Page 27 of Breaking His Exile

She played them again.

Then once more.

A melody settled over them.

There’s a cabin past the last good road

Where nobody knows my name…

Rainey frowned but kept playing, and the next lines arrived before she could think too hard about them. Pines crowded against dark windows. Firelight. Tilly stretched out near the stove.

There’s a dog asleep beside the fire,

A man who barely speaks⁠—

Her hand flattened over the strings.

Nope.

Absolutely fucking not.

Of all the things rattling around in her head, apparently her subconscious had decided the half-feral mountain hermit deserved a song.

Not happening.

She reached for the tuning peg again.

“Play it again.”

Her hand froze.

Evander had set the rifle aside. He sat at the table watching her, forearms resting against the wood, his expression giving her absolutely nothing.

She narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t supposed to be listening.”

“You were singing.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to pay attention.”

The corner of his lips lifted in that not-quite-a-smile of his. “Play it again, songbird.”

Something low in her stomach gave an annoying little flip.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

She should refuse. On principle, if nothing else.

Instead, she put her fingers back on the strings.

eight

“You’re doing the knee thing again.”

River stilled his leg. It lasted all of three seconds before he started jiggling again.

X was going to let it go, but Brandt’s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror, and he lifted a brow. His expression said everything.

Get him under control, or he’s going back to the ranch.