Page 34 of The Mountain Man's Virgin
“Your first time is going to be so special, Lucy. I’m going to treat you like a princess,” he said and reached for my hand. He squeezed my hand so tightly that the engagement ring pressed into the sides of my fingers. I inhaled sharply and pulled my hand away, massaging the red dents on my fingers.
As he drove, I stared at his profile. How had I not seen it before? The coldness in his eyes, the emptiness in his embraces.
After feeling real warmth and excitement, I knew that I couldn’t marry Lawrence. Maybe that’s the gift that Mick gave me – right alongside with saving my life.
I knew that I didn’t want to start a fight in the car; that I would have to wait for the right time to call off the engagement.
My thoughts were interrupted as Lawrence’s phone rang through the speaker system. The lodge’s name came up on the car’s display, but Lawrence wasn’t making a move to answer the phone. Before he could dismiss the call, I pressed accept on the screen. He snapped his head to face me, “What the fuck Lucy?” he whispered - anger flashing in his eyes.
“Hello. Mr. Lawrence Locklear, are you there?” the voice echoed through the car speakers.
Lawrence narrowed his eyes at me and sighed, “Yes. This is Lawrence.”
“This is Sheriff Harris, I’m here investigating the assault claim you lodged against Michael Brady.”
“No, it was some hillbilly named Mick,” Lawrence corrected the officer.
The officer sighed audibly.
“We were surprised that you left the lodge before we could get your statement, but there were two witnesses to the incident and we will not be pressing charges.”
I saw the redness rise from Lawrence’s collar up into his chiseled jawbone, “But he broke my nose.”
“Mr. Locklear, I don’t care who your parents are. The next time you fall to the ground and break your nose, don’t try to pin it on someone else – especially Michael Brady.”
“Wait, did you say, Brady?”
“Yes, Brady. And you’re lucky he can’t be reached, or else I would recommend that he press false allegation charges against you.”
Lawrence stabbed at the hang up button on the steering wheel, ending the conversation.
I looked at him, waiting for an explanation. When it didn’t come, I asked the question that had been weighing on me for the last two days.
“Where were you when I was unconscious?” I whispered.
“What the fuck do you mean? You know where I was.”
“I want you to tell me again. To my face.”
Lawrence slapped the steering wheel. “I was at a Founder’s Club weekend retreat. I couldn’t answer any calls from anyone, including Tania.”
“I thought you said your phone was off.”
“I… I didn’t. I just assumed that Tania would’ve been obsessively calling.”
That’s when it hit me. He knew about the accident. He knew that I was missing. Whatever he was doing in the boy’s club was more important than finding his missing fiancée.
I wanted to open the door and get out of the car as fast as I could, even if it meant flinging myself out onto the high snowbanks, but at the same time didn’t want to get hypothermia for the second time in a week.
I knew that I was going to leave Lawrence, but something in my gut told me to wait until I was out of the car. The rage that I had seen brewing inside Lawrence seemed dangerous, but I had an advantage - he hadn’t figured out that I had caught him in a lie.
“Did you know?” he asked.
I was tired now.
“Know what?”
“Did you know that you were alone in a cabin with Michael Brady?”
