Page 161 of Hold Me Until Morning

Once we hit its peak, a valley opened below. The mountains that hugged Time River rose up high in the distance, and at its base we could see the river that snaked through.

The landscape was breathtaking. Awe-inspiring in its beauty.

A staggering ranch was sprawled out between, tucked in the safety of the valley. Trees grew up on the fringes and green, grassy fields stretched on for miles. A ton of buildings, barns and stables and cabins, were situated in every direction.

At the far end was an enormous house that rose out of a copse of trees, its pitched roof stretching toward the heavens.

“Wow.” I didn’t even realize the admiration had slipped between my lips.

Cody chuckled from where he drove.

I looked that way, and my breath was stolen all over again.

He wore his cap, jeans and a tee, a tattooed arm stretched out where he held onto the steering wheel.

He tossed a grin my way. “Caleb’s the richest man in Time River. Even richer than your dad.”

He wagged his brows with his pestering, and I tried to process that Cody had brought my father up at all. The disquiet I’d been carrying flared.

“You probably shouldn’t go around telling my father that,” I played along anyway, not sure where this conversation was going. Besides, my father might have been a shrewd businessman, but he honestly wasn’t all that proud. I doubted he cared all that much about who was making more money than him.

But what he did care about was me.

The easiness in Cody’s demeanor dampened. “I’m not sure there’s a whole lot I’m going to be telling your father, Hailey.”

I bit down on my bottom lip.

There it was.

That speck of misgiving that lingered from our past.

I knew how my father had felt about Cody.

I could still hear his warnings that he’d given me back then, and it wasn’t like he’d stopped implying them once I’d returned. As if I were a child who wasn’t smart enough to make her own choices.

I gripped my phone on my lap like it could erase the messages I’d ignored from him that had started coming in mid-morning.

Dad

We need to talk.

Dad

Where are you?

Dad

Don’t act like a child, Hailey. I know you’re getting my messages.

We’d had an argument when he’d stopped in to see me at the stables the day after Cody had been attacked. He’d looked me point-blank and told me to stay away from him. He had told me I was being foolish and any daughter of his would open her eyes.

Hurt had slashed through my insides, and I’d told him he didn’t have a say, and if he was going to toss demands around like he had the right to disparage Cody and disrespect me? Then he could stay away.

The thing was, I had been foolish for years, and he hadn’t had the first clue.

My voice turned earnest. A promise. “There isn’t a thing you need to explain to him.”

Reaching across the seats, Cody threaded his fingers through mine and gave them a slight squeeze. “Nah, neither of us need to explain ourselves.”

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