Page 89 of First Chance

“I wanted to talk to Jo, but she’s ignoring me.”

“I dropped her off an hour or so ago, she’s probably asleep.”

“I knocked.”

“You could just tell her the truth, you know? How you really feel…”

“Not happening.”

“It’s like the blind leading the blind,” he huffs, shaking his head.

“Yeah, and where’s your woman, Hayes? Take your own advice or leave me alone.” His eyes go cold, and I know I hit a nerve, but we’re good at kicking each other’s sore spots.

“This is ridiculous.” He storms over to Jo’s door and slams his palm against it. “Jo, open the door or I’m coming in. Lochlan wants to tell you that he’s an idiot as if we don’t already know!” He yells as I stomp up behind him, but he flings the unlocked door open before I can stop him.

It’s dark, but she’s not inside. Her bed is empty. “Where the hell is she? Hayes, where is she?” I panic, running up my front steps and flinging my front door open, hoping that she’s on my couch. It’s empty, too.

“Where is she?” I yell again, flood lights illuminate as some of the guys come out of the bunkhouse to investigate the commotion.

“Everybody split up, go look around the barns, maybe she’s wandering around,” Hayes orders.

“She’s not supposed to walk around the property without me. What if someone took her?”

My best friend, the man I’ve known for a decade, doesn’t have to say a word to answer my question. His eyes tell me that he knows what will happen…

If someone took her, I’ll destroy lives to get her back.

Including my own.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jo

An hour earlier…

I want to scream.

If I weren’t JoAnna Montgomery, he would kiss me. He wouldn’t be concerned about what it means.

He was right before, I don’t want my first kiss to be fake.

I want him to kiss me because he wants to.

I wanthimto kiss me.

“What exactly is your plan, Jo?”Hayes asked as he was driving me home.

“What do you mean?”

“You trick everyone into thinking you’re engaged, and then what?”

“I’m not trying to trick anyone, I’m just trying to escape my parents.”

“Well, you’ve done that for the most part. You’re here, you’re almost done with school. I think you’re putting too much emphasis on your parents’ power over you.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I do, more than you think.”

---