Tempting Country (Ruthless Sinners MC 6)

“Yeah, Mom was incredible.”

“She was definitely that. I still miss her every day.” Anguish filled his voice when he continued, “I’d give anything to have her here with me. If I had only known then, maybe—”

“There was nothing you could’ve done, Dad.”

“I could’ve reminded her not to mix her migraine medication.” He shook his head. “She knew ... I’d told her a hundred times, but when she was hurting like that, she was desperate to make them stop.”

I’d remembered him telling her to be careful. I also remembered how horrible those stupid migraines were. She would be so happy, so full of life, but as soon as they hit, she’d be out of commission for days. It was as though those damn headaches stole the life right out of her.

Mom would lock herself away in her room and close all the blinds, sealing herself off in darkness, and she’d stay there until they finally went away. It was the only thing she could do. I hated seeing her in so much pain, and I had no doubt my father felt the same. I placed my hand on his arm and said, “You know it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing you could’ve done to change what happened.”

“I wish I could believe that.” He glanced down at his uneaten cake, then inhaled a quick breath. “I’m sorry. You came all this way to celebrate my birthday, and here I am messing the whole thing up.”

“You didn’t mess up anything. I know you miss her. I miss her, too. I think about her all the time.” I wasn’t exaggerating. I did think about her all the time. We had such a good life, and while there were still some good times, it just wasn’t the same without her. In fact, everything changed. I had to fight back my tears as I said, “I often wondered what our lives would be like if she was still here.”

“I don’t have to wonder. I know my life would’ve been better with her in it, and I have no doubt yours would’ve been, too.” A soft smile crossed his face as he said, “But we have each other, and we’re doing okay, right?”

I was tempted to tell him that he was wrong, that we weren’t doing as well as he might’ve thought, but I couldn’t form the words. I wasn’t ready to tell him about what I’d seen so many years ago. I wasn’t sure I would ever be ready, so I simply nodded and said, “Yeah, we’re okay.”

“Good.” He turned his attention back to his cake, and in a matter of minutes, he’d eaten every bite. “Why don’t you tell me a little about this guy you’re seeing and why it’s so complicated?”

“I’m not exactly seeing him.”

Before I could say anything more, my cell phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my pocket, and when I saw that it was Braylon calling, I turned to Dad and said, “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”

I slipped inside the house and closed the door before answering, “Hey, what’s up?”

“I hate to bother you while you’re at your dad’s, but a guy came by here looking for you. Said he knew you from school. I believe he said his name was Drake Coburn.”

“Damn.” Drake was in my agronomy and crop science class. He was a nice guy and not bad-looking, but I found it creepy the way he was always staring at me. Even though I’d tried to make it clear that I wasn’t interested in him, he was always trying to strike up a conversation and used every excuse in the book for us to meet up outside of class. “I have no idea how he found out where I lived.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“Nope.” I didn’t like the sound of Braylon’s voice when he said, “I gotta tell ya. I don’t have a good feeling about this guy. I think he’s up to something.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Just the way he was snooping around. I caught him looking down the hall, but he played it off and said he was just searching for you.”

“Damn, he had no business coming there like that.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Look through the security feed and find out exactly what he saw. Maybe ask Riggs to check them out, too—just to be sure we don’t miss anything.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks, Bray.” Before I hung up, I told him, “I’m on my way.”

I was just returning my phone to my back pocket when I heard my father ask, “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I lied as I turned around to face him. I had no idea how much he’d heard, so I tried to choose my words carefully. “My partner and I have run into a little snag with our project, so I need to be heading back.”