After I was done, our eyes connected with this intense kind of stare that got awkward fast. It was one of those ones where you either have to kiss or back off. He wasn’t making any moves for my mouth, so I hightailed it back to the end of the mattress and let him finish pulling the shirt down over his body.
His body.
It’s so beautiful.
When he was talking about horse riding yesterday, I could picture him in a pair of worn-out blue jeans, scuffed-up cowboy boots and one of them hats on his head. Oh my, he would be one sexy rancher.
I’ll have to tell Franks that tomorrow. I’ve been giving her updates throughout the last two days. So much so that Dean nearly confiscated my phone.
“Get off that damn thing and focus on your work!”
I slipped it away before he could snatch it off me and kept it in my back pocket, replying to Franks when I took my bathroom breaks. She seems excited by everything I’m telling her, and that makes me feel so much better about the fact that I’m kind of harboring a mysterious fugitive.
Dean would have my hide if he knew what I was up to.
“Annie!” His bark makes me jump, and I spin around in time to see him storm into the kitchen. He grabs my shirt, practically lifting me off my feet. I press my toes into the ground and try not to let the fear cloud me. I need all my wits when he’s acting like this.
“What the hell have you been sayin’ to Darby Abernathy?”
Oh great. She couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut until Sunday?
I roll my eyes, despising that woman on a whole new level.
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me!” His fist tightens in my shirt. “You tryin’ to put me out of business?”
“You?” My eyes snap to his, my stupid, tired brain not telling me to shut up in time. “It’s not even your diner! That place belongs to my family.”
He cracks me across the face. I should have seen it coming. Fire dances over my skin, and I keep my head turned away from him. I hate the way my eyes sting when he does that. Like I’ll ever give him the satisfaction of crying.
“I am your family whether you like it or not.”
“You’ll never be my family,” I mutter, my voice small but toxic.
“I’d shut your mouth if I were you, Annabelle. You’re only gonna make this worse for yourself.” He lets me go, adding in a shove so my body smacks into the edge of the kitchen counter.
I refuse to rub it, to wince, to show him that it hurts.
I hate it when he says stuff like that. I hate the cold fear that travels through my body. I hate his big strong hands and the fact that he’s so damn tall.
I wish I was stronger. I wish I had big meaty fists like his so I could pummel his stupid face inside out.
I turn back to my sandwich and go to pick it up. I’m not even gonna bother with a plate. I’ll just eat in my room, and who the hell cares if I get crumbs on my bed. But Dean snatches my wrist and yanks me around to face him again.
“You will apologize to that woman.” A little spittle pops out of his mouth and lands on his black beard. I stare at it, focusing on that one droplet, while I give him what I know is the wrong answer, but I don’t care.
With a voice like iron, I whisper, “Never.”
He slaps me again, right across the same cheek. I’d been expecting this one, but it still doesn’t make it hurt any less. My eyes water some more, and I keep them cast to the floor so he can’t see.
“You will apologize. And the next meal she eats here will be coming out of your pocket.”
“That’s not fair!”
Stop fighting, Annie! Just shut the hell up.
But I can’t!
“That bitch called Mama a lying slut!”
“Well, you know how the town feels about it. Don’t go rubbing their faces in it! Darby’s daughter was about ready to marry that guy when your mama started claimin’ he was the father. Of course no one wanted to believe her.”
“They were in high school. They weren’t about to get married! She just knew Mama wasn’t lyin’. Even though he wouldn’t admit it, she knew he was a cheater, and that’s what broke them up. Mama didn’t know they were still together when he lured her away at that party. She didn’t do anything wrong, yet she was the one they crucified!”
“And I came to the rescue, so I don’t know what the hell you’re complaining about.”
I scoff before I can stop myself and instantly regret it.
Dean’s dark eyes flash and he grabs my shirt again, walking me backward until I’m shoved up hard against the wall.
I can’t help a little grunt of complaint as my shoulder slams into the hard surface. Pinning me around the throat, he gives it an uncomfortable squeeze, pinching my skinny neck between his thumb and fingers.
I stay stock-still, knowing better than to struggle.
“You not grateful? Is that what you’re sayin’?”
I want to tell him that I’m not. That I wish he’d never walked into our lives. But that’ll only make his grip tighter, and I hate that feeling of not being able to breathe. It’s worse than a slap across the cheek, so I bite my lips together and don’t say a word.
“You better watch your step, girl. I am this close to taking it out on your brother.”
I glance at his face, wanting to know how much he means it. The stark fear shooting through me is near blinding. Words scream through my mind, vile insults to warn him away. If he lays one finger on Jackson, I will kill him.
But I’m not big enough to make that threat. And if I dare to say it right now, he might storm straight into Jackson’s room and let him have it.
My sweet, innocent brother.
I clench my jaw and fight off the tremors jerking my stomach.
“I mean it, Annabelle Mae. If you screw up one more time, Jackson’s gonna get it good.”
I hate you.
I keep the words inside. It takes all my willpower to do it, but I clamp my teeth together and fight my tongue. Even when he pinches my neck a little tighter. I’ll take it. I’ll take it all if it means protecting my little brother. As far as I know, Jackson’s only ever copped a small clip around the ears. But to punish me, Dean would turn Jackson black and blue. He’d have permanent belt marks on his back, and I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen.
And Dean knows it.
His lips curl into a sly smile as he eases the pressure on my neck and takes a step back.
I stay still against the wall.
“So, you’ll apologize, then?”
“Yes,” I rasp.
“Good. That’s my girl.”
I shudder, wanting to scream at him that I’m not his girl. Never was. Never will be. But I manage to hold my tongue.
His big shoes sound loud in the quiet nighttime space. I watch them walk away before gently touching my neck. There’ll be bruises in the morning. My skin’s like a peach. It doesn’t take much to leave a mark, but I’ve got a few high-neck shirts I can wear.
I’ve thought about telling someone, like maybe Mirren, but I can’t risk it. What if they take me away and leave Jackson with him? Dean never raised a hand against me until Mama got real sick. It shocked the hell out of me the first time it happened. I knew he was a grumpy-ass jerk-mouth, but I never thought he’d hit me. Mama was so close to dying, I didn’t want to upset her, so I kept it to myself. Since then, it’s only gotten worse, and the secret’s now mine to keep. There’s no point going to Hank Keyes about it. He’d probably just call me a liar, the way he did my mama.