I shake my head. “There were lots of other men there when the guy hit me, but no one stepped in except Dylan. No one else did a damn thing. Only him. Only Dylan Walsh.”
Dad releases me but immediately places his hands on my cheeks. “I’m thankful he was there to help you, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an asshole, baby. Men don’t always do good things for honorable reasons.”
I back out of his grasp, placing my hands on my hips and tilting my head. “And what reason would he have to help me, Dad?”
He crosses his arms over his chest, lifting his chin. “You know the reason.”
I mimic his movements. “I want you to say it.”
Dad snarls, grumpier than normal, but not shocking with the situation. “No man does anything out of the kindness of his heart. He’ll want something for it, and it’s a price that’s too steep to pay.”
“He didn’t even ask for a thank-you,” I tell him.
“Yet, baby. He hasn’t asked for anything yet.”
“Good morning,” Luna says, finally walking out from the hallway to enter the conversation. “Nice to see you.”
“Mornin’, baby.”
Luna walks over to my father and pops up on her toes, kissing his cheek. “Stop giving Rosie a hard time, Dad. She didn’t do anything wrong, and Dylan isn’t like the rest of his family.”
Dad stares at her and then turns his gaze on me. “You both seem to know a lot about this boy, and you’re spending a lot of time defending him with having only been around him for a few minutes while he beat a man half to death.”
“He stopped at the shop for a tattoo. And he’s only back in town because his brother Ian has cancer, and Dylan came to find out if he can donate bone marrow to him. He’s the last hope at a match in the family before they start searching elsewhere. So not only did he save Rosie, he’s hoping to save his brother’s life too.”
“His brother has cancer?” I ask in disbelief. Dylan didn’t go into detail with me before, and the news rocks me to the core.
“Yeah. Ian told me about it a few weeks ago when I was at the bar. We had a long talk since the place was a ghost town. He said he didn’t think Dylan would come back even for him since they hadn’t talked in years, but here he is… He’s a good man, Dad. So stop being such a jerk about him.”
“I can still appreciate what he did for Rosie and hate him at the same time,” Dad replies, being his usual difficult self.
“You’re ridiculous, Dad. Are there any men you actually like?” Luna asks.
“Only those in my family.”
“You didn’t like Pike, and now you love him.”
“He proved himself worthy.”
I roll my eyes, ready to shoot off some smartass comment, when my dad’s phone buzzes. He glances at his phone and curses again. “I have to go. Your mother is beside herself. If she hadn’t had an appointment this morning, she’d be here next to me saying the same thing.”
“I have to get ready for work. It’s going to take some effort to hide this bruise.”
“Not enough makeup in the world will hide it,” Dad says.
“I have full-coverage stuff. No one will notice. I promise we won’t embarrass you,” Luna tells him.
“I’m not worried about being embarrassed, baby. Just take care of yourself.” He looks at me. “You too, kid.”
“We will, Daddy,” Luna replies for the both of us. “You better get before Mom gets mad.”
Dad mutters again and walks over to me, kissing my cheeks, and then does the same to Luna. “I love you two.”
“We love you too,” we say in unison.
He walks toward the door, turning around before walking out. He takes another look at my face, the rage still boiling under the surface about what happened.
As soon as the door closes, Luna and I finally let go of a very long breath we’ve been holding.
“Shit,” she mutters.
“Yeah. That could’ve been a major shitshow.”
“He handled it well,” she tells me. “I mean, he could’ve seen Dylan, and that would’ve been a…”
“Clusterfuck,” I finish her statement.
I turn, seeing a fully dressed Dylan in the hallway, leaning against the wall and out of sight from where my father had been standing. His head is down, staring at the tile floor, probably mulling over the nasty shit my father said.
“I’m sorry,” I say to him as I walk across the living room to where he’s standing. “He doesn’t know you and has no right—”
Dylan lifts his head and hands. “Babe, he doesn’t know me, but neither do you. He’s right. I’m not a good man. I’ve done bad shit, and I feel like no matter how much good I do now, the bad will always follow me, especially in this town.”
I stand directly in front of him and place my hands on his biceps, forcing his arms down. “We all do bad things, but people change. The man I saw last night had nothing but good in him.”
“Your dad was right, wildcat.”
“About what?” I ask, confused.
His gaze is focused on mine, his face hard and emotionless. “My reasons weren’t entirely honorable. I may not have beat that guy because I wanted in your pants, but it’s the only thing I’ve thought about.”
I lift my hand to his face, brushing my fingers against the coarse hair of his beard. “I’m pretty sure what happened on the couch last night didn’t help you to stop thinking that way either. It doesn’t make you a bad person. If I’m being honest, I’ve pictured you naked more than once in the last twelve hours.”
“You know you’ve pictured me naked since you saw me at the bar,” he says, a small smile on his lips. “I saw the way you looked at me.”
I smack his chest, holding my laughter. “I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.”
He reaches up, touching my cheek so tenderly, my eyes instantly water. There’s so much depth to his touch and so many emotions in his gaze. “Whatever this is, or could be, can’t happen, wildcat. I can’t let you destroy the relationship you have with your family because of me. I’m not worth it, nor am I worthy of it.”
“Don’t say that.”
He leans forward, his lips touching my skin. “You deserve better, Ro. You’re fierce, loyal, and beautiful. You deserve so much better than anything I can offer, but if you need me or need another rescue, I’ll always be there,” he whispers against my cheek.
“Dylan,” I say softly, wanting something, but I don’t know what else to say.
He drops his hand, breaking the connection. “I have to go, wildcat.”
“Wait,” I beg, reaching for him as he starts toward the door.
He stops walking, and I run up beside him, giving him a kiss on the cheek just as tender as the one he gave me. “Thank you,” I whisper, grabbing on to his hand.
He smiles down at me, and my body warms and my belly flutters at the way he looks at me. No one has ever looked at me that way. I have never been the one to get the attention of men, especially not when Luna was around. But with Dylan, I felt like the only girl in the world, and a small part of me will miss that.