Page 72 of Untamed

“I’m sorry for crashing. I just need a place to stay until I can get on my feet. I’ve been saving up for my own place with the tips I get from the bar and—”

“River.” She lays her hand on top of mine. “You could live in this cabin your entire life if you wanted. Or any of the little houses we have dotted around for the workers. We don’t care. You’re our daughter, and we want to take care of you just like we do the other kids.”

“Thank you.” I have to whisper the words because she has my emotions running haywire.

“Just stay here until everything with your mom’s stuff is settled. Or if Poppy wants to keep this one in case she gets sick of Rhett, take a different one.” She smirks over at me. “Maybe one that is on the other side of the property, as far away from Hayes as you can get.”

I laugh.

“Did you see I tried to hide my car?” I nod in the direction of where I hid it. “Was hoping I could get in and out without him noticing.”

“Not sure how long that’ll last,” she says, picking a piece of hash brown off my plate. “But I won’t say a word. You deserve a little bit of peace.”

“Can I ask how he’s doing?”

“He’s okay.” She sighs and leans forward on her elbows. “I guess Rhett and Clyde had a little chat with him the other day, tryin’ to set him straight. But you know Hayes. He’s always been stubborn as a mule.”

“He has.” I give her a weak laugh. “But I kind of really fucked up this time.”

“And he didn’t?” She raises an eyebrow. “The way I see it, you both did some things you aren’t too happy about. He hurt you, you hurt him. But it’s time to look past that and see the love you have for one another. End of the day, that’s what matters.”

“He said he needed space.” I cringe. “I hate that word. I never know what it means.”

“He’ll come around.” She hops off the barstool and kisses my cheek. “Try to stick it out a little while longer. If it’s meant to happen, it will. If not…” She shrugs. “Then you’re still my daughter, and I still love you.”

“Thank you, Katherine.” My eyes are watering as I smile at her.

“Let me know what you and Poppy want to do about living arrangements,” she tells me as she walks toward the door. “If she wants to keep this one for herself, we’ll get another one cleaned up for you.”

“Tell Clyde I said hi.”

“I will, dear. Have a good day at work. And let me know if my son gives you any more trouble.”

She winks as she slips out the door, and her lightness makes me laugh. Getting to talk to both her and Poppy has lifted my spirits a bit. I have a place to stay, I’m still employed, and I still have friends and family. Things could be so much worse.

But that doesn’t stop me from peeking through the blinds on every side of the house after I’m done eating, making sure the coast is clear before I walk out to my Jeep. It’s not that I think I can avoid him forever, especially living on the same property as him. Part of me even kind of wants to run into him. But I need to rehearse what I’m going to say first or something because I do not want to walk into that situation without being able to hold my own.

Leaving a few minutes early, I drive over to the rescue barn, making sure I don’t see Hayes before I jump out and run in to say good morning to Betty. Poppy and Wells are already there, letting the dogs out to stretch their legs before their breakfast. Betty is in the center of the barn, lying on her back as a puppy chews on one of her paws.

When she sees me, she jumps up to her feet and comes running over to me. We’ve made so much progress it warms my freaking heart.

“My sweet girl, mistreated and misunderstood,” I murmur as I leave a trail of kisses down her nose. “We’ve come so far, haven’t we?”

“Should take her to the cabin after you get off tonight,” Wells says, smiling at us. “She’s ready, and it would give you some company out there.”

“That’s a great idea!” Poppy is all smiles. “I’ll get all of her stuff together for you and leave it next to her room so you can just grab her and go after your shift at the bar.”

“Does Hayes know?” I ask, looking at Wells.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if he can just sense it.” He shrugs, a smirk playing on his mouth. “He can scent you like a damn bloodhound.”

“Gross.” Poppy’s nose scrunches up.

“Yeah, I agree. That’s gross. Please don’t talk about my scent being so strong a man can literally scent me. Like I’m something to be hunted down.”

“I dunno,” he says, his face looking ornery as hell. “I think the hunt is all part of the fun.”

“I’m not going to kink shame you, Wells Black.” I laugh with him because I think back to Hayes chasing after me to the stream. And Wells is right, that shit is pretty damn fun. “But please refrain from telling me about the dirty deeds you do in the woods.”

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