Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
But Mercy isn't. It's not a place for children.
Even if Legion and I leave together, Mercy isn't going anywhere. The court gave temporary custody to Cash.
Legion knows this.
I don't want to bring it up. None of this was Legion's fault. It was all Cash's doing, his twisted idea of getting even with... well, with the world probably. With Legion specifically. With me for choosing Legion. With Colt for getting Destiny pregnant.
Cash and I haven't talked about baby Marigold yet. We've been circling each other in the house like wary animals, both of us pretending the other doesn't exist. But that baby is a huge factor in why Mercy is living at the ranch now.
Cash's ideas about revenge run deep, and this situation is the perfect storm for his particular brand of vindictiveness.
First, his little sister gets swept off her feet by an outlaw biker.
Then his brother goes and has an illegitimate child with the outlaw's middle sister.
The symmetry must drive Cash absolutely insane.
The Ashby and Kane families are good and twisted up now. And that's only the beginning. The birth of baby Marigold changes the line of inheritance in ways none of us understand yet. Cash has called in a whole team of lawyers trying to figure out the complicated legalese in Eleanor's will, but there are several interpretations as to what the addition of a female grandbaby means.
Legion's eyes drift back to mine, something changing in his expression. He sighs, reading my thoughts like they're printed across my forehead.
"I know what you're thinking," he says, voice dropping lower. "And you're right. I've got nothing to offer you except my love and my loyalty. I know that's not much compared to all this." He gestures vaguely at the walls of our little canyon, but is really talkin’ about the ranch itself. "But I'm rising up in the club. I've earned my place there. I've paid for it in blood and time."
He sits up straighter, warming to his topic, conviction building with each word.
"We could stay at the trailer. It's not much, but it's mine. It's clean. It's safe. I know it's beneath you—"
"Stop." I cut him off, feeling a flush of heat that isn't entirely desire. "That's insulting, Legion."
His eyebrows shoot up.
"I'm more than happy to live at the trailer," I continue, sitting up and reaching for my dress. "It's beautiful. And it's yours. That's what matters to me."
The tension in his shoulders ease, and a smile—small but genuine—touches his lips.
"So that's settled then." He nods once, like we've just signed a contract.
But nothing's settled. Not really.
"Legion, you don't understand what's happening with Mercy. This custody thing is real. Cash isn't just letting her stay with us temporarily. He's filing for permanent custody."
Legion stares at me, his face hardening.
"He's secured a place for her at Rimrock Academy," I add. "My old day school."
"What the fuck?" Legion pushes me off him, standing abruptly. Immediately, he is pulling his jeans up over his hips. "He's got no right—"
"He thinks he does," I say, rising to stand beside him. I pick up my dress, pull it over my head. "And the courts might agree." I place my hand on his cheek, feeling the muscles tense beneath my palm. "Why is Rimrock such a bad idea? It's a good school. She'd get opportunities there she'd never have otherwise."
"That's not the point."
"I know. But Cash is never going to forgive you. Not for stealing my heart. Not for losing Colt to Destiny. Not for baby Marigold, who might very well end up inheriting everything."
A thought flickers through my mind—did Colt do this on purpose? Get Destiny pregnant to secure a claim on the Ashby fortune?
But I brush it away. That's too calculated, and the last thing Colt is, is calculating.
"Cash wants you to fight him for Mercy," I explain, my hand sliding down to his chest. "He knows he'll win. He's paying off judges to rule in his favor."
Legion's jaw clenches, but his eyes soften as my fingers trace the outline of his scar.
"Let Cash think he won," I whisper, my hand drifting lower, over his ribs. "Let Mercy get all the perks of being part of the Ashby dynasty. Let her go to Rimrock and get a first-class education. Let her keep the puppy, and the pony, and the clothes."
My fingers tease at the waistband of his jeans.
"Let someone else take care of her, you mean?" Legion asks, his voice sharp despite the way his body responds to my touch.
I don't say what we're both thinking—that he's always let other people take care of Mercy. I don't have to. The truth hangs between us, unspoken but also undeniable.
Legion's shoulders slump slightly. "I've never been there for Mercy. Or for Destiny. But I'm back now."
"I know you are." I step closer, pressing myself against him. "But being back doesn't mean you have to fight every battle the hard way."