Garrett makes Riley rest. You know how she gets mad and restless, but he’s good to her. Thank you for sending him.
Dear Mom,
Garrett and Riley kissed! They didn’t know I saw them. I hope they fall in love and get married. Maybe then we can have thefamily we lost after you died.
Dear Mom,
I wish you were here to see how happy Riley has gotten. She laughs again, and she even made your special ravioli, which you always said made a man love you.
Dear Mom,
I’m attending a party! I have a friend now. Maybe Riley will stop worrying.
His gut twistedlike someone plunged a knife through it. The woman he loved left because he let Kenny get to him. Shutting off the computer, he went to her room, searching for a sign of where she might’ve gone. He needed to make amends.
Walking into Riley’s room, he glanced at the bed, noticing a piece of paper and a pile of cash under it. His heart dropped into his stomach as he realized what she wrote. Everything he purchased, food, clothing, Tara’s laptop, and her hat, which hung on the door, was written down with a total beside it. At the bottom, she scribbled an IOU and the amount she still thought she owed him. Running his hand through his hair, Garrett rose, heading for the door. He needed to find her.
Swinging it open, he halted when he saw Matthew and Julio getting out of their vehicles. Jamesonpulled in after them.
They walked toward him solemnly while Jameson held a bottle in his hand and bounded up the steps.
“Hey, dipshit, I heard you fucked up. Don’t worry, I’ve screwed up so many times they named a whiskey after me. Where do you keep your glasses?” Jameson asked, walking inside.
“I can’t stay. Have you seen Riley? I’ve got to find her,” he said, suddenly concerned about them showing up unannounced.
“Relax,” Matthew said. “She’s with Rachel and Rebecca. Mac has to stay off his leg, and Delaney returned home. What the hell did you do?”
“What did Kenny say to you?” Julio asked.
Garrett shut the door and sat at the kitchen table. “He knows all about Riley. Everything he said carried some truth to it. It all connected and explained why the bikers followed Tara here in the car. I didn’t ask her. I demanded Riley leave without asking for any explanation. When she told me she spent the last eight months working at Kenny’s hangout, I lost it. He knew about the necklace. Riley told me her mother gave it to her. Kenny claimed a customer gave it to her. He said she used men to get what she wanted. When I took her to the horse sale, she seemed interested in a hat. Then she told me a story about her mom, and I insisted she get it. Riley refused at first, like Kenny said, to get more out of men. I bought her the damn hat.”
Jameson poured them each a finger of whiskey. “Damn, when you screw up, you do it royally.”
“We all make mistakes,” Matthew said, trying to make him feel better.
“How is she?” he asked, quietly.
“How do you think? She trusted you, and you let her down,” Julio informed him. “I’m aware of your past historyon paper. Let me ask you something. It says your grandfather treated you like an abusive asshole. Do we need to worry about you?”
“No. I’d never physically hurt Riley or any woman,” Garrett denied.
Julio peered at him for a long minute before confessing, “When they took Becca, I blamed myself. Every month that they held her captive, burned my soul. Rebecca and I attend counseling to deal with those feelings and strengthen our relationship. You might consider talking to someone yourself.”
Garrett scowled. “Yes, he certainly acted like a mean son of a bitch, but my grandfather taught me about hard work and how to survive. It came in handy with my mother’s never-ending boyfriends.”
“It doesn’t mean you loved getting beaten to prove a lesson,” Jameson pointed out. “You don’t trust women because of your mom. If you did, Riley would be here.”
“I know,” he admitted quietly. “I’ll think about it. My mom never stayed with her boyfriends for very long. It makes me wonder what she wants from him.”
“Or he wants something from her. I imagine your money for one thing,” Matthew said, sipping his drink.
“Even if something happens to me, the funds will be disbursed by my attorney,” Garrett explained. “I ensured my mother won’t see a dime.”
“Unfortunately, they found Barney Cofield in a lake near his home. They ruled his death a homicide.” Matthew pulled up the information on his phone and slid it closer to Garrett.
“Shit,” he muttered as he read the article. “We need to get Tara and keep Riley here on the ranch. If they think they’re connected to me, they’ll use them to get to me.”
“We can assign men to watch them. Riley’s worried about a job, and Rachel called her out on the cast. We can’t restrict her movements, especially when it comes to anything concerning you,” Matthew told him, picking up the bottle and pouring a small amount into his glass.
