She’s sitting on the porch now, legs tucked under her, hair glinting copper in the sun.
She’s trouble, no doubt about it.
But every instinct in me is tuned to her.
Watching.Waiting.Wanting.
I shouldn’t care.
I can’t afford to.
But hell if I don’t already feel it in my bones.
Lil Bit isn’t just some girl passing through.
She feels like mine.
And that might just be the most dangerous thought I’ve had in a long, long time.
Chapter 3-Bit
Iunderstand Kristie’s going through something right now—what with being confronted by her ex, Rooster, and all—and seriously, that girl has a lot on her plate.
So yeah, I’m trying to give her space.
Meanwhile, I’m stuck here, playing hide-and-seek from some overgrown biker caveman who thinks a single drink gives him property rights.
I heard Rooster talking to Kristie before they took off.
The words Hellbound Heathens and sex trafficking came up in the same breath.
Yeah—hard pass.
I want nothing to do with that mess.
But I can’t shake the guilt of dragging it here.
This here?The Jersey Iron Ranch?
It’s the kind of place that makes you want to breathe deeper.
Miles of fence line stretching out under a wide September sky, barns that smell like hay and hard work, and somewhere in the distance, the deep, rumbling bellow of cattle.
It feels solid.Safe.
Like the kind of home I’ve never really had.
And maybe that’s why the idea of hiding here makes me itch.
I hate being useless.
I offered to help earlier—Angie nearly fainted with gratitude—but Big Boss Man said no.
Don’t wander too far west, he said.Don’t bother the help.Don’t go near the bulls.
Don’t, don’t, don’t.
Stupid, dumb, sexy cowboy.
