take me long to find it.
“Ha-ha!”
As I slid into the driver’s seat of that truck, it hit me. I was no longer in Hillridge Springs. I didn’t know where the fuck I was, but it wasn’t there. I was states away from every worry and problem I’d struggled with for months, and it felt like heaven. I plugged my phone into the car charger I set up and cranked the engine, listening as it quickly turned over. Then, I rolled down the windows and set off toward the Iron Horse.
I finally have my freedom.
My phone told me it was two in the afternoon the next day, which meant I had slept well over twenty-four hours. And I felt fantastic. The GPS navigated me through the dirt roads that had been carved out through the woods until I finally hit a paved road. And from there, the drive to this place was only twenty minutes. I parked in the parking lot in front of the bar and readied myself to go inside. I wasn’t sure how Ash would react to me being there in the middle of the day. Hell, for all I knew, he wasn’t here anymore at all.
I wanted to see him, though.
I gathered my purse and turned off the engine before I made my way inside. Power and freedom washed over me as I walked into the bar and didn’t hear my cousin calling out for me, or my ex popping out of the woodworks. No one knew me here. No one stared at me. No one eyed me or looked me up and down or murmured about me off in the distance. This fresh start felt amazing. I carried myself with pride as I walked up to the bar.
“Can I get you anything?” the bartender asked.
Then, a booming voice appeared at my side.
“Whatever she wants, put it on my tab,” Ash said.
And when I slowly looked up at him, I found his gaze staring down at me.
With a darkened look that made my heart stop in my chest.
7
Ash
I never thought jeans and a t-shirt could look so sexy on a woman. But there she was, standing at the bar in all of her glory. I figured she’d try to get out, especially after leaving her the keys to my pet project. But I never expected to feel such a tug toward her the second she walked in.
Her luscious ass filled out the back of her jeans while her thighs boasted of womanly curves I wanted to sink my teeth into. Her tapered waist called to my hands and her tits would be perfect handfuls against my palms. But her body had nothing on her countenance. The confidence with which she swayed those hips of hers made my pants tighten around my pelvis.
And suddenly, I found myself at the bar with her.
Putting all of her shit on my tab.
“Are you sure, Ash?”
I blinked. “Very.”
She smiled. “Well, I’ll have a Jack and Coke.”
I nodded. “Good choice. You hungry?”
“I suppose I should eat since I only got up forty-five minutes ago.”
I grinned. “Sleep well?”
She nodded. “Very much so. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Not a problem. Order whatever you want.”
I stood at the bar with her as she hopped up onto one of the barstools and we both ordered burgers and fries for ourselves. Our drinks came up in a hurry and I reached for my beer, watching as her lips curled around the outside of her glass. There wasn’t anything about this woman I didn’t find staggeringly beautiful. And for a split second, I thought I felt her trying to lean a bit closer to me.
Or it could’ve been my imagination.
“So, you want to fill me in on the whole story with your ex?” I asked.
She paused. “Do you want to know?”
“I think I should at least know what might come knocking on my front door.”
“Oh, he won’t find me out here. He’s not that smart.”
“Doesn’t mean I should be left in the dark. I like to understand my opponents.”
“Opponents?”
I took a pull from my beer. “Yep. Because if that fucker ever comes after you, he’s nothing but an opponent.”
She smiled brightly. “Well, I suppose when you put it that way…”
Our food touched down in front of us and I gave her some time to gather her thoughts. And to get some food in her system. But once she threw back the rest of her drink and ordered another one, she turned to face me.
And I readied myself to listen.
“His