Page 48 of Show Me

His eyes darken with anger, causing the hair on my arms to stand. “You won’t find another place that values you as I do.”

The sentence lands like a claim. I step back. “I’ll take my chances.”

I turn before he can respond, before he can say something that makes this more unnerving.

The gym noise swells as I step back into the lobby, weights clanging, music pulsing, Brent’s laugh somewhere near the free weights.

My phone vibrates in my hand.

Xavier: I’ll be around tonight.

I don’t try to convince him I’m okay. Or that I can handle things on my own. I can, but for once, I don’t want to.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Xavier

This time, the lock clicks open as I take the first step. Relief hits hard knowing she locked the door instead of propping it open with a brick. The back door creaks as I pull it open.

“Don’t step–”

Too late. I stop mid-step as a low, warning grunt rolls through the porch. Samson is already on his feet, all two hundred pounds of him. He blocks the path to the straw-lined corner, where the piglets are piled together in a warm heap.

I don’t move. Don’t challenge. Don’t do anything that might make him think I’m a problem.

“You have… security.” I keep my voice even.

Ruby presses her lips together like she’s trying not to laugh. “Samson takes his job seriously, and it only seems to increase the older his babies get.”

One of the piglets squeaks, shifting toward the edge of the straw. Samson steps forward, slow and deliberate. I stay where I am, letting him decide whether I’m friend or foe.

“Easy,” Ruby murmurs, stepping up beside me. “He’s with me.”

Samson’s attention flicks to her, then back to me. Another grunt. A long pause. Then he turns and settles back near the piglets, still angled between them and the rest of the porch.

“Approved.” Her lips curve upward.

I exhale. I’m not sure I could win a fight with a pissed-off boar. “I feel honored.” I crouch near the doorway instead of stepping fully in.

“They’re bigger.”

“They double in size fast.”

One of them wobbles too close to the edge again. I reach out, nudging it back toward the others. Samson watches. Doesn’t object.

“That one’s a troublemaker.” Her eyes dance as she watches it waddle back into the line with the rest of them.

“Looks like you.” I rotate my shoulders as I return to a standing position.

She bumps her shoulder into mine. “Rude.”

The piglets wiggle around. Delilah remains steady. Samson stands guard as nothing gets past him. “He’s not going to let anything near them.”

“Samson?” She nods. “He’ll stand there for hours if he thinks there’s a threat.”

Good. The word settles deeper than it should, but I’m not going to complain. Samson’s diligence is twofold. He’ll keep the piglets safe as well as alert Ruby to any potential intruders.

“You quit.” It’s not quite a question, more of a statement, since she’s the one who contacted me.