Page 57 of His Other Half

Whatever was going on had to do with Josie. She was the one who got upset and left him after talking about her status with Priest. Nothing should come as a surprise to her. He'd told her he had fallen in love with her when he'd read her journal.

Josie raised her head as he approached. She blankly looked at him.

He stopped beside her. "Are you ready to go home?"

"We don't have to." She looked at Cami. "I needed some air."

"Did you get some?"

Her jaw opened, and she snapped her mouth shut before answering. "I was warm inside."

"Now, you're cool?"

She pursed her lips. He raised his brows. If she wanted to keep what was bothering her to herself, that was fine. But it was obvious she thought Cami could help because she'd brought her friend outside with her.

He cupped the back of her neck and brought her to him. "If you're upset, you come to me, and I'll make it easy to understand what's pissed you off."

"I'm not upset."

"Now, you're lying to me." He looked at Cami for validation that he understood Josie had a problem with something he did, and she averted her eyes. "You belong to me. That's nothing Cami can explain to you."

"I don't—"

"You do." He brought Josie closer. "We can argue out here, or you can accept it, and we can go back inside."

"I want to go home."

"We can do that."

"Alone." She grabbed Cami's hand. "Cami's ready to go, too."

Chrischris joined the group and whispered to Cami, leading her away. Alone with Josie, he put his hands in his pockets and gave her space. Knowing she would fight back, he wanted her to feel comfortable around him. He wasn't like her dad or Shaw.

She was leery of him. He got that.

For the first eighteen years of her life, she'd lived on the reservation, surrounded by people who had a similar lifestyle and upbringing. Living in Missoula, she struggled with how other people lived and the disconnection she felt being Blackfoot.

Too proud to tell anyone about her struggles, she'd poured her heart out in her journal. Those fears were now his. She could deny them all she wanted, but he still owned them. He would share her fears and do whatever possible to lessen them.

"When I was your age, I stumbled into a guy named Jerry. He rode a sweet Harley that I admired. A few months later, I worked with him at Lanier's Towing," he said.

Josie tilted her head. "That's where Cami works."

He dipped his chin. "He and Aaron built the place up to what it is today with Rick's help. They're good guys to work for."

She stayed quiet. Like she was prone to do, she mulled over the information without questioning him.

"Pretty soon after, I saved my money and bought a motorcycle. Then, a couple of years later, I was patched into Tarkio. Now, I work strictly for the club as an officer." He looked over at his Harley, not going deeper into what he did for the club. "Before that, I never belonged anywhere. Tarkio became family, but it wasn't an easy change. I struggled with depending on them. I was my own man, responsible for myself...a lot like you and wanting to survive on your own in Missoula."

Josie leaned against the building and clasped her hands together in front of her. He had all her attention.

"Listen, sweetheart. I've got twenty more years of living this life compared to you. I'm not trying to change you, but you need to know that because I gave my life to Tarkio, to show you how I'm feeling, I'm going to tell every son of a bitch inside that you belong to me, any chance I get. If you don't like it, you're going to have to learn to live with it."

"You called me a WAG inside." She stared out at the street. "It sounded a lot like you were making me into something else, I don't understand. I'm my own woman."

He stepped into her view. "You're my other half."

Her gaze softened, and she whispered, "I'm your girlfriend. There's a difference between owning me and enjoying me."

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