in.”
“I noticed none of them are labeled.”
“Oh, that’s not why I don’t know.” Her eyes meet mine. “I didn’t pack anything. Warren had those on the porch when I got back from the grocery store this morning.”
Her words aren’t helping change my mind about the man who dropped her off. The one I believe put her profile on GetHitched without her knowledge. Swallowing my emotions again, I say, “Go see what you can find. I’ll get dinner organized.”
Stalking to the bathroom, I shut the door behind me with too much force, but anger vibrates through every muscle and needs an outlet. If it wasn’t going to be dark soon, I’d go back outside and chop wood. Lifting the lid on the toilet, I pull out my dick to piss.
I’d like to piss on something—someone—else right now, but any retribution will have to wait. I need to take care of Riley first.
Business done and hands scrubbed clean, I go back into the main room and stop short. Riley is on her knees, tears sliding down her cheeks, a small broken object in her hands.
“Riley?”
She sniffles. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I move closer, the need to be near her overriding any other thought. “What’s wrong?”
“The only thing I have left from my parents got broken.”
My jaw clenches and my hands curl so tight they ache. With effort I keep my voice soft. “Is anything else broken?”
“I don’t know.” She tips her head side to side to wipe a cheek on each shoulder. “This was the first thing I found.”
Thunder rumbles in the distance, echoing my thoughts. I’ll call Uncle Granger and see what he knows about Warren. About Riley. He knows pretty much everyone in and around Winter Lake. Except then I’ll have to explain that I agreed to marry a woman I’d never met. One who is clueless about our agreement because she never made it.
Moving closer until I’m right behind her, I peer over the top of her head and into the open trash bag. Everything is just tossed in. Like it’s trash. Except all those things are Riley’s. And with a jolt of shock, I realize what’s in these six bags are heronlypossessions.
“Why don’t you take everything out and see if anything else is damaged? I’ll get our dinner served and then we can work out where to put your things so they’re protected. But first, get out of those damp clothes. There’s a storm rolling in and if the wind picks up, things will get cold in here even with the fire roaring.”
“O-kay.” She sniffles, wipes her face on her shoulders again then gently places the broken ornament on the floor beside her. Shuffling on her knees, she opens another bag and looks inside. “I think this is my clothes.”
I want to hover over her, make sure she doesn’t find anything else upsetting, but I know I should give her privacy. Shaking my head, I step back and turn toward the kitchen. My gaze brushes over the bathroom and an idea hits me, and I turn back around.
“Do you want to shower before dinner? Freshen up after being in wet clothes all day?” Her face tips up toward me and the surprise and yearning in her gaze has my throat and chest constricting.
“Could I?” she asks, as though I’m offering her the most precious thing in the world.
“Of course. You don’t need my permission. Clean towels are on the shelves behind the door and there is soap in the shower you can use if you can’t find your own.”
Riley laughs but there’s no humor in it. “He probably didn’t pack my toiletries.”
It’s not a bad thing I want to hunt down her uncle and beat him senseless, right? I’m not normally a violent person. And my thoughts are less than he deserves.
Depending on how our talk goes, the one we’re going to have while we eat dinner, I’ll decide when to go looking for him.
I might not have gotten the wife I expected, and I might not know what to do with the woman who showed up, but I know what it’s like to feel trapped. Without control. And I’m more than willing to help Riley find hers.
RILEY
Sitting close to Felix shouldn’t be comfortable. It definitely shouldn’t have my body tingling in places it never has before.
I don’t know this man. Only met him a few hours ago. And yet, I have to stop myself from leaning toward him. From touching him.
