Page 47 of Backed By You
Shea? Oh, she’s tried.
Mydad? If pigs could fly!
“I’m trying to look out for you.” His expression softens, but his words still sting. “Look, honey, I know this move to Montana wasn’t what you wanted, but finding someone decent to settle down with could be the one good thing that comes out of it.”
The one good thing. As if everything else about my life here doesn’t matter. As if the only thing that couldpossiblymake my ‘running away’ worthwhile would be landing a man.
“Dad. I didn’t move here to find a husband. I moved here to get my life back.”
He sighs, the sound heavy with frustration. “And you have. But you can’t hide out forever, appearing only when it’s convenient. You’re twenty-eight years old. Most girls your age—”
“Most girls my age aren’t paranoid, living in fear of being stalked.” The words come out louder than I mean them to, and I glance around to make sure no one’s listening. “Most girls my age haven’t accomplished half the things I have, Dad.”
He huffs. “You know what I mean.”
“Do I? Because it sounds like you don’t approve of how I’m livingmylife,” I sneer. “How many times do we need to have this discussion before you’ll leave it alone?”
His expression hardens. “You need someone stable who can protect you.”
I fall back in my seat, my appetite gone. “And let me guess, your pet deputy is that someone.”
“I’ve been told Justin is single and finds you very attractive.”
I cringe at the salesman’s pitch he’s giving on this guy. “Jesus, Dad.” I’m going to have nightmares after this, I know it. “That doesn’t mean I want to date him.”
“So, what, you’re just going to be alone forever?”
The dismissive way he talks about my life choices makes my chest tight. Would he even be saying any of this if he knew I plan to ask Beau to come with me? “What if I am? What’s wrong with being alone if that’s what makes me feel safe?” I demand.
“Is that what you really want?” he counters, leaning forward. “Or are you just scared?”
The question hits too close to home, especially after this morning and the way I panicked when he showed up. How I couldn’t bring myself to introduce Beau as anything more than my landlord.
He’s so much more than that.
I sit up straight, my mind set. “This entire argument is pointless,” I say, voice steady. “I already have someone attending the premiere and all the subsequent events and interviews with me. He won’t be leaving my side. And—I’ll have you know—he’ll do a far better job at keeping me safe than Justin ever could.”
His brow furrows, gaze searching mine. “Who?”
“Beau Montgomery.”
Seventeen.
Beau
Thenailgunpopsthree times as I press the trigger, securing another section of wall framing into place. The rhythm of the work keeps my mind off this morning and the way Callie’s face went white when her father showed up. How quickly she reduced me to nothing more than a damnlandlord.
Even if that is all I am to her. It shouldn’t have fucking hurt the way it did to hear her say it.
I step back to check the frame’s alignment, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my arm. The Montana sun beats down relentlessly. I pull my shirt over my head and toss it to the side. My boots crunch on wood shavings scattered across the foundation.
“Looking good, man.”
I turn. Rhett’s walking up the gravel path, his hands shoved in his jean pockets. I grunt, not in the mood for any brotherlybanter. After the last week, I’ve had my fill for the rest of the fucking year. I shift my attention back to the frame and heft another two-by-four into position.
He stops a few feet away. “This place is coming along.”
I line up the board and reach for the nail gun.Pop, pop, pop.
