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I turned my head to look over my shoulder. “I know that.”
“And I know that being gentle isn’t your strong suit,” he spat.
“Beau,” Jigs warned.
I met Beau’s eyes. “I’ve got her.”
“Hi,Mom,”Iheardthrough the crack of the spare bedroom door. I was coming up to tell Valerie about dinner but stopped on the top step.
“No, no, I’m okay,” she croaked. “It’s been a long day.”
The pain in her voice was like a punch in the gut.
“That’s not the hotel room. Val, where are you?”
Her mother. Her mother with cancer…the reason why Valerie did what she did.
I heard her sigh. I didn’t think she would tell her mother where she was. How in the hell would you explain that to someone? Especially your mother?
Because moms love without judgement, my sweet Denver.
My mother’s voice echoed in my head and my hand tightened on the railing. I held my breath, my eyes on the cracked door. I couldn’t see her from where I was standing, but I hoped like fuck she was still wearing that blue dress.
I wanted that dress on my bedroom floor.
“I—uh—I’m at the ranch,” Valerie answered.
“The ranch?”
“Yes.”
“The Grump’s ranch?” her mother asked, her voice raised.
The Grump.I bit a curse under my breath. She’d told her mother about me.
Of course, she did. She’s all she has, dipshit.
I was the grump who insulted her looks, her job, her ambition…
“Fuck,” I muttered. Without another glance, I headed downstairs. She needed her mom, not some deranged asshole cowboy. I poked my head in the living room, only to find Caleb wasn’t there.
He wasn’t in the kitchen either.
I pulled out my phone and found a text from Lawson.
Lawson: Kid’s eating chili and playing cards with Jigs tonight.
Shaking my head, I typed back a thank you and headed into the kitchen. Chili sounded good and I knew there would be enough for me in the bunkhouse.
But what if she came down?
What if she was hungry?
Had she eaten since breakfast?
Why do I fucking care so damn much about her?
She was a stranger to me and yet I didn’t leave her in the rain. I let her sleep in my bed, I let her into my home. I saw red when I thought someone was hurting her, flew into town like a bat out of hell. I killed two men in front of her.
