16. Hailey

SIXTEEN

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

An avalanche of excitement collided with my slumber, a violent jostling of the bed that jarred me from sleep.

From where I was lying face down and wrapped around a pillow, I cracked open an eye to find Maddie waving her arms in the air and her little feet bouncing on the mattress a foot away from my head. "You have to wake it up right now because me and my Lolly is making you the best breakfast you are ever gonna eat in your whole life because Lolly said today is extra special."

I tried not to wince at the stabbing of light spearing in through the window, and my voice was craggy when I asked, "What's so special about today?"

"She said you are finally earning a reputation." Maddie flapped her arms so hard I thought she might take flight, and I groaned and buried my face back in my pillow.

Crap.

Had Lolly known I was out there with Cody last night? I couldn't even allow myself to contemplate it. My behavior risky. Verging on treacherous. I did my best to cram the surging of emotions back down. To keep them contained.

Deteriorating into a puddle of panic over my actions last night did not seem like the best way to begin the morning. But it was right there, bubbling beneath the surface.

Fear.

Guilt.

All mixed with the wash of warmth that skimmed across my skin as my mind flashed to the memory of the way those golden eyes had watched me last night. The way he'd touched me. The way it'd felt.

How he'd felt against my hand.

I squeezed my eyes against the assault of it.

One time.

It was one time.

And I was chalking it up to a fantasy.

I couldn't allow myself to dip my toes any deeper into the treacherous waters I'd already been waist deep in last night. I could already feel the sharp scrape of shame dragging across my conscience.

Maddie reached down and yanked at my hand, trying to haul me straight off the bed. "Come on, Mommy! It's already eleven and it's almost afternoon and you are a lazy butt."

"What?" I shot upright. "It's already eleven?"

My attention bolted to the clock on my nightstand.

Eleven o' one.

Crap. I hadn't meant to sleep that long. Had planned on being up first thing in the morning and acting like last night had never transpired.

Maddie moved to get directly into my line of sight. "It was the time Lolly said I had to wait to before I was allowed to wake you up, but it took one whole minute to get all the way in your room, so I'm very sorry I'm late."

Inhaling a deep breath, I tried to gather my nerves.

To focus on my daughter.

On what was important.

And that definitely wasn't the man next door.

The sweet smile Maddie gave me was full of love and belief.

The impact of it dumped directly into my chest.

A squeezing of devotion and loyalty.

A consummate reminder that she was the reason.

My purpose.

I reached out and tucked a wild lock of her warm blonde hair behind her ear. "I'll be out in a second, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy, but you have to hurry. Breakfast is already all done, and it's going to be my second breakfast and you can't miss this one." The words poured from her mouth as she jumped back to her feet, waving those arms again before she hopped off the side of the bed.

She raced across my bedroom and out the door, untamed curls flying behind her as she shouted, "She's hurrying, Lolly! Pour her a cup of coffee because you know she is gonna need it!"

Affection bound my chest, and I blew out the strain and forced myself to toss off the covers and get out of bed. I tiptoed to the bathroom, gasping a little as a tremble of last night's greed vibrated through my body each time my thighs brushed.

It wasn't like I was sore or tender, but I could still feel the markings of Cody there. Like he'd scored himself on my body.

Written himself deep with those massive fingers.

And there I went, spiraling again.

I flicked on the light and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was matted, knotted and mussed, and my skin was still flushed.

God. I doubted I'd ever be able to erase the man from my consciousness.

But that'd been a risk I'd been willing to take.

The selfishness I'd given into.

The need to feel him once.

It was a need I'd carried for so long. Now that I'd sated it, I prayed it would finally begin to fade.

I splashed cold water on my face and twisted my hair up into a haphazard twist, then I inhaled a steeling breath and walked out into the great room like nothing had changed.

Lolly watched me from where she was pulling biscuits out of the oven. A cunning glee gleamed in her eye. "Well, good morning, sunshine."

"Good morning. You shouldn't have let me sleep so late. I guess I really was tired after the long week of work. Sorry about that."

There.

The perfect excuse.

Lolly chuckled, and her brows lifted in suggestion as I slipped onto a stool at the island across from her.

"I take it you found a ride home last night?" she asked.

I gulped. "Yep, got an Uber. No big deal."

