Page 4 of Daddy's Lost Rebel

“There,” he states in that deep, rich voice before backing up. “Hungry?”

Starving.In more ways than one. “Er, yes,” I answer softly. “You don’t have to…”Feed me. Waste your food on me. Help me.I don’t know what words I’m looking for, but it doesn’t matter because Weston isn’t hearing any of them.

“Sit.” He gestures to the wooden chair in front of me and crosses the room to grab bowls as I settle into the seat.

The eat-in kitchen is what I would have used to consider small, but it’s charming—cozy even. It’s not too small for one person or for two. I sort of adore it.

“Do you eat meat?” he asks before walking back.

I nearly choke on my tongue.Meat, likefood, Beck.“Yes,” I blurt out after an awkward pass of silence. “I like meat–I mean, I eat meat.”

His only answer is to set a white ceramic bowl of stew in front of me, a big silver spoon already sticking out of it. It looks to have vegetables and beef of some kind, and the steam coming off of it smells like pepper and gravy.

“What would you have given me if I didn’t eat meat?” I ask curiously, reaching for the handle of my spoon.

He shrugs. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, probably.”

With that, we dig in, ignoring the awkward tension in the room in favor of eating. I’ll take tension with a kind stranger over freezing my balls off while being lost in the woods any day.

CHAPTERTHREE

Weston

Newly warm and full of food, Beck is snuggled into my couch, and the content look on his face has my breath catching in my chest. I want to kick my own ass for the little ache that is starting to form for him, even though I can ignore it. I don’t want the temptation. I just want him to be safe.

Once the old flatscreen is on, playing reruns ofOne Tree Hill, I consider what I should say to him. There’s a lot I could ask or mention, but I’m not sure where to begin. Deciding I can hardly mess it up by starting in the wrong place, I just jump in.

“Is there someone I should call for you?” I finally ask. It takes him a few seconds to recognize my voice and process the question being asked.

His throat bobs with a swallow. “N-no.” He looks ashamed. “I can… I can leave if you want. I don’t have anyone to call, but as long as you don’t tell anyone I’ve been here, I can go.”

No. Definitely not that.The instant reaction is a strong one for me. I like being alone, so normally, the idea of getting someone out of my house as quickly as possible is a welcome one. Not with Beck, though. Something inside of me is telling me that he isn’t going anywhere if I can help it. Iwanthim here.

Keeping my thoughts to myself, I question him. “And where would you go? If you have no one to call, I imagine you have no one to run to either.”

His head hangs. “I can figure it out.”I’ve gotten this far, the words are left unsaid, but I hear them as clear as day.

You’re not leaving. No fucking way.That inner voice protests again. “You’re welcome to stay,” I offer, keeping my voice soft. “There’s no reason for you to leave.”

His guarded expression is less soft and embarrassed now, it's more hard and untrusting. His eyes narrow as he asks, “So what? You’re just going to take me in? Let me mooch off of you indefinitely?” The sarcastic drawl sounds good on him. Healthy.

A little sass in his tone is much nicer to hear than the previous fearful shake of his voice, and it makes the corner of my mouth slowly tilt up.

I shrug. “Why not?”

“Um, because you don’t know me? Because you don’t owe me anything, and you shouldn’t have to pay for the existence of a stranger who broke into your house.”

“So, tell me about yourself then,” I challenge.

“That’s not…” he trails off. “You know what? Fine. You want to know about me?”

Yes, I really fucking do.“Tell me.”

“I’m a fucking mess,” he spits out. “A horrible, annoying, fucking mess, and you’d be stupid to take me in.”

“Oh, yeah?” I counter.

“Yeah,” he snarls, nostrils flaring with an exhale. “I’m moody and untrusting. I don’t have a filter between my brain and my mouth, and I have absolutely nothing to contribute here. I think I’d faint if I tried to kill an animal, so you’d be hunting for two all by yourself.

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