Jake grimaced and shook his head.
"Luckily, I was able to stop him."
"I was afraid something like that might happen."
"Me getting propositioned or Daniel getting in another bar fight?"
"Both. Emily and Jessie have had run-ins at Scooters with brash cowboys who don't want to take no for an answer. But I also worried that being surrounded by alcohol might be too much for Daniel."
“He shouldn’t make a habit of going there very often, which is unfortunate because it’s the only place to swing dance.” She stood and picked up her boots. “But he’s stronger than you all think.”
She picked up her boots, told Jake goodnight, and headed to bed. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. When she plugged her cell phone in for the night, she noticed a text from Daniel.
Are you sure you're okay?
After the way she pushed him away and rushed into the house then ignored his text, the poor man probably thought she was having a major meltdown.
I'm okay, I promise.
Better than okay actually. Grinning, she sent a second text.Thanks for a fun date.
She waited for a response from him, but when none came, she quickly drifted off to sleep, dreaming about a future with Daniel.
CHAPTER 17
An annoying sound somewhere between a buzz and roar pierced Daniel's consciousness. He lifted his head and looked toward the window. A gray pre-dawn light shown through the crack in the curtains. He looked at his clock next.
5:30
His alarm wasn't set to go off for another fifteen minutes.
Who on earth is running a...chainsaw at this time of the morning?
A loud crack followed by a booming crash rattled the house.
Daniel bolted upright and threw back the covers. He jumped out of bed. Barely taking time to pull on a pair of jeans, he hurried from his room to find his parents coming out of their room.
"What in tarnation is going on?" His dad's gruff voice was deeper than usual.
"Sounds like someone cut down a tree." His mom tied the sash of her robe.
Daniel nodded. That's what it sounded like to him too.
Without further discussion, the three of them pulled on boots and followed the sound outside.
The buzz continued, and another loud splintering crash split theair just as they stepped out of their small yard. An unspoken urgency pushed them all into a jog down the lane.
Halfway to the big house they met Riley and Emily coming from the opposite direction, wearing equally puzzled looks. Emily gripped a baby monitor in her hand. Her frantic gaze locked on Jake, who wielded a chainsaw. She yelled his name, but he didn't hear her over the roar of the saw.
Finally, she managed to get close enough to tap his shoulder.
Jake killed the motor on the chainsaw before spinning around to find a crowd gathered behind him. Hank, Brody, and Crew hurried from the direction of the bunkhouse.
Jake cleared his throat. "Sorry everyone. I know it's still early, but I couldn't wait any longer."
"What are you doing?" Emily's brow creased.
"I'm tired of it, Em." Jake wiped perspiration from his brow with his arm.
