Page 51 of The Leaving Road

“You must have been lost to some good conversation.” He looked at me warmly, eyeing between me and Peaches.

“Something like that. You made it back quickly.”

“I didn’t like the thought of you being here alone. I would have been here faster, but Lexie almost took out my kneecaps with a baseball bat and informed me to tell you, ‘What good is a cell phone if you never check it?’”

“Shit!”

I made my way out to my car, knowing I left my phone in the center console. I wasterribleabout my phone when I was at work. More often than not, I opted to leave it somewhere it wouldn’t distract me, promptly forgetting about it for hours.

I had just about reached the door when I was basically upheaved from my trajectory and thrown over a muscled shoulder.

“What the heck, Sloan?”

I pounded on his back and was put down, but this time, Sloan was between me and the door.

“No.What the heckyou, Magnolia! Did you not hear anything Doc said? Guns? Be extra careful? It’s dark outside, and you’ve actively helped and have taken animals from these people.”

“So that means I can’t step outside by myself?” I all but yelled in his face.

“Yes!” he yelled back

“That’s entirely unreasonable.” I gawked at him. This wasreallife. People didn’t stay inside for weeks, and they sure didn’t have bodyguards that followed them around.

“Well, it’s entirelyunreasonablefor me to risk losing you when Ijustgot you back.” The desperation in his voice was clear, and we were chest to chest—well, as chest to chest as you could be with his height and my lack thereof.

“Uhm…” I took a step back because being so close to him was making me lose all rational thought. Truthfully, my only thought was,climb him like a tree.

“Please, could youjustlisten to me and not put yourself in danger for once? I wouldloveto be able to spend all day, every day, escorting you everywhere, but I don’t think I could swing it. Unless…” His eyebrows bunched together, and he whipped out his phone.

“Sloan, what are you doing?” I wasn’t yelling at him anymore, but I was suddenly very curious as to what idea was brewing in his head.

“Dad, it’s me. Say, I know you retired, but could you work the restaurants in my place for the next few weeks? Maybe Mom, too?”

“What?” I half screeched and half jumped on top of him to grab his phone.He can’t be serious about escorting me around every day.

“No, everything is fine. That’s just Magnolia being as unreasonable as always.” He backed me up a bit from him and switched the phone in between ears to prevent me from taking it. “Absolutely, I’ll tell her. Call you later. Bye.”

“Dad said hi, and that he’s missed you,” he said warmly and some of the anger I’m feeling dissipates. I alwayslovedhis parents.

“You can’t really think you’re going to follow me around all day, every day.” I pouted.

“My schedule suddenly became open.” He stepped toward me, effectively ending any distance I had put between us. “Never underestimate what I’ll do to keep you safe, Magnolia.”

“Now, where were you going?” he asked.

“Just to get my phone from my car.”

“Stay here. Keys.” He held his hand out to me, waiting for my keys, and knowing he would win, I gave them to him without any fight.

He smiled at me. “Good girl.”

Chapter 33

Magnolia

“Shit,” I said as I watched Sloan walk outside to my car to get my phone.

I was feeling a bit betrayed by my body because, after him getting all protective over me had it tingling absolutelyeverywhere.Mix that with all the help and absoluteadorationhe was showing Peaches and her puppies, and I was an absolute pile of fucking goo.

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