Page 6 of The Lies We Told Ourselves

The cottage was a single-story structure, but we’d been able to squeeze in a bedroom on either side of the living room and a small bathroom. It was the only finished one on the property at the moment. The plans for building the others were moving slowly but surely, but they wouldn’t be habitable for a while.

“This is for me?” she asked as she peered through the bathroom door, her eyes wide in surprise.

“It’s the best I can offer. I’m sure you can make do for now.”

When she turned to look at me again, there were tears pouring down her face, and I froze.

Shit.

Val moved to Reece’s side, sat down, and leaned against her leg like she did whenever someone was upset. I could have sworn the dog was staring at me accusingly.

Was this too much? I didn’t think she’d want to stay in the house with me. It felt a bit too much like I was trying to say there were strings attached to the help I was offering.

There definitely weren’t.

I didn’t even know why I’d offered. I liked my space. My own company, if you didn’t count Val. But she’d looked so lost and broken sitting in that car at the side of the road, and I wasn’t about to just abandon her out there when she was so obviously in trouble.

“This is…”

I braced myself for the criticism. For that thing people do when they try to manipulate you into giving more than you’re prepared to do.

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She sniffled and then moved toward me.

I saw it coming. It was hard not to when she was walking across the room with her arms opened wide.

A hug.

One of those human gestures that was completely unnecessary for anyone over the age of twelve. Or four if you grew up in the house I did, and even then, it only ever came from the nanny.

Reece wrapped her arms around me as much as she could and squeezed. I heard the hitch of her breath, and I knew it had hurt her. For some reason, that was what made me move. I might have just awkwardly patted her on the back, but it was the warmest gesture I’d ever made for a stranger.

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly, gently taking her arms and unwrapping them from me, not wanting to hurt her anymore.

I awkwardly cleared my throat and then stepped back out of the door. Val looked at Reece and then followed me.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in. We can look around the ranch tomorrow and talk about the job.” I kept backing up as she watched me awkwardly. I should have remembered the low deck we’d put on the front of the cottage in place of a porch and stumbled down the small step instead. “I’ll get your bags from the truck.”

I turned and strode away, my hands rubbing against my arms like I could erase her touch if I tried hard enough.

This was going to be an issue.

Shewas going to be an issue.

This was just my luck. You try to do a nice thing, and you end up with someone wanting to act like a human being around you. It would have been easier to pick up a stray dog from the side of the road. I should have known better than to rescue some damsel in distress.

CHAPTER THREE

REECE

It felt like someone had stretched out my muscles to the point where they’d all recoiled and then turned to stone.

I swung my feet over the side of the bed and forced myself to sit up.

“Ohhh, that’s not good,” I grumbled as the pain lanced through my side.

It had been two weeks since the incident that had left me with these bruises. Watching them slowly fade was the only thing that kept me going while I was planning my exit. I’d managed to get to a clinic before leaving my old life behind, and knowing I’d only bruised my ribs had been a relief I hadn’t been expecting. I knew I couldn’t leave until I’d been checked out. I didn’t want to risk being registered in the system anywhere that could help him trace my location.

The system.

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