Page 51

F our months later…

Juliette

Music.

Hot men.

Good friends.

A night off with no pressure.

Several drinks.

I’d finally allowed my friends to convince me to head out on the town, yet I hadn’t enjoyed anything, including the sexy men who’d asked me to dance.

Nothing felt right. At least I was no longer front-page news.

There was a plus. With my father managing to get out on bail, I’d tried to distance myself from everything and everyone.

“Why are you pouting?” Cami asked as she crowded next to me shoulder to shoulder at our little round table.

“I’m not pouting.” I’d come close to snapping my answer, something I’d done several times over the last few months. Maybe because the ache had furrowed deep down inside, the kind of pain that took years to dissipate. If it could ever happen.

Ashley slipped across the table, giving me one of her looks. I’d experienced that on a half dozen occasions when both my friends had done an all-night vigil with me, plying me with ice cream and wine, neither of which had put me in a better mood.

“Girl. Why don’t you just pick up the phone and call Kage?” Ashley chided.

“First of all, I don’t know his number, and second and even more important, I told you I never wanted to hear his name again.”

“Uh-huh,” Cami teased. “How many times have you looked at his picture tonight alone?”

“I don’t have my camera with me.”

Ashley jerked the phone from my hand, holding it to my face for facial recognition even as I tried to grab it from her hand.

“That’s my phone. Give that back to me.”

“No can do.” She quickly maneuvered to my photographs, pulling up the ones I’d purposely downloaded from the cloud. “There you go. You have three pictures of him so answer the question.”

I snaked my hand through my hair, trying to ignore them. Cami shoved her elbow into my side.

“Be honest. You miss him,” Cami said.

“He lied to me. How could I miss him?”

“Maybe because he’s gorgeous and according to you, he was the best fuck of your life.”

I glared at Ashley. “And he lied to me.”

“He didn’t lie,” Cami retorted. “Not really. He had no clue what would happen when he sent that photograph of your father to your godfather. He was just trying to protect you.”

“I don’t care,” I snapped again, instantly grousing at myself. There hadn’t been a single day I hadn’t stared at one of the pictures, wishing upon every star in the galaxy that things could be different. But they weren’t and I couldn’t continue with the fantasy.

They continued to stare at me, even making faces until I finally laughed.

“I do miss him, okay? But after everything I’ve been through with my father and all the hateful messages I’ve received on my social media accounts, I need to concentrate on building my business.

” Not that I had the money to do any traveling.

Even if I wanted to head somewhere tropical or even across country, I didn’t have the money.

Two major sponsors had dropped me like a rock and my trust fund had been frozen while the investigation continued.

Not that I’d use a dime of it. Doing so would feel like taking blood money.

“Have you spoken to your dad?” Ashley asked, knowing it was a sore subject.

“Once. A couple weeks ago. He swears he didn’t sell his daughter off to a vile criminal.”

“Do you believe him?” Cami asked.

The news had been brutal, dragging my family through the mud straight into quicksand.

The evidence against him seemed overwhelming, but the trial had yet to start.

“I honestly don’t know. He sounded sincere.

But I need some time.” I’d even thought about getting another full-time job but doubted anyone would hire me.

“You could always work at a sanctuary I know somewhere in Colorado. That would make you happy since you adore animals so much.” Ashley was shifting back and forth as if a light had gone on in that brain of hers.

Granted, I’d taken more photographs of animals than anything else lately since I couldn’t travel.

“He sold the place. I know he did. That’s what he said he was going to do.”

“Are you sure about that?” Cami cooed. “What if he didn’t? You should check.”

No, I wasn’t, but I couldn’t care. I just couldn’t care. “Leave me alone. Or at least order another round.” I tried to pass it off, but I missed Kage.

Even if he was the grumpiest man alive.

Kage

“A Budweiser with a whiskey chaser for my friend and a biscuit for my boy,” Jarvis said as he simultaneously slid the bottle and glass across the bar with one hand, holding the treat over the edge with the other.

Tank snagged it from the barkeep’s hand, his tail thumping against the old wood. “You’re spoiling that dog.”

“So what? He deserves all the treats he can get.”

Laughing, I watched Tank gobble it up.

“Yeah, he does.” Not like I didn’t spoil him rotten. The fur bucket had me wrapped around his huge paw.

Jarvis grabbed a towel, acting like he needed to wipe the bar. “So, how are things?”