"Hmm…that Uber sure looked familiar. A big, shiny truck fit for a big, hulking man."

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I sent her the best glare that I could find. "Tell me you weren't being nosy and spying on the neighbors again? Because I was in a car. A little white car. An electric one. I was home by eleven. You must not have heard me come in. The car was super quiet. Stealthy. You know, like me."

It came out a muddled ramble, cracking on the end, and I awkwardly pointed at myself with both thumbs.

Yeah, I was the worst liar ever.

Amusement shook Lolly's head as she transferred the steaming hot biscuits onto plates then doused them with sausage gravy, the scent sweet and savory filling the air.

My stomach rumbled.

She knew they were my favorite.

"Well, that's too bad." She slid a plate in front of me then winked. "I thought you might have worked up an appetite."

"Gettin' a reputation, Lolly?" Maddie peeped as she clambered onto the stool next to me, her little elbows propped on the island and her grin beaming at both of us.

"That's right, little one, I thought your mommy might be earning a reputation." She placed a plate in front of Maddie, then picked one up for herself and started around the island. "But apparently she doesn't know how to have any fun."

I tried to hide my breath of relief, only she paused at my side just as she was rounding the island. Reaching out, she rubbed her thumb on a sensitive spot where I realized it was raw from Cody's scruff. "Only I think you might have a little reputation…right here."

All the craps.

Lolly was never going to let me live this down.

"Mommy, watch me!" Maddie climbed the ladder to her slide for what had to be the hundredth time. We'd been out back all afternoon, soaking up the sun, relaxing, playing, enjoying this freedom we'd been given.

I sat on the top step of the back porch, watching my child, my chest stretching full with the hope of this life.

With the hope that we could leave the past behind. That we could flourish here. Find the true joy of safety and security.

Of love and devotion.

The chains still rattled at the back of my mind, a constant threat, but I knew this was the true risk I'd had to take.

The one that was worth it.

I couldn't allow fear to reign. Couldn't succumb to the pressures that had been given.

The bright blue of the day had faded into a misty hue of pinks and grays, and the sun slipped far behind the trees, the night barely creeping up on the cloudless sky. A single star blinked to life, and the air had cooled a fraction, enough that we'd left the screen doors open to the house.

I'd done my best throughout the day to ignore the lure I could feel emanating from the house next door. To ignore the way I could feel his big body moving through the space, as if each step he took within his walls sent a bolt of seismic activity into the ground and trembling into me.

Which was insane and obsessed, and I was not that girl, so I'd done my best to push all thoughts of one Cocky Cowboy out of my mind.

I inhaled a deep breath, holding in the joy that surrounded me as I watched my daughter get to the top of the slide. "I'm watching you," I called.

"Good. Don't even look away for one single minute or you're gonna miss it. Count 'em down, my Lolly!" she shouted to my grandmother who was reading a book from a rocking chair on the far side of the porch.

Lolly was happy to oblige. "Three, two, one, go!"

Maddie threw her arms high as her little body flew down the slide.

"Look at you go!" Lolly whistled.

Maddie planted her feet when she hit the bottom, angling her arms back like she was sticking a dismount in gymnastics class. "What's my score, Mommy?"

"A 9.9, at least."

"Whew. I knew it was a really good one. Did you see how fast I went?"

"So fast," I told her.

"Like a rocket, right?"

"Even faster."

"One more because I have to get a 10." She darted around to go for the steps again.

That was right when the doorbell rang, echoing from within the house.

"Are you expecting someone?" Lolly lowered her book, which was one of her favorite smutty romances, to look at me from over the top.

A tiny bolt of unease rippled through. "No. You?"

"Unfortunately, I can't say I have any hot dates on the books. Though maybe you're about to get yourself one." She grinned, and I shook my head, getting ready to tell her to drop the pushing since she'd tried to corner me twice during the day to get the dirty deets from last night, her words, not mine, when the doorbell went off again, twice in a row.

Huffing, Lolly arched a brow. "Someone's impatient."

A frown pulled tight between my eyes, that unease lifting, and I pushed to standing. "Watch Maddie for a second?"

"Won't look away," Lolly promised.

I entered through the back screen door and hurried across the house to the front. The exterior light had just flickered to life, illuminating the front porch, though I couldn't see that anyone was standing on the other side of the screen.

