Chapter 11
She didn’t fucking have this.
Lilac kicked Sugar’s tire.
Pain shot up her leg and she hopped around with a cry, holding her foot between her hands. “God damn it! Stupid! Useless!”
“Things aren’t going well then,” a male voice said.
Fuck.
How had she missed him driving up? Well, she did have the music up and was nearly in tears from breaking her toe.
Such an idiot.
“Um. No. It’s not. Sorry.” Turning, she looked up with a forced smile at the deputy, who didn’t look all that amused.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m fine.”
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’m all good.”
Linc’s gaze narrowed. “I don’t like being lied to.”
Shit. What was with the men around here? They all seemed so dominant. Tanner had moments of being like this . . . commanding. She shouldn’t like it . . . not after the way she’d been raised. Being controlled was something she’d fled from.
Yet, not once had these guys tried to bully or threaten her.
“I just kicked the wheel in frustration,” she confessed.
“Don’t do that again.”
She swiped at her eyes as he turned to look at Sugar.
“The coolant didn’t work?”
“Um, no. Didn’t seem to.”
“Do you really know what you’re doing?” he asked.
“Not really. No.” What choice did she have but to tell him the truth?
“Another lie.” He folded his arms over his wide chest. “Stacking them up.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I just . . . I thought I could fix it, but she won’t start, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She rubbed her chest, feeling the panic well again.
“It’s all right, we’ll figure this out.”
That shouldn’t reassure her when she didn’t know this man and he was a cop.
“Where’s your friend?” he asked.
“They went for a walk.” Ryleigh had needed to stretch her legs and Opal had gone with her for company. Kye was sleeping in the RV, and she was keeping an eye on him
“They?” he queried.
Shit. She was so tired that her tongue was getting loose. Instead of replying, she just sent him a look.
The deputy grunted. “I’m not going to like all the secrets you’re keeping, am I?”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” she said hastily.
“Easy,” he said soothingly. “I’m not accusing you of anything.”
Great. She probably looked guilty by protesting her innocence.
“But you guys can’t stay here. It’s not safe. And there’s nowhere for you to hook up for electricity or water. So, we have to get Sugar going or get her towed and then settle you guys into the hotel or BB.”
“Right.” She was going to be ill.
“Guessing that’s a problem.”
“Just a bit,” she replied.
“Money?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“Let me make some calls.” Linc disappeared into his car.
“Lilac! Look what we found!”
She glanced over as Ryleigh raced up with her arms full of plums.
Uh-oh.
Her friend came to a stop as she saw Linc. “Oh, shit.”
He glanced out of his car and looked from her to Lilac pointedly.
Lilac groaned. “He’s going to think I do nothing but lie.”
“Sorry,” Ryleigh told her. “I didn’t see his car until it was too late. Oh no, and I’m holding an armful of forbidden plums.”
Forbidden plums?
Lilac snorted. “Don’t worry. The plums are the least of our worries.”
“Christ, this fucking walking thing is a joke,” Opal complained as she strode up to them. “Why do people do it?”
“To get to places,” Lilac said dryly.
“That’s why cars were invented,” Opal said.
“Well, you did go for a walk in five-inch heels,” Ryleigh pointed out.
“These are the lowest heels I own.”
Lilac felt her lips twitch.
“I see Deputy Hottie is back,” Opal said. “And that Sugar ain’t runnin’.”
“Your powers of observation are astounding,” Lilac said sarcastically.
“I’m just gonna put these plums away and check on Kye,” Ryleigh said as Linc opened the car door.
She scurried inside and Linc’s gaze followed her.
“Slipped up when you said ‘they,’ huh?” Linc said.
She shrugged.
“Do I want to know why?” he asked.
Sighing, she shook her head.
“Hey there, Deputy Hottie,” Opal said loudly.
Linc narrowed his gaze as he turned to look at Opal. Lilac knew her friend was trying to divert his attention from Ryleigh. But if she didn’t tone it down, she was going to end up in trouble.
