Page 49 of Forever After All

Hadley’s phone rang, and she answered it while she peered down into the crate. “Hello.” She straightened and moved toward the door. “Of course. I’m on my way.”

“Everything okay?” Paul asked as Hadley ended the call.

“Jess is at Barn Sour and needs a ride home.”

Linc jerked his head up. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Hadley shrugged. “I don’t know. She said she was on a date, and he can’t drive her home.” Her brows furrowed. “I didn’t realize she was dating.”

Linc tossed the bags onto the shelf and started for the door. “I’ll go get her.”

One big question flashed in his mind. Why hadn’t she called him?

Hadley stepped in front of Linc, looking up at him like she wasn’t sure getting in his way was a good idea. “Wait, did you know she went out?”

Answering that question would betray Jess’s confidence, something he wasn’t about to do. Stalling here wasn’t an option either. There was a red tinge coloring the outside of his vision, and his body was heating from the inside out. “I need to go.”

“Is she okay?” Hadley asked as she stepped to the side.

“She better be.” The words came from low in his chest, releasing a warning meant for a loser at Barn Sour.

Hadley followed him out. “Linc, do you think she’s in trouble?”

“Like I said, that would be dangerous to the guy’s health.” If he found out someone had hurt her, there was a chance Linc would find out if the Blackwater jail looked like all the others he’d been in.

“Will you tell her to call me?” Hadley asked as she quickened her pace to keep up with him.

“Sure.”

“And, um, she sounded kinda upset.”

Great. Now his fingers were tingling, itching to meet the guy’s face.

Patience, Linc.

“I know she called me, but you’re probably the better choice to pick her up. She seems more comfortable with you when she’s not in the mood to talk.”

They didn’t have to talk. He probably didn’t want to know the details anyway. He’d check on Jess, introduce the guy to his fist, and take her home.

“I’m worried,” Hadley said as they reached his truck.

“Don’t be. I’ll take care of her.” That was a promise he could make with all certainty. He started the truck and made a swift three-point turn. He could be at the Barn in five minutes if he doubled the speed limit.

He twisted his hands on the steering wheel, and the burn in his palms was the only thing keeping him from screaming on the drive to Barn Sour.

It was everyone’s favorite place to go out besides the dance hall at the ranch, and there was a difference knowing Jess was there with her friends who didn’t drink and would leave before people got drunk and hearing that her date tonight couldn’t drive her home.

Couldn’t or wouldn’t? Did it matter? Either way, the guy had a big red target on his nose.

The gravel parking lot was packed, and the crunch of rocks beneath his tires didn’t drown out the steady roar in his ears. He didn’t bother looking for a parking spot. He stopped the truck in front of the entrance where Jess sat on the top step with her knees propped up and her chin in her hands. The bright lights streaming from the glass doors behind her painted her in shadow, but he didn’t need to see the whites of her eyes to know she was upset.

Linc jumped out of the truck and left it running. When he made it to the entrance, Jess was getting to her feet.

“I thought Hadley was coming,” she said quietly. So quiet, the music from inside almost drowned out her words.

“I thought you were going to call me,” Linc said, fighting the urge to reach for her.

Her shoulders sank. “This is embarrassing.”

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