Chapter 6
6
Aria
A ria wasn’t mad.
Wounded? Yes.
Mortified? Most definitely.
While she’d gone on several first dates with men after Cayden, she’d never had the displeasure of meeting one like Brett. The guy was too confident and not respectful enough. Cayden had controlled her through mental warfare. She’d never feared for her physical safety. He’d grabbed her once or twice but never truly harmed her to leave bruises like her father had done to her mother.
She dug her hands into her hair as she sat hunched over on the edge of Sophia’s bed, her elbows on her knees.
Brett had been dangerous, and she had been so, so wrong about him. She would never admit it to Daniel, but he’d probably saved her from something more malicious than she wanted to admit. It turned her stomach inside out just thinking about what could have happened.
A groan slipped from her lips, and she shoved off the bed to move to her window. It was dark out. The cabin was hidden from view via trees and distance. She didn’t know what she expected to see when she looked out the window. Of course she wouldn’t see him. It was probably a good thing, too. Daniel might have helped her, but he still seemed like someone who used threats and force to get what he wanted.
Her neck became tense at the thought of needing him to save her. She would have been fine. She’d had a momentary lapse in judgment; that was all.
Angry and full of embarrassment, she moved back to the bed and plopped down on her stomach, not bothering to change her clothes. Exhaustion nipped at her. What she needed right now was a good night’s rest.
Roman and Camilla were the only two she’d passed on her way up to her room. Her cousins had glanced at her with curiosity, but they didn’t ask her how her date had gone, nor did they push her about her mood.
Sophia wouldn’t have let her go without a full report.
It was probably good she was still in Georgia.
Aria’s eyes fluttered closed as she turned her face to bury it into the cool side of the pillow. Tomorrow would be another day—another chance for her to get to the bottom of why Daniel felt the need to step in when it wasn’t his responsibility.
Aria groaned when the light poured into her room. She’d forgotten to close the drapes, and after the restless night she’d had, it would have been nice to get a few extra hours.
Curse her body’s inability to fall back to sleep after light hit her lids.
She turned her face away from the window and rolled onto her back, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. Nightmares of assault and abuse had kept her tossing and turning. Even now, her heart raced slightly just thinking of them.
Shutting her eyes only brought vivid images back. It wasn’t difficult to connect what was happening. The incident with Brett had triggered something in her subconscious. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to have to say something to Daniel.
The guilt over how she’d treated him after he’d helped her was almost worse than the nightmares.
Almost.
Aria pulled herself from her bed and sat on the edge. The only thing propelling her forward at this point was the need to get this off her chest. He was a brute of a man who probably had a hero complex or something, but he didn’t deserve to be blamed for her rotten attitude.
A sigh stretched from her chest as she got to her feet. Daniel was probably already up. He rose early. And he was always working.
Then again, Sophia was similar. And if she had a list for him, he was the exact kind of guy who would do everything she asked of him.
Aria dressed and all but dragged herself from the house. Camilla and Isabelle were in a room off the kitchen with some puppies that had been born a couple weeks ago. Their soft croons were a temptation for Aria to go check out the pups herself.
She ignored the pull. Aria knew better than to get sidetracked when something nagged at her. Seeing Daniel after last night would be excruciating, but she’d pull on that happy-go-lucky mask she was so proud of wearing and make him believe she was unruffled.
It’s what she always did.
Aria moved toward the front door and slipped out before the itch to see the pups grew too strong. She skipped down the steps and made her way across the dew-covered lawn. It was early enough that the water droplets hadn’t evaporated. Soon enough those water droplets would freeze and crunch beneath her feet. It would get colder here than back in Georgia, and she found she actually liked it more than she expected.
Somehow the crisp air brought with it a sense of new life despite the cooler temperatures. Aria hadn’t wanted to leave once she’d arrived. At first her visit to Copper Creek had been a getaway—a means to escape a life she’d hated. Now she might never go back. She’d even gotten some freelance writing work. Sitting in front of a computer was a much better option than clocking in at an office building.
Then again, perhaps she’d missed her calling and working with her cousins might be a better option.
She breathed in deeply, then stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of him.
As expected, he was busy. He guided a horse by her reins toward the corral. It was a different one than he’d been working with the last time she’d watched. This time he had one of Mateo’s dogs with him. They were probably going to work more on how the animals cooperated together.
Aria shoved her hands into her pockets and moved toward him. No use getting cold feet now. If she gave him his thanks, then she could scurry away and hide for the next couple of days.
Yeah, right.
Aria had only chosen to hide from two men in her life, and she’d vowed to never do that again. She was strong and capable.
With a lift of her chin, she trudged forward.
Daniel gave her a brief cursory glance, his hardened expression not changing even a bit when she flashed a smile at him. If anything, he might look more irritated upon her arrival.
Well, he was just going to have to learn to deal with it.
“Hey,” she chirped, taking her usual spot on the corral fence.
Daniel couldn’t even muster a grunt.
