Page 13 of Lock and Key

I didn’t.

And it didn’t take me more than a few seconds to know the reason why.

But after what happened today, I couldn’t continue to ignore her any longer.

So, I lifted my hand and knocked on the door.

It wasn’t long after that when I heard the lock, and the door opened. Instantly, my body tensed.

Because I saw something I didn’t expect to see.

She was standing there, but she didn’t look the way I had expected. I knew she’d been upset about what happened with the bison, but I didn’t know that it would have affected herthisbadly.

It was clear to me that she’d been crying for quite some time. Her eyes were puffy and red, and something that seemed both a mix of sadness and anger was written all over her expression.

It made no sense.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Without a moment of hesitation, she answered, “I’m fine.”

I didn’t believe her. Not for one second. Not only did I know that a woman saying those two words typically meant that she was anything but fine, but I also wasn’t blind. There was definitely something wrong.

Still, we weren’t in any position where I believed I could accuse her of lying to me. So, I decided to take a different approach.

“I wanted to stop over after what happened to make sure you were alright and to introduce myself. I’m Jack. Jack Spears,” I said, extending my hand to her.

There was a long pause as this woman in front of me eyed me up. She allowed her gaze to narrow on my face before dropping her focus to my extended hand. It was easy to see how much she was wrestling with whether or not to respond, and I couldn’t miss the caution as she finally reached her hand out and replied, “Dakota Blake.”

Dakota Blake.

Finally, after all this time, I knew her name.

“It’s great to meet you,” I returned. “If only the circumstances had been a little less terrifying.”

Dakota didn’t respond verbally. She merely nodded her head.

She was still standing with half of her body behind the door, wasn’t being very talkative, and the expression on her face indicated she wasn’t in a pleasant mood.

I wasn’t being invited inside.

She wasn’t up for conversation.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you or anything. I just thought it would be nice to check in on you,” I offered. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Something that looked a lot like longing washed over her face, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone and replaced by annoyance. “Like I said, I’m fine. If you could just make sure that your animals don’t get out and roam freely where other people can be hurt, that would be great. Other than that, thanks for stopping by, Jack.”

Damn.

I knew when to take a hint.

She was beyond bitter, assuming the bison was my animal, and I clearly was not wanted here right now.

Time to go.

Giving her a nod, much like the one she’d given me only moments earlier, I said, “Right, I’ll go. But before I do, you should know that the bison was not mine. It was wild. I wouldn’t recommend getting that close to one again.”

Her eyes widened as her lips parted in shock.

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