Page 92 of Rowdy Hearts

The reporter fell silent again, but I knew she was still there.

“I’ll be sure to tell my editor what you said, Ms. Meyers.” Dana released another audible sigh. “Off the record… and if you repeat this, I will deny it… I think you could make this go away if you approach the publisher yourself. With a lawyer. His name is Rodney Feeney. He seems to have a hard on for this story, and he’s planning to run it this week, so the sooner you get here the better. Like, tomorrow.”

I said thank you and cut off the call. There really was nothing else to say. I knew what I had to do.

Through the window, I saw Rowdy bend down to speak to Krista, his smile for my daughter nearly bringing tears to my eyes.

Not fair. So not fair.

I didn’t want to leave. Not yet. But now I couldn’t even leave on my own terms because some sleazeball thought he had a scoop. I wanted to cry and throw things, and I’m pretty sure I wanted to rip Rodney Feeney a new asshole.

And I knew exactly how to do it, because I knew him. Former actor turned entertainment blogger, he’d turned a B-list career into a profession by mining his so-called friends for gossip. Most of his posts were clickbait, with not much substance to them, but every now and then he managed a scoop.

I refused to let him have this one. All because, years ago, Denee had turned him down. He’d pursued her pretty hard, but Denee had never been interested. She’d barely even acknowledged the guy. She’d already met the love of her life. But, like every good tragedy, she couldn’t have him. And then she’d died.

How about that for a Hollywood ending?

Familiar grief swamped my heart, which just made the sadness already there more intense.

I didn’t want to leave Rowdy, but my daughter came first.

Taking a deep breath, and then another, I got out of the truck, plastered a smile on my face and headed toward Rowdy and Krista.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Rowdy

“Areyou sure you don’t want me to come with you? You look upset.”

Tressy shook her head, her gaze barely glancing off me as she reached for the door handle on my truck. Krista pouted in the back seat. She hadn’t wanted to leave the farm, even though we’d been there for almost three hours.

I knew something had happened when Tressy joined us after taking that phone call, but I hadn’t said anything then. Tressy seemed determined to keep a smile on her face for Krista, and I’d gone along because I didn’t want either of them upset.

It’d taken her an hour to finally tell me she and Krista had to return home tonight because “she had a situation to deal with.” I’d been expecting it, but it’d still knocked me back a few steps. I’d tried to ask a few times if everything was okay, but she’d just given me that smile and nodded.

And now, she gave me that same smile, and I gritted my teeth.

“Thank you, but no. I don’t need you to hold my hand while I do my job.”

Fuck, that’s not what’d I’d meant, and dammit, she knew it. But for some reason, she was pushing me away, and it fucking sucked.

“Sorry. I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, Tressy. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m worried about you.”

Her mouth twisted into something resembling a smile and she shook her head. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. I can’t thank you and your family enough for taking us in these past few days. And our time together has been…amazing.”

Now she did look at me and I saw her regret and longing and sadness so clearly. I reached for her hand resting on her thigh, but she curled her fingers into a fist.

“I can’t, Rowdy.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I have to go.”

I wanted to punch Donny, the mechanic, for fixing her fucking car sooner than I’d expected. I know he’d meant well, going out of his way to get the damn thing taken care of over the weekend, but still…

“You don’t have to go forever. You can come back. Take care of whatever you need to, and I’ll be here.”

She frowned. “You’re not taking that job?”

I shook my head as she frowned. “This is home, Tressy. This is my team. These are my guys. I’m not abandoning them.”

“I thought you wanted more.”

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