Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Who are London and Drew? The family has a condo in Bitterroot Valley? Obviously, I don’t know anything about this woman, and that unnerves me. Will may have questions, but I have a shitload of my own, and I intend to get them answered today.
“No, I came alone, and I’m headed back before dinner.”
“You didn’t even tell Mom you were coming, did you?” Erin gasps. “Dad, you’ll be in so much trouble.”
“No, I won’t.” He shakes his head, sweeps her hair off her cheek, and takes another deep breath. “Let’s go outside and talk.”
“Okay.” As they walk past me, Erin mouths, I’m sorry.
When they’re out of earshot, Lucky joins me. “Is that Will Montgomery? The greatest quarterback Seattle ever had? The Hall of Famer?”
“Looks like it.”
“Did you know he was Erin’s daddy?”
“Nope.”
Lucky nods thoughtfully. “Okay, then.”
He wanders away to get back to work, and I see Will and Erin walking slowly toward the house, in deep conversation. Deciding to stay out of their way, I get back into the Jeep and drive home, giving them a wide berth. Once inside, I go directly to my office.
So, Erin doesn’t really need the job. Mine or the one at the coffee shop. She’s, what, out here playing the part of the broke girl?
I don’t like games, especially when it comes to people who have access to my kids. Particularly when it’s women that I want in my bed.
I feel like a fool.
An hour later, the front door opens, and I hear Erin call out, “Rem? Do you have a minute?”
I walk out and take her in. She looks…contrite.
“What do you need?” I ask.
“My dad would like a minute.”
I nod and walk past her, not touching her, and join her father on the porch. I lean against the railing.
“What can I do for you?”
Will shakes his head and looks out over my pasture, to the mountains beyond. “What kind of security do you have out here? It doesn’t look like there’s much.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re in the middle of nowhere. What kind of security would you like me to have?”
“Cameras, alarms, a gate to start.”
“I have cameras,” I reply. “I don’t need a gate. We don’t have the kind of crime you’re used to in the city.”
“You have children,” Will says, turning to me. “You understand what it is to worry about their safety.”
“Of course, I do. And I know that they’re safe here. They’re safe in town. I’m not ever going to put anyone or anything that I love at risk. The most dangerous thing out here is the wildlife, not the people.”
“She was once almost taken,” he says quietly, his blue eyes full of regret as he levels them at me. “Because of me. Because of who I am.”
“Are you saying that my children aren’t safe because she’s here with them?” My stomach clenches at the thought.
“No.” He shakes his head. “Not at all. I’m saying that I worry, and I’ll always worry. She’s twenty-five now, and I’ll worry when she’s sixty-five.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because she lives out here, and because I see the way you look at my daughter. I don’t exactly love it, but”—he shrugs—“not much I can do about that.”
And that’s twice today that someone has mentioned to me that I look at Erin in a certain way. Jesus, do I have lovesick written across my forehead?
“She’s safe here,” I say firmly. “I give you my word, Mr. Montgomery. I have questions for her because I didn’t realize that you are her dad, but she’s safe here.”
“You didn’t know,” he says as realization dawns. “About her family, about her money.”
“No.” The answer is curt because hell, my feelings are a little bruised. “I didn’t. Look, I don’t give a rat’s ass about money, but I do care about honesty.”
He nods at that. “I’m headed back to Seattle. I’m going to leave my number with you.” He sets a card on the railing. “If you or Erin ever need anything, all you have to do is call.”
“Mr. Montgomery—”
“My daughter lives in your house,” he interrupts. “You can call me Will.”
“Will. I don’t need anything. This ranch is successful beyond my father’s wildest dreams. If anything, my parents might have wondered if Erin was here because of our money, not the other way around.”
That makes him laugh. “Well, that’s something, I guess. It’s frustrating when your kids no longer want or need your help. When they pull away. I love her.”
“I know you do. You wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
He pats me on the shoulder. “I think you do understand. I have to get back to Seattle before my wife divorces me.”
“You said you wouldn’t be in trouble.”
“Oh, that was a bald-faced lie. Megan’s been champing at the bit to get out here to visit Erin. But it was a spur-of-the-moment decision when Erin sent me to voicemail again this morning.”