“So, um, thanks for checking on us, but I need to talk to my friends about what to do,” Lilac told him. “Do you think it would be okay if we spent another night here?”
Please. Please.
Desperation filled her.
Linc shook his head. “I’m sorry, no.”
Suddenly, a cry filled the air.
Fuck.
Linc scowled. “Is that a baby?”
The crying stopped, but it was too late. Crap. Now he was going to wonder why they’d also kept Kye a secret from him.
“Yeah, that’s Kye,” she said. “Ryleigh? Everything okay?”
“Yep. Fine.” Ryleigh appeared in the doorway, holding Kye. She looked slightly pale and worried, but someone would have seen Kye eventually. So it might as well be the deputy.
“Sorry, we weren’t keeping him a secret or anything,” Lilac said. “It’s just . . . we don’t know you.”
“He’s not very old.”
“Nearly a month,” Ryleigh said.
Linc gazed down at her, his face softening. “You shouldn’t be here with a baby.”
“We’re fine,” Ryleigh said. “Lots of people raise children in RVs.”
“With electricity and water hooked up. Look, I made some calls. Matt is gonna come and tow Sugar to the garage.”
“We can’t do that,” Lilac said. “We can’t afford it.” God, she hated admitting that.
“Don’t worry. Matt knows that and is willing to let you pay it off.”
“But why would he agree to that when he doesn’t know us?” Ryleigh asked.
Linc kept his gaze on hers. “Because around here, we look after our women. And children. This changes your accommodation needs though. Can’t send a baby to the bar.”
Huh?
“Devon has a one-bed apartment above Dirty Delights,” he explained. “Would have been a tight fit but bigger than Sugar. You can’t have a baby in a bar, though.”
“I’m sure we could make it work if Devon is okay with it.” Would he be? Would he really want them there? And how much would he ask for rent? “We’d only have to stay a night or two until Sugar is ready. And we could offer to do other things around the bar, like cleaning.”
Both Ryleigh and Opal nodded.
“No, no.” Linc shook his head, making her stomach drop in disappointment. “That’s not gonna work. But I have another plan. I have a guest house.”
“A guest house?” Ryleigh asked.
What sort of property did he own that he had a guest house?
“It has two bedrooms. You could stay there. When I bought the property, my ma was gonna come live in it. But she, uh, she died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Ryleigh walked up and placed her hand on Linc’s arm. She was the sweetest of them all. The most empathic.
The least fucked up.
“I know it’s not ideal. I mean, if you wanted, you could sleep in the main house, but I’m guessing that might make you uncomfortable.”
“Um, yeah, thanks for the offer, but?—”
“Can we have a key to the place that no one else has?” Opal interrupted Lilac.
“Yes, of course. I have two keys. You can have them both.”
“It’s got a bathroom?” Opal asked.
“Fully self-contained.”
“What’s the cost of rent?” Opal queried.
Was she seriously considering this? They didn’t know this man. They couldn’t live with him. Plus, he was a cop.
But then again . . . wouldn’t it be safer to stay with someone in law enforcement? And they really needed somewhere.
“Free,” Linc said.
“Wow, that’s so nice,” Ryleigh said, smiling up at him.
“We can’t stay for free,” Lilac said. “We’ll have to do something in return. We can garden or clean or something.” The scales couldn’t be in Linc’s favor. Well, they would be since cleaning and gardening didn’t equate to rent. But it didn’t sound like he rented the place out anyway.
Opal nodded. “Yes. We’ll do that.”
“All right. It’s a deal, then. But I need to know if any of you are in danger.”
Shoot.
She couldn’t tell him that.
“You don’t have to give me the details until you get to know me better, but is someone gonna come and try to hurt any of you?”
“My brother isn’t a good man,” Lilac said. “We don’t want him to find out where we are.”
Linc eyed her. “All right. But when you trust me more, I want the full story.”
Yeah. That wouldn’t be happening.