I hate that I’ve had this effect on her. I reach out for her shoulder, but she flinches away.
“I told you everything! You even mentioned how much you loved how genuine I was. I trusted you around my kids, around my family. You promised you would make me feel safe here today.”
My heart shatters on the floor. The last thing I ever wanted to do was disappoint her.
“Do me a favor and stay away from us.” She follows Hawk who looks to be giving her a ride home, because apparently, I’m too dangerous for that too.
Chapter Nine
Bree
I drag in a deep breath and try to refocus on the novel I’m reading, but there’s something about this whole book-boyfriend thing that’s not sitting right with me today. These men are perfect. Even when they’re bad, they’re perfect. Real life is nothing like that. Real life is lonely.
I stare out the window and try and formulate a thought of my own, but all that’s coming into frame is the look on my mother’s face when she knew I’d failed yet again. Maybe she’s right. It is the fourth day in a row the girls are at my sister’s. I know Portia’s right about me needing time, but four days off seems excessive. The worst part is, I can’t stop thinking about Wilder.
The big, tall, burly man that listened to me cry and took me back to a time when I was unbroken. That day and a half was great.
I laugh to myself at the ridiculousness of it all. He literally occupied less than a tenth of a percent of my life. I should let this be the lesson it needs to be and move on.
Thirty-six hours with a man is not long enough to know anything. Despite the fact that I like the way his hands feel on my body and how protected I am when he’s next to me, none of that matters because he’s full of shit.
I bury my head in my hands and laugh hysterically loud. This must be what cracking mentally looks like. Thankfully the buzz of my cell phone saves me.
It’s Henry Baxter. Henry’s one of the figureheads in town since he’s one of the owners of Rugged Mountain Ink. When I was looking to set up the ice cream shop, he befriended me and helped with a lot of the building permits. I know his presence drove in a lot of our early business.
I hope there’s nothing wrong atThe Country Dairy.I can’t take another shit thing today.
“Hello?” I hold on to the end of the word… and my breath.
“Hey, Bree! It’s Henry. Not sure if you remember me or not but I—”
“I do. Is everything okay? We’ve been trying to follow all the rules and keep things clean. I hope no one has complained.”
His tone is light and pleasant. “No… no. That’s not it at all. I was calling for something completely unrelated.”
I guess he likes to keep me on edge.
“Okay…”
“This is weird, but in a few minutes, Wilder is going to knock on your door.”
My heart sinks but I can’t figure if it’s good or bad.“Okay…”
“He told me what happened at your mom’s wedding and he asked me not to do this, but I’m a nosy old man and I’ve known the kid too long to stop. I want him to be happy. He deserves it. And if the two of you had a connection, I didn’t want him to miss out.”
“Right. Well… I have two small kids and they—”
“I don’t like liars in my town, and I don’t tolerate criminals either. Wilder grew up here. He played with my kids and he’s a good guy. And if it’s any help, I’d give you my word he’d be a great father.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Thank you, but we’re nowhere near that. Besides, I can’t have a man who was in prison raising my kids. Reformed or not.”
Henry lowers his tone. “You know we did background checks on you and your sister before you bought the ice cream shop, right?”
I swallow hard and fold my hands tightly on my lap. I don’t think I’ve got any ghosts in my past, but suddenly I feel like there’s a cop following me through a school zone. “I remember something about it. Why?”
“You did some time yourself after high school. I believe you tied yourself to a tree and refused to move.”
“That’s different!” I gasp. “I was trying to save the conservation. Dozens of animals live on that land. I went to jail for a good cause, and it was fivedays, not five years!”
