Page 85 of Redemption

“Want me to look for you?”

I prickled. “No, I can manage on my own.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, I just wanted to offer my help in searching.”

I sighed. “Sorry, I just feel like I should be the one to do it.”

He was silent for a moment but continued stroking my arm. “You put a lot on your shoulders,” he said after a while.

“Do I?”

“Why don’t you let me help? With the ranch? With this? Or let your sisters if you don’t want my help.”

I dropped my phone in my lap. “Why are you pushing this?”

He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes which made his pec flex in a mouthwatering way. “I just hate seeing how much falls to you, just because you’re the oldest. The girls are all old enough to share some of the burden. I could talk to them for you and—”

I tore my gaze away from his bare chest. “But I don’t want to burden them. They can go about their lives and not worry. That’s what I would prefer, that’s what Daddy would prefer.”

“I don’t think Charlie would want you so stressed and worried,” he replied, carefully.

I scoffed. “How would you know?”

The silence between us was heavy and I was annoyed. Annoyed that I’d snapped, that he’d pushed it and tried to get involved. That he acted like he knew my father better than I did. Hell, maybe he did.

His expression softened. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just wanted to help.”

“I appreciate that but please don’t. We’re not a couple, you don’t need to help me.”

He opened his mouth to argue but my face must have stopped him. I got out of bed. “I’m just cranky, I didn’t sleep well,” I said.

“I’m sorry. Why don’t you go and get some sleep and then I’ll catch up with you later? There’s something I want to show you,” he said. The excitement in his voicehad me nodding. I grabbed my clothes and dressed in silence. An awkwardness hung between us and I didn’t know how to make it go away. I couldn’t look at him, didn’t want to see the hurt in his eyes.

“I’ll see you later,” I said and headed for the door. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him, his navy eyes heavy-lidded. He pressed a kiss to my lips, soft and heartbreakingly gentle. “See you later, sweetheart.”

My heart did the weird pitter-patter it had been doing recently when I was around him. I kissed him back and then left before I took off my clothes and let him worship me again.

The morning sun was low and already scorching. Summer was coming to an end and it had been glorious spending my days in the pasture and my nights in Jack’s arms. Even though I had the problem of the ranch hanging over me, I’d felt better than I had in…forever.

I rounded the house, ready to climb the porch but bumped into someone.

“Where are you sneaking back from?” Daisy accused, looking behind me.

“Nowhere,” I folded my arms over my chest. “Where areyousneaking back from?”

She copied my stance. “Nowhere.”

We stared each other down, no end to our stubbornness. Something about Daisy seemed off, there was a tension to her that she usually didn’t have and a sharp glint in her eye that told me to back off.

“If you’re coming back from Jack’s, I’m going to have a lot to say about it.”

My throat dried. “Like what?”

“Like, you shouldn’t be fucking our mother’s killer.”

My mouth floundered as I struggled for words. “I thought you werewarming to him?”

She shrugged. “I might have been but that doesn’t change what he did. And for you to pursue this and think you’ll have some kind of relationship is crazy. Mom would be ashamed.”

---