Page 8 of Mountain Grump
Her eyes snap up to mine.
And fuck, she’s pretty.
Even with the scraped-up knee and dirty skirt, she looks ready for a tea party in the forest.
A dirty tea party. One where she sits on my lap and I bury my face in her tits.
I clear my throat. “You need to take the rest of it down.”
“Seriously? It’s not hurting anyone.”
“Seriously.” I cross my arms. “Be happy I’m not giving you a ticket.”
Her mouth pops open. “A ticket? For some ribbon?”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s ribbon or razor wire, it’s illegal to vandalize public property.” I pull an arm free and gesture to a strand of beads hanging from the tree next to Tilda. “It should be a crime to do this too.”
“To hang suncatchers?” She sounds truly surprised at my attitude. “I think they’re pretty.”
“Nature is pretty enough on its own.” I roll my eyes when I spot another tree with another strand ofsuncatchers.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t take away from the natural beauty. It enhances it.” Tilda argues.
I shake my head and huff. “You’re ridiculous.”
And… she flinches.
It’s the smallest movement.
The tiniest reaction.
But I see it.
And I hate it.
I open my mouth, wanting to tell her that I meant to saythat’sridiculous. Explain that my words came out wrong.Worse.
But she speaks before I can, her voice back to a whisper. “My family didn’t send you?”
She asked about her family earlier. When she saw my gun.
And…What the fuck?
“I don’t know your family. Just Jack. And he’s only mentioned you.”
She nods, slowly.
Her expression stays the same. Neutral.
But her eyes start to shine.
“Tilda…”
Her mouth tips up into a fake-as-fuck smile. “I’ll take the ribbon off the fence.” She blinks, and I feel something tighten inside me as I watch a pair of tears roll down her cheeks. “Was there anything else?”
She looks like a doll. Her features frozen in a mask of pleasantness. But the tears…
They make my chest hurt.
