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“You have to stop,” I state firmly, turning severe eyes on him.
“What?” he says, his eyes soft as they sweep over my whole face.
“Stop looking at me with pity.”
“I’m not looking at you with pity,” he says, brows furrowed.
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m looking at you because you’re beautiful.”
“Okay, now I know you’re lying,” I harrumph and grab a french fry off my plate.
“You are beautiful, you know,” he says firmly, turning so his legs are on either side of my chair. I glance over to see if his brothers are watching because this is certainly a more intimate way to sit next to someone who’s not supposed to be having sex with me.
“And you’re strong,” he adds with piercing eyes. “I could tell that from the first time I met you.”
I lick my lips and nod. “Thanks.”
“I mean it, Lucky,” he says with urgency in his voice. “I can’t imagine what it was like losing your parents that way. Mourning the loss of someone who’s not even dead. That has to be a mindfuck. I’m stillnot over my own dad’s loss, and there was never a day he wasn’t there for me. Never a day I doubted how much he loved me.”
His words cut deep into a part of my soul I don’t like to access, so I shake him off. “It’s honestly fine. When you grow up in a dysfunctional environment, you don’t know it’s dysfunctional because it’s all you’ve ever seen.”
I chew my lip thoughtfully, thinking back to the memories of what it was like every day. The verbal, sometimes physical abuse. The erratic behavior. The coming and going without even checking in on me. The nights I would go without anyone cooking a meal or asking if I ate. It sucked that I thought that was all normal.
“But now that I’m grown, I take care of myself in ways my parents never did. Like when I was little, all I wanted was a dog or a cat…hell, I even begged for a stupid betta fish. And it was always no. And look at me now. I have a pig and a horse and a bunny and chickens and a cat…well, not a cat anymore, but if I want one, I’ll get one. Because I’m doing all the things for myself that no one ever did for me—that no one ever even encouraged me to dream for.”
I take a sip of my drink and avoid Wyatt’s probing eyes.
“And as hard as I know an animal sanctuary is going to be to open, I’m going to fucking do it. I’ve been researching how it can be financially sustainable to leverage donations and sponsorships, as I discussed with Max. Land acquisition will be hard, but I have a real estate agent looking for properties that could double as housing for me too, so I’m making moves. I’ll show them—my sister, my parents, the world—that even though I was left behind, I still found my way out.”
Anger simmers in my veins as I white-knuckle grip my glass until Wyatt’s hand reaches out and folds over mine, silently urging me to release the drink. I do, and when I turn to look at him, his hand moves up to touch my face. His thumb caresses my jawline in a tender way that sends shivers down my spine as he whispers, “Fuck yes, you’ll show them.”
There’s something about the whisper that makes it so much more meaningful. Like it’s a secret he’s been in on with me the whole time.Like he’s always known I’d do what I said I would do. That kind of validation feels so fucking good.
I tilt into his touch, relishing in the texture of his calloused palm against my cheek. His hand is warm and dry, like the perfect kind of comfort after off-loading a lifetime’s worth of trauma.
His eyes drop to my mouth, and I feel myself drawing toward him, desperate to feel the certainty his lips just uttered with my own. Maybe if I taste them, I’ll believe them too.
He moves in to close the space, and just before our lips touch, a loud crash sounds off behind us.
Wyatt swerves around, and we see Calder and Luke face-to-face with two guys I’ve never met. Calder shoves his guy and pulls back to take a swing. His fist connects with the other guy’s jaw at the same time Luke takes a punch to the stomach. Wyatt’s chair crashes onto the floor as he rushes over there, grabbing the guy off Luke. He grips him by the arms long enough for Luke to take a swing and connect with the guy’s gut.
Someone jumps Wyatt from behind, twisting his arms into a full nelson, and I gasp as Calder’s guy moves to take a swing at Wyatt. Just before Wyatt gets punched in the ribs, he manages to bend over, lifting the guy behind him off the ground and flipping him over his shoulders before he thuds onto the floor.
Judy hollers for them to take it outside as several other patrons jump in to break up the brawl. The three guys are dragged out the back toward the beer garden while Wyatt, Calder, and Luke are shoved out the front.
Heart racing, I grab my purse and follow them out, desperate to find out what the hell happened.
When I come outside, Wyatt is screaming at both of them. “What the fuck got into you two?” he hollers, giving big daddy energy that I definitely find attractive.
“Nothing! We handled it!” Calder exclaims, wiping the blood dribbling down his lip with the collar of his flannel shirt.
“The fuck you did. I handled it,” Wyatt booms.
“I fucking had him,” Luke bellows defensively.
“Tell me what was said.”
