Page 79 of Huckleberry Hill
“If I say I don’t want it, will you tell me anyway?”
“Sassy Sasserson,” she said with a chuckle. “If you’re going to be sneaking around with Declan, don’t do it in town. There’s no sneaking around in a small town. Someone’s bound to see you and tell your father.”
I sighed but reluctantly nodded.
Muddy left the bedroom and shut the door behind her.
I continued to sit on the end of my bed, weighing the words she’d spoken. What was I doing? I’d snuck into the house like a teenager not wanting to get caught after curfew.
Exhausted and rethinking everything from last night, I pulled myself up and trod to the bathroom. I stood in the shower, letting the water remove the scent of him from my skin.
I closed my eyes, remembering the pleasure I’d shared with Declan. It was hard to have any sort of regret over it.
But would I do it again? That was asking for trouble.
If you had to sneak around to do something, didn’t that make it wrong?
I groaned in frustration.
Why couldn’t I be like Salem? Salem, who asked for forgiveness and not permission. Salem, who didn’t do regrets. Salem, who’d somehow broken free of the box society tried to dictate for her.
But here I was, twenty-three years old, worried that my father would be disappointed in me if he found out I broke one of his rules.
I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around me.
My phone was lighting up when I walked back into the bedroom. It was still on silent.
When I saw it was Wade calling, I silenced it and let it roll to voicemail. I felt bad. I hadn’t been firm enough with my boundaries.
I gritted my teeth in frustration.
While I got dressed, I practiced saying no.
As I sat on the edge of the bed and I was pulling on a pair of clean socks, there was a knock on the door.
“No!” I called out.
“Hadley? You okay?” Dad asked.
I took a deep breath and called back, “Sorry, yes, come in.”
He opened the door, his brow furrowed. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I said. “I was thinking about something. What’s up?”
“I just checked on Mirabelle and the foal. They’re both doing great.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“The birth went okay, then?” Dad studied me.
“The birth went fine. Declan did an amazing job. He has a good bedside manner.”
“He does.” Dad scratched his jaw. “He told me you went back to his cabin to get cleaned up?”
I nodded. “I didn’t want to wake you by coming in late and showering. I know you’re a light sleeper.”
His expression cleared. “Thoughtful.”
