He gently touches my face. “Fuck, Daisy. I’m so glad it’s not just me.”
I kiss the palm of his hand before yawning again. “It’s not just you.”
“It’s late. You’re tired. Let’s go to sleep.”
He puts his journal away, turns off the light and crawls into bed, cuddling up to my body, wrapping me in his arms as best as he can with this damn boot on my foot.
“Sweet dreams, Clover.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Daisy
“So, what the hell happened to you?” Dave, an electrician I know from Prineville, asks.
My mom’s watching Sawyer tonight, and Mia begged me to meet her at The House. Angus is working behind the bar, but she wanted a night out and to see him. There was no way Owen was letting me step foot out of the house without him, so here we are. He’s at the far end of the bar drinking his root beer, watching me talk to Dave and his buddies.
At first, I refused to come because I’m still pretty banged up, and evenmymakeup abilities aren’t strong enough to hide the damage done to my face. And truthfully, I’m uncomfortable in my own hometown, not knowing who might be working with the people trying to kill me. And even though I’d rather be at home with Owen, I can’t say no to Mia. An hour ago, I called her and said I’d be here. I refuse to let the piece of shit who pushed me win.
“I do stunts on the side.”
“Is that so?”
One of Dave’s friends pipes up and asks if I need a caretaker. I look in Owen’s direction. Thankfully, he’s still on his barstool. He’s glaring at me, but he doesn’t appear to have heard the comment.
His glare cuts from me to the door of the bar. I follow his line of sight, wishing I hadn’t. Dusty Armstrong and two men I’ve never seen before walk in, and icy shivers skate up and down my spine.
“Excuse me,” I say, walking away from Dave and his friends, taking the stool next to Owen.
“To what do I owe the honor?” he says loud enough for me to hear over the music, while refusing to look at me.
“Do you know the guys Dusty came in with?”
“Nope. You?” he counters.
“No.”
With that conversation over, I wait.
I can practically hear the angry words turning in his mind.
“So, I’m still your dirty little secret?”
My heart drops into the pit of my stomach.
We held hands on the way into the bar, and the second I saw Angus, I pulled my hand from his, making a beeline for Mia. I’ve kept my distance since we got here. Yes, Mia and the girls know the truth about the two of us, but they promised to let me tell my brothers when and if I was ready. Even if my brothers have their suspicions, they could never guess how long Owen and I have been sneaking around or how serious things between us might be. So, when I saw Angus, I panicked.
After everything we’ve shared this week, I still couldn’t show the world he was mine.
“Cal would kill both of us.”
“How ‘bout putting you and me first? Quit trying to make everyone happy, Daisy,” he spits. “You aren’t tequila.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then what exactly are you doing?”
“Protecting your heart and mine.”
