Chapter 2
2
Aria Rivera
A ria could feel her walls coming up. They were these invisible barriers that she had a knack for constructing whenever a member of the opposite sex tried to order her around. Cayden had been that way. He’d insisted that he knew better—not just for things they did together, but for how she lived her life.
There was a reason she’d decided to visit her cousins in Copper Creek, and it wasn’t so she could be bossed around by someone like Daniel.
One look at him and she could tell he would feed off the control he could have over others. He was big—so big even her five-foot-eight height had to look up at him. He had to be at least six-four. He was probably a football player in another life. Or a hockey player. He was all muscle with a sharp jaw and shrewd eyes.
She wasn’t about to show him her fear, though. Aria had done that enough in her lifetime. It threw men off when she smiled prettily at them and flirted with her touch—not enough to invite them to flirt back. Just enough for them to realize she wasn’t a weak, simpering fool. She knew her confidence pushed a lot of men away, and that was how she liked it.
Aria glanced at Daniel out of the corner of her eye. Thankfully the ride to the main house would be short—and he hadn’t touched her.
She hated it when men thought they could touch her—manhandle her. Just because they didn’t leave bruises like her father preferred, controlling men still liked to show who was in charge.
Daniel didn’t talk as much as Cayden did. He was quiet. She could practically see his calculating nature beneath the surface, planning on how to get the better of her. Maybe she was paranoid.
It was a possibility. Mateo trusted Daniel. He wouldn’t have invited someone who could harm her onto his property.
She pressed her lips together and breathed a sigh through her nose as the main house came into view. He’d show his true self eventually. If he was controlling, she’d notice the signs—just like she had tonight when he insisted she wasn’t going to make the trek across the property toward the house. Who did he think she was?
Weak, apparently.
The second the truck pulled to a stop, she launched from the vehicle. “Thanks,” she muttered, flashing him one of her smiles. He reached for the door handle, and before she shut her door, she snapped, “Don’t worry about it. I’m a big, strong girl. I can get my luggage out of the back of the truck all by myself.”
His eyes narrowed and he shoved the door open.
What a jerk.
She scurried toward the bed of the truck, but he was faster. He pulled both suitcases from the bed and placed them on the ground. She ground her teeth. “Thank you,” she said between them. “I’m good from here on out.”
Still, Daniel hesitated. She reached for the suitcases and kicked them onto their wheels. “I’ll see you around.”
“He’s dreamy, don’t you think?”
Aria jumped, then flushed deeply over being caught staring at Daniel. It was just yesterday that he gave her a ride back to the main house. She glanced toward her youngest cousin. At twenty-two, Isabelle hadn’t become jaded when it came to the opposite sex. She could look objectively at a man like Daniel, see his muscles, his dusty blond hair, and his piercing blue eyes, and her heart would flutter.
Once upon a time, Aria’s heart could do the same. Even after she’d felt the blows from her father. Even after she’d witnessed how he treated her mother, she’d still believed that men could be good.
Romance novels were the escape she’d needed to keep herself going through her teen years.
And then she’d met Cayden.
Her jaw pulsed as she swung her focus to her young cousin. “If you like that sort of thing,” she said dryly.
Isabelle all but swooned. “Oh, I do .” She leaned over the railing of the porch where they stood and cupped her chin in her hand. “He’d never go for me, though.”
Aria smirked at Isabelle. “Oh? Why’s that? Is he stuck up or something?” Anything to give fuel to the fire she had in hating the guy would be welcome. Thankfully he wasn’t going to stick around for very long. One week. That was all the time Mateo had insisted they needed to get her father thrown back into prison—or rather prevent him from making parole.
“No,” Isabelle said with a sigh. “Charlie told me all about how upset Daniel was that his friend fell in love with her. He’s totally against an age-gap situation.”
Aria shifted her attention to Daniel again. The hat on his head shadowed his face enough that she couldn’t see his expression as he worked with a horse in the corral. He clicked his tongue and moved the horse through its exercises. Even though it was getting cooler, he was wearing a blue button-up, short-sleeved shirt. With how hard he worked, it wasn’t a surprise he preferred short sleeves, but soon those muscled arms would be covered up.
The guy didn’t want to date women who he considered too young. Interesting. Usually, the more controlling men went after younger, more impressionable women.
“I wonder why,” Aria mused.
“What?” Isabelle asked, tilting her head in Aria’s direction.
“Hmm?” Aria asked, still distracted by the way Daniel worked with the animal.
“What are you wondering about?”
