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“While you are here, there are rules that will be followed.” I pause to ensure I have her undivided attention, and when her gaze doesn’t falter, I continue. “One, you will eat here at the table, three meals a day, anything you want from the list I requested—at 8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. Two, I won’t keep you locked in your room, but if you try to run again, all bets are off.”
A shiver rolls through her, and her fingers whiten on the rock she has them pressed to.
“Three, the third floor is off limits. You may go anywhere else in the house. And finally, four, you stay out of my way.”
Her mouth gapes open, then she slams it shut again. “So, I’m staying?”
I huff out my response under my breath. “Unfortunately.”
Callista clearly catches it because her eyes narrow on me. She shakes her head, those soft curls floating around her beautiful face. “I don’t get it…if you don’t want me here, why did you tell my father to send me?”
Turning away from her, I study the twisting flames leaping up the chimney. “It’s complicated. That’s all you need to know.”
“Is it?”
Her defiant tone makes me look back at her.
Nobody questions me.
Nobody dares.
Tears start to glimmer in her eyes. “If this is where I need to be to make sure my father stays safe, then I need to at least know what I’m getting into.”
My chest rumbles violently despite doing my best to temper my reply. “A fucking quagmire.”
She throws up her hands, still trying to balance on one foot. “What the hell does that even mean? What am I? What are we?”
I scowl and lock gazes with her, ensuring she won’t misconstrue my warning. “There is no we. You will be our guest for as long as it takes…”
“Our?” Her eyes scan the living room again. “Who else is here?”
Shit.
This is why I don’t do people; I can’t be trusted not to reveal something I shouldn’t, which is why I usually say nothing at all. Already, this woman has gotten under my skin and given me loose lips.
Which makes the rules even more important.
“Let me know if there’s anything else you require. Clothing, food, any other necessities.”
I start to walk out of the room, to give myself some much-needed space from her sweet scent and feisty attitude, but I hear her hobbling after me.
She gasps slightly. “Wait, but what am I supposed to do here?”
Pausing just inside the foyer, I turn back to her. It isn’t as if there’s much to do to pass the time around Barker House, at least nothing I would want her involved with. “What did you do at home?”
“Um, I’m a librarian.” She offers a slight shrug. “I work at the Lewis and Clark Library in Downtown Helena.”
You have to be kidding me.
Biting back an annoyed groan, I motion absently toward the dining room, where I left her the paper and pen. “Make a list of titles you might like to read, and I’ll provide them to you to pass the time.”
“You’re serious?” Her jaw drops. “You made me give up my entire life to come up here to sit around and read while you avoid me and try to fatten me up with meals like that.”
I let my gaze rake over her, taking in her natural beauty without all that makeup she was wearing the night she came to me. Flawless, peachy skin, high cheekbones, thick, dark lashes, and bright-green eyes that seem to see everything.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I’m just trying to keep you fed so you don’t do something stupid like go foraging in the forest for something I haven’t offered.” I take a single step closer, emphasizing the difference in our sizes in a way she can physically feel. “Because I’ll tell you, Beauty, the next time you go out there, it will end very badly for you, one way or the other.”
The threat hangs in the air, and she retreats, gripping the back of the sofa to keep from toppling over with the weight on her injury. “What’s out there?” Her eyes dart to the picture windows filled with thick trees and, beyond that, stunning mountain vistas. “I saw you, you know…”
