Page 78 of When the Smoke Clears

Her door flies open at the same time mine does, but I don’t let go of her leg.

“Sutton.” Her voice is a mixture of pleading and surprise as she stares as me.

I don’t want to do this, but I’m not taking no this time. “For once, please just listen to me. Stay in the truck.”

“Sutton.” The pleading has intensified, but she’s about to give in. Her eyes are concerned, though softer.

I tap under her chin playfully with a knuckle before jumping down from the truck and slamming the door behind me. There’s no mirroring sound from her side, and despite her staying put for the moment, I know she’s one step from climbing down after me.

Alan steps out of his car quickly and shuts the door to his sedan. To his credit, he comes at me head on. “You can’t hide her forever.”

I snatch his dress shirt beneath the collar band, crumpling it in my fist and shoving him backward toward his hood. His knees buckle and I pin him in place. “You’ve been warned already, so you’re either really fucking stupid, or really fucking ballsy.” I lean closer to him. “But let me be clear. The big Irish guy isn’t the only one willing to end your life in a blink.”

Alan’s smug face doesn’t falter. “How romantic. Maci found a dumb redneck who’s a killer, just like her.” He enunciates the last three words slowly.

She’s had enough bullshit trying to process all of this on her own, and we don’t need any setbacks from this piece of shit.

“Maybe you aren’t aware, but they don’t arrest people for self-defense.”

Alan’s jaw ticks. “We’ll see about that. I knew I should’ve reported her when she stabbed me.”

“Oh, give it up!” Maci shouts from the truck, and I toss a look over my shoulder to find her with one foot in the cab and one on the open door, as she leans through the V the two pieces of the truck create. “It was barely a nick and you deserved it! You and Colt clearly needed a lesson in how to handle women.”

“Maybe you need a lesson in how I handle women.” A dark calmness washes over his face.

“Yeah, see, that sounds like a threat, and that’s the kind of thing I won’t fucking tolerate.” I tighten my grip on his shirt and give a solid shake, his shoulders bouncing off the hood once.

His voice lowers. “When I’m done with her, she won’t have a pot to piss in.”

“Whatever you say, but if you try to follow us out to my property again, I’ll assume you want a tour. And I have to tell you, I have fourreallyfucking moody bulls, and a few pigs. And, I don’t know if you know this or not”—I pause for dramatic effect—“but pigs will eatanything.”

I don’t want to warn this asshole again. I want to bash his brains into the hood of his own car. Run him over with my truck. I don’t want to let him go.

Maci continues to stare her stepfather down.

With a final slam to his hood, I release him and turn to walk away. “If you have anything else to say, it can go through our lawyer.”

Before climbing in, I practically shove Maci back into the truck, buckling her seatbelt while she stares wide-eyed at me. Once inside, I whip around Alan getting back into his own vehicle. Whether he understood my threat or not, he doesn’t attempt to follow us this time.

Chapter 28

Maci

ByMonday,mywoundis almost completely healed. The skin will never be unblemished again, a reminder of what I fought to keep that night. I haven’t made it by Nana’s yet, but other things are getting back to normal.

I spend the morning catching up on work and emails and preparing for my holiday mini-sessions in Austin, and decide to wander around the property to take some more photos.

I’ve always loved family photography, but there’s something majestic about photos of the ranch and animals. Aside from a few curious stares, the animals largely ignore me.

Coming up on the backside of the stables, my attention is drawn to Cody and Jason repairing one of the gates. Unlike Sutton, they both wear various ball caps with jeans and their t-shirts most days. I manage to get a few candid shots without them noticing me. Johnny Walker gives me away by sauntering to the fence closest to me. I rub his muzzle. “Hey, boy.”

He gives me another solid bump.

Cody perks up at the distraction, waving in my direction. I snap another photo. He has such an innocent disposition, my heart warms at his genial demeanor. I wave back with a smile, just as my phone rings in my back pocket.

Hank.

“Hey, Hank,” I say cheerfully.

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