For a moment, Aria couldn’t recall she’d said any such thing. Then it hit her, and she turned her attention to her cousin. “I wonder why he has a rule like that—not dating younger women. Usually men like younger women, right?”
Isabelle shrugged. “I dunno. It’s not like he tells people. And maybe it’s not even a rule. Charlie just said he was really upset when he found out that Ash liked her—or that he kissed her when she was still a minor.” Isabelle grinned like it was a juicy bit of gossip. Then she leaned forward. “It’s out in the open now, but he kissed her when she was still a teenager and he… wasn’t. Pretty sure Daniel knocked him off his feet over it.”
Aria lifted a brow. She didn’t condone violence in the slightest, but there was something to be said about a man who was willing to defend a woman’s honor rather than tear her down.
What was she thinking?
She had zero interest in dating—and not just Daniel.
No one was worth her time. No one would win her over. Because most men had issues, and she was tired of trying to figure them out before she had a chance of getting hurt.
Keeping her distance from Daniel would be the smart thing to do. Daniel was bigger, stronger, and more rugged than Cayden, and she’d barely managed to get out of that relationship unscathed.
Isabelle let out another sigh, and Aria bit back a smile. The girl was utterly heartsick over the guy. She’d get over it. Eventually, she’d find someone who was worthy of her love—and one who would get Mateo’s blessing.
He was one of the good ones. If she could find someone as good as Mateo, then maybe— maybe she would consider dating the guy.
Her phone buzzed against her backside, and she reached into her pocket to pull it out. Sophia’s name populated the screen, and she turned away from Isabelle before heading down the steps and putting as much distance as possible between herself and her youngest cousin. Only Mateo and Sophia knew all the details regarding her criminal father. And she wanted to keep it that way. There was no reason for Isabelle to pity the Rivera family any more than she already did.
Paul had been sent to prison for something. That’s all the rest of the Palmer family knew. Beyond Mateo and Sophia, their parents had also been informed. Currently her uncle and aunt were living in Florida and wanted nothing to do with Aria’s father.
She sighed as she brought the phone to her ear. “If you’re calling right now when you should be in the courtroom, then something is clearly wrong.”
Silence met Aria’s statement.
Great. Something must really be wrong.
“Aria, I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”
“Just tell me. I can take it.” She was surprised she hadn’t heard from her sister or her mother. Maybe they weren’t dealing with the problem very well. A pang of guilt racked Aria’s body. She should have gone home for this. She should have stood beside her mother and held her hand. Thankfully, Paul hadn’t touched Bella. Her younger sister had only witnessed his fury—not experienced it first-hand. Aria swallowed hard. “Sophia, what’s going on?”
Her cousin sighed. “They’re delaying the hearing. Something about having a new character witness.”
Aria’s blood ran cold. If her father found someone to vouch for him, then that instantly upped his chances of getting out on parole. She shook her head, the phone shaking as her hands trembled. “No.”
“I’m sorry, Aria. They said that they are going to reschedule for next week. There’s a lot of stuff I’m not sure about. Mateo isn’t happy.”
“My mom? Is she…”
“She’s hanging in there, but you know her best. She hasn’t been taking it well.”
Aria’s hand hovered at her throat. She nodded even though her cousin couldn’t see her.
“Can I ask you a favor?” Sophia asked.
Another nod.
“Aria?”
“Yes, of course,” she blurted without thinking. “What do you need? Anything.”
“Daniel isn’t answering my calls.”
Aria rolled her eyes. “Not you too.”
“What?”
She snapped her mouth shut. If Sophia had a crush on Daniel, too, then Aria would let the two sisters fight over the cowboy without her input. “Nothing. What do you need me to tell him?”
“Actually, it’s not something you need to say. We promised him free food. He wouldn’t take payment for helping us out, and it’s the least we could do. Room and board, you know?”
Aria stiffened, then dragged her eyes to Daniel. He couldn’t be that great. Seriously ! This guy was starting to sound like a saint. There had to be something wrong with him. “Dinner?”
“Yeah. I don’t want him to forget that we offered. You can’t let him fend for himself, because he will if we let him get away with it. Believe me.”
Aria sighed.
“And you’re the best cook. I’ve always thought you should run a restaurant or something.”
“I’m not that good.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the best—better than any one of us.” She waited for a moment, and then her tone ticked up a notch. “Please, Aria? Pretty please?”
“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll do it.”
“You’re the best. Thanks!”
“Yeah, well, I can’t exactly tell you no when you were so willing to head out to Georgia to help my mom and Bella with the parole hearing.”
“What’s family for?”