Page 60 of Redemption

Ugh, why was Jack being so helpful and perfect. Why couldn’t he be a dick like he was last night? The memory had me clamming up and shrugging him off me. “Fine,” I grunted and turned away, kicking at the grass petulantly, just like Bert.

“Just let me go back to the cabin. I’ll get some more wood to reinforce it and make itBert-proof.”

Jack rode off and I sat down in the grass, picking at it and wondering how my life came to be that I was a thirty something orphan, with a bankrupt ranch, chasing off a tricksy bison, rejected by the last person I would ever want to hook up with, and then stuck having to rely on that person.

“Screw you, universe!”

I glared at Bert who kept trying to schmooze his way over. “Don’t be coming over here to apologize,” I grumbled at him. He hung his head and I stuck my tongue out at him. He obviously didn’t return the gesture but I could tell he wanted to.

Sometime later, Jack reappeared and set to work fixing the fence. Under the sun and Bert’s watchful gaze, he stripped off his damp shirt and I was treated to all those glorious muscles flexing and doing manly things.

“You don’t need me, do you?” I croaked around my dry throat.

“Uh, yeah?” Jack said and pointed to Bert. “Don’t leave me with this menace, who knows what he’ll do.”

I snorted. Jack smirked and the impact it had on my insides had me frowning and turning away. Eventually he was finished and with a terse warning to Bert, we were on our way back.

We untacked the horses and headed back to the house, me ten paces in front of Jack. I was so close to the porch, so close to being away from him when he called after me.

“Can we talk?”

“Nope,” I shouted back.

“Kat, please? Let me explain?” he sighed.

I whirled on him, storming back and getting in his face. “You said you’d do whatever I asked?”

He nodded, his eyes flitting over my expression.

“Then leave me alone and keep this professional,please?” I arched a brow when he opened his mouth to argue.

Eventually his lips pulled into a mulish line and he nodded just once.

“Great,” I replied with a bright smile and headed on into the house.

That night, like an addict needing a fix, I sat in my father’s study in the dark and watched him.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jack

Five years ago - day 3,290 in prison…

Charlie stared at me across the cool metal table, his eyes running over my face and although he kept his expression neutral, I saw the tic just below his eye.

“You need to make some more friends,” he grunted, eyes flicking away from the horror show that was my face.

“The men who did this to me were my friends,” I joked weakly, cracking a smile and hissing as my swollen lip split and I tasted blood.

“Who did you piss off?”

“No one. I had the gall to get up in the morning and this is what happened.”

Charlie shook his head, his lips pinchedtight in anger. “Jack, you gotta stop—”

“I don’t know what you’re about to say but I need to remind you where we are. This is what happens in here, we don’t sit around braiding each other’s hair and writing in fucking dream journals, Charlie.”

“Watch your tone, son. I know exactly where we are.” There was a warning in Charlie’s voice. I knew the words he choked back, that he knew exactly where we were andwhy.I ducked my head, looking down at the hands twisting in my lap. My scabbed knuckles. I was so busy dodging the shiv that I didn’t dodge the knuckle dusters the guys who jumped me had. I fought my way out, only just though, and not without taking a serious beating. My eyes were black and blue, and I was pretty sure I had a couple of cracked ribs. I’d been pissing blood for a couple of days thanks to a few hard jabs to the kidneys, but I’d been there before and I’d be there again.

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