Page 77 of Burn the Wild

He steps closer, firing all my senses. “Yeah, I could. I’d take you out driving, down to my favorite lake. Catch us a catfish dinner, then I’d bring you back to my place and—”

A smile tug at my lips. “And?”

“And—” I watch as he struggles to keep his breathing even, his jaw tight. Then he clears his throat and says in a gravelly voice, “Treat you better than that, that’s for damn sure.”

My knees go weak at Ford’s sweet words, and hot tears spring to my eyes.

“Now he’s making you cry.” His shoulders tense. “That means I kill him.”

“It’s not Kyler,” I say, stowing my phone in my back pocket. “He’s an idiot.” I let out a slow, measured breath. “I emailed my lawyer about my contract, and she won’t send it.”

“That ain’t right. She works for you.”

“I thought so.” I feel like I’ve been sleepwalking through my entire career, and only now, on Runaway Ranch with its fresh air and this cowboy talking common sense, am I waking up. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“So listen.” Ford drags a hand down his dusty face. “I did something you might not like.”

I narrow my eyes. “What kind of something?”

“I hired someone to help you.”

Wordlessly, I stare at him. A horse chuffs in its stall.

“He’s a PI,” Ford explains. “I thought he could look into your contract. Make it make sense.”

“A PI?” My head swims. “If I can’t get it, what makes you think he can?”

Ford’s eyes light with amusement. “It’s my brother’s contact. He was a Marine. He knows people in high—or low—places. Dark web shit.”

My heart thunders in my chest, and I force my gaze away from him. Ford helping me is sweet, but someone looking into my past, my secrets…the thought of what could come out has me feeling lightheaded.

All the bad parts of my life uncovered.

Panic crashes through me.

Twisting a bangle on my wrist, I move away from him. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?” I turn, eyeing him warily. “You treated me like shit when I first got here. But then you rescued me from a bar fight, bought me a wardrobe of clothes, let me eat dinner with your family, and now you’ve hired a PI?”

He says nothing, his face stony.

I cover my face. “Ugh, why couldn’t you just keep your brooding personality and make me hate you for the entire summer? Why did you have to go and be nice?”

“Jesus, Reese.” There’s exasperation in his voice. Slowly, he closes the distance between us and reaches down to take my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “Someone needs to be nice to you.”

I stare at his touch as if in a daze. “I just—” I lick my lips. Questions and suspicions weave through Ford’s handsome features. He wants my story. But he’s not getting it. “My past isn’t great.”

“The PI goes through you, okay? Not me. I don’t need to know what you don’t want me to know. All I’m doin’ is—”

“Paying for it.” The words come out bitterly.

He swears under his breath. “Look, honey, take the goddamn help. Something tells me you don’t have a lot of people you can trust.”

A tear slips down my cheek. He’s right. I don’t.

Ford’s face, his voice, softens. “No one will rat you out, Reese. You’re safe here, okay?”

My breath trips in my throat. “Safe with you?”

He doesn’t move a muscle.

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