Disquiet clamped around my chest, slowing my steps as I edged forward, my mind starting to whir.

It's nothing, it's nothing, I silently chanted. I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

Except it was fear that smacked me across the face when I took the last step up to the screen door and caught sight of the man who lingered just off to the side, facing away with his hands planted on his waist.

Fear that drummed my heart and thinned the air, the oxygen becoming so thick I inhaled it like an oil slick.

Pruitt was here. Standing on my front porch.

Sickness curled in my stomach and bile climbed up my throat.

But he didn't get to control me any longer. He had no bearing on my happiness. On my joy. On my daughter's safety.

I refused to be afraid of him, which was kind of comical since I was terrified.

But I wouldn't let him see it. Wouldn't let him wield his manipulation.

So, I flicked the lock and lifted my chin as I stepped out into the descending night and prayed to God my knees would hold.

Darkness rained down and the air felt cold, as if it'd dropped by fifty degrees.

"What do you think you're doing here?" I gritted my teeth to keep the words from shaking.

Pruitt shifted around, and a shockwave of that cold gusted. A squall that battered against my body.

Pruitt was tall and lean, and I'd once thought he had to be one of the most attractive men I'd ever seen. Brown hair and green eyes. Clean cut and high bred. I'd just failed to notice the wickedness that soaked him through.

Bitterness filled his voice. "I thought I should pay a visit to my wife."

"I'm not your wife." I spat it.

He laughed a condescending sound. "You promised your life to me. Don't you remember?"

"And you turned out to be a man I didn't know." I wouldn't back down or cower. Wouldn't pretend.

I just tossed the truth out between us, the words toppling to the wood planks like jagged, pitted stones.

There was no missing the threat that was etched into them.

"You think you know me, do you?" His head cocked to the side.

His own warning.

Ice slicked down my spine, and I forced myself to remain upright, to keep from slumping in the fear that wanted to overtake. The vision of the depravity I knew he was capable of flashed through my mind.

My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. "I know exactly who you are, and the rest of the world is going to, too, if you don't get off my property."

Cruelty spilled out with his laughter, and he was across the porch before I could prepare myself, no defense before he had my back plastered to the wall and his hands planted on either side of my head.

Foulness spilled from his spirit and dripped from his mouth as he whispered his venom close to my ear. "Do you think to threaten me, Hailey? Do you think I'm afraid of you? Do you realize how easily you could cease to exist?"

"What do you want from me?" My eyes squeezed shut, and there was no stopping the trembles that rattled my voice.

Agony blazed a path through my insides and ripped at my spirit.

The only thing I wanted was to be free. To raise my daughter right. To turn my back on everything that he was. It was bad enough that I was allowing him to get away with what I knew.

But for my daughter…

"You know what I want." The words dropped lower, gnarled and dark.

"I'm giving you two seconds to step away from her before you don't have the ability to."

We both froze at the low growl of words that curled through the air, coming from the direction of the steps. They were almost the exact same words as Cody had issued last night at the bar.

Though they were delivered even more menacing than last night.

Shards.

Broken glass.

A knife that was clearly ready to impale.

Only Cody didn't know the type of man we were dealing with. Pruitt wasn't some drunk guy who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut or his hands to himself.

Pruitt was calculating.

Devious.

Precise.

I didn't know why he hadn't come for me sooner. I should have known that he would. Should have known he would never let me be.

Should have known I'd never truly be free.

Pruitt slowly shifted to look over his shoulder, though he didn't move an inch from where he held me hostage against the wall.

"You'd do well to turn your back and walk away, hick," Pruitt hissed, like Cody was trash.

Inconsequential.

A bluster of energy blew through the air, coming from every direction. Colliding in the middle.

An aggression so intense I gagged on it.

A clash of Pruitt and Cody.

Neither of them were going to back down.

"It's fine, Cody. Go back to your house." Each word croaked.

"You should know that's not going to happen, darlin'." He softened his tone for me.

His words from last night flooded my thoughts.

"I won't regret standing up for you. It's just the way I am, Hailey. I protect those I care about. Take care of them. Whatever the cost."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is if you knew the lengths I'd go."

I had a hunch he would go far right then. Dive right into brutality.

