“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. You have bandaged hands, and you look about ready to cry. Go home, take the day.”
“I’ve had so much time off already,” I defend.
“A few days in several years is nothing. I’ll look after this place.”
“You always do,” I sigh.
“Roman looks ready to drag you out,” She comments, her eyes on my husband. “I’m going to let him.”
“Stop it.”
She chuckles, “What!? He does! He hasn’t stopped staring since he came back in after the sheriff left. It’s intense.”
I roll my eyes, “That’s justRoman.”
She cocks her head from side to side. “If you say so, but I’m serious. Go back to the ranch, get some rest and sort out your insurance. I’ve got this handled.”
Guilt swirls in my gut, but I also know she is right. My head isn’t in it today. “Are you sure?”
“Positive, but when you’re feeling better, we really do need to catch up.” Her dark eyes flick back to my husband —fakehusband — and I stifle my cringe. “Considering you two arefaking, he sure makes it look real.”
“It’s only been a few days,” I shake my head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Dylan said he knew on hour two of our first date that I was going to be his wife.” She shrugs.
“Please,” I laugh, “That’s not what this is.”
“We’ll see,” She sings, “Now go. Call me later.”
“I will.” I give her a squeeze and then make my way out of the bar and toward Roman where he lurks, a shadow against the wall.
He pushes away from his resting spot, eyes on my face. “You ready to go home?”
“I guess,” I nod, allowing him to guide me through the door. I purposely don’t look at where the glass still litters the road or the spot now empty.
It’s just a truck.
Silver linings — they could have targeted my bar instead.
I’ll have to figure out how to get to work until I can sort a vehicle, but if all else fails, I can walk. It’ll take an hour or so, and won’t be fun at one a.m., but it’s not impossible. Roman opens the passenger door and guides me inside with a gentle hand on the small of my back.
The nape of my neck prickles, and I glance over my shoulder, searching the street. Nothing stands out; no one is looking my way.
Maybe I’m just spooked, but after many years of looking after myself, dealing with drunks and men that get a little too handsy, I’ve grown a sixth sense to the type of attention that makes your skin crawl.
“Niamh,” Roman claws my attention back, “You okay?”
I do another sweep of the street, double-checking the alleys and the parked cars, but I don’t see anyone, so I climb up into the truck, the door closing once I’m settled in the seat.
I know Roman wants to talk, to ask questions but I keep my gaze away, to the window where the town bleeds from buildings to rolling fields, the mountains reaching for the sky on the horizon and even after we make it back to the ranch, I remain quiet, slipping into the house to hide away in my bedroom.
Chapter 14
“How quickly can we get it installed?” I ask Silas, my brother sitting across from me, eyes reading the screen of his laptop. In the next room, his kids are watching TV. It’s been a few days since Niamh’s truck was vandalized, and I have barely seen her. She’s up and at the falls early in the morning and hasn’t been returning until gone midnight, but the small glimpses of her I’ve stolen reveal just how hard she’s taken this.
The truck was released back to her yesterday, and it’s now sitting out in one of my barns. She’s been driving one of my ranch vehicles to and from work since she doesn’t have a car anymore. I’d nearly lost my damn mind when I caught her trying towalkto work.
