Page 34 of Paths

I watch as they pull out of the parking lot of the Ranch until I feel Grady shift. When I look up, he’s turned to me and I feel his hand in the back of my hair again. That’s when he pulls me close, and before I know it, his lips land on mine. I may not have initiated it this time, but I sure don’t pull away even though he surprised me.

Without saying a word, he lets me go and takes my hand. Leading me quickly to his Escalade while scanning our surroundings, he opens the passenger door and makes sure I’m in before slamming it with all his might.

When he gets in, I know I should explain, try and make another excuse for all the drama, or hell, even lie like I’ve been doing since I crossed into the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“Grady—” I start, but I have no time to say another word before he holds up an index finger, gesturing for me to wait and a phone starts ringing over the speakers of his ultra-clean SUV.

It barely rings twice before I hear Crew’s voice. “Yeah?”

“Do me a favor and tell Addy that Maya won’t be in for a while. Depending on how long this takes, she might not be in at all.”

“Grady!” I yell and quickly refute his plans. “Don’t do that, Crew. I’m coming into work.”

Of course, Crew doesn’t listen to me, but says to Grady, “Done. Everything okay?”

Grady quickly pulls out of the lot and turns onto the two-lane road toward Whitetail, simply answering, “No,” before he hangs up.

I guess those two aren’t chatty phone talkers, because I didn’t have a chance to get in another word, so I turn to Grady. “You can’t do that, I need to go to work. I can’t afford to miss a day.”

Grady glances over at me before turning back to the road and states matter-of-factly, “Then talk fast, Maya. Until I figure out what’s going on with you, you’re not leaving my sight. You’ve got until we get back to Crew’s house to get your story straight, and it had better be the real one. It’s time we figure your shit out.”

Sighing, I slump back into my seat. As I watch the bare trees fly by, I wonder what I’m going to do. I think I’m out of options and have no idea how Weston found me, but he knows where I live and where I work. I’ve known him long enough to realize he’s at least been watching me, trying to leave now would be stupid. Closing my eyes, I lean my head back, and breathe. Telling Grady the truth at this point should be the least of my worries.

Chapter 10 – You’re Sweet

Grady –

I pull up to Crew’s front door, not bothering to park in the barn. The drive home was silent and I wondered the entire way what I’d get from her. The truth might be too much to hope for at this point. It’s clear she’s hidden her life from everyone—if not outright lied about it. Maybe expecting the truth is too much.

All I have to do is read the report Crew sent me to know. Normally, I’d be all over that. But for some reason, as distraught as she’s been since last night, I want to hear it from her first. I want her to trust me even though she has no reason to. I want her to open up, tell me why that fucker was in her life to begin with, especially for as long as he was. Fuck me. I’ve never felt this way before, but I want her to need me to make it right, and when that’s done, I just want her to need me.

But if I can’t get it out of her soon, I’ll be forced to read the report. I need to know what I’m dealing with.

Because after watching her for weeks, and now spending time with her, holding her, having her touch me?

I need her. I just hope to fuck she needs me, too.

She gets out of the car at the same time I do, meeting me quickly at the front porch. “Grady, please, I need to go to work. I promise to tell you anything you want to know later, but I can’t afford to miss a day. I have rent and bills to pay—I need the money.”

I pause in the middle of unlocking the door and turn to her. Her beautiful face is tense and filled with worry, and I realize I never thought about that part of her. About her working two jobs, never having a full day off, and renting Addy’s one-room house.

Money never crosses my mind. It’s just there, sitting in the bank, waiting for me to spend it. All I did was deposit it for years, meet with my broker—who I do regular background checks on to make sure he stays on the up and up—and let it grow. I’ve put my sisters through school, and if I wanted something, I bought it.

Besides that, I never think about money.

I let my eyes roam her features, and as much as I want to tell her not to worry because I’ll make sure she’s covered, she doesn’t need to know that right now.

“Doesn’t Addy give you personal time? Sick, vacation?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’m hourly and part time. She said if I needed time off, we’d work it out.”

I grab her hand as I open the door and pull her through, making a mental note to get with Addy and work something out for Maya’s rent. “Then don’t worry about it. Addy’s a good woman, if she said she’d work it out, she will.”

“I can’t just not show up for work. It’s busy on Fridays and—”

“Maya,” I interrupt, pulling her all the way in and toss my keys on the table. “Crew will take care of it. I’m sure after last night, Addy already knows something’s going on with you.”

Maya sighs and drops her purse on the table next to my keys. I lead her into the only room with furniture, but stop because I realize there’s nowhere for us to sit. Maybe I should’ve taken her back to her place. At least she has a small sofa, but I was worried she’d run off to work as soon as we got there.

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