Page 6 of Riding Wicked

“Keeping me safe? Like you are now?” She glances toward me in the dim light and shakes her head. “You’ve got an answer for everything.”

“If you would have let me keep you safe, you wouldn’t be here to get into trouble again, would you?” I look away, then back again. “You know what, though, you seem like you need the confidence boost. If you need to think you saved me tonight… go for it.”

She rolls her eyes. “Why are you here, anyway? Be honest. We were together formonthsand you barely spoke to me. I figured you had better things to do. Why aren’t you doing them?”

“You mean going to work and hunting for dinner? Those things are part of life. It’s going to be a real shock to you out here in the real world.” I’m deflecting. I know what she means, but it would be hard to explain everything right now.

“Whatever. You’ve got an answer for everything… except for what happened to Jonathan. I asked everyone for months what happened to my baby’s father and all I heard was some cryptic MC slang fordon’t worry about it.”

I hold back a laugh. “Because you couldn’t handle knowing the truth.”

She bites the inside of her cheek. “You’d be surprised at the things I’ve seen. I can handle it. Tell me!”

All this smart mouthed talk is fun and all but there’s no way I’m spilling that information. When Oakley’s with me, I’ll shelter her from the world. “It’s complicated. As you know, he pursued hisfiancéto Rugged Mountain. The problem is when he got there, the MC was ready for him. When he was presented with his options, he chose the one where… he’s not going to be a problem to you anymore.”

“You know that Jonathan’sfiancéwas news to me when I found out.” She lets out a brief but forceful breath. “If you’re telling me that I don’t have to worry about baby daddy drama, and that’s the bottom line… fine. I’m used to controlling assholes.” She laughs under her breath. “Well, Knight, that doesn’t explain what you are doing here. My father thinks he’s the king of Amarillo, and a lot of people agree. What he wants, he gets, and he’ll hurt whoever he has to in order to get it.”

“Okay, what’s that have to do with you?”

“I’m an asset right now, and you’re trying to steal it. He wants a neighboring land, and he’s going to trade my baby to get it.” The words are strained as they slide from her lips and I’m not sure where to go with what she’s said. I didn’t think about how maybe she’dwantto give the baby up for adoption.

I ask the next question without judgement. “What doyouwant?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it matters. My father gets what he wants.”

“If he wasn’t a part of the picture, what would you want?”

“Of course I’d want my baby, Knight. Jesus!” She snaps out the words with a rawness that I probably deserve. “No wonder you’re still alone!”

I shouldn’t love this sparring as much as I do, but there’s something about her smart little mouth that I want to quiet with mine.

“Why are you alone?” She holds the rocky edges of the pool as she floats.

I shrug. “That’s an annoying question.”

Her brows narrow. “What? How?”

“Well, I could ask you how you got knocked up by an asshole like Johnathan… but I won’t.”

Her gaze darts away, and though it’s dark, I know annoyance when I see it.

Another gunshot. This asshole has to be running out of shit to shoot at.

“For the record, I didn’t know Johnathan was an asshole when we started seeing each other. Most guys don’t come with a warning label like you.”

This one has me laughing. “Okay… okay. I deserved that.” I swim toward her as she stands against the cool stone of the back wall. “For the record, I didn’t choose to be alone.”

“So, you’re saying you repel women? I believe that.”

I can’t believe I denied myself this for months. Imagine how far we’d be by now. Maybe arm wrestling over klondike bars or making bets over who makes the best pie in Rugged Mountain. Most people think it’s Millie, but in my opinion, Josie cranks out the best of the best.

“Women are complicated. I haven’t figured them out yet.”

“We’re not that complicated.” She shuffles her feet, wading in the deep. “Feed us, say nice things, and give us space to be crazy sometimes.” She grins. “Oh and let us have all the animals.”

“Really? It’s that simple?”

“No one said it was simple. I said it wasn’t complicated. That’s what’s wrong with men. Y’all lose the meaning in the nuance.”

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