“What the fuck?” Dad’s brow furrowed.
It was getting late, and it could only mean one thing.
I eyed the ranch walkie-talkie lying on the end table beside Dad’s chair. “No one radioed you?”
He shook his head, heaving himself off his seat and heading to the door. “I wonder if they caught someone.”
Answering it, I sat up straighter when I saw Reed darkening the doorway, his arms full with a sleeping child and a kid’s backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Reed?” Dad asked, the surprise and concern in his voice evident.
“I had to get her out of there. She said he wouldn’t be around her, but he was,” Reed said in a quiet voice, not wanting to wake his daughter on his shoulder.
“Who?” I asked, setting down my drink and stepping up beside Dad.
“Here, come in.” Reed stepped in, and Dad quietly closed the door behind him.
I could almost feel the anger vibrating off him. He was wired, his body tense and ready to spring. The flames from the fire flickered off the hard edges of his handsome face, shadows darkening in his eyes as they jumped from Dad to me.
“I just couldn’t let her stay there anymore,” he repeated.
“Okay.” Dad nodded, his tone calm. “We’ll make up a bed in the spare room. Stay here tonight, and we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
My head spun to my dad and then back to Reed. “What happened? Who was there?”
Reed’s eyes pleaded with Dad to remain quiet, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t like being left in the dark about what was happening on our ranch or with the ranch hands. Even if it was about Reed, I felt that I should know. A little voice in my head told me,I needed to know, especially since it was Reed.
When no one answered, I pressed, “Who the fuck was there?”
“Lina,” Dad scolded.
“She’s asleep, Dad. She can’t hear me.”
“It’s Reed’s business, not ours.”
“It’s about to become my business since he’s coming with me.” I zeroed in on Reed, forcing myself to hold his eye contact. I didn’t know it was possible, but his dark-brown eyes grew darker. It made my heart rate kick up a notch. “So you might as well tell me.”
Reed swallowed, his jaw muscles twitching. “Junior,” he said with a growl.
My eyes widened. “Wait … what? Junior’s out of jail? Why was he at your wife’s place?”
“Ex-wife,” Reed corrected, his voice low and irritated.
I rolled my eyes.
“Junior got three years of parole,” Dad informed me.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Dad shook his head, not bothering to get after me for my language. “Not kidding, unfortunately.”
“He’s engaged to Penn’s mom,” Reed whispered.
My mouth fell open in shock. “What?”
“Yeah.” Reed pressed his lips together as if attempting to keep himself from raging, his large hand protectively encompassing his daughter’s back. “They’ve been together for over a year,” he said pointedly, his eyes drilling into mine in a silent explanation.
Realization dawned on me. They were together when I met him in Joseph.
