Page 5 of Country

“You could say that. I moved to the mountain about six years ago to try somethin’ new. Found a group of like-minded folks, and got into bounty huntin’. Got lucky when they decided to settle in Rugged Mountain.”

“Really, though, don’t you miss Georgia?”

I glance away and back again, wondering how much I should say. I’ve kept my history quiet for the most part, but I figure I gotta tell her something or she won’t open up to me. “I needed a fresh start.”

“That’s never good. What happened?”

“I was seein’ a woman about six years ago. She got pregnant, then she told me she wanted to give it up for adoption. I got all kinds of confused on what my rights were and all that, so when she told me if I gave her money, she’d let me keep the baby instead of givin’ it to these other people.” I drag in a deep breath. “She signed a contract, and we agreed to part ways afterwards so as not to confuse the kid. Well, she had the baby, took the money, then told everyone I was crazy, that I made her sign the form, and she never got any money. It got even worse when she started sendin’ men over to the house to fight me to make me go away. Now I know these boys were doin’ what they thought was right, but after sendin’ a few of ‘em to the hospital, I realized I needed to do somethin’ a little more permanent.”

“Oh my god.” Daisy leans in, her tone empathetic as she says, “What happened?”

I drag in a deep breath. “I went to jail for six months on possession charges, and she went to jail for attempted murder.”

“What?” Her eyes widen. “Woah… drugs? Who’d she try to kill? You?”

I nod. “Me. My momma watched over my daughter until I was out of jail. When she passed away, I packed up and moved. Fresh start.”

“How did the woman try to murder you?”

“She had one of her many boyfriends cut the lines on my bike. I ran into a tree and broke both arms and fractured my clavicle. On one side, I was lucky. They got video of him doin’ it. When he got popped, he showed the cops all the texts she had sent tellin’ him to do it. And when they focused on her, they found the trail of the money I sent her as part of the contract. The bad news, as I was laid up after surgery, they found a fair amount of drugs on my bike. So, when they let me out of the hospital, it was right to jail.”

“What kind of drugs?”

“Weed. I don’t smoke around the kid. I cook it down and make candy to have when she’s asleep. It’s for relaxing. I’d just picked up a load from my dealer the morning of the accident. Georgia is pretty tough on weed, but I got a sympathetic judge. I was lucky to get off with six months, and the fact I got to keep my daughter.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and I expect judgment, but her face softens. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I don’t get the weed thing. It’s the same as alcohol, if you ask me.” An inquisitive smile lifts to her face as she says, “I can’t believe you have a daughter. Where is she?”

“My buddy, Ink, swung over to keep an eye on her yesterday. I’m sure he wants some relief anytime now.”

“Yeah.” She leans forward and rubs her eyes. “You should definitely go and take care of her. Thank you for… everything last night and sorry for giving you a hard time.”

I stand from the couch and reach for her hand. I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I know I need to be close to her.

Her small, soft hand tucks into mine. Her tone is smooth as she says, “Everything okay?”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

Our gaze meets and something happens. I can’t look away. Worst yet, she doesn’t respond. She stays stuck on my stare with parted lips as though she’s feeling the same thing I am.

What the hell is happening? Am I still asleep?

My hand cups her face and I brush my thumb against her cheek. “What are you feelin’?”

She shivers against my chest and wets her lips. “I’m not sure, but I like it.”

“Me too.” My heart slams against my chest, as my cock presses against my zipper. I lean in closer, desperate for her lips. A second later, I’m interrupted by the phone buzzing in my front pocket.

Daisy glances down at the screen. “It’s your friend. You should probably answer it.”

I don’t want to answer it. I wanna let it go to voicemail and ignore everything and everyone until I’ve properly made this woman mine.

That said, Daisy seems to have moved on. Her focus is solely on the screen lit up on my phone.

I blow out a heavy breath. “I should probably head home. He needs to get to work, and I have a meetin’ this morning. I’ll check on you tonight.” I pull out a card with my name and number. “Call me if you hear anything else. Don’t try to handle it yourself. Promise me.”

She pinches her lips together and nods. I don’t want to leave her. I want to haul her over my shoulder and take her with me, but that’s not realistic.

I should’ve at least gotten information on where she works or any details at all about where she’ll be today. But as I turn back, the door is already closed, and Ink is ringing my phone for the third time in a row. Hopefully nothing is wrong.

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