Page 15 of Bombshell

Another sob escaped Dolly. Even her crying was delicate. She was so damn fragile that it made a man want to wrap her up and keep her safe. Not that I was going to do that. Not now or ever. But I could admit she had that appeal. One I wasn’t interested in. It came with strings and drama.

“I didn’t know,” she whispered.

I winced. She was going to get right to it. Yep, I needed some whiskey. Even tequila would do.

Please let there be something stronger than wine in this place.

Pepper pulled her back into a hug. “Of course you didn’t know. What woman does when she starts dating a man? It’s part of dating and life.”

Dolly shook her head. “That’s not what I mean,” she said in a soft, pleading voice.

This time, when Pepper’s eyes met mine, they narrowed to slits. I saw the warning there in her gaze. I held up my hands and shrugged. I had done my best. What the fuck was I supposed to do, sit there and be silent while she had defended the fucker?

“Come sit down.” She guided Dolly to the pale blue velvet sofa with bright pink throw pillows.

Dolly sank down onto it and pressed her lips together.

“I never would’ve dated him,” she said.

The sorrow in her voice was making my chest feel funny. I needed that shit to stop.

“I need to get my things from the truck and make a run to the liquor store,” I said, heading for the door.

“Get me a bottle of Tito’s,” Pepper called out to me.

I only nodded and didn’t look back. I wasn’t staying in there for this. Not when I was reacting like I was to Dolly being upset. That shit was messed up. I had to get a drink and shake this off. Maybe I should have let Tex come here, like I’d originally planned. Dolly needed a dependable family man. One who understood her mental limits and need for protection. A churchgoing man. She would never just be a hot fuck.

All that needy, helpless, sexy, feminine shit she had going on? Not what I needed in my life. Not what I liked. I wanted them like the girls at the club. They knew the score. They knew how to please me. That was what I wanted.

Jesus and Tinker Bell weren’t my thing.

8

Dolly

The moment the door closed behind Micah, I let out a louder sob.

“Stop that. Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong,” Pepper said as her arms tightened around me.

I tried to stop the tears, but I felt like a complete fool. I’d been naive and stupid. Why hadn’t I questioned it? When had a man like Canyon ever looked my way before? I should have realized something was wrong. But I had wanted to belong to someone like him so badly that I ignored all the signs.

“I’m so stupid,” I whispered and bit down on my bottom lip to keep from letting out another pathetic sound.

Here I was, crying for myself, when Canyon hadn’t hurt me the way he had hurt Pepper. He’d truly caused damage with her. Taken from her. Yet she had remained strong. Tough. I could too. Right?

“You are not stupid, Dolly Belle Dixon! Do not say that again. I mean it. You are trusting. That doesn’t make you stupid. You have the most beautiful traits in the world. You’re kind, sincere, thoughtful, giving, and, yes, you are trusting. You see the good in everyone and believe that the rest of the world is just as genuine as you are. But they aren’t. And if I could change one thing about you, it would be that you saw the rest of us for who we are. No one is like you. At least, I haven’t met them yet.”

I leaned back to look at Pepper as I wiped my face with both hands. She had always said those things to me as if I were special. As if she envied me. Which was laughable because I wanted nothing more than to be exactly like her. Wild, brave, tough, brilliant, passionate, and stunning. Pepper Abe was the girl everyone envied. Not me. Yet she always made it seem like that was the case when she spoke of me.

“I should have questioned it,” I told her. “His interest in me.”

She shook her head. “Stop that. Now. I mean it. I won’t hear any more of it. It baffles me that you don’t realize how gorgeous you are. Of course a man like that would notice you. You are completely out of his league. Miles out of of his league.” She grabbed my chin and held my face so I couldn’t look away from her. “For once, listen to me. Believe me. Don’t let this bullshit that Canyon Acree did mess with your head. You were making progress.”

How had I done this? I always managed to get the focus on me. That was a flaw that I hated about myself. Pepper was the one who had been hurt the worse. This was about her. Not me, yet I had started crying like a baby, and she was focusing solely on me. I was not doing that again.

I swallowed hard, straightened my shoulders, and reached for her wrist, wrapping my fingers around it.

“Let’s drink and put this behind us. Forget Canyon,” I told her. “Unless you want to talk about it. What he did. I’ll listen.”

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