Page 23 of Crossroads

“Anyway, I wanted to tell you something that happened in town. And I don’t want you to worry.”

My mood immediately shifted, and I leaned forward, pulled my hands out of my pockets, and fisted them at my sides. “What happened? Are you hurt? Is Teagan hurt?” My heart raced as countless scenarios ran rampant in my head, each worse and more over the top than the last.

“We’re fine. Though your sister’s a badass.”

“Why did she have to be a badass?” I shouldn’t have let her go. I shouldn’t have let Teagan go. Even if I didn’t want to go to town, any one of my brothers or friends could have handled this. What the hell was I thinking?

“What. Happened?” I bit out when she didn’t answer right away.

“There was this man named Nathan…” She shook her head, even as a growl slipped through my lips. When her eyes widened, she continued. “He said some terrible things. Things that aren’t true. But I wanted to let you know that he is spewing them around. The girls took care of him, though. And he scampered away with his tail between his legs.”

My stomach fell, and I worked my jaw so I wouldn’t end up breaking a tooth. Nathan. The man who blamed me for Courtney’s death. Now he was going after my family members. Not to mention Kiera. The woman who meant—no, I wasn’t going to let that thought continue.

There was nothing I could do about Nathan, however. I could go to the cops, the same department that had questioned me in light of my wife and kids’ murder. Sure, that would totally work out. The same department that hadn’t done a damn thing about our father and hadn’t put him behind bars for killing our mother. But had questioned me when the old man died. No, there was no need to go to them. The only people in law enforcement I trusted were Thatcher and his team. Everyone else could fuck off.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” I wasn’t sure what else there was to say.

Her face turned to a pout I hated seeing on her face. “You don’t need to be sorry. Nathan’s the one who needs to be sorry. He’s an asshole.”

I snorted. “Yes. He is.” My gaze shot to the front picture she had been staring at when I had walked in, and I didn’t know why I did it, but I let the words slip.

“Nathan blames me for my wife’s death. For my kids’ deaths. They died in a fire, one not set by me, contrary to a few beliefs. They caught the guy who did it, and he’s behind bars. Though I wish he were dead.” I paused, knowing that wasn’t everything. “And you know what happened to our dad…” I didn’t want to go into detail, and I couldn’t believe I was even saying the words. But there they were.

“I’m sorry. I know there has to be a better word for that, considering I help write lyrics for a living, I should be able to find one. But I’m sorry. About everything. But some of this town does suck ass.”

I looked down at her again, at the way the light glinted off her septum piercing, and at her raised brow. I could not believe those words had been uttered from her lips. In answer, I barked out a laugh. “Seriously?”

“They do. I don’t like mob mentality, and I see enough of it on tour. So those who think you could actually do that to your family, they can fuck off. You clearly didn’t do it, you aren’t a monster, and your dad should have been dead long ago. I don’t mourn my parents, just the relationship I could have had. But your dad? He seeped in his own misguided dumb-assery. He was cruel—a fucking murderer. And this town did nothing. So no, anyone who thinks that you did anything vile against your family can rot for all I care. But the nice people, I like them. They seem to care. Because people did stand up for you. Just saying.”

I stared at her then, confused as all hell. Nobody was ever that blunt with me. They all walked around me on eggshells, and it was mostly my doing. Nobody ever mentioned Courtney, or Henry, or Josie. They were all so worried that I would break, they had let those names be forgotten in the wind.

“Come on a ride with me,” I blurted, and I had no idea what the hell I was doing.

She tilted her head at me before smiling. I had no idea what I had done to deserve that smile. But Kiera had been through hell. I knew that, and maybe we just needed fresh air.

“Okay.” Her words shook, and she wasn’t the only one. “I’d love to. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the back of a motorcycle. If that’s what you mean by ride, correct? Because the answer is no if it’s mountain biking. I am already healing from bruises, and I don’t need to go ass over tea kettle.”

“Don’t remind me of the bruises,” I ground out, angry all over again.

She nodded. “Done. And I hope I didn’t overstep by calling people bad names. But they deserve it. Just like paparazzi who come after the people I care about. And the so-called fans who only want to cut you down. People out there can be generous, loving, and caring. And they can also be jerks. So those guys can just fuck off.”

“Yes, they can. And yes, there are good people out there.”

“I can’t believe you just said that. Agreeing with me and everything.”

“Don’t push it.” My gaze went over her body, and I swallowed hard, telling myself I was just making sure she was wearing the right clothing and not checking out her curves or the fact that her tits were big enough to overfill my hands, and I had big hands. And that her hips had perfect sway to them that they’d be best for holding onto while sliding into her from behind.

Bile coated my tongue, and I told myself that it was just because of our close proximity.

I did not want Kiera West. And if I kept telling myself that it would be true. I hadn’t been with anybody in the over three years since I’d lost my family. And I wasn’t going to start now.

I cleared my throat, my voice sounding far angrier than I meant. I wasn’t angry at her, but myself. “You should change into jeans and boots if you have them. You need to protect yourself on the bike.”

“Got it. I’ll be quick. Promise.”

“And pack a smaller bag!” I called after her, and she flipped me off, and I did my best not to smile in return. She confused me as all get out. I had no idea what I was supposed to do when it came to her.

By the time we were on the road, with Kiera wearing the helmet that I had set aside for my sisters, I knew that this had been a fucking mistake.