Aria swallowed down the nervousness that bloomed inside her. “I wanted to thank you.”
He paused for a moment but didn’t bother tossing her another look before he set to work adjusting the lead rope for the horse.
“You didn’t have to help, but you did,” she tried again. At his silence, she nearly apologized for being frustrated that he’d come to her rescue. But she wasn’t willing to stoop so low. “Anyway, I wanted you to know I appreciated it.”
Ever the silent giant, Daniel kept his mouth clamped shut. What was wrong with him? She’d practically told him he’d been right to bring her home. What more did he want?
Aria huffed, jumping down from her perch.
Whatever. She wasn’t going to wait for him to make a snide comment. She’d done her part.
She made it to the front porch before she yanked her phone from her back pocket. Sophia answered on the second ring.
“Everything okay?” Sophia asked.
“Why do you like him so much?” Aria demanded.
“What?” Sophia let out a distracted laugh. “Who are you talking about?”
Aria turned and looked toward the corral, not surprised to find Daniel completely engrossed in his work. “The beast of a man you and Mateo thought would be a good fit for the horses. Why do you like him?”
“Beast of a man?” Sophia drawled with amusement. “Aria, do you have a crush?”
“What? No. You know me. I’m not interested in anything serious. No connections, remember?”
“Mmhmm. Sure. What did he do?”
“He’s a jerk.” Aria spit out the words before she had a chance to understand what they might sound like to someone like Sophia.
“He’s not a jerk,” Sophia insisted.
“And that’s why I’m calling. Why do you like him so much? Do you have a crush on him?”
Sophia laughed harder. “No. He’s more like a brother to me. That whole family is sort of like our family.”
Aria nearly muttered that Isabelle didn’t feel the same, but she held her tongue.
“Look, their family had it really rough growing up. We only recently got closer to them, but I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be abandoned by their parents. Wade and Annabel practically raised the rest of them. Since Daniel was one of the older ones, I’m sure he had to take care of himself. He’s quiet, sure, but it’s probably because he’s careful not to let anyone in.”
“Really?” Aria asked quietly, her eyes still on Daniel. Her father had been abusive, but her mother had always been there for her and her sister—always making sure to keep them safe when her father went on a rampage. So she wouldn’t know what it felt like to have no parents around.
“Then again, he might be quiet because he lived with eleven other people. Someone was bound to feel like they didn’t have a voice in that situation.”
Yet another explanation that tugged at Aria’s heartstrings. She hated feeling this way. Her head seemed to get a mind of its own, and she chewed on her fingernail. “Do you know if he ever went to school—college or anything?” His interest in architecture at the forefront of her thoughts.
Sophia snorted. “Doubtful. I don’t think any of them went to school. Honestly, if I had to guess, I’d say most of them dropped out of high school.” She paused for a moment. “What’s going on? Seriously, Aria. Did he do something? Say something?”
Aria could have said a million things. The way he seemed to judge her. How secretive he was. The fact that he literally threatened to throw her over his shoulder to get her to come home after she’d had a bad date. She shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “No. Nothing’s going on.”
More silence followed, then Sophia spoke again. “If something’s going on?—”
“Nothing is going on, okay? He’s just—infuriating,” Aria stammered.
“Infuriating,” her cousin seemed to say the word like she was tasting it for the first time. “Infuriating, how?”
Aria groaned. “Fine. I’ll tell you. He wouldn’t let me take my own stuff to the main house when I forgot to move it before he got there. He’s bossy—like he thinks he knows best or something. And he’s always watching me. Like… it’s really…” Creepy? No, that’s not the right word. Unsettling? Not quite right either. Another sigh burst from her lips. “I miss you and Mateo, okay? He’s a stranger. And I’m on edge with the stuff going on about my dad. How is that going, by the way?”
Sophia didn’t speak immediately. Clearly, she was unpacking everything Aria had confessed to. Thankfully, Aria had kept her mouth shut about the date and the way Daniel had come to her rescue. She wasn’t about to let Sophia make any more assumptions about the strange emotions Daniel had elicited in her.
Finally, Sophia spoke. “It’s going as well as can be expected, I guess.” She seemed to hesitate for a moment. “There’s something you might want to know, though.”
Aria’s hair lifted on her arms as if in anticipation of some very bad news. Already she knew she didn’t want to hear what her cousin was about to say.
“Cayden is the new character witness.”
The phone slipped from her fingers, and she had to scramble to pick it up. “What?” she hissed.
“I don’t know. I guess he’s been visiting your dad in prison? I think he was expecting you to be here.”
“Of course he was,” Aria snapped. Not for the first time, she was grateful she’d come to Copper Creek. “Keep me informed, okay?”
“Of course.”
Aria pulled the phone away, but Sophia’s voice stopped her from hanging up.
“Oh, and Aria?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t kill him.”
She knew who Sophia was talking about without asking.
“He’s really a decent guy,” Sophia added.
Yeah, she was beginning to see that.