Page 70 of Knot Her Cowboys
Riley swayed on her feet like she was about to faint. “Butyoutold me she died.”
I held Riley closer, hoping my presence was at least some comfort to her.
Angela paled as if she had suddenly remembered the part she had played in this deception. “Oh god. Honey, that was… You know what? Let’s call it a misunderstanding. Your mom was so desperate for you to come home, and I felt so bad for her.”
“Where is she?” Riley croaked out. “How close?”
“I’ll write down her address. She’s gonna be so happy to see you.” Angela scribbled it on a sheet she stole off the printer, folding it and passing it over. Riley didn’t move to take it, looking like she was on the verge of a panic attack, so I took it for her.
“Dakota,” Riley’s voice broke. “Get me out of here. Now.”
Dakota practically sprinted out of the building with me in his arms, bundling me straight back into the truck.
My mom was alive.
What the fuck?
Iknew it. Angela was a fucking liar. Thank god I had listened to my intuition when I’d gotten that damn email. Of all thefucked-up, shitty things to pull, this was a new low for Darlene Fletcher.
I yanked Dakota close, screaming straight into his chest while he cocooned his arms around me.
“I need to leave. Book a flight back to New York. I can’t—I can’t stay here.”
“Okay, let’s take a breath.”
“No breathing. Icannotstay here. You don’t know what she’s like.”
“I think I’ve got a pretty good clue if she tried faking her own death to lure you home.” He held me tightly, like he could keep me from flying apart. “Riley, we’re not going to let her have access to you. If you really need to leave, we’ll figure it out, but let’s talk to the others first.”
I burrowed harder against his chest, probably clinging too tight, but I needed an anchor or I was going to explode. Huffing his sweetgrass scent helped. A bit. What my instincts really wanted was to climb right inside his clothes and have him crush me until I disintegrated, but that wasn’t exactly practical.
“She doesn’t know where you are,” Dakota assured me. “She knows you’re in Montana, but not for how long, and not where you’re staying. We’re over an hour from here, so there’s a good chance she wouldn’t be able to find you even if she tried.”
My whine snuck out despite his logic. “The only reason New York worked to get away was that she couldn’t afford to follow me.”
He held me tightly, his purr rumbling in my ear, doing his best to soothe me. “Do you want to go back to the ranch right now? I can save the errands for another day.”
“Where’s the address?” I asked instead of answering.
Dakota unfolded the paper, reading it out to me.
I scrunched up my forehead, trying to recall where exactly it was. “Can you put it into the map?”
He fished out his phone, input the address for me, and turned the screen so I could see.
“Motherfucker.”
“What?”
“That’s, like, five minutes from the compound. If she’s trying to get back in bed with the Deckers, I swear to—” I let out a frustrated snarl.
Dakota cupped my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “Riley, listen to me. What your mother chooses to do is not your concern. She’s an adult. The only thing you have to worry about is keeping yourself safe.”
“But—”
“No buts.Youare our priority. We’ll figure out what you need to feel safe. None of us are going to judge you for staying no contact with your mother to protect yourself.”
Tears burned my eyes. “I feel so terrible for thinking everything would be so much easier if she was dead. I don’t want to see her, I don’t want to talk to her, and I don’t want her to know where I am.”
