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“Pretty much. So don’t be an asshat, if she is meant to be yours, go after her until she’s convinced.” Coast got up and placed his coffee cup in the sink, then looked at me when he opened the door. “Only thing planned today is cleaning up the businesses and checking in on the renovations at Soft Tails. Bet you could think of something else to do.” Coast grinned, and I laughed.

“Yeah, I have a few ideas.”

Coast grinned. “Well, I’ll tell the others you had something else pressing today,” he said, then walked out. Before the door closed behind him, I heard, “And another one down.”

Laughing, I walked to the sink and washed the few dishes that sat inside. By the time I finished, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. If I dropped by the sheriff’s station first and went over my notes with Will, the sun would have had time to warm the air.

I grabbed the envelope off the table, snagged my keys, and headed out the door toward my bike. There was a plan to initiate.

“You didn’t have torush with those, Dom,” Sheriff Lance said when I dropped the envelope on his desk.

“No problem. If you have time now, we could go over my suggestions, then I can get the changes fixed for you.” I sat in the chair in front of his desk.

“Sure.” He opened the envelope, pulled out the paperwork, and started to flip through. “You’re out early.”

“Yeah, figured I would get these to you and give the day a chance to warm up.”

“You guys going riding today?” Will asked while he continued to look over the papers.

“No, just me. I planned to ride today and take River with me. Figured she would enjoy the ride a little better if it were warmer.” Will frowned at my statement but didn’t look up. “You going to have a problem if I pursue River?”

When he didn’t reply, I waited quietly until he finished with the papers and finally looked up at me.

“She’s my daughter, Dom. I love her, and I don’t want to see her hurt again.”

I opened my mouth to talk, and Will raised his hand stopping me from speaking.

“I went to River’s for dinner, and she and I talked about a few things, including the two of you. When you and I worked through our issue yesterday, I told you her ex was an asshole, but I didn’t go into details, and I won’t. That is for River to share with you if she chooses. Because of him and his choices, she’s going to be more cautious. He embarrassed, and mentality put her through hell. I know she comes across as a woman who seems to have no problem handling herself, but, Dom, it’s a shield she has placed around her for years. River went from her mother, Jillian, and Alfred’s home, to one she shared with Thomas when they married after she graduated college. This is the first time she’s been on her own, and really living in the real world. Instead of the privileged one her mother kept her sheltered in.

“I don’t mean to dump this crap on you, but I think you need to know a little background. River’s mother, Jillian, was raised by her father. Her mother died when she was ten from complications dealing with pneumonia. Her father was a heart surgeon at the hospital. Jillian and I met in high school and began dating. When Jillian was preparing to go to college, her dad was offered Chief of Surgery at some hospital in Connecticut. She didn’t want to move because of me, so we married. I was a new deputy then and making hardly any money. Oh, we were young and in love, so at first that didn’t bother Jillian, she even got a job as a bank teller to help. Within a year she was pregnant.

“After River was born, Jillian quit her job and stayed home because daycare would have eaten up her check anyway. We didn’t have a lot of money to spare, but she didn’t seem to mind. I was at work more than home because I would take extra shifts to pick up more money. The turning point was when her dad died in an automobile accident, and Jillian was his sole heir. River was almost five at the time. I came home one day, and Jillian asked for a divorce. To make a long story short, I didn’t see it coming, and it threw me for a loop. I didn’t fight her about taking River thousands of miles away from me when she said they were moving into the house her dad had own, and she had inherited. I just went along with it. Not long after they moved Jillian met Alfred and they married. Jillian sold her dad’s home, and River was uprooted again to Alfred’s house.

“My vacation time was spent going to see River because I believed Jillian when she said River’s life shouldn’t be derailed every summer to come here.”

“Will, what’s this about? Are you trying to tell me River is like her mom and she might get involved with me, but then bolt because I’m not wealthy,” I interrupted because I wasn’t sure I understood where he was going by telling me all this. And I wanted to because it would help me understand River better.

“God, no. River may look like her mother, but she is not even close to being like her. Jillian likes being the center of attention and having money to do anything she wishes. She enjoys the prestige she receives from being married to an attorney who is a partner in a large law firm. River never rocked the boat with anything her mother suggested. Birthday parties, a sweet sixteen party, a graduation party bigger than most couples’ weddings. It was ridiculous, and River really never enjoyed or wanted the lavishness. She would have been happy with a homemade cake and her classmates playing stupid birthday party games.”

“I get when she was little she didn’t have much say, but when she was a teenager, why didn’t she revolt against what her mother wanted to do?” I asked, because frankly what I’d seen of the woman, she gave as good as she got.

“Because by then, she’d put up a shield to deal. It was easier for her than the argument it would have caused between her and her mother.”

“So not only is she unsure of herself, she wears a shield to hide her true self?”

“Yes, the real her is underneath, I’ve seen peeks of her. I’m just not sure she knows how to let her fully out,” Will said and leaned back in his chair.

“Is this your way of warning me not to push her, but take it slow and easy until she finds her way?” I asked and cocked a brow at him.

“Last month, hell, a few days ago I might have said that. But watching the two of you yesterday, I’ve never seen her go at someone like that. Before she would have shut down, accepted what you said even if it pissed her off, then she would have avoided you from then on to avoid any confrontation.”

“Exactly what are you saying, Will?” I was caught off guard when Will smiled.

“I’ve known you your whole life. You're confident, sure of what you want out of life. You play by your rules, but you’re fair, loyal, and not easily deterred when you’ve set your mind on something. Every one of those traits served you well in the military and is making you a great vice president for Black Hawk. So, I’m telling you to push with River. Break through the wall and help her step out into the world how she should have a long time ago. I won’t stick my nose in what goes on between the two of you, well as long as you don’t do something stupid. The only thing I do ask, Dom, is if you decide to push her, make sure you want a relationship with her. I’m not saying marriage, hell, she just got out of one. I’m saying don’t go after her because you like the challenge she brings and once it’s gone, you’re gone. Because if she lets you in and you aren’t willing to put in the time, I’m not sure she will ever bother to try again. And I want my daughter to be happy. She deserves it.”

“Will, I can’t guarantee forever, I don’t know River. But I’m interested enough to get to know her and see what this pull between her and I is,” I said as honestly as I could since he was being more than open with me.

“That’s all I can ask,” Will said and leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk.

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