Page 49 of Three Reckless Words

If Colt hadn’t walked in on us, I’m sure his big gruff face would’ve kissed me—and I wouldn’t have objected one bit. I would’ve loved to feel his beard against my skin when I was already climbing him like a tree.

But the teenager showing up was honestly for the best.

Still, it’s not fair leaving Archer to fend off Dad alone.

I know my father, and he’s a human dog with a bone. He won’t let up once he has someone in his sights, meaning I’ll have to persuade him I’m both okay and not coming back.

It’s just that…

I chew a nail as I stare at my phone. I’ve kept it in airplane mode, mostly, only turning it back on for brief stretches when I can stand the message barrage or I want to get online.

Being without it has been kinda liberating. The phone feels like a tether to my old life, and with it off, I can pretend the past doesn’t exist.

If only.

With a heavy heart and fingers that absolutely do not shake—because that would be ridiculous—I switch modes and wait for the notifications to come screaming in.

My phone buzzes like a manic vibrator for a good three minutes.

I drum my fingers as I wait.

Finally.

I find my dad’s contact and call him.

“Winnie?” he answers instantly, breathing heavily. “Is that you?”

“Hi, Dad. Who else were you expecting?”

Silence.

It spreads down the line like a flash freeze. He just has this weird aura where he doesn’t need to say a single word to stop your heart. I guess that comes with being Attorney General, the power to intimidate.

But I’m so sick of it I’m not scared today.

“Winnie,” he says, a warning in his voice. “What the hell did you think you were playing at?”

Closing my eyes, I sigh so heavily I’m sure he can feel it in his bones on the other end of the line.

“Isn’t it obvious, Dad? Like really?”

“Hardly.”

“I couldn’t go through with it. The wedding, marrying Holden, living that life… no thanks.”

“Winnie—”

“I know. I know I should’ve made my mind up much sooner, and trust me, I wish I had”—it’s not like I wanted to be a pushover for so long—“and yes, I’msorryfor putting everybody on the spot and wasting a lot of money. But I couldn’t marry a man who didn’t love me. I couldn’t settle for being his arm candy.”

“Goddamn you, stop being so childish,” he snarls. “Do you know I nearly launched a statewide manhunt after you left? I was on the phone daily with state troopers. I thought you were mentally unwell, that you’d snapped. For all I know, maybe you have.”

“Dad!That’s not fair. My mind’s never been clearer.”

“We had a plan, Wynne. Then you burned it and left to chase these—these ridiculous juvenile fantasies.”

My spine stiffens.

That’s classic Dad, all right, dismissing everyone else’s needs as immature perversions because they don’t align with his. Has he evertriedto relate once?

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