Page 25 of Redemption

“Bye.” I began to walk away and then paused. “And thanks.”

“For?”

“Being so kind, I guess. I know I don’t deserve it.”

She cocked her head. “Kindness costs nothing.”

I snorted. “Neither does rudeness.”

She giggled again and I gave her an awkward wave before I left the library. I mentally crossed it off my list of job prospects but felt lighter than I had in a while, from a simple social interaction with one of the five people who should hate me the most yet somehow didn’t.

Thinking of the Cartwright sisters reminded me of the errand I needed to run. The one I was avoiding because it meant facing a certain tall, leggy, far too attractive, blonde’s wrath. Feeling naively buoyed by my interaction with August, I decided to head in the direction of Redemption Ranch.

I set off out of town, my feet already hurting from all the walking I’d done but I kept going. I had no choice, I wasn’t allowed to drive anymore. Maybe I should get a bicycle. I snorted to myself, picturing my big, bulky frame on a little bicycle.

When I got out of the town and into the countryside, the scent of the trees worked its way into my lungs. The meadowlarks’ songs accompanied me the whole way, pleasant and familiar. I was suddenly hit with the urge to dosomething. To create. To work with my hands but I was at a loss with what to do exactly. I didn’t know what to create, didn’t have any tools to create, so the feeling eventually evaporated, leaving me confused.

I pushed it aside and made it to the ranch. Gathering my courage as I went up onto the porch, I knocked on the door. I stepped back and took a defensive stance in case she came out swinging again.

Katarina appeared at the door, in a little pink checkered dress that flirted with her knees and had my throat drying. Her pale blonde hairhung down in a straight curtain but all my lusty thoughts of imagining the strands wrapped around my hands disappeared when I saw the look on her face.

Stop lusting after Charlie’s daughter, you pervert.

“What do you want?” The words whipped from her but she kept her fists and nails to herself. My mouth worked overtime trying to form words while she had that navy stare on me.

“Uh…”

“Uh?” she mocked. “If that’s all you want to say then you can leave.”

I shook my head. “No, I mean, I came to bring you back this. I meant to come yesterday but got sidetracked.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper, the deed to the cabin. I unfolded it and held it out to her.

She snatched it from me, her eyes wide and she looked around. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” I replied. With nothing else to say and no reason to be here, I turned on my heel, admiring the view and wondering how amazing it would be to wake up here every day. Would I be inspired to create again if I was around nature all the time? The dream had been so close, but I’d just handed it back to Kat, unsigned.

I was off the porch before she called after me. “You didn’t sign it.”

I just kept walking, didn’t stop. “Nope,” I called over my shoulder, popping theP.

“Jack, wait.”

My name on her lips did weird things to my stomach that I would think about another time. I turned and she was coming down the porch towards me, her long, toned legs glowing in the sunshine.

“Fuck,” I huffed, plugging my hands on my hips andwilling my mind not to drift to the places it wanted to. Jesus, what was the matter with me? I’d spent the last twelve years in prison but it’s not like I had an active sex life before I went inside. You can’t miss what you’ve never had.

She stopped in front of me and folded her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together and giving me a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage that I desperately tried not to stare at.

“Why didn’t you sign it?”

I shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes. “But you could have? You could have signed it and taken what’s yours.”

I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans and lifted my shoulders. “Wasn’t the right thing to do.”

We stared at each other in silence, assessing. She was a tough cookie, I liked that about her. There was a hard glint to her eye; she’d grown up and too quickly, taken on a lot of responsibility and burden. I knew that from Charlie, he often talked about her and she sounded like a pistol alright. I wondered what it would take to get her to smile, to relax…to moan.

I shook my head and when she didn’t say more, I turned to leave.

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