Page 37 of Love At Peace

“Want me to follow you home?” Fergus asked. “In case he thinks about bugging you again?”

I nodded, hating to count on help but growing to understand that it didn’t make me weaker. I was stronger with a little help from a friend.

It felt good to have their support. It wasn’t a trap to be helped. It wasn’t a system of obligations and expectations, that if they did something nice like standing up to David with me that I’d be forced into something else.

Fergus followed me home, and once we saw that the coast was clear to my cabin, I waved him off. His headlights bounced in the darkness, signaling his route back down the bumpy road.

Yet, I stood there, peering out the curtain of my front window.

Maybe I need to go after all. Just to get away—again.

The idea of running didn’t fill me with a false sense of hope this time.

It...disappointed me.

Nance and Fergus showed me just now how it wasn’t as difficult to face my enemy with them at my side.

I bet Gavin would do the same.

Todd had. He’d scared off David.

And Roarke. I knew that he would defend me too.

Relying on any of them wouldn’t be a recognition of cowardice.

But running might. Fleeing and getting out of Burton—again—might be a crystal clear sign of being the ultimate coward.

I’d run from David once.

To do so again would be selfish.

With a little backup from my friends, maybe it was time to be done with David for good. To stand up to him. For me to look him in the eye and tell him he can’t bother me anymore. For me to fight back.

Fight back how, though?

I let the curtain fall into place as I stepped back from the window.

There was no way to defeat him. No way to teach him a lesson. Not a chance that he’d pay for his behavior. He always got away with everything.

And knowing how low the odds were for me to fight and win, I wallowed in the hopelessness that had taken root in my soul.

Chapter 14

Roarke

None of the houses I looked at fit. They didn’t appeal. I couldn’t see myself living in any of them, but that night, when I lay in bed in the cabin I couldn’t stay in for long, I wondered if I wasn’t looking at the houses for what they offered or if I was projecting my view through a filter of wishing Heather could’ve been there with me.

I wanted to find a home, not just a house to sleep in. I wanted to settle down for good here, with a good job at Grand River and a place to call my own. Heather, despite her hesitations to even give me the time of the day, was part of that vision. Considering that, it was no wonder that the places I checked out didn’t meet my criteria. She hadn’t been there with me, and it mattered.

I didn’t have time to look any further for houses. Realtors were spamming me with calls, texts, and emails, but I had yet to pick one to go with. This shopping around phase could take a while, and in the back of my mind, I was half convinced that I wouldn’t even find anything until after the holidays. People weren’t focusing on selling properties now. They were in family tradition preparation.

My family—the men I worked with at the ranch—were my company for the busier-than-usual workweek. Horses were acting up. The vet had to come by multiple times. More holes were found in the fencing. A couple of younger, newer recruits tried to cause a fight over a woman.

It was a chaotic few days, and during them, I lacked the energy to do more than show up, work hard, and head home to crash. The second my head hit the pillow, I’d fall asleep, but the insomnia kicked in like clockwork, keeping me up at three o’clock so I would only be able to achieve an on-and-off rest. In those early hours, I obsessed about all that was wrong in my life. All this damn drama.

Heather.

Nevaeh.