I’m barely through my sentence when I catch her pretty pink dress out of the corner of my eye. She weaves through the crowd, sunlight catching the strawberries on her dress as she moves. For half a second, my mind goes back again to this morning when I spread that innocent, little pussy open and took her as my own.
Fuck.
“Hey.” She grins, though I can see sadness behind her eyes. Something is wrong. She’s putting on a show for Cash.What the hell happened?
“It’s busy down here,” she continues. “How’s the festival going? You guys giving away loads of free whiskey?”
My chest tightens as she continues to bullshit her way through this conversation. Smiling, pretending, acting like she’s not two seconds away from bursting into tears.
I need to know what’s wrong. I need to fix it.
“A jar’s worth.” Cash holds up the empty container like a trophy. “We’re getting good feedback. A few folks remembered Dad and his formula, so… we’re just a few jars away from having the whole mountain hooked on strawberry whiskey.”
“That’s great! I was worried when I saw the rednecks down there with their special barbeque sauce.” Her nose wrinkles up. “Since when do they sell strawberry barbeque sauce?”
“Exactly,” I groan, side-eyeing my brother.
Cash shakes his head. “My brother tells me you’re doing some accounting over at the bakery. How’s that going?”
Ellie glances down before drawing her gaze back toward Cash.
Oh, fuck. I should’ve been there this morning. What happened?
“Yeah,” she nods, her voice softer than usual, “I was supposed to be starting at the bakery today, but Josie wants me to figure this stuff out with Adam first. She doesn’t want to give him a reason to keep vandalizing her property, and I don’t blame her. He did some real damage over there.”
“What?” I groan.
“It’s no big deal,” she presses. “I get it.”
I get it too. The damage Adam did this morning is disgusting. I can’t believe I didn’t foresee Josie doing this. I feel like an asshole. “How long have you been wandering around?”
“An hour or so. I needed to get my head straight and—”
“Come on.” I nod toward the sidewalk, then glance at Cash. “I’m gonna step away for a bit. You got this?”
He nods, and I take my girl by the hand and wrap her against my chest. Who cares what people know now? She’s mine. My way too fucking young for me, son’s ex-girlfriend, is mine, and I don’t give a fuck who knows.
“I’ll pay for the damages at the bakery, and I’ll get someone in there to help Josie rebuild. It’ll be okay.” I squeeze Ellie’s hand as we pace the sidewalk up toward a little spot in the alley between the pizza shop and the market that’s clean and private. “You don’t have to worry about anything, okay? I’ve got this.” I lead us around a group of teenagers with folding chairs, an older couple walking hand in hand, and a group of men her age that can’t help themselves from checking her out. Their eyes draw down her curved frame slowly, landing on her tits.
The tits I own.
They stare far too fucking long, and every ounce of me struggles not to punch them in the fucking throat. I tug Ellietighter to my side as they pass, claiming her as my tight, little princess. My sweet little girl.
Mine!
The noise from the festival dulls as we tuck into the alley. The air is cooler here, shaded by the brick walls on either side.
“This is actually kind of cute.” Ellie smiles as she glances toward the crates stacked near the back door of the pizza shop. “You can even smell the dough and the tomatoes.”
I lean into her lips softly, holding her against my chest. “I’ll figure all this out for us. I don’t want you worrying.”
She pauses for a moment as though she’s trying to solve all the world’s problems. “Are we making a mistake?”
The words land heavy on my chest. She must have been worrying and wandering for hours. Her body is so close that I can feel her warmth and the tremble she’s trying to hide.
“No,” I say, my voice low and steady. “Not even close. You’re mine.”
“I know that’s what we feel, but maybe it’s a mistake to let it take over us.” She looks up at me, eyes wide and searching as the festival roars in the distance. “I mean, I don’t want to be the reason everything is messed up with you and Adam.”
