Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I liked him. I wasn’t going to deny that. But none of those feelings were enough to share the one small truth that could change everything—the other active part of the “gifts” I’d been given.
Henri rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, his face watchful. “Most people don’t like Dominic. He’s got a temper, and he’s been used to getting what he wants by talking enough shit. Half the residents here avoid him. But there you were, squaring up to him like you knew there was nothing for you to be afraid of.”
The smile I gave him was so freaking weak, and he knew it.
His nostrils flared, and he stared at me for so long I was sure he was about to lecture me on why he deserved to know what I was hiding. He didn’t though. “You have nothing to prove here, Nina, no matter what anyone says.” His jaw went tight before he lowered his voice. “Has Agnes said anything to you about her parents?”
“Nothing.” I tugged at the collar of my orange T-shirt that said Oregon in block letters. “I’ve wondered, but I haven’t brought it up. We’re still working on our relationship.”
“I should have said something about it to warn you.”
Warn me?
“Dom is Agnes’s dad.” That sounded like it cost him to admit it. “It’s complicated.”
“The blond hair makes sense now, but….”
Somehow, his jaw went even tighter. “He and Agnes’s mom weren’t in a relationship when they had her. Her mom was young and couldn’t raise her. She gave her to Dominic, who….” His palm came up and dragged over his mouth before he palmed his throat. “She’s ours now,” he summarized.
“He gave her up?” I whispered.
“We made him sign away his rights.”
I took a step closer to him, lowering my voice even more. “Does she know?”
“She knows. She can smell it,” he explained. “We’ve never kept it from her.”
“I can’t believe that dickhead is her dad,” I told him even though… I kind of could. Maybe that’s where she got her attitude from. But just as quickly as that thought entered my head, I realized it went deeper than that, maybe to an extent it was genetic, but I’d bet it had to be her reacting to her situation in the first place. Maybe.
What would it be like to see her father around, knowing he would rather she live in a clubhouse by herself than be with him?
Just when I thought I couldn’t dislike that asshole any more, I proved myself wrong.
It was my turn to grit my teeth. “They don’t spend time together? At all?”
“Other than pack runs and the twice a year he had to agree to spend some time with her—if she wants—no.” Henri took the baton for teeth clenching again. “The only reason he goes on the runs is because he’s part of the security for the ranch and it’s mandatory.”
“Doesn’t he have other family here that could’ve taken her?” I thought about the blonde woman who worked at the diner.
Henri’s face clouded over. “They declined.”
Wincing, I wanted to give Agnes a hug so bad it made my throat hurt. “Is that why he’s such an asshole to you? Because you’re more of a dad to her than he is?”
Henri’s body straightened, and I watched his eyes bounce from one of mine to the other. His mouth went a little flat. “That’s….” It looked like he poked at the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “That’s not the whole reason why, but I’m sure it’s part of it. He doesn’t agree with a lot of our rules, and he thinks he can run the ranch better than we already do.”
“So he’s always been an asshole?” I muttered.
That got Henri’s mouth to twitch at least. “Basically.”
I smiled a little. “But where is Agnes’s mom now?”
“She’s not from around here. They met when she was visiting. She might be from Denver, I don’t know.” He didn’t care, it didn’t make a difference to him, was what he was implying.
I sighed. “Well, now I feel terrible for her, but that man….” Lifting my hand between us, I shook my fist so he could silently get my point.
He smirked again. “He doesn’t deserve a conditioner bar.”
“He deserves some spit in it, more like,” I snickered.
The corner of his mouth hitched, but just as soon as he did it, the expression disappeared again. “Keep your eye on him. He’s been all bark, and he’s good security, but I’ve broken up him and Ani getting into it. You might not be scared, but I don’t like the idea of somebody getting in your face.”
“I’d be fine, Fluff,” I tried to assure him, but he started shaking his head before I’d even finished my sentence.
“I don’t want you getting hurt, and I don’t mean just physically,” Henri said, looking me right in the eye while he did.