Page 121 of Live for Me

Abbie didn’t need a menu for this place.

She got the same thing every time.

Grilled cheese and potato soup—not tomato. She hated tomato soup. She’d told him that once, a long time ago, and he’d never forgotten it.

Then again, he never forgot anything when it came to his Abbie.

He tensed, not expecting her to be alone. When he looked around, he found Valerie Langston standing a few booths down, talking with an older woman. The man didn’t know who she was, but Harmony was nowhere in sight.

The man went to the bar and ordered a soda before he took his chance and approached her table.

She sensed his presence, looking up at him, and damn, that made him feel so fucking good. A wide smile stretched across his face.

“Abbie,” he greeted.

Her lips parted in surprise, and he never wanted to kiss her so badly before. He’d thought about kissing her hundreds of times and almost did it once when she was sleeping, but he decided against it.

He wanted her to experience their first kiss with him.

“Ricky Johnson,” she greeted back, giving him a thin smile. “You find that bear roaming Hallow Ranch yet?”

“We sure did. He’s being safely transferred to the state park now.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Beau

The trailer had seen better fucking days; then again, I said the same thing in the third grade. It had been my first time seeingAbbie’s home. That day, she’d come to school with three new bruises, and I’d gotten a first taste of what pure anger felt like.

Nestled on the corner of the trailer park, dead shrubs all around it, the tan and brown single-wide trail sat, rotting away along with the horrible woman inside it. I parked my truck about thirty feet away, noticing a newer truck parked on the side. I grimaced as I reached over, putting on my hat before shoving my pistol in the back of my jeans.

“I swear to God, if she’s fucking someone,” Lawson muttered from the passenger seat.

I shot him a look. “You didn’t have to come, you know.”

His brown eyes met mine. “Yeah, I did. Like hell if I was going to let you come out here alone.”

After Abbie fell asleep last night, I called the twins to see if one of them could come to the cabin to keep an eye on her so I could get Spirit back to the barn. Lawson came out, and by the time I’d driven back, I was surprised to find him and Abbie sitting at the table, playing cards…

Lawson frowned at me as soon as I stepped inside, and my eyes shot to Abbie. She was wearing one of my shirts and a pair of my sweats. Her hair was pulled back into a messy, lopsided ponytail, and her skin was glowing.

“You taught her how to play poker, didn’t you?” Lawson grumbled.

My eyes dropped to the cards and opened beers sitting on the table.

My lips twitched, knowing Abbie was kicking his cocky ass. “No, Pop did.”

Lawson’s jaw dropped, and he looked at Abbie, pointing at her. “You dirty little liar,” he accused. Abbie’s head fell back, a beautiful laugh coming from her, filling the space and my heart. Lawson glared at her, nostrils flaring as he tossed his cards on the table. “You played me!”

I shut the door and leaned my shoulder against the wall, watching them.

“I didn’t play you or lie to you,” Abbie said frankly, holding out her palm.

He eyed it and then looked at me. “Is she serious, or can we just write this off as a trial run?”

A chuckle left me as I shook my head. “Did you put actual fucking money on this?”

Lawson scoffed. “Why the hell wouldn’t I? She said she hadn’t played poker in a long time.”

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