But I couldn't ask him to stand in the line of fire for me. Get involved in something he didn't understand.

Pruitt would destroy Cody and take pleasure in it when he did.

"I'm fine." I somehow managed to force it out, though I knew it was rasping.

Cody took another step up the porch stairs. Slowly, though there was nothing hesitant about it. "Yeah, you don't seem so fine to me, so I think I'm going to have to stick around."

"Leave, now, before you regret it." Indignation poured from Pruitt. Disbelief that someone would dare stand against him.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's you who's going to regret it if you don't get the fuck off Hailey's property. Now step away from her before things get ugly. Trust me, they're about to."

Cody took the last step onto the porch.

The man was enormous where he stood towering in the night.

A massive shadow that vibrated with an aggression that thirsted to be unleashed.

Pruitt wouldn't stand a chance against him if it got physical. Pruitt's tactics were always more insidious.

Undercut.

An attack that came out of nowhere, quiet and stealthy, and you were finished before you knew what hit you.

I pleaded with my eyes for Cody to leave, my heart heaving with desperation.

Walk away. Walk away.

I would handle this. I had before. I would find a way…

Cody took another step, his boots thudding on the wood, a low rumble of thunder that promised violence approached.

Rage blistered in Pruitt's green gaze, though I could feel his reservations, the fear that skittered across his skin.

He knew Cody was about to bring him pain.

Taking a slow step back, he released me.

I sagged against the wall, relief slamming me even though I knew better than to feel it.

This was temporary, one battle in a war that had just begun.

Pruitt's attention swung between me and Cody, his jaw clenched in outrage and offended disbelief.

"This isn't over, Hailey." His words were darts, pinpoint and emphatic.

"Oh, but it is," Cody said, massive hands in fists where he stood, refusing to back down.

Pruitt hesitated for one second more before he lifted his head like he wasn't the one cowering, his ego taking a hit, something I knew he wouldn't forget.

He wound around Cody, clearly trying to maintain a show of dominance when he appeared pathetic next to the man who pulsated power.

"Don't come back around here," Cody spouted at his retreating form.

When he stepped down onto the walkway, Pruitt turned, glaring back. The smile that stretched across his face smug and terrifying. "Ignorant fool. You have no fucking clue."

"That you're a prick? Yeah, I think I do," Cody taunted.

Indignation puffed from Pruitt on a heave of air, and he spun and stormed down the walkway and hopped into the black, shiny car that was parked on the street, the tires squealing as he peeled out from the curb.

I knew deep down it was the same car that had been following me the first week I'd been here. When I'd thought I'd found sanctuary and peace. When I'd thought I was letting paranoia settle in when I should have known my ghosts would always catch up to me.

Cody didn't move until the taillights disappeared down the road. The second the sound of the engine faded in the distance, he turned, a hurricane that flew across the porch.

"Are you okay?" He begged it.

A shiver rolled through my body. "I'm fine."

I kept saying it, again and again.

I'm fine. I'm fine.

I was desperate to be.

Cody reached out and ran his thumb over the cleft in my chin.

Warmth spread.

A comfort I shouldn't allow myself to feel. But how could I not when this brute of a man stood over me like a shield?

A tower of safety.

But he couldn't be. I knew that, even though with him standing there, I wanted to dive into the hope of it.

He studied me, golden eyes flaming beneath the bare light that flooded from the lamp hanging next to the door.

"You're not okay, Hailey. I can see it." He whispered it softly, though it was underscored in severity. "He's hurt you."

"I'm fine," I repeated on a shaky exhale, another lie I kept trying to believe.

"Oh, darlin', I see you're not. But I promise that you're going to be."

Something passed through Cody's intimidating features.

A steely determination that rumbled the ground beneath my feet.

"Go inside and lock the door. I'll be back in five minutes. Don't open it until I return."

"I—"

His face dropped close to mine, expression fierce. "Just do it, Hailey. For me. Please."

Warily, I nodded, logic still blurred by the shock of finding Pruitt outside my door.

Cody spun on his heel and strode across the porch, taking my breath with him as he went. I finally got my senses together enough that I pushed myself upright and called his name, trying to stop him from whatever was going through his brain.

He just sent me a smile from over his shoulder and said, "You don't worry about a thing."