“Pretty good.” It was my standard answer these days when I was anything but okay. I’d slumped into more of a bad mood over the last few months.

“I see you’re still in town.” He lifted his eyebrows. He knew I was staying. He’d been out to the house more than once.

“Yeah, think I’ll stay a while.” He also knew perfectly good and well I had no intention of selling. I’d finally realized I wasn’t certain where the hell I’d go.

“Good to hear.”

I watched as he wiped the same spot three times. “Just fucking say it.”

“What?”

“Whatever it is you’re going to say. You’re chomping at the bit.”

“Fine. I will.” He tossed the towel and leaned over the bar. “Why the hell haven’t you tried to contact that woman? You know, the one you keep pining away for.”

“I don’t have her number.”

“Get your fucking head out of your ass. You’re a goddamn Navy SEAL. You can find her number.”

I took a long pull of the cold brew, giving him an evil look.

“I’m not a SEAL any longer. Remember?” I’d tried to ignore Gray, but we’d talked a couple of times, the conversations allowing me to express my continued anger while discovering he’d really been kept in the dark.

That didn’t mean I was accepting of how everything had gone down.

“You’re a fucking hard-ass, and you know it. Fine. Leave her a message on Facebook or drop a comment on Instagram.”

I faked choking. “You understand social media? I thought you were too old.”

“Well, hell, yes. My wife encouraged me.” He laughed. “I’m serious. You need to contact Juliette.”

“She wants nothing to do with me. She made that perfectly clear.”

“You don’t know shit about women. Do ya, son?”

“Meaning what?”

His huff was followed by him jerking a glass from under the bar, pouring himself a shot of whiskey. “They want you to fawn over them. She needs to know you care about her. She’s waiting for you to do that.”

“You don’t know Juliette.”

He threw back the shot and wiped his mouth with his forearm.

“I know the way you two looked at each other. I know exactly what you were thinking when you thought you’d lost her.

There wouldn’t have been a building left in Durango if something had happened to her.

You’d have burned them all down. And the swoon on her face when you saved her, whew.

The shit romance novels are made of. Don’t you dare go teasing me.

My wife has opened up my world and our sex life because of some pretty spicy reads. ”

I shrank back, shielding my eyes on purpose. “TMI, buddy. TMI.”

We both laughed. “I’m just saying, make contact with her. She’s still posting, but not as often. I think the shit with her dad really took a toll on her.”

“Which I feel guilty for.”

“Like you do that shit you’re holding from being overseas?”

I exhaled. I’d thought about Maddox several times over the last few months but hadn’t found the need or the courage to contact him. Maybe I was a fucking hypocrite. Juliette’s words flowed into my mind. She thought she knew everything about me and what I needed. Bullshit. “Let it drop.”

Jarvis shook his head. “I’m just suggesting you have nothing to lose if you say hi. Nothing at all. Except maybe your goddamn surly attitude.”

I offered him my fist and he laughed again. “Just get me another beer.”

“You are cranky tonight.”

Yes, I was. So the fuck what?

He stared at me with his gray eyes, shaking his head in a chastising gesture.

“She’s going through a lot right now, okay, old man?”

Another snort was a reminder I couldn’t insult him if I tried. “That’s why she needs people in her corner. She didn’t anticipate she’d be forced to deal with discovering her father was a fucking criminal.”

“I know. She doesn’t need any complications.”

“She needs friends. Maybe that head of yours is too thick to see the truth, but you could be her friend.”

The ache in my heart deepened. “She doesn’t need me as a friend.”

Jarvis grabbed another dog biscuit, tossing it over the counter. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It’s not a good look on a man.”

Sorry for myself. What the hell did he know? Alright, fine. I hated my life. The man I’d become. The shit I’d been forced to deal with.

“Another thought for you although not sure you’re ready to listen to a decent recommendation.

This is about business. You should set up some social media for the sanctuary.

What you’re doing is great work. Why not tell the world?

You might be able to get some funding to continue helping horses in need.

There are grants out there, people willing to pay top dollar for a place their horses can recuperate.

” He winked and I couldn’t retort to what he’d said.

Maybe the old guy had a good idea.

Yeah, right. As if I knew what the hell I was doing.

It was late and I had a buzz for the first time since I’d gone on a two-day drunken binge after she’d left. Since then, I’d been working my ass off and I had to admit doing so had kept me from thinking about Juliette.

Except at night.