Page 73 of All My Love

And I follow.

twenty-four

ALL RED FLAGS.

Hudson

Last night, I don’t know who was in charge. But today, the logical father in me is at the forefront of my consciousness, driving the ship.

The walls of Dolly’s room flash behind my eyes, hundreds of photos scattered about, all with me in them. The flat tire. The way the wordsI love youso easily fell from her lips. The bank card PIN.

Fuck.

Those are all red flags.I know it.

I. Know. It.

The confusing part is that I still want her. Hell, if I’m being honest, part of me wants her fucking more. It’s sick and twisted, I know, but the thought that sweet Dollyis sitting in her room dreaming of a life with me and my son? Fuck.

She’s pining away, playing the long game, obsessing over me.

Find me a man who doesn’t want that.

But I have a son. And yes, Dolly loves him, but as she trails behind me on my way to my pickup truck, I think only of him.

Red flags breed instability. I need stability for my boy.

Linking my hand through the door handle, I turn to face her. “Dolly, it means a lot to me that you care so much,” I begin, unsure of what to say because every word that leaves my mouth feels wrong. Still, I want stability for Bear. He deserves that.

“Please don’t get scared,” she begs softly, making my cock thrum.

“I think it’s just… too much,” I say, scrubbing a hand down my face. “You’re young and… maybe confused. And… I don’t know, Dolly.” I take a breath.“I need to process.”

She steps back as if I’ve mortally wounded her, one of her hands coming to her stomach. “Okay,” she nods, eyes filling with tears, tears that physically hurt my chest as they fall. I don’t want to see her hurt… but I don’t know.

I shake my head and reach for her, because it feels right, though it directly conflicts with my words. “Dolly, I don’t want you to feel bad or…” I trail off, navigating the unstable terrain poorly. But a woman stalking me? It seems like I’d be a fool to invite a stalker into my son’s life, no matter how sweet or beautiful.

No matter how wrong it feels to turn her away.

“Fine,” she sniffles, her brow cinching up,casting lines of strain across her forehead and near the corners of her eyes. I hate seeing her pained, and then I think about Tiffani by her car that day. She was hurt. She was pained. She was upset. And despite what happened with Bear, her pain did not affect me whatsoever. “Will you do one thing for me?” she asks, her rocky voice tearing through my heart.

Stay strong for Bear.

I nod. “Okay.”

“Come to my barn when you get home.” She wipes a tear from her cheek using the hem of her t-shirt. The wind picks up pieces of her golden hair, tossing it over her lips and nose. She tugs it back, pushing it behind her ear. “I’ll leave you alone forever, Hudson, but I need you to come to my barn, okay? Promise?”

I nod, willing to promise nearly anything to get her tears to stop falling. She nods, and walks away, and watching her leave feels all wrong. All the things that are keeping me rooted to the concrete with my hand on my truck door are the same things that have my heart racing, my blood pumping, my dick hard.

The passion and obsession that makes me feel loved and special, that drives me toward her, that has me wanting to fall to my knees and worship her in equal measure, those are the things that, as a father, tell me to step back.

Confused, I get into my truck and wait for Deuce, who is saying goodbye to Trace in the doorway of Ink Time. He slides into the cab, grabbing the roof handle. “All right. Ev and Bear are done returning the linens. We gotta swing by the rental place to pick ’em up.” He points down the road like I don’t know where I’m going, and usually, that’d spark a salty banter.

But I don’t have it in me today.

When I don’t put the truck into drive, Deuce flips up his sunglasses, itching the spot on his neck where a mermaid with a sugar skull head is etched. “Why aren’t we going?” He twists in the cab to peer at me.

“Last night I took Dolly home,” I tell him, my mind swimming.

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