"That's fucked up."
"That's reality." She picks up her coffee again, cradling it between her hands. "But I heard about Sarah at the Blackwater Falls Saloon. Heard she's hiring and that she offers nighttime daycare. That's... that's perfect for someone like me."
Sarah. I know Sarah, everyone in Blackwater Falls knows Sarah. She's run the saloon for twenty years, and she's good people. Fair. Honest. Doesn't put up with shit from anyone.
"I know Sarah," I tell Lily. "I can take you there today. Put in a good word for you, if you want."
Lily's eyes widen slightly. "You'd do that?"
"Why not?" I shrug. "Sarah trusts my judgment. If I vouch for you, she'll at least give you a fair shot."
"But you don't know me." Lily's voice cracks slightly. "You don't know if I'm a good worker or if I'll show up on time or if I'll steal from the register. You don't know anything about me except that I was desperate enough to follow a stranger to a ranch in the middle of nowhere."
"I know you're a good mother," I say quietly. "I know you're willing to sleep in your car to keep your kid safe. I know you're not afraid to work hard because you drove all this way looking for a job. That's enough for me."
She stares at me like I've said something in a foreign language. Like kindness is so unexpected that she doesn't know how to process it.
"Why?" she finally asks. "Why are you being nice to me? Be honest with me, please. I don’t understand."
Because you're gorgeous and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you walked into Murphy's. Because there's something about you that makes me want to protect you, even though I barely know you. Because I know what it's like to bedesperate and alone and I remember what it meant when Frank offered me a place to stay, no questions asked.
"Because Frank taught us to help people who need it," I say instead. "And because it's the right thing to do."
Lily's eyes get bright, like she might cry, but she blinks rapidly and turns away. "I need to check on Rosie."
She disappears into the bedroom, and I hear her talking softly to her daughter. The kid's voice, high and sweet, asking where they are. Lily's patient explanation about the nice man who's letting them stay here.
Nice man. If she only knew the thoughts I've been having about her body. The way I imagined bending her over this kitchen counter while I was cooking bacon. The way I want to peel that cardigan off her shoulders and find out if her breasts are as soft as they look. I'm not a nice man. I'm a fucked-up ex-military guy with PTSD and anger issues and a terror of becoming his father. But for some reason, Lily makes me want to be better.
She emerges a few minutes later with Rosie on her hip. The kid is adorable. Dark curls like her mother, big eyes, clutching that ratty stuffed elephant. She looks at me with curiosity rather than fear.
"This is Mason," Lily tells her daughter. "Can you say hi to Mason?"
"Hi," Rosie says shyly, then buries her face in Lily's neck.
Mother and daughter. Safe and warm in the cottage I gave them. This is what I always wanted. A family. A woman who looks at me like I matter. A kid who might call me dad someday. But I can't have that. I'm too broken. Too damaged. Too afraid I'll hurt them.
"Hi, Rosie." I keep my voice gentle. "You hungry? I made eggs."
Rosie peeks out at me, considering. Then she nods.
"Okay." Lily sets her down in one of the chairs and cuts up the eggs into small pieces, blowing on them to cool them down. The practiced motions of a mother who's done this a thousand times.
I watch them eat together, Lily breaking off pieces of bacon for Rosie, wiping her face with a napkin.
"So," Lily says after Rosie's eaten most of her eggs. "Sarah's saloon. You really think she'll hire me?"
"I think she'll give you a shot." I refill her coffee. "Especially if I tell her you're staying at the ranch. That'll give you some credibility."
"And you don't mind me staying?" She glances around the cottage. "Wade and Sierra won't be upset that you let a stranger move into their place?"
"Wade and Sierra will understand." I lean against the counter. "They're good people. Like Frank was. We all are, despite what you might think about six men living together on a ranch."
A small smile tugs at her lips. The first genuine smile I've seen from her.
"I didn't think anything." But her tone suggests otherwise.
"You absolutely did." I grin. "But that's okay. Most people do. Six guys inheriting a ranch together sounds like the setup for either a cult or a really niche porno."
