“No. I don’t speak to them anymore. We cut ties when I graduated high school and started waitressing. They didn’tapprove, and I decided to make my own way without them. It’s how I met him… He was a regular at the restaurant I worked for. He would ask for me every time he came. Eventually, he asked me out. I said yes, we got engaged within two weeks, and you basically know the rest. He was always controlling—everything I did, wore, said, was under his microscope. At the time, I thought it was endearing.” She huffed a sigh. “Now, I know he’s probably insane, and I don’t know what to do.” Her voice cracked and tears started to spill over onto her cheeks.
Justin kissed her forehead and pulled her close. “We’re going inside right now. I can finish shoeing Fred later. Chris needs to know.”
Justin stood by as Blythe started at the beginning and didn’t miss a single detail. She told them about her first conversation with Max. The way he treated her and everything surrounding their engagement. Justin looked at Chris, who lifted his arm above his head, puffed out his cheeks and let out a gallon of air as he lowered his hand over his face and stroked his beard. His eyes drilled hard into his niece.
“Well, this would’ve been nice to know earlier.” A sarcastic chuckle escaped his chest. “It’s a good thing I love you, Lythie.”
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think he’d do anything. I thought I would leave Chicago and he’d forget about me and move on. He was angry at me, anyway, and he could have a hundred women salivating at his feet if he wanted. If not for his looks, for his stupid money.”
Justin laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.
“Remember how you joked the first day we met about me taking you into the barn and pulling someCriminal Mindsshit?” She nodded. “Well, this is some real Criminal Minds shit.”
Chris pulled out his phone and started to make some calls. “What did the texts say?” Blythe gave him the messages wordfor word, and he wrote them down. Justin held Blythe as they waited for Chris to finish.
“Okay, my buddies who deal with guys like—what's his name?”
“Maxwell Harri?—”
“The jackass sociopath,” he finished for her. “They say it’s a waiting game. He could do something legitimate, or he could just be trying to mess with you. Either way, I am assigning bunk boys to take turns watching the house in shifts. Not only do I have you to worry about, I’ve got the girls. Anyone who drives down our road will either have an invitation, an appointment, or they won’t make it past whoever is assigned watch.”
Justin felt some relief, but also didn’t at the same time. No crime had been committed, and life was going to go on as usual, just with a little extra precaution.
He released her from his arms, and Blythe shifted to face her uncle. “Thank you. I’m sorry I brought this mess with me. I really didn’t mean to.”
Chris reached out and squeezed her tight, his lips brushing her hair.
“You didn’t know. I’m glad you left and came here—now you’re safe.”
BLYTHE
Moving forward, someone watched the property around the clock—but nothing happened, and no one suspicious camearound. Blythe was beginning to think it was all what she initially thought, just a game. Everyone still remained cautious and alert, but relaxed back into a normal routine.
August came, and Addie and Evie went back to school, which meant Blythe could go house hunting. She had good credit and was coming up on her twenty-first birthday. It would be a gift to herself. She didn’t know if buying was an option, but renting certainly would be. The town was small, so her options would be limited, but in small towns it was all about who you knew, anyway.
Chris gave her the numbers of a few people he knew that were trying to rent out their property or a piece of it. He’d initially fought her on moving out. He said they had enough room, and the girls loved her there.
“I will be around all the time. This is about me, not you. I need to do things on my own.”
Chris begrudgingly halted his protests. She’d saved most of her wages over the last two-ish months—her own little nest egg just begging to be utilized.
Now that summer was ending, he had plans. He knew she would protest, and he would let her have her house hunting fun, but the apartment above his shop was nearly finished. Soon, it would be begging for someone to move in. He’d planned to rent it out himself, or use it for hired help—if he ever decided to take anyone on. But if Blythe wasn’t going to be living at Silo Springs, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her live in town or anywhere else that he couldn’t keep an eye on her. Things might’ve settled down with her ex—no more texts or roses. But that didn’t mean he was going to let her go off without someone to watch her back and offer protection, just in case. He and Chris had plotted their plan on the side. Both agreed, it was important to let her have her way…within reason.
He pulled up to the porch at Silo Springs and rolled down the window of his red pickup. He turned up the volume and let an 80’s banger waft through the air, toward the woman who was standing next to the wooden pillar, waiting for him. His hat was on backwards, his aviator shades giving him a real classiclook. His hand was resting on the steering wheel, opposite elbow hanging out his window.
“Are you Miss Harper?” He tilted his sunglasses down. “I heard she needed a cowboy to ride…I mean, drive her into town.”
He knew he wore a stupid grin on his face, and Blythe laughed out loud. “I’ve quit trying to guess which naughty joke you’re going to come up with next.”
He hopped out and jogged up the steps. Blythe squealed as he lifted her up and over his shoulder, giving her a nice little pat on the ass as he carried her to the open truck door. Blythe didn’t try to ride shotgun anymore, not since he insisted the bench seat meant she rode next to him. He placed her inside, and she slid over just enough to give him room.
“Where to, sugar? You said you had a few walk-throughs set. Anyone I know?”
He put the truck in gear, placed his arm on the back of the seat, and looked over his shoulder, making sure he didn’t back into anything on their way out. They drove around town, met up with the Taylor’s, the Huffman’s, and the Lewis families. They walked through the apartment above the Taylor’s garage, a shed the Huffman’s had turned into a living space, and the Lewis family had a basement apartment that used to belong to their oldest son—who’d moved out of the state a few months back.
Blythe was gracious and told each of them she’d get back with an answer as soon as possible, thanking them for their offers. When they got back to the truck, Justin turned the key in the ignition and grabbed the stick shift to put it in gear.
“So, which one did you like the best?” Blythe looked at him, indecision in her eyes.
