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I nod as she chews her lip.
"I'm not heading into town, though," she says.
"Where are you going?"
"A place up in the mountains called True Heart Lodge."
My eyes widen. I know exactly the place she's talking about. It's an abandoned plot, with a small cabin and twenty or so acres of land, and it's right next to our ranch.
"Do you know it?" she asks.
"Know it?" I ask, chuckling. "I live next to it."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Little wooden cabin? With a lake? Three tall pines on a hill?"
"Yeah, that's the place."
"Yeah, we can take you there. Although I'm not sure if we should—you see, it's been abandoned by the owners for years."
"I know." She gives me a wry smile that tugs at my heartstrings. "I'm the owner."
"Well, isn't that a kicker? That makes you my neighbor!" I can't help the smile that grows on my lips.
She smiles back, and I say, "So, do you want a ride? Alternatively, I can call Triple-A for you. I've got a bar on my phone, but it's gonna take them at least two hours to get here, and I don't think you should be waiting alone out here that long at this time of night."
She chews her lip again, her forehead furrowing adorably. "You sure you don't mind?"
"We don't mind." I glance at Dean, who's giving me that frown of his. He'll probably mind, but that's not important. He thinks he's in charge. He's not. Not anymore.
As I said before, Dean's only a little older than Lennon and me, but he likes to act like our dad. Honestly, though, he kept us alive in some ugly places. We all fought alongside each other in the SEALs and we all covered each other's asses when the chips were down. We owe a debt to one another—and an even bigger one to the guys in our platoon who didn't make it back.
None of us came back untouched, and it's easy to see how the responsibility forced on Dean back then, as a young man, has become embedded in who he is today. So yeah, he still orders us around. But I don't mind. I know it comes from a place of love.
She eyes me for a moment before holding out her hand. "Do you have your phone on you?"
"Yeah," I hand her my phone, and she takes it, dialing a number and putting it to her ear.
"Hey, Tara. I'm leaving this voicemail in case I get murdered. Find the owner of this phone. His name is..."
She looks up at me, and I snort.
"Reed Lawson."
"His name is Reed Lawson. Alright, love you. Bye."
She hangs up and hands me back the phone, easy as that. "Alright. I'm ready."
I chuckle.
Just like that, I'm smitten.
CHAPTER 3
Hailey
Ieye the man for a few more seconds as I weigh my decision. Typically, getting into a car with a stranger would rank somewhere between a 'No' and a 'Hell No' for me.