Page 156 of My Cowboy Freedom
One second passed, then two. He kicked the door open with his booted foot—bam—and next thing he’s running and Maisy’s barking and jumping and I’m leaping down and charging through the underbrush andthud.
Sky stopped, right in the shadows, and I plowed into him.
“You don’t know anything.” His voice sounded tight.
Laced with threat.
For the second time since I’d met him, it occurred to me that I was standing in the dark with a convicted killer. My first thought was for Maisy. I gave her the ‘down’ command, and she obeyed.
“You can’t forget what I am, can you?” he asked. “I might never have hurt you or anyone here. But you can’t forget and when it’s dark and quiet—when it’s just the two of us out here alone like this—you’re scared.”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t lie.” His anger was like a flash grenade—meant to blind me to the pain behind it. “Don’t you fucking lie. I felt it. You’re scared. Imagine how my mom must feel.”
“I can’t imagine that.”
He let out a huff of indignation. “Right? So why would I put her through it?”
“Becauseyoucan’t imagine how she feels either.”
“Fuck off.” He tried to pass me, but I caught his arm.
He struggled, and he was tough, but I had leverage. I held him fast.
“You won’t know what she’s thinking or how she’s feeling unless you ask.”
He didn’t look at me. “She showed how she feels with her actions.”
“Maybe she did, and maybe she didn’t.”
“No doubt about it.” He sagged, injured by his mother’s indifference. “She hates me now.”
“Okay, I’m going to say this once because you’re smart enough, and I think you’re brave enough, to hear it. You may be right. She may despise you. And she may throw you out of her house and forbid you to speak to your sister or whatever.”
He swung at me, but I leaped back out of the way. Caught him by his shoulders again. Maisy growled at him but stayed down.
“That’s a helluva fucking pep talk you got going there, coach. Your name is what, again?”
“All I’m saying—and I want you to hear me—so are you listening?”
I gave him a shake.
“Christ.” He yanked himself out of my grip. “Okay. Shoot already goddamnit.”
“All I’m sayingis sometimes you have to give people a chance to surprise you.”
I waited. He didn’t say a word.
“That’s all,” I finished lamely.
Because he’d heard me—because he’dlistenedto me, it took him a minute or so to shoot down all his arguments silently in his head before he replied. I could practically see smoke pouring from his ears, he was thinking so hard.
“Okay.”
That was too easy. “You’ll call your mother?”
“You’ll think I’m brave if I do it, right?”
